SAVE THE DATE!
The 2025 We the Future Social Justice Conference will be on
Friday, April 18th!
You can find the schedule and workshops from last year's conference below
Conference Schedule 2024
FRIDAY, May 3, 2024
SRJC PETALUMA CAMPUS
8:30am – 9am: Morning snacks
9am – 10:30am: Land Acknowledgement and Keynote
10:30am – 10:45am: Head to workshops
10:45am – 11:45am: Session 1 Workshops
11:45am – 12pm: Head to workshops
12pm – 1pm: Session 2 Workshops
1pm – 2:30pm: Free food, music, activities, and resource fair!
WORKSHOP SESSION 1
La Tierra Es De Quien La Trabaja - Farmworkers Fighting The Bad, And Building The Good in the North Bay
Presenter: Davin Cardenas, North Bay Jobs with justice
Location: Call Building Room 639
In this session, we'll offer an overview of historical, worker based struggles for land and liberty, and then offer a deep dive into the campaign by farmworkers in Sonoma County to challenge exploitative grape growers, while at the same time preparing themselves to build an new economy of climate resilience, traditional land practices, and living wages.
Somos Tierra: Projecto de Justicia de la Tierra para personas campesinas, indígenas y migrantes en el Condado de Sonoma/ Somos Tierra [We are Land]: Land Justice Project for campesinas, indigenous and immigrant people (Bilingual Spanish/English)
Presenters:
Gina Garibo, North Bay Organizing Project (NBOP)
María Reyes, Cooperativa campesina: Somos Tierra
Anabel García, Cooperativa campesina: Somos Tierra
Location: Call Building Room 641
Somos Tierra nace de la necesidad y reclamo de liberación de la tierra del mercado, de la resistencia y lucha de quienes hemos sido despojados y deplazados de nuestras tierras para volver a tener acceso a ella en términos de afirmación cultural, de ceremonias, de sembrar y cosechar de acuerdo a nuestros conocimientos ancestrales, de sanar en colectivo al reconectarnos con la tierra, con la distribución del trabajo, del cuidado y protección y resguardo de la misma, dejando claro que la tierra no se vende ni se posee, sino que se protege y se vive con ella, no de ella. En este taller buscamos compartir reflexiones sobre lo que entendemos como liberación de la tierra, así como compartir ejemplos concretos de nuestras sabidurias ancentrales para plantar, cuidar, cosechar y tomar desiones colectivas en horizontalidad.
En este taller buscamos compartir reflexiones sobre lo que entendemos como liberación de la tierra, así como compartir ejemplos concretos de nuestras sabidurias ancentrales para plantar, cuidar, cosechar y tomar desiones colectivas en horizontalidad.//
Somos Tierra was born from the need and demand for the liberation of the land from the market, from the resistance and struggle of those of us who have been dispossessed and displaced from our lands. Somos Tierra seeks to ensure that campesinos, indigenous and immigrant people from Sonoma County regain access to the land in terms of cultural affirmation, ceremonies, sowing and harvesting according to our ancestral knowledge, and healing collectively by reconnecting with the land. Somos Tierra recognizes that in the community, there is also distribution of work, care, protection, and safeguarding of the land, making it clear that the land is not sold or owned, but rather we live with the land, not off the land.
In this workshop, we seek to share reflections on what we understand as liberation of the land as well as share concrete examples of our ancestral wisdom to plant, harvest and make collective horizontal decisions
Working together towards Land Justice in Palestine
Presenter: Tarik Kanaana, Sonoma County for Palestine
Location: Call Building Room 644
Palestinians have continuously inhabited their land for millennia. They maintain strong ties to the land , connected to it by their culture and their history. The current Genocide in Gaza is only the culmination of over a century of colonialism and attempts at erasing the indigenous population. We will look at the commonalities between the Palestinian struggle and that of other marginalized and displaced peoples represented in Sonoma County and the need to work together towards achieving justice for all.
Social Justice Leadership 101: How am I a socially conscious leader within myself and the community?
Presenters:
Bree Clark, SRJC Cub Catalyst: Social Justice and Leadership Development Program
Daisy Guevara, SRJC Cub Catalyst: Social Justice and Leadership Development Program
Kiki Conger, SRJC Cub Catalyst: Social Justice and Leadership Development Program
Location: Call Building Room 657
This workshop aims to begin the foundation of a socially critical lens to help identify issues of oppression, disparity, and inequity while also learning to understand oneself as a leader within the context of resistance. This is a principal constituent to be able to address crucial issues such as land justice, the dehumanization of marginalized communities, and is the core individual work needed to be a part of an equitable community. Presenters will be utilizing frameworks taught within Cub Catalyst: A Social Justice and Leadership Development program on the Santa Rosa Junior College campus, to convey these topics.
Food Justice: Imperative for Community Wellness (Bilingual Spanish/English)
Presenters:
Kelly Conrad, Farm to Pantry
Rosa Gonzalez, Farm to Pantry
Location: Call Building Room 656
Economic & racial divides cause natural, healthy locally-grown foods to be too expensive, sometimes for the very people who grow them. How is there food insecurity in a County that is so bountiful? Ultra-processed foods are cheaper and more accessible, even in food deserts, so when budgets are strapped, healthy food for the family is not at the top of the list. This is dangerous for marginalized communities. For long-term solutions, we need to dismantle the welfare/charity model of food assistance and shift the continuum to providing resources for people to grow their own healthy food. Learn what we can do now for healthy food access, to make an impact on community health & mitigate food waste.
Our Right to Health: Breaking Down the Barriers
Presenters:
Terry Winter, Healthcare for All Working Group
Richard Ingram, Healthcare for All Working Group
Location: Call Building Room 693
Our healthcare "system" is draining working people, their families, business and governments of healthy, promising lives. The workshop will be a call to action, proceeded by an analysis of what is terribly wrong with our "system" and how we implement radical changes to build the quality, equity, affordability and sustainability we all deserve, regardless of background, age, sex or sexual preference, financial or employment or immigration status or where you live. Special attention will be paid to correcting the injustices to those who have been previously disenfranchised. An in-depth discussion will follow a 20+ minute presentation.
WORKSHOP SESSION 2
Seaweed Prosthetic Arms: Navigating Environmental Innovation Towards Land Justice
Presenter: Jenna Williams, SRJC Student
Location: Call Building Room 693
Jenna Williams presents a workshop intertwining environmental innovation and social justice within the theme of "Community Power and Collaboration: Building Alliances for Land Justice." Her research focuses on creating prosthetic limbs from toxic invasive seaweed, offering a unique solution to both environmental challenges and social inequality. By addressing specific aspects of land justice such as equitable access to resources and community resilience, Jenna's work highlights the intersectionality between environmental sustainability and social justice. With a commitment to reaching marginalized communities underrepresented globally, Jenna's research aims to make prosthetic technology more affordable and accessible to those who have been traditionally underserved. Participants will explore how innovative technologies can contribute to a more equitable distribution of resources and empower communities affected by land injustices.
Right to a Roof! Organizing for Housing Justice in Sonoma County
Presenters:
Diana Kingsbury, North Bay Organizing Project
Baylee Russell, North Bay Organizing Project
Location: Student Engagement and Success Center
Why are there so many slumlords, and why is housing so expensive? And what are we going to do about it? We all deserve a healthy, stable, affordable place to live. Join this interactive workshop to learn how the Sonoma County Tenants Union, the housing arm of the North Bay Organizing Project, is working with immigrants, low-income workers, and communities of color to build renter power. We provide concrete ways to get involved and make a difference so you leave the workshop feeling empowered and inspired.
Israel's 75-year occupation of Palestine
Presenters:
Therese Mughannam, North Coast Coalition for Palestine
Lois Pearrman, North Coast Coalition for Palestine
Adam Manasra, Resident of Wadi Foquin
Location: Call Building Room 641
With Israel's assault on the Palestinians in Gaza now front page news, this session will provide the context for how and why this is happening. We will explain how Israel has always been a settler colonial enterprise, whose goal is to occupy all of traditional Palestine and turn it into a Jewish-only state. This presentation will also include the efforts being made, both by Palestinians and Jewish Israelis, to create a just and peaceful solution to this on-going tragedy.
Our Existence is Resistance: Zapatista Women in Chiapas
Presenter: Rafael Vazquez Guzman, Lideres del Futuro Avanzando
Location: Call Building Room 644
During this workshop we will speak to the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico and their willingness to risk their lives in order to regain control of their bodies and reconnect with their ancestral lands. In 1994, while the U.S., Mexico, and Canada celebrated the beginning of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Zapatistas in Chiapas declared war on the Mexican oppressive government. January 1, 2024 was the 30th anniversary of this movement that is alive today. We will discuss why this movement has succeeded and the many challenges they have and continue to face.
Queering Land Back: Indigiqueer and QTBIPOC Resistance (Bilingual Spanish/English)
Presenters:
Elliot Carmona-Rodriguez, LGBTQ Connections
Ronimar Lopez-Bazan, Positive Images
Solicia Aguilar, LGBTQ Connections
Laura LeCave, Positive Images
Location: Call Building Room 639
This interactive workshop will be in the form of a talking circle that explores the QTBIPOC experience in relation to queer resistance, gender euphoria, and how that fights against colonialism and white supremacy. Facilitators will share information and historical context on indigenous resistance and how it relates to decolonizing sexuality and gender expression. Facilitators will create a nest for attendees to critically engage in discourse, by providing thought provoking questions for conversation, engaging in their own personal story-telling, and inviting participants to share their own stories. This talking circle format highlights and demonstrates how QTBIPOC share and pass on knowledge to others and intergenerationally. The learning objective of this interactive workshop are:
- Participants will gain a better understanding of how white supremacy and colonialism shows up in Queer spaces
- Participants will understand the historical context of non-binary and transgender identities, as well as gendercide and how gender binary was created to uphold whites supremacy
- Participants will learn about land and spirit connection, and how this ties into our connection with identity
- Participants will share space and connect with others in mutual equal values
Solidarity Over Charity
Presenter: Judy Talaugon, Centro Del Poder Popular - Center for People Power
Location: Call Building Room 657
Judy Talaugon will share her wisdom and knowledge from a lifetime of movement-building with Elders and youth on the topics of equity, solidarity, ecology, and indigeneity. She will share concepts that support solidarity and service in our communities with values and practices of non-harm or harmlessness. She will discuss the work of organizing within impacted communities to build political clout and access to civic engagement. Judy emphasizes creating a culture of kindness and harmlessness within liberation movements.
Imagining Otherwise Decolonizing Strategies to Pull the Curtain on Some Cognitive Inventions in Order to Acknowledge Indigenous Presence and Resistance
Presenter: Jurgen Kremer, Santa Rosa Junior College
Location: Call Building Room 656
As a psychologist I am particularly interested in what is not spoken, in what is in the shadows of assumptions commonly seen as 'progressive'. What stops us from seeing Indigenous resistance to colonialism? What is in the way of our acknowledgment of ancestral Indigenous knowledge and practices? What remains hidden when we assert the importance of 'decolonization'? What is in the shadow of 'sustainability'? And even: What remains in the shadowlands when we think of the term 'progressive'? What are the complexities, contradictions, and biographies hidden behind seemingly simple labels? Can we rationally think our way out of the ongoing histories of racism and coloniality? What about our emotions? Our bodies? Our spiritualities? Where is the place in our thinking and doing for Indigenous sovereignty? What makes it difficult for us to take visionary Indigenous sovereignty as starting place? Or to engage with ongoing Indigenous presence? Experimenting to imagine otherwise, I highlight how the measure of Indigenous thinkingbeing, the ongoing resistance and presence of Indigenous peoples, presents challenges to seemingly monolithic labels that are in common use. In our contemporary world of modernity/coloniality we assert the importance of DEI, anti-racist practices, social justice, and decolonization. Yet, the ghosts of human exceptionalism, white supremacy, and Western post/colonial assumptions of progress and emancipation haunt our underworld. I describe my personal ethno/autobiographical questioning and how it has led me to pedagogies that facilitate the opening of trapdoors to the multitude of cultural shadows that continue to structure how we think, feel, embody, and relate to each other-and what we fail to perceive. I ask myself questions like: What does it take to acknowledge Indigenous resistance in Sonoma County? Could SRJC be a decolonial island in a colonial world? Is it possible to create decolonial classrooms? What could that even mean within a system that has emerged from a colonial educational history that is ongoing, even with the focus on DEI and anti-racist pedagogies? This presentation is a stubborn call to insist on the existence and benefits of imagining otherwise by being accountable to Indigenous presence and resistance, to insist on our sovereignty of motion in imagination and its translation into decolonial socio-cultural action, in the classroom and beyond. Opening trapdoors to the unconscious cultural imaginary is liberative and catalyzes student creativity and empowerment.