The Good Apple Awards in 2020 looked a bit different. Due to COVID-19, we were unable to hold our traditional in-person event. Our goal of uplifting and celebrating the contributions of inspiring community partners, however, remained the same.
Each week throughout October, we shared the stories and experiences of the following honorees to amplify their missions and sustain the momentum behind their movements.
Here are the honorees of the 2020 Good Apple Awards!
The Children of Smithfield
A collective of young leaders whose parents and loved ones work in meatpacking plants across Nebraska, The Children of Smithfield advocate for workers’ rights and better working conditions. In their own words, their mission “was born during COVID-19,” but their hope is that workers keeping us fed are treated as essential—pandemic or not.
Read Appleseed’s profile on The Children of Smithfield.
Check out our interview with Maira Mendez on our Facebook page.
Ngu-Y Ngo shares her perspective in a guest blog post.
Additional reading on The Children of Smithfield:
- Cindy Lange-Kubick: Children of Smithfield, standing for the safety of their parents and all workers (Lincoln Journal Star)
- The Children of Smithfield (Latino USA)
- As Meatpacking Plants Look to Reopen, Some Families are Wary (New York Times)
- ‘I’m scared to return’: Nebraska meatpacking workers and their families speak out (Omaha World-Herald)
- Meatpacking Companies Dismissed Years of Warnings but Now Say Nobody Could Have Prepared for COVID-19 (ProPublica)
- «Ni siquiera estamos cerca»: las protecciones para los trabajadores de las plantas continúan rezagadas a medida que los trabajadores temen el aumento de las infecciones (El Perico)
Black Leaders Movement
As is often the case, it’s up to young people to rewrite what’s possible in Nebraska. The Black Leaders Movement, established in June of 2020, is an organization of young Black leaders in Lincoln who believe “we are the solution to our own problems.” Their energy, passion, and youth have led a summer of change in Lincoln, and now as a collective with a clear mission, they continue their march toward racial equality.
Read our profile on Black Leaders Movement.
To learn more Black Leaders Movement and find out how you can support their work, visit their website.
You can also connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Additional reading on Black Leaders Movement:
- ‘We are our own solution to our problems’ – Lincoln youth lead local protest movement (Lincoln Journal Star)
NOISE
North Omaha Information Support Everyone (NOISE) is out to make news more accessible for all. With a broad multimedia platform led by committed advocates, their goal is to bridge the information gap and reshape the narrative within North Omaha by connecting citizens with vital information in their communities with storytelling as vibrant and diverse as the area itself.
Read our profile of NOISE on our blog.
NOISE Founder and Director Dawaune Lamont Hayes shares a guest blog post on our blog.
Watch our interview with Dawaune Lamont Hayes on Facebook.
To learn more about NOISE, visit their website here. Connect with them on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
The Tenant Assistance Project
As a pandemic threatened tenants across Lincoln, the City of Lincoln and a number of community partners joined together to ensure all Nebraskans have a safe place to call home. The Tenant Assistance Project brings together volunteer attorneys to assist people at risk of being made vulnerable by housing insecurity.