Organizing Works
Local Activists Move City Government to Open Winter Shelters During Recent Storms

By Pat Raphael

In 2019 the Birmingham Chapter of the NAACP announced that Angela Davis, a noted activist with years of contribution to the cause of freedom and human advancement would receive their Lifetime Achievement Award. Soon after the announcement, before the reception gala, a vocal minority brewed up a media campaign to paint Ms Davis as antisemitic, causing the Birmingham NAACP to rescind the award. When news of this cowardly move to play it safe got out, an explosion of support, far overshadowing the vocal minority, including many members of the Jewish community, made the chapter rethink the rescinding, and in yet another aboutface attempted to re-invite Ms Davis to receive this honor. By then it was too late. On the same night that she would have received the rescinded award, Ms Davis was celebrated in a much more visible event, whose publicity was fueled by all the controversy.

You would think that would be a lesson — to never try and shut up Ms Angela Davis. Well history repeats itself in 2022, when a group of high school students in an AP History class in Nyack New York, arranged to have Ms Davis as a keynote speaker for a class project. Quickly, the vocal minority launched into action to loudly demand that the school board step in and prevent the event. They got their way, and educators who should be teaching our kids to broaden their horizons by considering diversities of opinions, were too cowardly to make the event a teaching opportunity, and it was cancelled. The controversy, at this point, also stirred other voices in support to mobilize as well. The local university, St Thomas Aquinas College, announced that they would host the event. But the police union in that area began to characterize Ms Davis as anti-police, and their protest caused St Thomas to quietly cancel the event.

Angela Davis

What would have been an event for just a few dozen high schoolers, has now piqued the interest of a broader audience, causing local faith leaders to open the doors of the largest black church in the area. Pilgrim Baptist Church not only filled a standing-room only crowd to welcome Ms Davis and hear her speak, in addition to the increased media coverage for the live event, the archive of this speech is now online with hundreds of thousands of views.

What kind of poison was Ms Davis peddling to the youth? Why were her words so scary that so much effort was mobilized to try and silence her? The speech is online, so I encourage a listen for yourself. But the short side of that long speech is a senior stateswoman reflecting on a long life of grassroots activism. She cites many victories that the movement generated, only to emphasize that these victories were the result of meticulous, no fanfare, on-the-ground organizing. She used her time in front of the young people to remind them that the work is not yet done, and that they must pick up where her generation dropped off, to continue the necessary work of advancing improvement of the human condition.

Though this event was several years ago, the point of her speech came flooding back at me — that organizing works, right here in Venice, during the recent cold and rainy winter weather. Even before the rainy weather came rolling in, groups like the CD11 Coalition for Human Rights and Original Save Venice were loudly telling local officials that the 2-1-1 system that was setup to connect unhoused neighbors to cold weather shelters was inadequate. They used data that they themselve collected to write letters and pen newspaper editorial, and also made Freedom of Information records requests. And to spoon feed solutions to our elected officials, these groups did not solely leave it up to the members of government to work out the problems. They also did the initial leg work, made the necessary calls, and connected decision makers to decision makers, coming up with common sense workable proposals to steer the local powers in the right direction.

On the eve of the first wave of storms in early February, I was on a video conference call with Amy Perkins who deals with issues concerning homelessness from the office of the Board of Supervisors. To her credit, there was an open door from her office to connect with concerned members of the community. We shared our findings and made our proposals. At that time, she did not make any promises, but she took the time to hear us out.

When it rains, it can be a beautiful time on the beach. Even before I lived sheltered away from the elements, there was a certain charm to wrapping myself up somewhere warm and enjoying those quiet rainy days with some hot cocoa and some herbs… But the beauty of a rainy day recently has been tempered by the knowledge that other neighbors who are more exposed to the elements are cold and miserable. Last winter when I spent time parked by Staples, I was vividly confronted with this human misery watching all these neighbors huddle under the 7/11 awning, then it gets all windy and start raining sideways, and to watch them all run under the Staples driveway and attempt to sleep on that steep slope… it’s hard for me to look the other way, and just be satisfied that I myself am warm and dry.

This was how I was feeling as the cold rain started to fall, with the forecast calling for several more days of cold and rain. I only detail this low point to contrast how I jumped for joy, and threw my hands up to thank GOD, when I found out that the County Supervisor had authorized that the Reese-Tabor Oakwood Rec Center be opened as an augmented winter shelter site!

That first night, the beds were only full to about half capacity. But we who were vocally asking for this shelter to be opened did not stop there, knowing that shelter beds were available. We took it upon ourselves to do the outreach that The Circle team and St Joseph should have been out there doing. I myself got on the 33 Metro bus, and also rode the Expo Line making announcements that beds were available in Oakwood. From the second night, the shelter was full, and there were neighbors turned away because there was no more room.

This instance of compelling local government to do the right thing and open available resources which would have otherwise been left unused during a weather emergency, is just a small example of what could be accomplished when neighbors set aside their petty differences to work together at amplifying each other’s voices — especially when we have the same care and want the same end result of better governance. It seems like the other side, who would rather spend the rainy day with a good record and a warm fire, than caring for cold neighbors, have found a way to put aside their personal differences, so they can be more effective when they all together yell Not In My BackYard!

Which immediately brought us to the next storm, about two weeks later, when days of rain were again in the forecast. Our successes from the last storm left us reaching out to the lines of communication that were already open, providing the office of the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor’s office, along with City Council District rep Traci Park’s office the data we collected showing that the beds opened at the Reese Tabor Oakwood Rec Center were quickly filled. Then we suggested the county and city coordinate to open additional beds in spaces currently unused within the community. Our top choices were the Westminster Senior Center which has been sitting empty since The Circle Team moved out a few years ago. The Pen Mar Rec Center with its large gym which can accommodate many beds. And the Vera Davis Center which has recently completed full renovations, also sitting empty.

This time around it was harder to get people on the phone. And even though we could corroborate our data with New Reflections, the nonprofit that was operating the shelter, we could not make any significant progress to get the the additional beds. Furthermore, it seems like even the hard-fought gain of the Reese Tabor Oakwood Rec Center may not open for the next storms. Apparently, the never-say-die attitude of those who do not want this kind of community support available anywhere west of Western Avenue, did not stop pressing local officials to get their way.

The subsequent response suggests that those other neighbors also made their voices heard. Seeing the rec center closed reminds us that local politicians are still susceptible to getting spooked away from good policy positions, if they believe it can mobilize the hater vote against them. Even while relegating the cold neighbor the sleep on the sidewalk during a storm, they still want to be seen as being on the compassionate side of the issue. It may not be popular when we do so, and we might not get any more invitations to the secret meetings, but it’s our job, we who truly occupy the moral high ground, to call bullshit on these shenanigans.

We can learn a thing or two from these effective haters. These days our victories are few and far between. The key is to recognize that we are stronger together. When groups who share a common vision can not get along, we lock ourselves into separated silos of ineffectiveness where much effort is producing little results. I want to hold on to that feeling I felt when I woke up and found out that we got the city and county to do right for our neighbors. I want to also remember that even when it looks like we are not getting much done, it is important to keep insisting that our government represents the best of our ideals. Our witness to our local officials showed them another point of view and gave them the courage (or cover) to do the right thing in this easy instance. Organizing works. When we learn to work together we can be more effective at it.