San Diego to Mark the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day With a Virtual Climate Uprising
Tomorrow (Wednesday, April 22) marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Those original celebrations took place in two thousand colleges and universities, roughly ten thousand primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities across the United States.
Twenty million Americans joined peaceful demonstrations in favor of environmental reform. It’s now an international event, observed in over 180 countries. Many of the advances in how we treat the planet can trace their origins to Earth Day activism.
This year the spread of COVID-19 has shifted the global emphasis to Digital Mobilizations. Organizers are hoping to educate and mobilize more than one billion people with on-line events designed to inspire people to use the power of the internet for drive change.
In lieu of the originally planned massive march and rally, San Diego organizations are collaborating to create a full afternoon of speakers, art and music, information, and interactive actions – all online and open to everyone.
Four places to watch: Twitch / Facebook / YouTube / Twitter
Starting at noon on Wednesday, the live stream will feature speakers, spoken word, and activities, followed by a variety of online workshops and activities.
The day will kick off with the main Virtual Climate Uprising speakers, hosted by SanDiego 350’s Aisha Wallace-Palomares and Sunrise Movement San Diego’s Leah Spinner.
Appearing will be:
Bobby Wallace, Barona Band of Mission Indians / Longest Walk Chief
Francisco “Panchito” Martinez, Environmental Health Coalition
Shannon Cotton, ICU RN, UCSD Hillcrest and California Nurses Association
Aaron Masikip, Senior & Eco-Club leader, Olympian High School
Lora Mathis, San Diego City College student
Spoken word by Kisi Apaak
Afternoon sessions will include:
12:55-1:20 pm Covid-19 Q&A: Mutual Aid in SD County and disaster relief resources with:
Christina Griffin, We All We Got San Diego
Yesi & Matt, San Diego DSA
Shannon Cotton, California Nurses Association
Wael Al-Delaimy, UCSD Epidemiology
Carla Melgun, VA Nurses
1:25-1:55 pm Workshop: Earth Day Cooking – Earth Day themed environmental education & cook along & with vegan chef Dareen Nasser (list of ingredients to have on hand)
2:00-2:30 pm A Changing Climate: Some Kumeyaay Perspectives – Native Tribal issues and past experiences, San Diego’s Kumeyaay Territory climate dangers of the present and future. With:
Amaya Hill, Miss Kumeyaay nation
Manuel Belmonte, Student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Tina Thompson, Barona Tribe
Jade Thompson, 2018-2019 Barona Pow Wow Princess
Makaela Thompson, 2020-2021 Barona Pow Wow Princess
Amrah Salomon, Professor at UCSB
Jessica NG, PhD candidate at Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Bobby Wallace, Kumeyaay Tribe
2:35-2:55 pm Community Yoga and Mindfulness workshop – Yoga energizer with C(OM)munity Yoga & Mindfulness instructor Brianda Vargas.
3:00-3:30 Q&A with High School Activism – Highschool environmental justice leaders discuss their experiences in activism. With:
Kate Vedder, Pt Loma High School
Ro’aa Alkhawaja, Mt Carmel High School
Shukriya Osman, Bright Horizon Academy
Adelka Hancova, Pt Loma High School
Aaron Masikip, Olympian High School
Leana Cortez, Rancho Buena Vista High School
3:35-4:05 College Activism Panel – College organizers from campuses across San Diego describe their efforts to take action against climate change.
Jess Wallach, USD
Gianna Petersen, USD
Harrison Mitsanas, UCSD
Adam Cooper, UCSD
Ramon Saldivar, City College
Renee Deleon, City College
Steve Snider, City College
Charlie Trujillo, SDSU
4:10-4:40 pm Groupo: Injusticia Ambiental – solo en Español (Climate and Environmental Justice Session – Spanish only). Con / With:
Maria C Villanueva, Mothers Out Front
Jose Franco Garcia, Environmental Health Coalition
Oscar Medina, Environmental Health Coalition
Alicia Sanchez, Environmental Health Coalition
4:45-5:05 pm Introduction to San Diego Tribes Workshop – A brief introduction to the Indigenous Tribes of San Diego.
5:10-5:30 pm San Diego Green New Deal Discussion Panel – Local environmental advocates describe what the Green New Deal means for San Diego.
Maleeka Marsden, Climate Action Campaign
Nikayla Jefferson, Sunrise Movement San Diego
Maria Rivera, SanDiego350
Ryan Karlsgodt, UniteHere Local 30
5:35-5:55 Workshop: Activism at home – A call to action for viewers focused on contacting politicians & making a difference. With:
Anne Barron, Peace Resource Center
Riley Liiva, Sunrise Movement
Trung Nguyen, SanDiego350
6:00-7:00 Closing – Earth Day closing speeches by:
Wael Al-Delaimy, UCSD Division Chief of Global Health
Yusef Miller, NAACP San Diego Branch
Rosa Olascoaga, Mid-City CAN
Maleeka Marsden, Climate Action Campaign
Primary organizers for the event include:
Supporters and partner organizations include:
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Lead graphic c/o Climate Uprising San Diego