--March 15, 2008. As you enter the gym on this windy night, you can feel the energy, the relief, and the complete and utter reality that none of us saw this day coming. Freedom fighters from the past, present, and future all gather here in this gym to celebrate the victory in a 14-year war with Romic Environmental Technologies. You can feel the electricity as everyone dwells on 4 words no one thought we would ever hear: We Shut Romic Down!
            As a member of this community and someone who has been apart of the fight, I can genuinely relate to the feeling of taking out a giant in our community. No outside person never believed that this would happen, that a group of teenagers could take down a multi-million dollar company. Needless to say we were underdogs, yet we are the ones left standing and not them.
            From San Francisco to Arizona, our friends and family all came on this momentous night to celebrate and honor all the soldiers who gave their time and energy to battle against environmental racism. As I sit down and break bread with people, I see a lot of faces that I haven’t seen in years. Soldiers who stood on the line with me; they knew what it took to get where we are now. I see the community members who came out to support us. I see them with their children and families and I think to myself, this is who we were fighting for.
            Even though we were on this spiritual and emotional high, we were brought back to Earth as we took the time to remember the warriors that have completed their journey before us. The reality of life hits everyone. But there is no mourning of these souls, just a remembrance and a celebration of the lives of our fallen warriors.
            The banquet was also a time for acknowledgement, as shown with the Sundiata Awards given to community members who provided the support and resources for YUCA to accomplish this task. We are also honored by performances from our friends from Arizona.