STANDING UP FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
When living in a system that places us in a position to focus on economic gain over the safety and livelihood of people and of the environment, it is required that individuals within the community stand up and demand justice and equality for those who are too limited (either through lack of education or capital) to stand up. People like Gustavo Lopez, a community organizer from the Peninsula region of the Bay Area, focuses on empowering himself and his people, through teaching the youth about social justice and how to acquired it.
When living in a system that places us in a position to focus on economic gain over the safety and livelihood of people and of the environment, it is required that individuals within the community stand up and demand justice and equality for those who are too limited (either through lack of education or capital) to stand up. People like Gustavo Lopez, a community organizer from the Peninsula region of the Bay Area, focuses on empowering himself and his people, through teaching the youth about social justice and how to acquired it.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1...Who Is Gustavo Lopez?
2...The Struggle is Real
3...Misplacement of Natives
4...Familial Solidarity
5...The System of the State
6...Stand Up
2...The Struggle is Real
3...Misplacement of Natives
4...Familial Solidarity
5...The System of the State
6...Stand Up
WHO IS GUSTAVO LOPEZ?
Gustavo Lopez is a creative and unique individual who dedicates his life to empowering youth through mentoring groups of high school students in the Peninsula District and San Francisco District of California. He identifies with the black and brown community of the Bay Area (and the world) and their common cause; which is to empower the younger generations so as to give them an educational platform in which they could develop in; and to also get them to critically analyze their position in society. He organized an after school program in South San Francisco High School called "Emerging Leaders Program", in which he teaches the youth about social injustice issues pertaining to the local community or the global community composed of oppressed people in third world countries.
THE STRUGGLE IS REAL
The United States of America is founded on immigrants' dreams to progress and prosper in a land that was rich in resources and fruitful in life. When considering the circumstances of economic situations in other countries, it is understandable why countries such as the United States would be ideal places to migrate to. The birth of the nation was fostered by the immigration of European peoples such as the British, German, Irish, Scottish, Spanish, etc. Today, we have a large migrant peoples coming from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Ecuador, Nicaragua etc. Lopez recalls his familial struggle when they were adjusting to conditions of living in poverty when they lived in the Bay Area since he was young.
MISPLACEMENT OF NATIVES
The immigrant struggle is that of the working class; it directly involves people who labor in order to survive in this capitalist system that never stops running. When people migrate to the 'land of the free' in search for economic opportunity, they behave in accordance to their survival methods in society. People then develop small locations that focus on building and empowering said people, whether it be economically, socially, or politically. We have places like little Italy in New York, and Chinatown in many of the main cities of the United States. The Latino community has a district in which they would express their culture. Some call it La Mission (pronounced la mishone); its a place full of Chicano art and Latino culture. A place where a Latino migrant can feel like home.
However, due to the systems of wealth that we live by, people in this community are systematically being taken out of their homes, in an elaborate scheme involving extreme housing and living costs. Gustavo Lopez tells us of the impacts of this economic struggle in his community.
FAMILIAL SOLIDARITY
Part of succeeding in society is having a strong family structure to have a good emotional foundation; a family is like an organization that was composed through bloodlines and genetic affiliation. Thus, remaining strong together through 'thick and thin' is one of the strategic forms of continuing to survive in a constantly changing socioeconomic atmosphere. Lopez shares with us about how his family deals with gentrification and economic disparities in his community.
THE SYSTEM OF THE STATE
The United States of America is founded on immigrants' dreams to progress and prosper in a land that was rich in resources and fruitful in life. When considering the circumstances of economic situations in other countries, it is understandable why countries such as the United States would be ideal places to migrate to. The birth of the nation was fostered by the immigration of European peoples such as the British, German, Irish, Scottish, Spanish, etc. Today, we have a large migrant peoples coming from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Ecuador, Nicaragua etc. Lopez recalls his familial struggle when they were adjusting to conditions of living in poverty when they lived in the Bay Area since he was young.
MISPLACEMENT OF NATIVES
The immigrant struggle is that of the working class; it directly involves people who labor in order to survive in this capitalist system that never stops running. When people migrate to the 'land of the free' in search for economic opportunity, they behave in accordance to their survival methods in society. People then develop small locations that focus on building and empowering said people, whether it be economically, socially, or politically. We have places like little Italy in New York, and Chinatown in many of the main cities of the United States. The Latino community has a district in which they would express their culture. Some call it La Mission (pronounced la mishone); its a place full of Chicano art and Latino culture. A place where a Latino migrant can feel like home.
However, due to the systems of wealth that we live by, people in this community are systematically being taken out of their homes, in an elaborate scheme involving extreme housing and living costs. Gustavo Lopez tells us of the impacts of this economic struggle in his community.
FAMILIAL SOLIDARITY
Part of succeeding in society is having a strong family structure to have a good emotional foundation; a family is like an organization that was composed through bloodlines and genetic affiliation. Thus, remaining strong together through 'thick and thin' is one of the strategic forms of continuing to survive in a constantly changing socioeconomic atmosphere. Lopez shares with us about how his family deals with gentrification and economic disparities in his community.
THE SYSTEM OF THE STATE
The system in which we abide by could either place people in the position to either give up, and fall further into being in a disadvantaged state; or experience obstacles and become a stronger individual to later improve the conditions of the people living in society. Gustavo Lopez shares his experiences as a young brown youth in the San Francisco and Peninsula district, and how he would be racially profiled during his high school years, and how he still continues to experience the struggle.
The prison industrial complex is supported by the federal government funding (from American tax-dollars) given to the local police departments that set out to arrest citizens (and many non-citizens), to take them into county jail. Local government has now relied on private corporations to house and secure inmates of any institution whether it be in county jail, state prison, or federal incarceration. People who are impacted the most are those who come from difficult socio-economic backgrounds who must struggle to survive in a capitalist society. Gustavo shares with us how the system has impacted his students and youth that he has educated.
STAND UP
In order for any type of social change to occur, people have to go beyond their comfort to impact the world we live in. This involves sometimes challenging the status quo, or challenging authority that often times maintain their ignorance in the social setting. Without taking the first initial step that involves behaving in a manner that is both demanding, just, and respectful. Gustavo illustrates his political involvement as a youth, and how his fight to implement necessary curriculum in school for the younger generation of students continues to this day.
The prison industrial complex is supported by the federal government funding (from American tax-dollars) given to the local police departments that set out to arrest citizens (and many non-citizens), to take them into county jail. Local government has now relied on private corporations to house and secure inmates of any institution whether it be in county jail, state prison, or federal incarceration. People who are impacted the most are those who come from difficult socio-economic backgrounds who must struggle to survive in a capitalist society. Gustavo shares with us how the system has impacted his students and youth that he has educated.
STAND UP
In order for any type of social change to occur, people have to go beyond their comfort to impact the world we live in. This involves sometimes challenging the status quo, or challenging authority that often times maintain their ignorance in the social setting. Without taking the first initial step that involves behaving in a manner that is both demanding, just, and respectful. Gustavo illustrates his political involvement as a youth, and how his fight to implement necessary curriculum in school for the younger generation of students continues to this day.
Gustavo Lopez shares his view on how the people who have continued to work in the community have constantly fought to have the necessary tools for younger kids to seek educational opportunity, and empowerment in a social/political sense. People who dedicate their lives to improve the statuses of their fellow man are necessary for the transformation of a new world to become real. A world where profit does not come before people, and the good of one is the good of all.
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