Can youth move City government – this year, it most certainly did.
Sunrise Corvallis is the only youth-led climate justice movement in town, and in October, the hub’s Corvallis Green New Deal for Climate and Housing Justice (CGND), a resolution which calls for the city to take rapid actions to address the climate crisis and local houselessness and poverty, was unanimously passed by the Corvallis City Council.
“This document is the first in the city to explicitly call out fossil fuels usage as the cause of the climate crisis and acknowledge the disproportionate impacts the climate crisis has on historically marginalized groups,” said Salah Miller, a core organizer and activist with Sunrise Corvallis.
The group has also worked to mobilize young people in local politics and activism, one example being the participation of Corvallis high school students in protests before city council meetings demanding the city’s commitment to ensuring just, fossil-free futures for everyone.
“We have spent dozens of hours canvassing door to door for officials,” said Miller, “regularly testifying to the city council on a multitude of issues, and rallying for climate justice.”
Additionally, in keeping with its resolution and values, Sunrise Corvallis has been involved in on-the-ground work offering tangible support to unhoused community members.
“In partnership with Really Really Free Market and Stop the Sweeps Corvallis, we have been able to support mutual aid efforts in the community – like providing free weekly meals [to unhoused community members] and support during sweeps of houseless camps,” said Miller. “It’s been a year of acting in solidarity, not charity.”
In an Instagram post celebrating the passage of the CGND, Sunrise Corvallis reflected on all the hard work that made this possible, and what the community can anticipate moving forward.
“This has been the result of over two years of organizing, researching, writing, editing, collecting feedback, talking to community members, and doing it all over again. We met and organized even through pandemic disruptions, finals, and zoom meetings,” reads the post. “Dozens of people have contributed to this effort… and we’re grateful to every one of them. Of course, we have been working hard on this resolution, but more importantly we’ve been building a powerful movement of people committed to climate justice. We’ve been growing together, supporting one another, laughing together and making new friends. We’ve been creating positive energy and hope, spreading it everywhere we go. This resolution is only the beginning – there’s so much more to be done. We MUST keep building climate resilience and people power, keep supporting our unhoused neighbors, keep fighting for a livable future. And we will continue to win.”
“Be the change,” said Miller. “Join the movement.”
Click here for the Sunrise Corvallis website.
– By Emilie Ratcliff
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