More than a thousand South Kern residents turned out for the sixth annual Building Healthy Communities South Kern (BHC-SK) celebration in late August.
The event featured a variety of activities, music and access to local resources. It was held at Rexland Acres Park in southeast Bakersfield.
“I feel very satisfied with the turnout,” said Gema Perez, president of Greenfield Walking Group, who helped organize the celebration.
In an effort to promote an active lifestyle, the coalition closed several streets around the event to allow families the opportunity bike, run or walk in a safe, car-free environment.
Read more from South Kern Sol’s youth reporter Yesenia Aguilar here.
South Kern youth and parents, mark your calendars for Building Healthy Communities Americorps 2nd Annual ‘Pathways to Success,’ a great opportunity for youth to explore college and career pathways to be held Oct. 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Golden Valley High School located at 801 Hosking Ave., in Bakersfield.
The event is being hosted by AmeriCorps, South Kern schools, community groups and in partnership with Building Healthy Communities-South Kern.
South Kern Sol youth storytellers demonstrated the power behind storytelling at their final event of their 2016 Summer Series earlier this month where they invited community leaders, elected officials, county administrators to the Bakersfield Museum of Art to join the conversation about equity, and why place and race matter in Kern.
Youth spoke about the breadth of issues they are covering to ensure that Kern becomes a healthier place for everyone. Some of those issues include: access to safe, clean drinking water; the need for everyone to have access to health care regardless of immigration status; equitable health-promoting land use policies; clean, safe air quality; restorative justice policies and practices in schools; equitable funding for low income school districts through the Local Control Funding Formula; and safe and well-maintained parks.
Several of their stories, along with photos from past events, were also displayed on the white walls of the museum.
Professor Mark Martinez, Ph.D., from CSU Bakersfield’s Social Justice Center moderated a panel discussion, where three youth storytellers: Randy Villegas, Dean Welliver, and Yesenia Aguilar spoke about what drives them to write stories about issues impacting their communities.
Cal State Bakersfield’s Social Justice department with support from Building Healthy Communities South Kern is hosting a California State Assembly Legislative Hearing this Tuesday to understand the role health plays in achieving successful outcomes for Boys and Men of Color (BMOC).
With California fast becoming a “minority” dominant state, a few years ago the state legislature determined they need to take a look at some of the challenges that we see with Latinos and Black Americans being incarcerated at a disproportionate rate in California. The Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color has been tasked with looking at the inequities that are impacting the life outcomes of BMOC.
The hearing will held on Tuesday, Sept. 13 from 1 to 3 p.m. at CSUB’s Dezember Reading Room, 9001 Stockdale Hwy. in Bakersfield.
For more information, please call Dr. Mark Martinez at (661) 654-2352.
The California Air Resources Board (ARB) will be in holding a workshop in Bakersfield on Sept. 1 to discuss updates to a policy aimed at benefitting disadvantaged communities.
The policy, known as Supplemental Environmental Projects was established as a result of the passage of Assembly bill 1071 in 2015 and recognizes that communities who are impacted by multiple sources of pollution “need resources to address environmental health issues and to implement community-led solutions,” reads the bill.
The community discussion and workshop will be held at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District located at 34946 Flyover Court in Bakersield from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The hard work of Building Healthy Communities South Kern’s Education Action Team is paying off. Last month, the Kern Community College District (KCCD) voted to place a $502 million bond measure on the November ballot. The bond includes $25 million for an outreach facility to serve the communities of South Kern.
BHC-SK partners held a press conference last month and spoke during the public comment session of the KCCD board meetings. The team spoke about the need for higher education in Arvin and youth shared personal stories about the obstacles they face to achieve higher education.
“Transportation to Bakersfield College should not be an obstacle, but it is such a big obstacle for Arvin, Lamont, and Weedpatch residents,” said Yesenia Aguilar, 17, a junior at Arvin High School and a youth journalist for South Kern Sol.
Arvin and Lamont’s poverty level is almost twice the State’s average, and only 2 percent of the population hold a Bachelor’s degree, the State average is 30 percent.
“There is a real need to have an uplift in adult education in [Arvin],” said Dr. Michelle McLean, Arvin Union School District’s Superintendent. “Whenever members of the community are educated and receive a higher education, its benefiting the whole community, its benefiting our county, its benefiting our State, its benefiting our nation.”
Please join us on Saturday, August 27 to celebrate one more year of Building Healthy Communities South Kern (BHC-SK). This year will be like no other as we are holding our own mini-ciclovia.
Enjoy a day with family and friends as we take the streets of the community of Rexland Acres so that we can walk, run, and bike as a community in a safe and open car-free environment! This year’s BHC-SK’S Annual Celebration will feature fun family activities, live performances, and free food.
The event will be held at Rexland Acres Park, 325 E. Fairview Dr. in Bakersfield from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Transportation will be provided from Arvin, Weedpatch and Lamont. For more information please call Angel Munoz at (661) 845-2724.
Ed Note: Because the celebration is funded by BHC-SK and The California Endowment, voter registrations is not allowed at the event.
“Human beings can be beautiful or more beautiful, they can be fat or skinny, they can be right or wrong, but illegal? How can a human being be illegal?” These are words spoken byElie Wiesel, Nobel Prize winner, and Holocaust survivor. Although he just passed away, his words shall forever live on. Last week, activists and community members from all over Kern County gathered in the spirit of Mr. Wiesel’s words outside of an immigrant detention center in Bakersfield.
As one of the leading youth that helped organize the event, I must say that I’ve never seen something this beautiful happen here in Kern County. As we began planning this event months ago, we were inspired by musicians Juanes and John Legend performing outside of an immigration detention center in Arizona. The event brought awareness of a private prison industry that profits off of people’s suffering, and illustrated a broken system, while at the same time reminding detainees that people outside their walls care about them.
Juanes and John Legend used music to bring people together for the cause of justice. I wanted to do the same thing in Kern County and last Thursday we did.
Youth gathered outside the detention facility.
A week earlier, I had visited the Mesa Verde Immigrant Detention Facility to meet with a 26-year-old woman from Guatemala who was fleeing murder in her home country and sought asylum here in the U.S. She shared with me the story of her family, her dreams, and her hope and strength to keep fighting for a better life. She only had one year left of school to graduate from her university. Just like me, I thought to myself, this woman had only one year left to finish school, and now she’s locked up because of her lack of documentation. I thought to myself, what makes the difference between her and me? Why does a piece of paper deem someone more or less human? It doesn’t.
She has been incarcerated for over six months still waiting for a court date. She has family here in the U.S. who wish for nothing more than her safety. She told me that if there’s one thing she could tell everyone, it’s that, “We don’t come here to steal jobs, or cause violence, or even depend on anyone. We come here because it’s the land of opportunity for a better life, a life with liberty. We leave our families, our entire life behind just for a chance at freedom and a better life.”
I was inspired by her words, her emotions, her genuine kindness and strength to keep persevering. This is a prime example of why we need reform in a broken system and why we should advocate for comprehensive immigration reform.
When I told her that we would be outside the detention center next Thursday morning to play music for all the detainees and rally for the cause, her eyes watered with emotion as did mine. She thanked me from the bottom of her heart and hugged me before I left to work.
A week later we arrived early at the detention center, only to see that we had been blocked off by “caution tape” around the whole building, except the sidewalk. When I asked an employee if I could park in the “visitor parking” he told me that there were no visitors today, and nobody was to be allowed inside. I knew that there were visitor hours today but I simply parked on the street. While it scared me a bit at first, I smiled and remembered the words of a fellow journalist “When you are pissing people off in the community, you know they are listening, you know your voice is being heard, you know you’re doing something right.”
Youth sharing their action over their social media channels.
Nonetheless we began our press conference on the sidewalk as youth leaders gave speeches on why we need to reform our prison and immigration systems, and invest in our youth instead. As the scorching heat blazed in the morning, Professor and activist Gonzalo Santos suggested we heed to the words of the “caution tape” and proceed with caution. So we crossed the tape into the shade of a tree right in front of the building. Without fear, we continued rallying for the cause of justice. Speakers spoke about their personal experiences, shocking statistics about Kern County’s investment in mass incarceration instead of education. After powerful words from youth leaders, the band began to play right in front of the building, and then we proceeded to march around the building nearest where the detainees would be let outside for a recreational break. We marched, we chanted, and most of all we stood together in unity for justice. As we reached the park, people gathered around taking photos, making signs, and enjoying music from the bands, and later on Latin Grammy Nominee Ceci Bastida. It brought me absolute joy to see youth from all across Kern making signs that read #LoveNotPrisons, #EducationNotPrisons, and even a young toddler with a drawing that she said meant “happiness” not prisons.
Some of the younger kids joining in on the action.
As I look back upon that day, I’m still left in awe. I’m filled with joy knowing that so many people came out to rally for a cause to bring humanity to an issue that is so important this political season. I’m inspired by the youth that I saw actively participating and I’m filled with hope for a better future, knowing that someday they will be our leaders. I hope someday the millions of people living in the shadows can one day see their families, live out their dreams without constant fear, and instead live in liberty, justice, and the pursuit of happiness. Until then, we will keep fighting, rallying, and advocating for a true democracy with liberty and justice for all.
Join us on Thursday July 7 to celebrate the rich culture and artistry of Kern County at the Kern Youth Arts Festival, held at Relaxed Acres Park from 6 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. The event, featuring installation art and performances, will be curated by Dulce UpFront. The festival will showcase how arts and culture can promote social change and contribute to the birth of a culture of prevention.
The Kern Youth Arts Festival is the second of a three-event series demanding #SchoolsNotPrisons for Kern County. The events are organized and led by youth leaders affiliated with Building Healthy Communities-South Kern and South Kern Sol, in partnership with the Arts Council of Kern.
Free food will be provided to the first 250 people. Transportation is available, please see the routes below.
Bus Schedule for the Kern Youth Art’s Festival – July 7
Stop 1 – 5:10pm: at Arvin Vallarta Super Market – 600 Bear Mountain Blvd, Arvin, CA 93203 (Corner of Bear Mountain Blvd. and S. Hill Street, Look for the school bus)
Stop 2 – 5:25pm: Weedpatch Market – 8101 Buena Vista Blvd,. Lamont, CA 93241 (look for the school bus in the parking lot)
Stop 3 – 5:35pm: County Fair Market – 10415 Main St,. Lamont, CA 93241 (Look for the school bus near Main Street)
Join youth leaders from Building Healthy Communities South Kern and South Kern Sol this summer as they use their voice to engage youth across Kern County and lead us to a better and more just future.
South Kern youth leaders and advocates are launching a three-part series focused on #schoolsnotprisons, #unity, #investinyouth and #vota. The series will bring multi-media platforms that lift up culture and arts tied to social justice.
Youth will demand that local leaders refocus attention and resources away from mass incarceration and toward approaches likely to improve safety, such as #Health4Kern, trauma-informed education practices that limit suspensions and break the school-to-prison pipeline, a vibrant arts and culture scene, and comprehensive immigration reform.
South Kern Sol youth recognize that young people are an asset to this community and through a series of events they hope to create unity and encourage other young people across the county to #GetLoud for issues that impact their communities.
Kern #GetLoud Rally! June 30
MillCreek Park, 10am to 1pm,
Featuring Banda Perla del Sur and Ceci Bastida
Kern Youth Arts Festival! July 7
Rexland Acres Park, 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Featuring Dulce UpFront
Kern Youth Speak Out! August 4
Bakersfield Museum of Art, 6 to 8 p.m.
Media Panel Discussion
Bus Schedule for Kern #GetLoud Rally – June 30:
Stop 1 – 8:15am: at Arvin Vallarta Super Market – 600 Bear Mountain Blvd, Arvin, CA 93203 (Corner of Bear Mountain Blvd. and S. Hill Street, Look for the CHARTER BUS)
Stop 2 – 8:35am: Weedpatch Market – 8101 Buena Vista Blvd,. Lamont, CA 93241 (look for the CHARTER BUS in the parking lot)
Stop 3 – 8:50am: County Fair Market – 10415 Main St,. Lamont, CA 93241 (Look for the charter bus near Main Street)
Stop 4 – 9:15am: Stiern Park in Bakersfield – 5201 Monitor St, Bakersfield, CA 93313 (Parking lot)
Arrive:
1st stop in downtown Bakersfield will be at MillCreek Park – 600 21st St Bakersfield, CA 93301
2nd Stop: Mesa Verde Detention Center – 425 Golden State Avenue Bakersfield, CA 93301
