Articles Published in 2015

Cherisse Bergeron, the mother of a 16 year old who was facing a 6 year commitment in juvenile prison for his first offense, she took to the community to help build a case to free her son. With proof of a community in his social biography packet, the judge in the case made him turn around and face his community in the courtroom.

Media, tweets, instagrams, and video of the campaign to remove SJPD Officer White after he made threatening and insulting tweets in reference to those across the country protesting the death of Mike Brown and Eric Garner. The march also drew attention to San Jose officer involved shootings including the death of Antonio Guzman Lopez. His partner Laurie Valdez has lead a movement calling for accountability for those who took his life. At the march, she addressed the DA directly.

From Bayview Hunters Point in San Francisco to the Gila River Indian Nation in Arizona, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice has been on the forefront of fighting for and with communities who are testing grounds for historically racist environmental policies and practices.

Isidro Omar "Chilo" Gomez made the Garden Alameda neighborhood of San Jose his home, and is one of the few examples of someone who lived life entirely by his own rules. From the corner of Stockton and Lenzen he built a uniquely diverse community that was only made visible once he passed. Chilo died during the cold night of Dec. 24th, 2014 at the age of 53, he was one among the thousands of homeless people in Santa Clara County, which at last count in 2013 was estimated at nearly 7,600. Adrian Ávila, Art Director at De-Bug, remembers his friend.

Long time San José community member recalls the friendship he had with Omar Goméz, revealing more insights about the life he led. Omar "Chilo" Goméz passed on this past Dec. 24, 2014.

The Jan. 7th attack by armed gunmen at the Paris office of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo left 10 staff members and 2 police officers dead. Sandip Roy, Culture Editor at First Post writes, "It’s easy to stand up for freedom of expression when we agree with the view point being depicted or do not care about it one way or the other. It gets far trickier when we are called upon to defend the right of someone to say what offends us deeply... While we want free speech to be absolute, in the real world, it is not. And even as we stand with Charlie Hebdo we cannot pretend not to understand that."

The hidden side to Santa Monica's idyllic exterior is taken care of by "permatemp" workers, who only work when needed. Beach bathroom maintenance worker, Shyolanda Montana tells us why "permatemp" workers keep residents struggling to live in the city she takes care of.

While this new national inflection point regarding police accountability has led to calls for diversifying police forces, equipping officers with body cameras, and reforming departments, it is also an opening to examine and transform the system in its totality.

Down the street from what was formerly known as The Jungle - one of the largest homeless encampments in the country - is Yerba Buena High School. Inside an Advanced Placement History class, young people were learning of the Guilded Age in the U.S., a time often acknowledged as having an abundance of wealth, yet often overlooked for its extreme poverty. These students were asked to compare Silicon Valley to the Guilded Age and its image vs. its reality as young people living here. This is what they came up with.  These writings are part of a running workshop series. Feel free to comment, and workshop facilitators will share with authors. 

At Sacred Heart Community Services on Jan. 9th about 45 people gathered to discuss Gov. Brown’s proposed 2014-15 State Budget to support statewide efforts by California Partnership, a coalition of community-based groups organizing and advocating for policies and programs that reduce and end poverty. DeBug's own, Charisse Domingo shared this speech about the impact of passing Prop 47.