Information Now! SBGN Newsletter Date/2014
Edition #2
CommUnity Fest gathers hundreds of people at Perris Hill Park
Voice of the People
Faces of SB
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Front Page News
By Anthony Victoria
usually occupy the minds of both residents and city officials.
San Bernardino Generation Now member Matthew Greenleaf was overwhelmed with emotion as he saw residents arrive at Perris Hill Park for CommUnity Fest on Saturday May 31. “I’ve been off and on nervous about the turnout the entire time,” he explained. “To come out here and see how many people came out is great. There was a moment where I stood back and observed everything. I became emotional seeing the community come together as one.”
City Art
Jennica Billins, Jorge Heredia, and Matthew Greenleaf Preparing the plan for Community Fest. Greenleaf ’s reaction is understandable considering the state the city of San Bernardino is currently in. As young children climbed the rock wall, as young adults gathered around the stage to listen to reggae and blues, and
graffiti artists painted the bathroom walls of the park, the city leaders and congressional candidates of San Bernardino City and the Inland Empire respectively gazed upon a new generation with both admiration and wonder. The city of San Bernardino, as former city mayor Pat Morris told the San Bernardino Sun, was brought into a renaissance time by San Bernardino Generation Now. The mostly young adult members of the group aim to revive the city and bring in more positivity through community engagement, as opposed to the high crime rates and bankruptcy updates that
After months of planning, the group for the past two weeks vigorously promoted the event by passing out flyers around the city’s college campuses, putting up posters in local businesses, knocking door to door in different neighborhoods, and embarking in a social media campaign to attract younger residents. The day prior to the festival, Greenleaf, the vendor coordinator for the festival, along with several other members of SBGN installed new doors on the park’s bathrooms and cleaned up trash laying around. The group makes it a priority to clean up the city’s parks, organizing bi-weekly clean up events every month. And as residents stepped on to the western side of Perris Hill Park, they Continued Pg.2 noticed not only a clean
2 Different Shades of Females and SBGN weeks before the Festival.
Jim Mulvihill and Ernie Garcia at the Civic Lounge enjoying the company of our elected officials. park, but an IN-N-Out food truck, two performing stages, several booths, and a dunk tank. Councilmember Benito Barrios was brave enough to volunteer to sit on the suspended seat in the tank, as colleagues took shots trying to knock him into the water. Greenleaf said the motive behind organizing the festival was to bring the community together and demonstrate that there are no differences among the residents of San Bernardino. “Our differences are not that drastic,” he said. “We can all get together and have a good time.” Jennica Billins, the lead organizer of the festival, said what she enjoyed the most was meeting the families of some of the SBGN members.
“They brought out their families and it was awesome,” she said. “It goes to show that when we work together we can do amazing things and create the future and here it is.” Isaac Conde, 25, said the event was a good indicator of what SBGN can do as an organization and what San Bernardino can change into. “There’s a lot to do you can’t be bored here,” he said. “There’s yoga, aerobics, political debates, live music, art, food. It’s great. The city is not in a good situation and these people are trying to bring change and do things like this. That way people don’t have to be scared and instead could hang out and have a good time as a community.” What’s next for San Bernardino Generation Now? For Billins it is figuring
how the group could be the best they could be. “It’s figuring out how to use all our resources and talent and boy do we have a lot of resources and talent in the city,” she said. “We need to learn how to use it to the best of our abilities.” *Article published in Inland Empire Community Newspapers on June 4th, 2014.
Voice of the People Christian Flores
I personally don’t think so! There are people here who love this city. Whether their love is for San Bernardino as it currently is, as it used to be in the San Bernardino has a past, or for what it has chance to do better. Each the potential to be in the and every individual here future, we all have a say has the ability to rise up in what direction we want and do anything they the city to move towards. desire. We all have what it takes For a long time we have if only we use our voices. been known as the laugh- Not for complaining ing stock of the Inland about our problems, but Empire. Our home is con- for proposing our solusidered so lame it is the tions. butt of every joke around the rest of San Bernardino Voting is the simplest way and Riverside County. to voice an opinion on our issues. However, by Must we always be on the voting one is essentially negative end of the spec- passing the responsibility trum? I personally don’t on to someone else. No think so. individual person has all I believe we are not quite the answers to our quesas bad as our neighbors tions, or solutions to our think, though we do have problems. some serious issues. But all of that can change with Elected officials voice the our involvement. opinions of those who vote for them. What does Bad things happen all that say about us? Only over the state, all over the 8% of us voted, so the country, and around the majority of our residents world. However, good are speechless. news is just as abundant, though it may not be as Are we failing to comspectacular to people or municate or failing to as highlighted by popular understand one another? media. Are we failing to make ourselves heard? Why? Are we so ignorant that It appears many young we buy into the reputapeople and adults have tion built around our city? grown apathetic and don’t
believe in the electoral system. They believe that their vote makes no difference. They use that as an excuse to absolve responsibility. That’s unacceptable and it’s essentially giving up before giving it a chance. If 80% of us voted and we still managed to go bankrupt then maybe we’d have reason to lose hope in the system. But until that happens I will personally strive to make a difference. Now is the time to do something in addition to participating in the electoral process. Now is the time to speak up. Now is the time to move forward. In order to do so we don’t need to share the same interests, but if we could all just persistently communicate our experiences and opinions we’d be in much better shape. We’d have all our sides represented. Therefore, a true majority would be accounted for not an 8-14% minority vote. Unless we’re all a part of these discussions regarding our programs, projects, and available resources and learning from each other, life won’t change. These days we are so into technological advances in social media. We focus so much energy into building an entity , a character
of ourselves in a digital world that we fail to see, hear, and talk to those who are physically beside us. We supposedly strive so hard to be popular, to be known, to stand out in society. If we truly believe in society then let’s be social, let’s all start talking now. *Learn more about Christian and how hes making a difference www.communityfests. com/introducing_some_ more_of_usww
Quote For Thought “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi
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Faces of SB
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Tom Dolan
Tom Dolan Director of ICUC
Leaders in training: ICUC continues to encourage youth to take on leadership roles
university preparation at local school district board meetings to organizing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Affordable Care Act, and Local Control Fundability Formula workshops. As well as, encouraging parents of By Anthony Victoria lower class communities to take an interest in their The Inland Congregations children’s education, the United for Change (ICUC) faith-based organization have invested in the lives of aims to revitalize dying youth in the Inland Empire neighborhoods. for several years. From encouraging high school students to voice their concerns about graduation rates and
Their current staff and former youth organizer(s) continue to take on that challenge. Cal State San Bernardino
Graphic Design student and San Bernardino Generation Now member Michael Segura, 22, was recently appointed to the San Bernardino City Fine Arts Commission. Sergio Luna, 30, of Highland has been training parents around the San Bernardino Unified School District about the A-G requirements that are needed for their children to attend the University of California or California State University. ICUC Executive Director Tom Dolan—mentor to both men—said he is excited to see the work they are doing in San Bernardino. “It’s good to see everyone has a passion,” said ICUC Executive Director Tom Dolan. “It helps them to sustain and exercise their leadership.” Luna and Dolan met about a decade before they began their organizing work in ICUC. The former was caught with a weapon at Pacific High School and was expelled. Like many of the at-risk youth in San Bernardino
at that time, he was sent over to Dolan who was a youth organizer based out of the Central City Lutheran mission. “When he came over to the mission, he had only been living here for a short time,” said Dolan. “I got to know him, his sister, and his mother. We brought him in here and he began to learn how to take computers apart and put them together. He comes from the right place and has his heart in the right place. He’s a great guy, but there’s more guys and girls like him. That’s what makes ICUC so great.” Dolan, who has worked in community organizing efforts in the United States and Latin America for over 30 years, and currently teaches courses on community organizing at Pitzer College’s Ontario program, said the biggest assumption community leaders in the Inland Empire are making is attributing violence to youth. He attributes what he calls structural violence,to the lack of quality housing, daycare, preschool, health care, that expose children to risky environments.
5 “I dislike the term ‘Youth Violence’. I like to switch it around and say its ‘Violence against Youth’,” said Dolan. “The first term makes it sound like it’s youth committing the violence and even if it is youth in the gangs or hurting someone, studies done by experts demonstrates that youth pull the trigger because there’s been so many acts of violence committed against them when they were children that they had no option than to do that.” Dolan went on to further express that the problem isn’t the dishonesty of youth, which was attributed to the growing issue of homicides
in San Bernardino at a recent commission meeting, but a systematic problem. “The problem isn’t dishonesty,” he said. “That’s putting the problem into the character of young people. It’s a system that is robbing people of opportunities of what they could become in life. So they end up exercising risky behaviors. We structure that.” *Article published in Inland Empire Community Newspapers on May 22, 2014.
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City Art Parent sharing her positive experience as Christian Flores holds up the mic to allow her to present her personal journal.
Art Jam highlights mentorship provided by CSUSB students and San Bernardino community By Anthony Victoria victoriaanthony91@gmail.com For two months, college students, community leaders, and teachers worked with students from various elementary schools in San Bernardino on art projects that range from photography, to drawing, to poetry and prose. The impact of the “Be part of the Art” program was significant enough to garner the attention of their parents and soon enough they too began to grab brushes and engage in the fun activity. One particular parent, Arturo Olivera, was influenced by his daughter 10-year-old Justine to participate. “I don’t know how to draw that well, but I draw what I see and what I
imagine,” he said. “My daughter kept on asking me to come because she said this could be an important step for her, so I decided to come out and support.” On Saturday April 26, the San Bernardino County Museum held the Art Jam to highlight the work of the young students and celebrate the importance of the Arts and Humanities. Volunteers who organized classes and workshops— formally referred to as “pods”—were mainly students from Cal State San Bernardino’s Students and Coyotes: Instruction in Poetry and Prose (SCIPP) program and student/ community organizers from the San Bernardino Generation Now group.
For many of the elementary students and parents, it was a relatively new experience, according to CSUSB English Professor Juan Delgado. By working with the undergraduate and graduate students involved in the SCIPP program and English and MFA (Music and Fine Art) departments, they were able to receive newfound information relating to college. “Many of these families live on the west side of San Bernardino and they are literally five minutes from the campus and they had never been there,” Delgado said. “When they came to visit the campus, they were blown away. It’s a win-win for us. That’s
why we’re all happy about this.” The different pods that were organized were: a pod organized by the San Bernardino Generation Now group that included painting, drawing, photography, planting, and calligraphy, a poetry and prose pod organized by CSUSB English and MFA students, and a video and film pod organized by community organizer Alex Avila of 4e (Equity, Empowerment, Education, and Excellence). Several of the students had the opportunity to share Continued Pg.7
MURALS
Two New Murals Completed
4124 North E Street
6733 Del Rosa Drive
New murals were completed on April 12th during the 2nd annual Coyote Care Day event. Cal State San Bernardino made it possible by sponsoring local artists with paint and volunteers to take on this massive project. For more info on how you can join Coyote Cares Cay check out: engage.csusb.edu or Bryant Fairley bfairley@csusb.edu
their work during the Art Jam. 11-year-old Gerardo Mondragon wrote a short story titled “Past is the Present”, which was about a dream that included superheroes and dragons. He was helped by San Bernardino Generation Now members Christian Flores and Jorge Heredia, who are both students at CSUSB. “Our pedagogy of it all,” explained Heredia, “is that we gave the kids free range and experimented with a lot of areas. Your children are all really great writers.” Isaac Escalera, 26, a fourth year MFA and Poetry student at CSUSB who helped lead the poetry and prose pod said he believes the biggest lesson the students took away from the “Be part of the Art” program was the notion of encouraging to take chances. “It’s taught us that the biggest lesson for these
kids is to take risks and chances to explore different avenues of art,” he said. “Many of these kids have these preconceived notions that they can’t do this or that so they stop taking chances or don’t want to share art. This is kind of that safe environment where they can take those chances and encourage each other.” Leilani Hernandez, whose daughter Madison and James took part in the Across from the Regal Cinema on 4th street. program said the program helps bring families together and is a great of an international enexperience for everybody. deavor called the Inside “This program teaches out Project. It was started them to express themby an artist named Jr. He selves whether it’s through believes that the people writing, through poetry in a community could or painting,” she said. “I’m be ignited in a positive a working mother now so way through art. His I don’t get to see them as passion to create change much so being with them worldwide motivated at these times is really While walking in down- him to begin a worldwide wonderful.” project. The mission town San Bernardino *Article published in is to print out enlarged you will encounter a Inland Empire Comportraits of images sent multitude of portraits munity Newspapers on to him by community of individuals displayed May 1, 2014. members from around on buildings and on bridges. Who are these the globe. Participants believe this project will people, you might ask? benefit their city and their Why are their pictures cause. up there? What did they do? The answers to After a long time of apathy, hopelessness, corrupthese questions are very simple. These individu- tion, and administrative complacency this project als are San Bernardino was brought to San Bercommunity members, nardino. There are many city advocates and individuals out there that organizers. This project has the vision of making see San Bernardino and our home a place that we Christian listens intently to one of the youth as she Continued pride ourselves in. gets over her stage fright about to present to the entire Pg.8 These portraits are part group.
San Bernardino Group Action Project
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ward to creating a culture and community that has do not see it as the hope never existed in the city. less city, instead they see A new future that focuses it as a city of progress. on the positive versus the San Bernardino is a city negative; where art flourwhere arts are thriving, ishes, so does economy. knowledge is plentiful, For we are in the age of and where the community the creative class, and it is is united and is becoming up to us the community stronger than ever. members to make those Our city is a place full of changes happen. potential, where all of the vacant lots and buildings If you would like more are spaces where change information the San can be made. How will Bernardino Group Acthese portraits or any oth- tion Project, please go er art projects displayed to our Facebook page: in San Bernardino make www.facebook.com/san. a difference? If you live in berdoaction?fref=ts San Bernardino and recall experiencing overwhelm- If you would like to see ing negativity, this art other Inside Out Projects renaissance indicates that around the world, please the city is changing for visit the inside out project the better. It is a step for-
website: www.insideoutproject. net/en You can also see the TEDTALKS that JR. Presented on the Inside Out Project here in California in 2011: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Gn2W3X_ pGh4
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9 JOIN THE MOVEMENT Upcoming Events
June 13th 6-7pm Food Flood #4 The Mug 1588 W Highland Ave, San Bernardino, CA 92411 June 18th, 28th 5-7 pm Park Clean Up and Softball Game Seccombe Lake Park (*softball game after clean up)
July 8th 3:30pm City hall 6th floor Art Commission Meeting
June 27th Time TBD Media Training Cal State San Bernardino June 27th 4-6pm Food Flood #5 Latern Tea 3970 N Sierra Way San Bernardino, CA 92405 June 9th,16th,23rd 6-9pm Market Night Perris Hill Park (near tennis courts)
Corner of 4th and E Street. Next to Carousel Mall Parking Structure. Across from our Historic California Theatre.
June 28th 4:30-6:30pm Bike Ride w/Mayor San Bernardino Public Golf Course 1494 S Waterman Ave San Bernardino, CA
Next General Meeting June 20th @ 8 pm Black Flame Collective 386 W Orange Show Rd, San Bernardino, CA 92408
Want us to highlight your event or favorite community member? Contact the editor Anthony Victoria at victoriaantho-ny91@gmail.com
Photography
Community Festival at Perris Hill Park 2014
Photo Credit: www.uproarmassmedia.com Fabian Torres Louver Cara And others