Mutual Aid and Community Care in California

Join us for a conversation on the vital role of different forms of community care and mutual aid across California’s diverse communities. Red Flag Warning, a collection of essays and interviews by survivors Dani Burlison and Margaret Elysia Garcia, highlights how grassroots organizing, community care, and resilience help navigate ecological and social challenges. Adéniké Amin, Storytelling Lead at BLACspace Cooperative, will share insights into the power of storytelling and cultural preservation. Through her work with BLACspace, she champions thriving local community arts as a form of mutual aid, fostering cultural permanence, economic opportunity, and collective resilience. Jocelyn Jackson, award-winning chef, artist, teacher, activist, Chef-in-Residence at the Museum of the African Diaspora, and co-founder of People’s Kitchen Collective, will discuss her work at the intersection of food justice, environmental education, and radical hospitality. This panel will explore how mutual aid networks across California are reshaping survival, support, and recovery—particularly in the wake of disasters, both natural and human-made. Featuring perspectives from environmentalists, cultural workers, mental health workers and journalists, we’ll examine how communities provide resources, share knowledge, and offer emotional support in times of need. Moderated by Brian Edwards-Tiekert, founder and co-host of UpFront on KPFA radio, this discussion will highlight how mutual aid fosters resilience and solidarity, demonstrating how communities build collective strength and power, and recognize each other as essential resources.