DenaRiseUp

1. Overview

Six months ago our lives and hearts were torn apart by the Eaton Fire.

The flames did not discriminate. The wind didn’t care. Fire roared and ashes rained down all across Pasadena and the historic community of Altadena. Black, brown, White and Asian families — we all fled for our lives.

Eighteen of us perished.

On Monday July 7^th, we will stand as a community on the land that used to be the home of our sister, Evelyn McClendon, who died in the tragedy of the fire.  We stand in love and solidarity with her and her brother, Zaire McClendon, at 181 East Las Flores, Altadena.

And we honor the others who died: Oswald Altmetz, Carolyn Burns, Edwin Cridland, Dalyce Curry, Stacey Darden, Kevin Devine, Miva Friedli, Erliene Kelley, Barbara Lewis, Patricia McKenna, Anthony Mitchell Sr., Justin Mitchell, Rodney Nickerson, Victor Shaw, Lora Swayne, Kim Winiecki and Zhi Feng Zhao. 

These 18 souls are forever connected by tragedy. But they and their families are also bound to one another, and to us, by their love for Altadena. They once enjoyed — as we do now — the beauty of this precious corner of California, where diversity and opportunity flourished, especially for the many Black families who called Altadena home.

2. Call to Unity

We are six months into our sorrow, and six months into our recovery and rebuilding. The shock will recede, the pain we feel now may fade with time.

But the spirit of Dena unity we felt after the fires—let’s hold tight to that. Let’s build on it. Let’s make it stronger.

We all felt it. We all saw it. The willingness to step up. The volunteers who came out of nowhere and didn’t leave. The trucks and vans that brought a mountain of supplies. The hugs and smiles that powered us through exhausting days. The givers who cooked and served food, who swept and shoveled away debris, who loaded cars with donated necessities.

Just as the fire did not discriminate, the relief effort did not discriminate. Everybody was hurt, everybody was scarred. And everybody pitched in to help.

The spirit that bound us through the trauma needs to carry us through the long and difficult road back. Today, let’s turn our sadness into a deeper spiritual connection. Let’s turn neighbors, friends and partners into family. Let’s promise that our circle will not be broken, that our Black and Latino grassroots organizations — including NAACP, NDLON, My Tribe Rise and others — will always work together as we fight for a just and fair recovery.

3. Call to Action

We know that equality and fairness are never guaranteed. Every crisis opens the door to  greed and exploitation. The forces of inequality and oppression can become more powerful in the wake of chaos, upheaval and destruction.

So, Dena friends, let’s build power for ourselves. Let’s stick together to keep exploitation away. Let’s decide what we, the people, need and want for our community, and together let’s go and get it.

Together, let’s make some demands:

We call on our elected representatives in the City of Pasadena, Los Angeles County, the State of California and the federal government to do all they can to guarantee justice, fairness and real choices for residents in the rebuilding of Altadena and Pasadena.

By this we mean:

• Funds for homeowners and renters so they can afford to rebuild. Grants or no-interest loans to help cover the cost of remediation, repairs, construction and restoration.

• No red-tape hassles for homeowners — waiving or easing permit restrictions so residents can rebuild more quickly and easily.

• Comprehensive testing throughout the fire zone, so all residents — especially children — can be safe from toxic contamination.

• Remediation for all, including funds to help renters and homeowners to pay for remediation in their apartments and homes. At all properties, indoors and out, we demand the urgent and thorough cleanup of contaminated surfaces, structures and soil to avoid preventable sickness and death.

• No real-estate profiteering. A moratorium on selling lots to developers looking to make quick profits. The affordability and accessibility of homes in Altadena and Pasadena must be preserved. We cannot compound the tragedy by making exclusivity worse.

• Safety for all, especially the Latino workers and their families who are being oppressed by chaotic and violent immigration enforcement. Local governments must honor their commitments to keep ICE out of our communities, and protect the families that have been shattered by arrests, deportations and racial profiling. Workers must also be protected from exploitation and abusive employers who have been emboldened by government lawbreaking.  
   

4. Call to Peace

We all have lost loved ones in the fires, or know somebody who has. We have lost homes and apartments and property. We have lost neighbors and friends who had to move away. We have lost our sense of safety, security and comfort.

We must not lose the trust we have built with one another in the last six months. We won that trust the hard way, through shared suffering and sacrifice. As we continue the shared work of rebuilding a better Altadena and Pasadena, let’s not fight among ourselves. Let’s not betray one another. Let’s not fight over money, access, power or prestige.

Let’s share our power and use it together, not separately, as we push on with these demands in the difficult months and years to come.

5. Next Steps

DenaRiseUp will convene regular calls and in person meetings to push for our demands. We marched together, now we pray together, for those who are physically no longer with us. But this is just the beginning.  Every three weeks we will be coordinating activities, actions, forums, teach-ins, studies, press conferences and much more.  Through these series of events, DenaRiseUp will center Altadena’s voices for them to be heard and receive justice. No one will be left out or left behind. Each event will center the voices and demands of renters, homeowners, businesses and entrepreneurs, workers, seniors, faith-based communities, nonprofit organizations and philanthropists, among others. 

Solo el pueblo salva al pueblo

Sponsors

My Tribe Rise, POP, NAACP Pasadena branch, Pasadena Community Job Center, Clergy Community Coalition, LA Voice, NDLON, PICO California, California Black Power Network, Black Equity Collective, Catalyst California, CHIRLA, Altadena Rising, LA Fire Survivors Committee, Eaton Fire Residents United, Altadena Tenants Union, Pasadena Tenants Union, Altadena not for Sale.