The first disconcerting aspect of the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance’s semiannual conference was not the sheer number of research, policymakers, and advocates. It was not the bleak but historical grandeur of its Washington, DC setting. No, it was the fact that the 2022 conference was labeled “Alcohol Policy 19,” suggesting we had somehow time traveled.
In some ways, it felt appropriate, as Alcohol Justice and California Alcohol Policy Alliance (CAPA) staff met face-to-face (albeit while masked) with people who had only existed through Zoom screens for the past three years. In other ways, it felt odd: the entire tenor of alcohol policy had shifted amidst the enormous deregulatory changes pursued by alcohol industry during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Howeverer the most startling–in a good way–aspect of AP19 was the surprise award given to CAPA Advocacy Manager Mayra Jiménez. Recognizing her tireless and, more importantly, effective work in organizing communities in Los Angeles and across California to protect public health and safety, the intended honor was nonetheless never shared with Jiménez herself until she was summoned to the stage during the Thursday luncheon to receive it.
In fact, organizers had to hunt her down. She was nowhere near the banquet hall, instead remaining in a presentation side-room, speaking with participants in her “Popular Education for Policy Change” workshop, sharing the CAPA organizing model with would-be advocates from across the country. In a perfect bit of irony, the reason why she earned the award was nearly the reason why she was not there to receive it.
Jiménez was also heavily involved in the pre-conference Advocacy Institute, while Research Director Carson Benowitz-Fredericks reported on both local San Rafael campaigns to reform retail environments, and statewide concerns over the enshrinement of temporary alcohol control “regulatory relief” into law. Because nothing is quite as upsetting as the continued creep of alcohol industry power and the harms that come with it.
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