We’Ced youth journalists recently spent time discussing the massacre at the Emanuel African African Methodist Episcopalian Church in downtown Charleston, which had a white shooter killing nine African-Americans. Many We’Ced members expressed outrage at the actions of the shooter, but the conversation soon began to circle around another issue: gun control. The tragic violence of this incident rekindled questions about how we regulate guns and guns access in our country.
When I was a kid, I remember the centers at McNamara and Stephan Leonard parks being the heart and life of the community. The Mac was so beautiful. I swam in the pool, watched my mom play softball and spent my weekends there. I remember the Mac center being staffed by Parks and Recreation workers.
Now youth advocates are pushing the City Council to invest $29,000 in the Mac’s operating budget to close some of the gaps and pay for a part-time staff member to ensure consistent programming. On May 27, supporters held a rally in front of the youth center, urging community members to #BackTheMac.
Our community is not going to stop pushing for health coverage for all the tax paying and hardworking citizens of Merced County and our surrounding areas. The lives of our undocumented families, friends, and neighbors matter just as much as those lives of documented people.
Over 270 people packed into the May 8 event, representing a diverse array of ethnic communities in the area. Many offered personal testimony about how they had been affected by the exclusion of undocumented immigrants from the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
A group of 13 Merced youth, ranging from ages 12 to 24, visited the State Capitol last Tuesday in a trip organized by the Merced Organizing Project (MOP). Their mission was to bring attention to issues plaguing their community such as violence, education and health care.
Merced County just counted its ninth homicide of 2015 a few days ago. The previous year had the most homicides on record in the county at 31. Many of the Merced County victims have been young people of color, like the young man shot and killed in Winton earlier this week and a Merced teen who was shot and killed in the parking lot of Tenaya Middle School back in February. Much of the media coverage around the violence has focused on law enforcement, gang activity and property values. We’ced youth reporters asked our community members a different question: How has violence affected your life?
Before I was even born, someone decided that my life did not matter. As it turns out, [California’s] infamous three strikes law actually originated in Fresno after some very serious crimes occurred in the area. But after it passed, people of color were mostly targeted. This is not fair, because Black lives do matter.
For the first time in the history of Merced, community organizers, organizations, and residents came together to celebrate the legacy of Cesar Chavez, and to continue the fight for farmworker rights and health care.
In late 2014, the City of Merced received an $828,775 grant from the State of California's Housing and Community Development Department to improve and renovate Stephen Leonard Park. The park, which occupies a square block deep in South Merced, has seen better days. The basketball court is riddled with cracks and the pool has been empty for years. Renovation plans include installing a skate park and replacing the pool with a splash pad, as well as adding security cameras.
We’Ced reporters spent a chilly Saturday afternoon talking to visitors at Stephen Leonard Park about the new plans, and their memories of the place.
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