On Jan. 11 and Jan. 12, Front and Centered hosted our Statewide Environmental Justice Summit at University of Washington’s (UW’s) Alder Auditorium. We were inspired by the response, maxing out Summit capacity at 225 participants. Never before have this many leaders of color and indigenous leaders across our state gathered in one space for two…
In the Washington State Legislature, HB 1713 on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women has passed the House. Now onto the Senate . . . Read the bill history to date here and follow the bill’s progress here.
Ethnic studies bill 5023 is currently being considered by the state legislature. It Requires the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to develop and periodically update a model ethnic studies curriculum for use in grades 7–12. It requires an advisory committee to oversee the process. Take a look here https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5023&Year=2019&Initiative=false Then, please contact your…
The Senate and House have passed ESSB 5116, the Clean Energy bill. It was signed by Governor Inslee. It would set deadlines for reduction of fossil fuel use in electric generation: phasing out coal by 2025, making generation carbon neutral by 2030 and use of renewable energy only by 2045. The governor is planning a…
In October a federal court in Texas struck down the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), what I consider to be an important piece of civil rights legislation for Native families here in the U.S. This important law, passed in 1978, strengthened the legal rights of Indigenous families and specified that when Native children are removed…
