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Sen. Kamala Harris Gives Props to Black Press at 75th Anniversary of San Francisco Sun Reporter
“Throughout the course of our history, there have been many moments in time where truth must be spoken. Truth that oftentimes make people uncomfortable, but truth that must be acknowledged so people can be seen and be heard,” said Sen. Kamala Harris, who announced her bid to run for president of the United States in late January.
“Truth must be spoken from a voice that is trusted,” she continued. “And we know therefore the value, significance and need for the Black press in America.
Harris, who was born in Oakland and served as California Attorney General from 2011 to 2017, was speaking at the 75th anniversary of the San Francisco Sun-Reporter, the city’s oldest African-American newspaper.
More than 800 people, including San Francisco’s first African American woman mayor, London Breed, attended the event. Several leaders and journalists from the state’s Black and ethnic media – including the Sun-Reporter’s current publisher, Amelia Ashley Ward – were also on hand to celebrate the legacy and contribution of the paper at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown San Francisco.
The Sun-Reporter was founded in 1944 at a time when Blacks migrated in large numbers to major cities in the North and West to escape Jim Crow laws in the South and seek better employment opportunities.
Many African-Americans came to San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area during that time to work at World War II military shipyards.
Like many historically Black dailies and weeklies across California and the rest of the country, the Sun-Reporter became a social and political advocate for African Americans on issues like civil rights, discrimination, housing and education as well as a vital source of information at a time when there was little media coverage of Blacks in the mass media.
“The Sun-Reporter is an example of the significance of the Black press in America,” Harris said. “There are issues that are unique to the Black community, and until we have true diversity in the press, we must rely on papers like the Sun-Reporter.”
Carlton B. Goodlett, a physician and activist who once ran for governor of California and served as editor of Howard University’s Hillltop newspaper, acquired his first publication, The Sun newspaper, through a poker game, according to the Sun-Reporter’s website. The publication, as we know it today, was born out of a merger between the Sun newspaper, which Goodlett owned, and another African-American publication, the Reporter, which was edited and published by his close friend, Thomas C. Fleming.
Goodlett served as publisher of the paper until shortly before his death in 1997. Since then, Ward, a former reporter and photojournalist who started her career as an intern at the Sun-Reporter, has run the publication guided by the wisdom and vision of its founder.
Harris says when she decided to run for San Francisco District Attorney in November 2002, no one believed in her candidacy except Ward.
“There were many, many – friends and those who were not friends – who said it can not be done. Wait your turn. They are not ready for you,” said Harris. “But one voice spoke loudly and said, ‘I know it is your time, Kamala, and I will have your back.’ And that was Amelia Ashley-Ward.”
Harris also used the opportunity to talk about the climate of hatred and bigotry prevalent across the country right now, and tell the audience that the majority of Americans have more in common with each other than the things that “separate us.”
She also shared policy specifics about some of the things she would prioritize if she is elected president of the United States next fall. They included mandating the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms to require dealers who sell more than five guns a year to do background checks and a $13,500 annual federal investment to increase each teacher’s salary.
To achieve those things, Harris said, Americans must have honest conversations about problems the country is facing.
“We must speak truth each and every day,” she said. “We must fight for the best that we can be.”
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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Alameda County
DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland
Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.
Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.
City Government
Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Special to The Post
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.
Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”
According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.
“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”
When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.
At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”
While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.
On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.
“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.
The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.
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