Samara Azam-Yu, is the Executive Director at Oakland-based ACCESS Women’s Health Justice. She lives in East Oakland with her partner, two-year-old daughter, and two chickens.
I grew up in a conservative area and had internalized some challenging attitudes about abortion, poverty, and the death penalty—attitudes aligned with policy that worked against my (and my family’s) interests. Still, I discovered that I was ready to drop everything for a friend who needed my help. Eventually, I learned to hold this level of compassion for complete strangers, too.
