Thanksgiving is one of the few times in the year we collectively acknowledge the contributions indigenous people have made to this country, as well as the genocide and land theft they’ve experienced through colonization. But we know acknowledging the indigenous people of this land and their stewardship of this place shouldn’t be a once a year thing. The Law Center’s growing work around re-matriation, banning land grabs, and radical real estate law school is an attempt to center indigenous land rights in all land justice work we do. (And on that note, if you’re an SF East Bay resident, make sure to pay your Shuumi Land Tax!)

How should we even begin to wrap our heads around land reparations and indigenous solidarity? Luckily our friends at Resource Generation made this toolkit (which includes our Brief Guide to Transferring Land) as a place to begin.

Thinking Radically about Land and Housing

Another place to dig into the how of land reparations is by checking out our Teachgiving Recap Blog and Radical Real Estate recap blog posts!

Radical Real Estate Week provided training, legal tools, and creative ideas on how to use land and housing in a more just way. Teachgiving made space to discuss some of the structures intentionally put in place to reinforce systems of white supremacy, exclusion, and oppression, related to land. Both recap blog posts include reflections and tons of resources — recordings of the workshops, articles, podcasts, films, and more —that we’ve lovingly curated just for you.

We saw so many familiar faces in these discussions and workshops. We welcome the deepening relationship and ask that you consider becoming a Community Member! A sustained donation is insurance that we can continue this work.

Welcome two new staff + two new board members!

We have two new staff members who’ve joined the Law Center team.  Itzel Nuño started in October as our Workplace Democracy Project Coordinator.  Alejandra Cruz started in November as our newest Staff Attorney. These two come with impressive credentials, deep knowledge, and a passion for the work. We’re thrilled to call them co-workers! Fun fact: they're both into sewing and crafting!

We'd also like to welcome Deseree Fontenot and Hasmik Geghhamyan to our board! Deseree is a black organizer, farmer, ecology nerd, and collective member of Movement Generation. Hasmik is a community lawyer committed to social and economic justice, who also teaches Political Science at the College of Alameda. 

We're so excited to have these two on our Board of Directors.