CCR Ep 54 Justice, Football, and Talking Trash -- Garry Gilliam and Sharona Shnayder

A recent episode of Lew Blaustein’s Green Sports Pod featured a riveting interview with National Football League player, Garry Gilliam. Blaustein writes:

Garry Gilliam experienced this hope-squashing system firsthand during his childhood in the opportunity-deprived section of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Now, the ex-NFL offensive lineman is using his resources and his seemingly boundless energy to try to break that system, replacing it with a more equitable, hopeful one.

His system-breaking tool is The Bridge Eco-Village, an innovative start-up that provides opportunities for African-Americans and other marginalized people to “Work, Eat, Live, Learn and Play” in affordable, high quality mixed-use developments. The pilot is being built in — where else — Harrisburg.

Lew Blaustein has given us permission to rebroadcast an edited version of his interview with Garry Gilliam. You will also hear Citizens Climate Radio’s host, Peterson Toscano check in with Gilliam to find out how things stand with the Bridge Eco-Village today in light of the Covid-19 Global Pandemic. Garry Gilliam has good news to share about the progress of the project.

As the  Coronavirus pandemic shut everything down, Sharona Shnayder, a college student, simply could not stay inside any longer. One Tuesday she joined a friend at neighborhood park. Together, while maintaining a safe physical distance, they picked up trash at a park in Portland, OR near their university.

Not only did people in her community begin to notice and join in; word quickly spread. Now there are Tuesdays for Trash events happening all over the world.

Sharona, who grew up in Nigeria and now lives in the USA, shares how picking up trash is bringing people together, lifting spirits, and getting people engaged in climate work. In fact, this may be a project your own climate group wants to take on in order to connect in a new way with your own community.

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