In a unique gathering of civic leaders, civil rights advocates and cultural artists — Silicon Valley De-Bug held a forum on the growing economic disparities facing Silicon Valley. The event, packed shoulder to shoulder, took on an innovative approach by premiering a music video at Camera 12 Movie Theater to engage the community around an urgent economic, social, and political issue.
The video, called “Gold Out West,” is by hip hop artist and community organizer Andrew Bigelow (artist name: Society). The 23-year-old Bigelow was inspired to write the song after marching 30 miles with dozens of fixed income Silicon Valley residents from East San Jose to the campuses of Google and Apple in a march called “Heal the Valley” in the winter of 2013. Bigelow says, “I believe in the power of music to bring these very real issues to light, put them on blast, and make the conversation bigger.”
While employment and quality of job issues are front and center in the discussion of Silicon Valley’s mounting disparity, so is housing. Sandy Perry of the Affordable Housing Network helped organize and lead the Heal the Valley March. He says, “If Silicon Valley cannot even keep its people from freezing to death in the winter, what are we good for?”
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Affordability of housing is not only a issue in Silicon Valley, but also so many other areas of California.
Even those of us that are not on a fixed income (such as those that work full-time) can not afford to live in many areas of the state.