This is your host, Suki Wessling. Since 1996, I have been living, working, raising children, and making music on the central coast of California. When the Women’s International Newsgathering Service asked me to make an international version of this episode, I was thrilled.
Since Election Day 2024, but especially since Inauguration Day, January 20th, 2025, Americans like me have battled despair. There are many reasons for the despair, but the one I’ve been pondering a lot is how did we get to the place where the kindest, most thoughtful, most ethical people I have known could be painted with such a wide and disparaging brush?
This year I went to the march in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday that took places on the streets of downtown Santa Cruz. I spoke to many women that day. You can find the full episode here. But in this mini episode, I focus on a non-local audience. My goal is to clarify who we are, separate from what people might hear in the media or the opinions about us that they might form based on our politicians. I wanted to create an empathetic portrait of coastal California by featuring the values that we share.
Mentioned in this episode:
- Women’s International Newsgathering Service
- Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Sermon: The Drum Major Instinct (video) (text) (audio)
- Santa Cruz, California
- Downtown Santa Cruz
-  Santa Cruz Community Health Center
- Planned Parenthood
- Pacific Voices
- Verve Coffee
- Young Outdoor Leaders
- Cabrillo College Umoja Learning Community
- Curtis Reliford and his Follow Your Heart Action Network
- NAACP
- Equity Transit
- Housing Santa Cruz County
- Bookshop Santa Cruz
- Gail Pellerin
- Steve Coulter