Health Career Connection intern April Navarrete takes a look at the causes and effects of the Central Valley air quality and how that affects residents of Merced County.
Community members living in State Assembly District 21 protested outside Assemblymember Gray's Merced office to get his support for safe and accessible drinking water.
Multiple speakers also identified the current presidential administration as a serious threat to undocumented laborers in California, saying communities need to organize once again and rally around legislation to help protect rural communities.
“We are once again at a pivotal moment. Things are becoming painted as clear cut moral issue and that’s something that the [UFW] movement, at its height, was able to do,” said Miriam Pawel, author of “The Crusades of Cesar Chavez.”
“You were in favor of the conditions [in the fields] or you were against them. It was a moral choice,” she continued.
Billed as “Equity on the Mall,” the advocacy event drew hundreds of residents and families of color from towns across the Valley who braved rain and stormy weather to assemble on the steps of the state capitol building. Organizers hoped to engage with legislators on issues affecting their communities and express support for several key pieces of legislation, including Senate Bill 54.
