The ReGeneration Gala
 On
Wednesday, November 10th, 2010, DataCenter will celebrate
a new era for our 34-year old organization and honor our
co-founder Fred Goff at ReGeneration!:
Research Legacies Moving Forward. Countless
dedicated people have played an important role in unlocking
the power of knowledge for social change.
Our hope is that many of those people will join us in
this celebration - not only participating in the event
itself, but taking part in creating the history of the
Role of Research in the Social Justice Movement,
through the lens of the DataCenter.
More
about why you should come »
The
Honorary Host Committee »
Right to the City-LA Fails the
City in Ensuring Safe & Healthy Homes
 Approximately
60% of people in Los Angeles are renters. Many of these
families live in deteriorating housing that can lead to
irreversible health ailments ranging from asthma and skin
infections to child lead poisoning and depression. To
document the extent of this issue, Right
to the City Los Angeles developed a housing inspection
form similar to the one used by the city. They surveyed
481 homes in Koreatown, South Los Angeles and Boyle Heights
in the summer and fall of 2009 and with DataCenter's support,
compiled the findings.
The results showed
that residents are living in sub-standard housing conditions.
Seven out of ten homes had problems with their walls and
ceiling such as leaks, holes, peeling paint and deterioration.
Almost two-thirds had structural issues as well as problems
with infestations. Additional housing problems included
lack of building upkeep and safety and inadequate plumbing
systems, wiring or heating. RTTC-LA published a Housing
Conditions Report Card and failed the City in its inspection
and enforcement work that would ensure safe and healthy
living conditions for Los Angeles residents and families.
The alliance has proposed a community-based solution where
tenants and community organizations are included in the
inspection process and can ensure that the problems are
addressed. View
Report Card »
- Saba Waheed, DataCenter Research Director
Survey
Finds that Community Organizing Thrives with Reduced Resources
DataCenter and the National
Organizers Alliance released the report Sustaining
Organizing: A Survey of Organizations During the Economic
Downturn. The report is based on a survey of 203 organizations
to assess the impact of the economic downturn on community
organizing. Though much research has been done on the
non-profit sector, very little was known about how organizing
may have been affected. The results showed that organizations
continued and advanced the work to support and address
the crises in their communities while facing decreased
capacity and resources. The National
Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) recently
noted how the report “confirms
that our anecdotal evidence is indicative of a broader
crisis”. Furthermore, these “findings highlight the
severity of the situation for many nonprofits focused
on advocacy.”
In documenting the impact
of the recession on organizing, we wanted to achieve two
things: to unearth strategies used by organizations in
order to sustain organizing work, and to identify ways
to further strengthen the work in order to build a sustainable
infrastructure that can support organizing. Towards this
end, we have been presenting the findings through a series
of workshops (at the USSF and the recent Grassroots
Institute for Fundraising Training conference) to
explore ways for us to build a sustained and resourced
movement. We hope to continue these conversations this
Fall and are planning to host events throughout the country.
If you are interested in participating or hosting such
an event, please contact miho kim at miho@datacenter.org.
Download the full pdf report »
Read
the NCRP blog about the report »
- Saba Waheed
Da Town
Researchers in the "D"
Tony Robinson, Nikita Mitchell, Eric Adams,
and Jenny Nguyen in Detroit
.
Spanning 10 days in “the D”, 5 youth from Oakland learned
about Detroit’s history as an urban post-industrial city
and its similarities to Oakland. They met youth from Detroit
Summer and helped them prepare a city-wide mural project
using images and quotes they collected through their research
about Detroit and the world that young people envision.
Read
More »
- Lailan Huen, Da Town Researchers Coordinator
Of MASE & Indigenous
Knowledge Projects
MASE Coalition organizer, Nadine Padilla
(middle right), and SNEEJ Senior Advisor, Richard Moore,
(middle left), host Miho Kim and Andrew Mayersohn, DataCenter's
Research team, at the SNEEJ community garden.
DataCenter is serving
as the dedicated campaign research arm for the Multicultural
Alliance for a Safe Environment (MASE) Coalition's
Roca Honda Campaign – a New Mexico state-wide, multi-sectoral,
multicultural united effort to defeat a new uranium mine
proposal. Corporate profile fact sheets that DataCenter
helped develop have been circulated in the community as
well as distributed in Japan, where key Roca Honda stakeholder
Sumitomo is headquartered. The economic injustice of disproportionate
exposure to toxic substances on Navajo land, and the surrounding
Pueblos and other mining communities, is the problem being
addressed by MASE.
MASE is committing to
long-term infrastructure and organizational development.
DataCenter will support their research capacity development,
combining skills transfer and applied research in organizing,
with infrastructure and systems development. A first step
in this process was the two day Indigenous Youth Research
Justice Training Camp held in December 2009.
Private companies have
mined land in Navajo country for the past forty years
leaving behind contaminated tailings and abandoned mines
which were associated with increases in respiratory and
reproductive illnesses and unexplained incidences of cancer
among the Navajo people. In the state of New Mexico, this
year for the first time since the uranium crash in the
‘80s, the state will begin deliberations on new uranium
mining permits, even while the toxic legacy from the prior
generation of mining remains unaddressed.
"Our ability to strategize
effectively is compromised by lack of systemic transparency
on the part of government, corporations, and other key
institutions. Given the lack of information capacity on
our part, coupled with the rising external assault of
our communities, resources and environment, DataCenter’s
presence will make a crucial difference for us to develop
and mature as a grassroots community united, so that we
are proactive and strategic, rather than reactive and
opportunistic."
- Nadine Padilla, MASE
Coalition
.
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In this issue
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Upcoming Trainings & Events
ReGeneration:
Research Legacies Moving Forward, Dunsmuir-Hellman
Estate, November 10, Oakland, CA
Internship
Spotlight
with
EJ Summer Intern Omonigho Oiyemhonlan
"My internship experience
with DataCenter has been phenomenal. I have spent
my time networking with organizations in the Oakland/San
Francisco area steeped in environmental justice
history, and developing curriculum for an innovative
environmental justice, research training program.
I cannot say enough good things about my work with
the DataCenter. The work I have accomplished is
both distinctive and tangible, and has provided
me with a new framework for community organizing
and research."
Interested
in a DataCenter internship? Click here to learn
more about our Internship Program today! »
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Resource Center
National
Freedom of Information Coalition:
The FOI Center provides a comprehensive look at
state and international FOIA laws through the compilation
of academic studies, open meetings, open records
and news of note.
.
Don't Forget...to
check out the rest of our most popular page, Research
Tools! It's updated regularly & organized
by topic. |
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Tell
Us What You Think!
Comments? Suggestions? General
questions & musings? Let us know! Email Us! »
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Thank
You!
To
all our wonderful summer interns:
Andrew Mayersohn
Chris Lezama
Chris Moulton
Jessie Wu
Nicholas Cragoe
Omonigho Oiyemhonlan
Rebecca Godefroy
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