I offer warm greetings from Oakland. Looking out my window on this warm summer afternoon, I am watching sailboats, dragon boats and even a gondola ply the waters of Lake Merritt, a sanctuary in the middle of our beautiful, loud and proud, absolutely Oaklandish city. From this same window, I’ve witnessed throngs take to the streets in protest and in celebration. Last November, thousands joined hands around the lake in an almost-spontaneous show of unity following the election.
January brought a hundred thousand into the streets to march for civil rights and democracy as part of the national Women’s March. CELA members around the state marched on that powerful day of solidarity and purpose.
In June, Oakland was the scene of another kind of convergence. They say the crowds numbered in the hundreds of thousands when the city pulled out the stops to celebrate the championship of the Golden State Warriors. That day was a celebration through and through, bringing together a diversity of people to cheer the realization of a dream, all the while knowing that a moment of victory would give way soon to another season of challenge.
I began writing this message before the white nationalist terrorism in Charlottesville. It was my hope that these reminiscences would help you to feel the vibrancy of this city and create energy and enthusiasm about what we can collectively generate when CELA joins together as a community for CELA’s 30th Annual Conference here in Oakland this October. The past few days have also provided even more examples of how communities of conscience, including Oakland, come together in the fight for social justice. My greatest hope is for CELA to stand together at this time. So now let me add urgency to the call for us to gather together in October. We have important work to do. Let us do it together.
The CELA Education Committee began working after the November election to make sure that this year’s conference would address compelling issues facing workers and the advocates who represent them. From the opening plenary focused on practicing employment law in today’s political climate to the closing plenary titled “United We Stand: Employment Lawyers, Union Lawyers and the Workers Who Need Us All,” the conference is designed to hone our skills and equip us with the tools we need. With the fight against the forces of racism, xenophobia and all other invidious oppression so central to CELA’s mission, I am pleased to announce two inspiring individuals as keynotes for our conference. Friday’s annual luncheon features journalist, writer, lawyer and Muslim rights advocate, Wajahat Ali. A frequent news commentator and former co-host of a news show on Al Jazeera America, Wajahat has been a contributor to The Guardian and the New York Times. Joining us to keynote the Saturday Diversity Outreach Committee luncheon is Emilio Huerta, candidate for California’s 21st Congressional District. Growing up, Emilio witnessed firsthand the organizing leadership of his mother Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez, and the United Farm Workers. As a civil rights attorney and long-time CELA member, Emilio has dedicated his career to improving the lives of working men and women.
This year also offers something quite special to celebrate! Amazingly, 2017 heralds our 30th annual conference. And to mark the achievement of three decades of fighting for employee justice, our sister non-profit organization, FAIR (Foundation for Access Inclusion and Resources) is throwing us a birthday party on the Friday night of the Conference that is not to be missed! Please consider becoming a sponsor of what promises to be a wonderful evening. Click here for tickets and sponsorship information.
In solidarity,
Jean Hyams
CELA Chair