Marin County

The Unfinished Business of the Civil Rights Movement: Bernie 2020

Published

4 years ago

February 27, 2020

“Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism, but there must be a better distribution of wealth within this country for all God’s children.”

– Speech to the Negro American Labor Council, 1961.
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

As the 2020 presidential campaign heats up and moves toward the California primary voting day, the rhetoric against Sen. Bernie Sanders vision is intensifying.

“But he’s a socialist. A communist! Ready to become the next authoritarian banana republic despot!”
In reality, the dictator-to-be is already in the White House.

We will experience Trump at his absolute worst unless America wakes up to the possibilities of good housing, decent food, remediation of global climate change and livable wage jobs.

Those possibilities are why all conscious African Americans should support the Sanders campaign.
Our grandmother’s generation was full of wisdom that came from their lips as well-informed proverbs. “It’s not what they call you, it’s what you answer to…”

Dr. King was clear about his calling to equality, justice and fairness as a Christian minister. The year was 1965. After being accused of being a Communist (something entirely different than being a democratic socialist), King faced questions from journalists on “Meet the Press” about his association with Tennessee’s Highlander Folk School, which had been branded a “Communist training school” on billboards that appeared throughout Alabama during the Selma to Montgomery March and showed King attending a Highlander workshop.

It was a smear campaign financed and promoted by Southern bigots, so-called Dixiecrats. These were folks who, by day, often wore police uniforms and, by night, the hoods of the Ku Klux Klan.

Others wore the “respectable” business suits of the White Citizens Councils, which had been convened throughout the South to keep Black folks in their place – which was under the heel of intimidation and oppression, in the sweltering heat of racial segregation, economic injustice and domestic terrorism.

King knew what side he was on. He knew what he answered to. He went to Memphis to help the sanitation workers of that city get economic justice and, in fact, their humanity as men and women. In 1968, he launched the Poor People’s Campaign that was aimed at the very target that the Sander’s campaign is taking on – absurd wealth inequality in the richest nation on Earth. He questioned hunger. He questioned homelessness, the plight of the unhoused. He questioned a rotten criminal justice system. He questioned the moral standing of this nation as few have before or since. Until now.

A Civil Rights Movement song asked, “What side are you on brothers (and sisters), what side are you on? I’m on the Freedom side!”
What side will you be on in 2020? Join us. Not me. Us.
This OP-ED is from the Black Folks For Bernie Bay Area steering committee; Walter Riley, Millie Cleveland, Dr. Ramona Tascoe and Greg Hodge.

Greg Hodge

Posts by Greg Hodge

Related Topics:Bernie Sanders Civil Rights elections

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Art

Marin County: A Snapshot of California’s Black History Is on Display

The Marin County Office of Education, located at 1111 Las Gallinas Ave in San Rafael, will host the extraordinary exhibit, “The Legacy of Marin City: A California Black History Story (1942-1960),” from Feb. 1 to May 31, 2024. The interactive, historical, and immersive exhibit featuring memorabilia from Black shipyard workers who migrated from the South to the West Coast to work at the Marinship shipyard will provide an enriching experience for students and school staff. Community organizations will also be invited to tour the exhibit.

Published

1 month ago

April 16, 2024

Oakland Post

Early photo of Marin City in the exhibit showing the first department store, barber shop, and liquor store. (Photo by Godfrey Lee)

By Post Staff

The interactive, historical, and immersive exhibit featuring memorabilia from Black shipyard workers who migrated from the South to the West Coast to work at the Marinship shipyard will provide an enriching experience for students and school staff. Community organizations will also be invited to tour the exhibit.

All will have the opportunity to visit and be guided by its curator Felecia Gaston.

The exhibit will include photographs, articles and artifacts about the Black experience in Marin City from 1942 to 1960 from the Felecia Gaston Collection, the Anne T. Kent California Room Collection, The Ruth Marion and Pirkle Jones Collection, The Bancroft Library, and the Daniel Ruark Collection.

It also features contemporary original artwork by Chuck D of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group Public Enemy, clay sculptures by San Francisco-based artist Kaytea Petro, and art pieces made by Marin City youth in collaboration with Lynn Sondag, Associate Professor of Art at Dominican University of California.

The exhibit explores how Marin City residents endured housing inequities over the years and captures the history of plans to remove Black residents from the area after World War II. Throughout, it embodies the spirit of survival and endurance that emboldened the people who made Marin City home.

Felecia Gaston is the author of the commemorative book, ‘A Brand New Start…This is Home: The Story of World War II Marinship and the Legacy of Marin City.’ Thanks to the generous contribution of benefactors, a set of Felecia’s book will be placed in every public elementary, middle, and high school library in Marin.

In addition, educators and librarians at each school will have the opportunity to engage with Felecia in a review of best practices for utilizing the valuable primary sources within the book.

“Our goal is to provide students with the opportunity to learn from these significant and historical contributions to Marin County, California, and the United States,” said John Carroll, Marin County Superintendent of Schools.

“By engaging with Felecia’s book and then visiting the exhibit, students will be able to further connect their knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of this significant historical period,” Carroll continued.

Felecia Gaston adds, “The Marin County Office of Education’s decision to bring the Marin City Historical Traveling Exhibit and publication, ‘A Brand New Start…This is Home’ to young students is intentional and plays a substantial role in the educational world. It is imperative that our community knows the contributions of Marin City Black residents to Marin County. Our youth are best placed to lead this transformation.”

The Marin County Office of Education will host an Open House Reception of the exhibit’s debut on Feb. 1 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.. All school staff, educators, librarians, and community members are encouraged to attend to preview the exhibit and connect with Felecia Gaston. To contact Gaston, email MarinCityLegacy@marinschools.org

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

New Marin County HHS Director Brings Breadth of Bay Area Experience

On Feb. 20, Dr. Lisa Warhuus, a psychologist with over 25 years of social services experience, will take over as Marin County’s new Director of Health and Human Services. She replaces Dr. Benita McLaren, who retired in December 2023.

Published

4 months ago

January 23, 2024

Oakland Post

(File Photo) On Feb. 20, Dr. Lisa Warhuus will take over as Marin County’s new Director of Health and Human Services.

By Oakland Press Staff

On Feb. 20, Dr. Lisa Warhuus, a psychologist with over 25 years of social services experience, will take over as Marin County’s new Director of Health and Human Services.

She replaces Dr. Benita McLaren, who retired in December 2023.

“We feel very fortunate to have someone with Dr. Warhuus’ skills and ability join our executive team,” said Marin County Executive Matthew Hymel.

“Throughout her career, Dr. Warhuus has demonstrated an ability to bring stakeholders together to effectively address our most complex community challenges,” Hymel continued.

With the County of Marin, Dr. Warhuus will lead a team of over 800 full-time equivalent staff positions and manage an annual budget of $258 million.

Her annual salary will be $288,433 with benefits consistent with those received by other department heads.

Most recently, Warhuus served as the Director of Health, Housing, and Community Services for the City of Berkeley. In that role, she oversaw a budget of more than $100 million and more than 200 employees across various divisions, including Public Health, Mental Health, Environmental Health, Housing and Community Services, and Aging Services.

“It is a true honor to have been selected for this important position. I cannot wait to get to know the incredible community of Marin County and to collaborate with the dedicated team within the Department of Health and Human Services,” said Warhuus.

Before working for the City of Berkeley, Warhuus served as Director of Children and Youth Initiatives at the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency. Before that, she was an Associate Director. In that role, she “managed and cultivated partnerships that helped expand mental health programs in multiple school districts. She also championed culturally responsive health and wellness services that aimed to support vulnerable populations,” according to a Marin County press release.

For Berkeley, “Warhuus was also a vital member of the Senior Executive Team providing counsel to the City Manager, Mayor, City Council, and the public on matters pertaining to health and housing,” the press release continued. “Notably, she played a key role in initiatives such as the City’s response to COVID-19, contributing to the citywide emergency efforts, and spearheading the development of a 24/7 mobile crisis response for individuals facing mental health and/or substance use crises.”

Warhuus earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from UC Berkeley and master’s and doctoral degrees from Aarhus University in Denmark.