Scholar Awardee – Michael Griggs
My name is Michael Griggs, I am a 31-year-old Latin American, nontraditional aged college student and criminal justice reform advocate living in Southern California, and for six years of my life, I was recognized by the California Department of Corrections solely as inmate number AE3686. For six years of my life, I was identified by the state of California by that alphanumeric number, and admittedly there was a time in my life when I believed that’s all I would be. My life, it’s meaning and worth equated with that of a receipt or a bar code in the well-oiled machine of mass imprisonment, spitting out numbers more frequently than an ATM or cashier giving receipts.”. I am however much more than what that mixture of letters and numbers represents, and I am much more than the former labels mentioned. Today I am learning and embracing that I am multifaceted, and to label myself in such terms diminishes the complex nuances of the intersectional identities I hold. For it is in those differences, and intersectionality’s I hold lies my most powerful tool for effecting social change, the ability to work across coalitions of difference.
Proterra Partnership
MCF in partnership with USW Local 675 and Proterra is ready to launch a nearly 1-Million-dollar union/employer partnership to train and place underserved workers into quality durable jobs in advanced electric bus manufacturing, commencing on July 23, 2021.
Governor Newsom announced the last round of awardees in the CWBD’s High Road Training Partnership program grantee’s and MCF was among the 11 innovated programs chosen, as the Fiscal Agent of the USW 675 and Proterra training will receive $646,345 on July 1, 2021.
Juneteenth – An American Holiday
You may have recently heard about Juneteenth—a unique American holiday that has been much talked about of late. It’s a term popping up more often in pop culture, the national and local news, and even gaining recognition as an official holiday in many cities across the country. In fact, as of the writing of this article it has just been passed as a federal holiday by the United States Congress and is awaiting signature by the president. But what exactly does this day—a day which the African-American community has recognized and celebrated for well over a century—really stand for?
In Other News…
Celebrating California’s historic budget that Governor Gavin Newsom signed this week, including some of the items I’ve been fighting for since I joined the legislature like Medi-Cal expansion for undocumented Californians 50 and older, utility debt relief for low-income tenants, and many other items that will have a meaningful impact for constituents in my district and across California. The budget includes: $20 million for the Mutual Aid Training Center facility in Los Angeles (Miguel Contreras Foundation).
MCF Scholarship
In maintaining the standard Miguel Contreras’s legacy has set, and keeping with our organization’s focus on education, MCF continues to offer a yearly scholarship to current students for the following academic year. Those who apply can win one of the following prizes:
MCF Scholarship details:
20 – $1,000 scholarships
2 – $2,500 scholarships
