Writer Rasheena Fountain’s words about defending nature—“now a novelty so increasingly trendy”—in her hometown inspired us during our recent poetry spotlight and then again through the voice of Hamilton ensemble cast member Lencia Kebede. The singer and actress performed Rasheena’s poem in a video she made for Hamilton’s Ham4Progress Instagram feed, which uplifts social justice causes throughout the year. “The performance really helped me hear my words in a new way,” Rasheena says. We’re proud to collaborate with both artists on this powerful piece.
Watch the video. >

When Home Is Bristol Bay

“As a little old Yup’ik guy from western Alaska looks at it, the ecosystem means so much to me and to my culture,” says Pete Andrew Jr., who’s been fishing Bristol Bay for 50 years. He started his commercial fishing career on his older brother’s boat when he was just nine years old. This year, he’s looking forward to another massive sockeye salmon season, with more than 51 million fish predicted to return after a particularly cold and snowy winter. So many people from all over the world depend on the bay’s bounty, Pete notes. And yet for close to two decades, the prospect of a massive open-pit gold and copper mine in the area—about 200 miles from Anchorage and reachable only by air or water—has threatened to decimate the fishery and the cultural traditions, economy, and ecosystems inextricably linked to it. Pete puts it bluntly: “If you could pick the ultimate worst place in the world to create a mine, this is the very spot.”
Listen to Pete on what’s at stake. >

Standing Up for Home in Richmond, California

Located 17 miles north of San Francisco, Richmond is a small, working-class city where residents—predominantly people of color—live surrounded by heavy industry, with more than 350 refineries in their midst. Chief among them is Chevron, whose oil refinery has spewed toxic air pollution, leaked oil into San Francisco Bay, and sent thousands of community members to seek medical attention after various explosions and fires over the years. And the people of Richmond have had it. Residents like Torm Nompraseurt, a Laotian refugee who arrived in 1975 after fleeing the Vietnam War, have built the city’s grassroots resistance movement from the ground up. Torm organizes through the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), which represents a group that has grown to some 10,000 Laotians in western Contra Costa County. When APEN asked him to join its team in 1995, Torm recalls, “I decided I wanted to fight for my community.” With his help, the Laotian community has become an organizing force and instrumental in passing a series of bills to mitigate pollution.
Read more about the resistance in Richmond. >

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