In 2014 I graduated from Michigan State University and took the first flight out to Berkeley, California. I was a newly college-educated gal ready to take on the world, and more importantly, move out to the much romanticized West Coast. I was very fortunate to be able to move to the Bay Area as a part of Urban Adamah, a fellowship that in some magical way, integrated urban farming practices, mindfulness, social action training and progressive Jewish learning.<\/p>\n
Perhaps it was late in life, but this move and immersive experience opened my eyes to many deep-rooted issues facing our society today. This was the first time I went to an environmental-rights protest, walked in the streets demanding an end to police brutality, saw the impact food insecurity had on a community and witnessed progressive Jews organizing to dismantle the popular beliefs around Israel\/Palestine.<\/p>\n
Yes, was it easy to see movements making shit happen in the liberal haven of Berkeley, California? Of course it was, and that is why I needed to figure out how these issues were shaping my region, my community and my place in the country.<\/p>\n
By reading this blog, it means you know I am a Challenge Detroit fellow, and also living in Detroit. To clarify, I was not raised in Detroit. But my great-grandparents, grandparents and parents were. This is where my roots are. For me, it made sense to move back to Southeastern Michigan to examine how these issues, which I observed in California, were being addressed in my home state. As I started researching and reaching out to community leaders and organizers, it was clear that this work had a home in the city.<\/p>\n
From air quality to paid sick time, I learned about strong leaders that were organizing their communities to fight and advocate for human rights. It is with gratitude that I now highlight some of the grassroots organizations that welcomed me and my desire to learn and fight, with open arms.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Detroit Jews for Justice <\/strong><\/p>\n DJJ\u2019s mission is to create a progressive voice in the Jewish community, while creating a Jewish voice in the progressive community. Through following the lead of Detroiters, DJJ organizes Jewish folks around issues that work for racial and economic justice in the Detroit area.<\/p>\n Mothering Justice <\/strong><\/p>\n As the leader of the MI Time to Care petition drive, Mothering Justice empowers mothers to influence legislation that affects them and their families. They are currently working to make sure a proposal addressing earned paid sick time makes it on the 2018 ballot.<\/p>\n People\u2019s Water Board <\/strong><\/p>\n Since 2008, People\u2019s Water Board has advocated for polices that ensure Southeast Michigan provides clean and affordable water for every resident.<\/p>\n D15<\/strong><\/p>\n Stemming from a national movement working to raise the minimum wage, D15 was formed in Detroit by fast food and retail workers. Folks were (and are) working full-time, and still cannot afford basic needs like food, rent and healthcare. This is a problem that D15 has brought to the forefront of the billion-dollar fast food industry in Detroit.<\/p>\n Motor City Freedom Riders<\/strong><\/p>\n Motor City Freedom Riders believe that in order to achieve true freedom, we must, as a society, address mobility and transportation. As a grassroots organization, Motor City Freedom Riders organizes transit advocates to fight for better public transportation in Detroit and the surrounding region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In 2014 I graduated from Michigan State University and took the first flight out to Berkeley, California. I was a newly college-educated gal ready to take on the world, and more importantly, move out to the much romanticized West Coast. I was very fortunate to be able to move to the Bay Area as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":149,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/149"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22117\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}