Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation

By Judy Herman, Foggy View Editor

My Generation, a campaign of the California Sierra Club, is fighting for an equitable transition to a fully electrified economy powered by 100% clean, renewable energy. Volunteer leaders, especially young people, drive community mobilization across the state. The word “Generation” in the name has a double meaning: it refers both to the generation (or production) of energy and to the energetic young people who will be the next generation of environmental leaders. But the topic of a recent monthly meeting, climate justice activism training, interested this Boomer. I signed up for and was welcomed to the Zoom session led by Yassi Kavezade, Fran Yang and Angie Balderas.

Here’s some of what I learned about community activism:

It’s about listening — meeting with community groups and letting them define their needs. Schmoozing is essential. Making informal, one-to-one connections assures you are working as friends who want to be open and mutually helpful. Forging these personal connections is challenging in the time of COVID-19 when meetings are virtual. We have to be creative — maybe send a message in the chat to someone you’d like to know better and set up a virtual coffee break.

We were advised to set SMARTIE goals, ones that are:

Specific, Measurable, Ambitious, Realistic, Time-bound (clear deadlines), Inclusive and Equitable.