Actions & Accomplishments

Actions & Accomplishments

Together, we are harnessing the power of love and faith for the common good by showing up for racial and economic justice across San Mateo County through actions such as speaking up at City Council and County Board of Supervisors’ meetings, protests and press conferences, as well as writing letters and publishing opinion pieces in local papers. In all our actions, our partnerships with community organizations and civic leaders are key to our effectiveness.

Amidst the current climate of fear and dehumanization, now more than ever there is a critical need for religious leaders to continue to step forward and be a moral voice for justice.   We will continue to partner with civic leaders and community organizations in order to deepen our cohort’s progressive moral leadership here on the Peninsula. In addition to the collective actions taken as a cohort, our members also engage in actions individually in their own spiritual communities and local communities.

Cohort co-director Rev. Dr. Marlyn Bussey speaks at the unveiling of the Harriet Tubman sculpture in Millbrae.
“We can’t begin the march toward freedom, without making sure that everyone is present and everyone is counted.” —Rabbi Corey Helfand

Examples of actions by the Cohort include:

  • Helped with PICO CA’s Faith Votes for Love and Justice Guide
  • Attended special meeting of San Mateo City Council regarding basic income and wage theft protections
  • Convened Safe Parking Working Group
  • Meetings with Supervisor Horsley, other SMC Board of Supervisors about homelessness and evictions
  • Public comments supporting oversight at multiple BOS meetings
  • Letter to the San Mateo County Sheriff requesting that he arrange Implicit Bias Training for staff
  • Meeting with DA Wagstaffe and community partners about not trying youth as adults
  • Several cohort members formed “Faith Partners supporting Coast Pride Center”
  • Climate Action events in Pacifica, Palo Alto, and San Francisco
  • Helped organize an Immigration Dignity Summit where over thirty-five faith leaders
  • Petition in coordination with Faith in Action Bay Area (FIABA) for emergency funds for undocumented immigrants
  • Reproductive Justice Vigil in Redwood City
  • Supporting victims’ families after HMB shooting, organizing and speaking at interfaith vigils and memorial services

See more actions by the Cohort by visiting the various matters of justice that we focus on.