Shana White

 

Shana began her organizing journey when she was around 18 years old. Influenced by her cousin Lourdes Best, who was apart of YUCA, Lourdes would take her with her to marches and protests. When Shana turned 19 she worked as a assembly line worker at various hi-tech companies through Temp agencies. This was the time when the “Dot Com” industry was at the peak and at the same time just about to bust. She and other young adults at that time noticed the injustice was done to the temp workers -- young, old, and of different ethincity. Then came Silicon Valley De-Bug.

In 2000, Shana and a few other people who worked in the hi-tech companies, just like herself, came together to tell our experiences of what it was like dealing with sub-par working condtions and the poor treatment they received. They all had similar stories and from that a monthly magazine was formed.  De-Bug didn’t stop there, with what was going on they also organized around the Post-9/11 backlash towards the Muslim commuinty, Informing the South Bay of what two Muslim women faced on the job: Racism and unfair termination.

Shana has also been apart of coalitions that dealt with police brutality and informing people where they can come and report complaints about an officer who harrased them. But as she grew she learned that organizing created a family outside of her family. And even if in the end if you’re not organizing anymore you will still have a piece of that experience that could help the next time something comes up…