APEN’s Youth Leaders in Richmond have been at the forefront of our campaigns – protesting, gathering signatures, and giving testimony at city council meetings.
Audrey Min Thiphakhinkeo Paun is a vocal youth leader who has been heavily involved in the community input process to hold Chevron accountable to its Polluters Pay campaign promises.
Today we hear from Min directly about the connections she’s making between the media, her experience with APEN, and her family’s history.
Have you seen Pixar’s most recent release, Hoppers? It’s about environmental justice and some APEN Youth Leaders and I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the work we do in Richmond and the themes of the movie.
The main character is Mabel. She’s an Asian American kid who develops a deep appreciation for nature through her grandmother. When the glen and stream she shared with her grandma is threatened by developers, Mabel tries to organize to fight back.
Mabel is characterized by everyone in the town as a troublemaker. But really she’s a passionate activist who keeps fighting to protect the environment! Like Mabel, APEN Youth Leaders like me know what it is like to organize to protect your city from harm.
In Richmond we organize against Big Oil. We rally outside Chevron’s gates to demand a Just Transition away from fossil fuels. Like Mabel, we’re not troublemakers. We’re changemakers!
Mabel spends time trying to get signatures for a petition, in efforts to stop the city from building an illegal and environmentally devastating beltway. But she gets rejected at every turn.
APEN Youth Leaders have experienced this when we canvass, too. We face immediate rejections and often more failures than successes.
It might take longer to convince people in our community but we’ve realized it’s important that we do not give up: change takes time and work!
Another similarity between us and Mabel is that she repeatedly holds the mayor of her town accountable for his illegal and harmful infrastructure project.
We know what it is like to hold local elected officials responsible.
APEN Youth Leaders have given testimony at key council meetings and rallied outside of city hall to demand change.
Last year, a grassroots coalition in Richmond that we are a part of, fought and won the Polluters Pay campaign. This win ensured that Chevron invested $550 million back into Richmond! Now, it’s time to deliver on the promise of the Polluters Pay campaign for the people of Richmond.
We want to make sure that these funds are invested back into the community.With these new resources, we can fund essential services and infrastructure – like safe, walkable streets, bike lanes, public hospitals, and neighborhood parks.
We can invest in our local economy, reduce our dependence on Chevron, and plan for a Just Transition. The families and workers who have been most impacted by Chevron’s pollution must have a real voice in deciding how the funds are spent.
As changemakers, all of us Youth Leaders in Richmond are taking time to learn about the war in Iran and how it relates to environmental justice.
Right now, the U.S and Israel are spending billions of our tax dollars to terrorize the people of Iran, Lebanon and Palestine.
My mom immigrated to Richmond from Laos because of the Secret War, an often overlooked conflict during the Vietnam War.
During that time, the U.S. dropped 270 million bombs on a country about the size of California, making Laos the most heavily bombed nation in history.
As Asian immigrants and refugees, our families know devastating war and imperialism can be.
That’s why I’m dedicated to learn and fight alongside my fellow youth leaders.
APEN Youth Leaders are going to continue to do the work, hold electeds accountable, and live up to our responsibilities as change makers.
I hope you’ll donate today so we can reach our spring campaign fundraising goal. You can help resource the work APEN is doing in LA, Oakland Chinatown, and of course, Richmond.
You can join the change makers! Give today!
