People of Faith for Justice Gina Whitaker & Jason Sisk-Provencio

Civic engagement in the U.S. has been on the decline for many decades. Citizens are participating in public affairs too infrequently, too unequally, and in too few venues to develop and sustain a robust democracy. What’s more, effective engagement is being seriously hampered by a partisan divide between people that seems to be growing. Our podcast this month takes a look at how these divisions are affecting our relationships, and what we can possibly do about it.
There are groups currently working to facilitate interactions between people despite their political disparity. The non-profit Braver Angels, formed after the 2016 presidential election, has been convening meetups both online and in person, nationally and in states across the country, with the express intent of providing a venue for open and respectful dialogue across the political divide. Might we be able to forge a path toward productive and constructive conversations, even friendships, with the help of Braver Angels’ programs?
This is a question Cal Stevens, our guest today, has been exploring. We invite you to to find out more about Braver Angel’s Red/Blue Workshops and how you can participate in Braver Angels’ work in your community to deepen connections, find commonalities, and reduce disparities. 



RELEVANT LINKS
PFJ
Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (Gina’s Congregation UUSLO)
United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (Jason’s Congregation UCC)
Trinity Presbyterian Church - Cal Stevens’ Congregation
Braver Angels
“A Tale of Two Karens” - YES! Magazine
“Can We Make An Alien Nation Familiar Again?” - YES! Magazine
“Healing A Divided Nation Begins Face to Face” - YES! Magazine- Winter 2020
Living Room Conversations
Braver Angels: Reuniting America (Video)
Braver Angels: Seeking to Depolarize America - CBS News
Register for April 16 Workshop in San Luis Obsipo
The Righteous Mind - by Jonathan Haidt (Influenced guest Cal Stevens)
Love Your Enemies - by Arthur Brooks (Influenced guest Cal Stevens)
Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing - by Katharine Hayhoe
 
MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST
Cal Stevens is a southern California native who, after some years in Colorado, Arizona, and northern California (Roseville), settled in 2014 on the Central Coast. He has taught business at Cal Poly (Human Resources, Organizational Behavior, Management) and has had prior careers in Christian ministry and as an Organizational Development practitioner/consultant with Intel, Corp. He and Nancy enjoy the fact that all three of their kids, and their three grandkids, live in SLO County. Cal and Nancy enjoy their church, travel, camping, film, theatre, opera, classical music, reading, family, and friends. Cal is also active on a city government advisory board, the Chamber of Commerce, has served on non-profit boards (including Leadership SLO), and currently takes consulting gigs in strategic and organizational design. Right now, he is in training with Braver Angels to be a moderator and a local Alliance Co-Chair. Reach out to Cal with questions or comments at cal.stevens1@gmail.com
 
SUPPORT PFJ
We greatly appreciate your financial support so that we can continue to educate, advocate and pray for the things that matter to our organization. Please consider donating through PayPal.
People of Faith for Justice is a 501(c)(3) non-profit  organization.
 
CREDITS
The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi
Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman

“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere… hatred and bitterness can never cure the disease of fear, only love can do that.” 
These words, written by Martin Luther King, beckon us to a search for truth and meaning in the quest for racial justice and human rights everywhere. Two of our guests today, Ken Hill and Gina Whitaker, spent three weeks traveling the U.S. Civil Rights Trail this past October through Mississippi and Alabama. Everywhere they went, everyone they met and all the stories they heard added pieces of the puzzle that eventually formed a picture of our single garment of destiny, and highlighted our network of mutuality. What they learned was that we are all connected, and that Martin Luther King had it right…only love can overcome hate. 
The Deep South. A place neither Ken Hill nor Gina Whitaker ever thought they would visit, was the scene. People like Terry Chestnut, our third guest today, filled in many missing pieces of the puzzle with his deep love for Selma, Alabama–his hometown–and all the people and all the places in Selma where major battles of the American Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s took place and are recorded in history. Terry will share his story today, and we are certain that his perspective will move our listeners.
So, welcome to the People of Faith for Justice 26th podcast and to our guests, Gina, Ken and Terry.    
 
RELEVANT LINKS
PFJ
Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (UUSLO)
United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (UCC)
MLK People of Faith for Justice Service - 1/15/23 (Video)
Living Legacy Project - Civil Rights Pilgrimages to the South 
Selma Interpretive Center - US Civil Rights Trail
Edmund Pettus Bridge Selma, Alabama
Hancock’s BBQ - Selma, AL
Live Oak Cemetery - Selma, AL
National Voting Rights Museum - Selma, AL
Selma Voting Rights Memorial Park
St. James Hotel -  originally The Gee House Hotel - Selma, AL
Benjamin Sterling Turner - AL’s first Black Congressional Representative
Brown Chapel AME Church - Selma, AL
Dallas County Voters League - Selma, AL “Courageous Eight”
Rev. James Reeb (Video)
Jimmie Lee Jackson (Video)
March Selma to Montgomery - 50th Anniversary (Video)
Tabernacle Baptist Church - Selma, AL
Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth
Rev. C.T. Vivian
Rev. James Bevel
Rev. James Lawson 
J.L. Chestnut, Jr. - Black Author, Attorney and Civil Rights Activist; Terry Chestnut's father
Black in Selma: The Uncommon Life of J.L. Chestnut, Jr. (Book)
 
 
MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS
Gina Whitaker is a board member of People of Faith for Justice and a member of the Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo. Social justice concerns in 1960 brought her to the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara as a teenager, and she’s never looked back. A social justice activist for 64 years, Gina went on a pilgrimage to the Deep South in October, 2022 with her husband, Ken. Her experiences there transformed her, and brought her attention to the fact that though life in the Deep South is better than it was during the 50’s and 60’s, the job is not yet finished. Gina continues her work for racial justice, immigration justice and voting rights in between spending time with her two granddaughters, Jimi, 2 1/2, and Rubi, 7 months. She lives in Arroyo Grande with her husband, Ken Hill, and their cat, Sufi. 
Ken Hill is Gina Whitaker’s husband and resident of the Central Coast for the last three decades. Ken is now retired from a long engineering career in electronics, computers and software in Southern California and on the Central Coast. He has rooted himself in relationship to family, community and the quest of grounding our communities in love and grace; without these, all else is for naught. At the heart of that community are his wife, stepsons,

Global climate change is on all our minds these days…or is it? Should it be? How can we ignore it? We live our lives, trying to maintain the status quo, but our status quo is leading to suffering and destruction. There is nothing that is in our lives that is not touched today by global climate change. The homes we build and live in, our transportation, the weather we experience every day, the clothes we wear, the trash we discard, the fuel that powers our heat, lights and automobiles, the food we choose to eat, how our cities, towns and buildings are designed…there is nothing that isn’t touched by the state of our planet today. Humans are changing the climate, and how we cope with these changes says a tremendous amount about our relationship to life on planet Earth.
But wait! There are possibilities, and there are solutions! They start with us, and the changes that come from hope, not fear. Join our guests today as they help us discover how to set a joyful path toward climate health.
 
RELEVANT LINKS
PFJ Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (UUSLO) United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (UCC) St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church (Los Osos) Solve Climate Change Now by Don Maruska Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Change Conference SLO Climate Coalition Resilient SLO Resilient Central Coast ECOSLO Interfaith Power and Light UU Ministry for Earth Citizens’ Climate Lobby Living in the Time of Dying (film) This is What We Did Third Act 350  
MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS
Deb Pritchard is a native Californian who loves to snorkel, and has done so all around the world. Her favorite snorkeling was on the island of Palawan, in the Philippines, where she spent 10 years, first as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and then as a management consultant, founding and growing NGOs and private businesses. She helped start the Special Olympics there as well as the Palawan ICT Association, working on many community projects with the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club.
Deb began her career in sales at Shell Chemical and was the first woman promoted to management with a B.S. in Chemistry and Psychology. She married and raised two daughters, returning to school for a teaching degree in Special Education and Educational Therapy. Deb has had a variety of careers: Corporate Sales and Marketing Director, Special Education teacher, and International Management Consultant with a specialty in organizational development. 
She has returned to California’s Central Coast and focuses on intergenerational work addressing climate change and women’s empowerment. Her passion is the environment, and she attended the UN summit, COP27 in Egypt in November, 2022. Deb is in the process of publishing her memoir, Vipers and Geckos: Defining Friend, Foe, and Truth in the Peace Corps.
Don Maruska engages people around the world to take climate action and have fun doing it. He enjoys grassroots actions. These include developing strategies with businesses and community organizations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and restore our balance with nature. Don has also created videos, study guides, and support resources in use by faith-based groups from multiple denominations. He sees an important role for people from faith and justice communities to demonstrate stewardship for creation and the practices of sacrificial giving to reorder our lives for a healthy climate and a world that works for all. These values and experiences inspired Don to write Solve Climate Change Now: Do What You Love for a Healthy Planet.
Earlier in his career, Don founded and was CEO of three Silicon Valley companies, earning a national Innovator Award. Now, he’s a Master Certified Coach helping others succeed. Don is also the author of How Great Decisions Get Made and co-author of Take Charge of Your Talent. He earned his BA magna cum laude in government from Harvard University and an MBA and JD from Stanford University. Audiences appreciate Don’s inspiring keynotes a

None of us ever thinks that they, or anyone they know, will ever end up in jail or prison. But if life throws you a curveball and you find yourself,  a family member, or friend incarcerated, wouldn't it be good to know all that awaits you behind those prison walls?
During his 17 ½ years in prison, Emanuel Bell hit a lot of bumps in the road. It took him 14 years to understand how to successfully do prison time and stay out of trouble. Emanuel attended a creative writing class at Solano Prison, and learned how to successfully write a book; the result is the newly published How to Serve Prison Time Successfully–the title of this podcast–and it’s a real inside look at prison life. In it, Emanuel details how to be equipped with all the essential knowledge and tools needed to successfully do jail or prison time. This book teaches the proper way to live “cell life,” helping you to become a compatible, cool “celly” no matter who shares your cell.
Emanuel opens readers’ eyes to the inevitable situations faced in jail or prison, and offers tools to deal with anger, depression, and stress. He equips those serving prison time to properly handle the situation, keep pushing forward and get through any sentence. Emanuel hopes to convey the same prison knowledge that an inmate gains after serving years. Readers will become educated about prison life, even if they have never served a day.
Today, we’ll speak with Emanuel to learn more about how he became an expert in prison life, how he survived it to be released after serving his time, and what he plans to do now that he’s a free man.
 
RELEVANT LINKS
PFJ Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (UUSLO) United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (UCC) The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander Solano Prison How to Do Prison Time Successfully by Emanuel Bell Restorative Partners American Psychological Association Search for “Anger Management”  
 
MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST, Emanuel Bell 
Emanuel Deon Bell was born in the Central Coast of California in Salinas on November 19, 1978. He was raised in Seaside California. While doing his 17 1/2 years in prison, he did his time at these general population prisons: Salinas Valley, Ironwood State Prison, Soledad Tracy Prison (aka Deuel Vocational Institution), Calipatria State Prison, Delano State Prison, and Solano State Prison. When the California prison system was sending inmates out of state due to prison overcrowding, Emanuel also did prison time at a Mississippi prison, an Oklahoma prison, and an Arizona prison. He is currently a cement truck driver in San Luis Obispo County. When he has extra time on he enjoys making rap music. You will be able to hear some of his music on YouTube soon!
 
SUPPORT PFJ
We greatly appreciate your financial support so that we can continue to educate, advocate and pray for the things that matter to our organization. Please consider donating through PayPal.
People of Faith for Justice is a 501(c)(3) non-profit  organization.



CREDITS
The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi
Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman

We hope you were able to listen to last month’s conversation with Geoffrey Land, Social Studies teacher at Paso High, along with two of his current students who shared their process of becoming scholar activists, learning to speak out for justice and inclusion. 
We are excited this month to have Beatriz Lopez as our guest! Beatriz was also a student of Geof Land while at Paso Robles High School. In 2018 she participated in a community forum in which Beatriz and eight other undocumented students at PRHS came from the shadows to share their stories openly. Following the forum, Mr. Land encouraged them to write a Viewpoint for the Tribune explaining why they had decided to come forward and speak out. We hope you will read that powerful, open and honest Viewpoint which is linked in our Show Notes. 
Today, four years later, several of these young people have now graduated from college. We’ll find out how Beatriz has fared since graduation and her courageous announcement of her Dreamer status; we’ll discuss her experiences in college, her dreams for the future now that she has graduated, and how her immigration status and US policies around immigration continue to affect her and her family’s lives. Join us for a conversation with Beatriz Lopez, a Paso Robles High School graduate who continues to Dream Big!
 
RELEVANT LINKS
PFJ Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (UUSLO) United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (UCC) Paso Robles High School M.E.Ch.A. AVID Program These Paso High seniors are bound for college, if they’re allowed to stay in the U.S. Viewpoint, Tribune, 4-25-2018 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) National Immigration Law Center (NILC) National Immigration Forum DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act)   
MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST
Beatriz López Isidro was born in Uruapan, Michoacán and raised in Paso Robles, CA. Beatriz is a proud daughter of immigrants whose parents come from San Juan Nuevo, Michoacán, México. She is a recent college graduate from UC Merced with a Bachelors of Science in Biological Science with an emphasis in Human Biology. 
Throughout her time at UC Merced, she received constant support and mentorship from the Services for Undocumented Students. For the 2021-2022 school year, she was given the opportunity to collaborate with the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and the Office for Services for Undocumented Students to represent undergraduate undocumented students at UC Merced. Most recently, she was given the opportunity to participate as a CDC Undergraduate Public Health Scholar through the UCLA Public Health Scholars Training Program and paired with Promesa Boyle Heights as a summer intern. 
Beatriz emphasizes the importance of fighting for the “original dreamers” (dreamer’s parents) and all the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States because DACA is not enough; there needs to be bipartisan Congressional immigration reform!



SUPPORT PFJ
We greatly appreciate your financial support so that we can continue to educate, advocate and pray for the things that matter to our organization. Please consider donating through PayPal.
People of Faith for Justice is a 501(c)(3) non-profit  organization.



CREDITS
The People of Faith for Justice Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Manildi
Music for the People of Faith for Justice Podcast is provided by Andrew Gorman

Our guests today are Geoffrey Land, a Social Studies teacher at Paso Robles High School who has just been named the SLO County Teacher of the Year, and two of his students, Israel Perez and Ana Lopez, both seniors at Paso High.
A teacher and his students? What could be more ordinary, right? Not so…what makes this podcast special is the fact that Geoffrey Land is no ordinary teacher, and Ana and Israel are no ordinary high school seniors. Mr. Land has been busy teaching justice-making and activism at Paso Robles High School, and Israel and Ana have both been applying his lessons to real life as they ready themselves for a world that needs much more justice and many more activists. Listen in as we find out how Geoff Land teaches students to stand up for justice, and how Ana and Israel have rallied for representation and inclusivity in an environment that has not always been supportive of these goals.



RELEVANT LINKS
PFJ Unitarian Universalists San Luis Obispo (UUSLO) United Church of Christ (Congregational) of San Luis Obispo (UCC) Paso Robles High School New Times 8/25/22 “Paso school board passes symbolic resolution about gender specific titles” Border Ecology Project ECOSLO San Diego Office of Binational Affairs M.E.Ch.A. Coming Out Against Hate Paso Robles Daily News October 22, 2021 Baile Folklorico Baile Folklorico You Tube Ethnic Studies Elective at PRHS New Times April 15, 2021 AVID Program Paso Teacher Butts Heads with School Board…New Times September 8, 2022 See additional links to articles in Geof Land’s bio below.


MORE ABOUT OUR GUESTS
Geoffrey Land
Geoffrey Land has been teaching Social Studies at Paso Robles High School since 1998. He holds degrees from UC Santa Barbara (B.A.) and UC San Diego (Master’s in Pacific International Affairs). He has lived and studied in Spain and Costa Rica. Land served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Caribbean (Grenada, 1984-86) and with San Diego’s Office of Binational Affairs, which coordinated the city’s relations with Mexico. Before becoming a teacher, he worked with nonprofit groups—Border Ecology Project and the Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo (ECOSLO). While working at ECOSLO, Land spearheaded local efforts to protect the coast from offshore oil and gas development and the county’s north coast from the proposed Hearst hotel and golf development at San Simeon Point. He also oversaw an environmental health project to educate local farmworkers about environmental and health risks associated with pesticides.  
At PRHS, Land has led hundreds of students on field studies and backpacking trips, helping establish the Field Studies Collaborative. In 2005 he created and still teaches one of California’s only Modern World History classes conducted entirely in Spanish for bilingual students. In 2010, he was part of an effort to defend the teaching of Kaffir Boy at SLO High School and penned a Tribune viewpoint on the subject (“Don’t censor Kaffir Boy because it discomforts some”). In 2017, Land worked with students who had organized a school walkout to honor immigrants, encouraging them to put their reasons for the protest into a Viewpoint for the local paper (“Paso High protest aimed to support immigrants”) In 2018, Land helped organize a community forum in which nine undocumented students at PRHS shared their stories; he encouraged them to write a Viewpoint for the Tribune explaining why they decided to speak out. (“These Paso seniors are bound for college, if they’re allowed to stay in the U.S.”) His Viewpoint on racial conflict and local news coverageappeared in the SLO Tribune in August, 2020. He developed and teaches the Honors Ethnic Studies course at Paso Robles High School. He was recently named 2022 Teacher of the Year for San Luis Obispo County. 
Israel Perez
Israel Pérez is a senior at Paso Robles High School. Last year, Israel spoke out publicly during the “Coming Out Against Hate” forum, held a