Air Gallegos and Omar Carrera on Archive Storycorps
September 4, 2020
Air Gallegos (33) and colleague from The Canal Alliance, Omar Carrera (47) center their conversation around the impact of Covid-19 on their Latinx community in The Canal in Marin County, CA. The colleagues speak to the systematic inequities that are exacerbated in their effect on their Latinx community during the pandemic. The colleagues also examine how they can use the pandemic to create new opportunities that center on providing for everyone in their community, in ways that are outside of the oppressions and disparities which are amplified in this moment.
OC opens up the conversation by saying he would like to center the conversation about the impact of COVID-19 on their Latinx communities.
AG describes the community where they work and where they serve, The Canal in Marin County CA and talks about the inequities that have been exacerbated during COVID-19.
OC talks about the inequities in education for Latinxs and immigrants, and systematic disparities amongst the Latinx community that are undeniable due to socioeconomic status which have gotten worse during COVID-19.
AG talks about how the community in the Canal can work to have the resources they need during the pandemic and the knowledge they need to stay safe.
AG talks about the Canal Alliances work and vision to end systematic poverty in their community and questions: how are we creating new land? how are we creating new opportunities? How can we use the pandemic to create something new outside of these oppressions that centers around providing for all?
AG talks about Adrienne Marie Brown and her ideas of fractals and “small is all” — starting on the personal level which then has a ripple effect.
OC talks about programming/resources that needs to be completely different in order for their community to access them and for them to be by and for their community, and AG talks about the idea of there always being time for the “right” work and how this relates to learning that is happening because of BLM.
AG talks about the “both/and” framework and representation of local officials not being representative of their communities, and how this trickles into job systems as well.
AG makes the connection that the US being built on the backs of immigrants, indigenous folks and slaves, on a system that displaces hurts, harms, and kills people living next to us, how do we open up our eyes to this.
