Training Local Leaders
Sparking conversations around mobility and environmental justice
By Stephen Marea
This past year, funding from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District led to our first mobility justice and environmental justice trainings for Bay Area residents. As the Community Organizer, my goal for this training was to discuss the history of how cities were created and how discriminatory methods from the past still affect city life in the present day.
I began with the history and creation of Oakland, using it as a case study to examine how cities were separated through deed covenants, redlining, and the nuances of infrastructure disparities and their environmental impacts. I created a training framework with the intention of encouraging attendees to understand the layout and structure of the cities that we live in today, and to use this understanding to know how to advocate for change.
One of the training attendees named Nina shared their experience after participating in the session: “I hope you can keep giving this important presentation and informing more people about the historic racism built into our cities. Learning about these events and how the effects still reverberate today should help us make better decisions for tomorrow.” Another attendee, Milinda, also found the training to be informative: “I found the session very thought provoking. Thanks for hosting this session, and I’m hoping good results come from the added exposure of this topic.”
Given the need for more concerted educational efforts regarding the daily impacts of environmental and mobility justice, Bike East Bay has worked to build upon local efforts such as Bike Concord’s monthly leadership meetings, which have been expanded to include bike organizing efforts from all around Contra Costa County. Starting with local groups like Bike Concord creates the opportunity to support similar groups in acting as a community resource for other county residents who are beginning to organize in their respective communities.
