Bay Area

IN MEMORIAM: Oakland Vocalist Freddie Hughes, 78

“(Freddie Hughes) was the epitome of the likes of Johnny Mathis,” noted Tillman Smith. “That’s how impressive he was. Most people have no knowledge of his schooling or if he ever had a job, but they do remember his love for singing. Every time you saw Freddie, he was always handing out his latest CD.”

Published

2 years ago

February 7, 2022

Oakland Post

Freddie Hughes passed away unexpectedly from leukemia and complications from COVID-19 on Jan. 18, 2022. He was 78 years old.

By Clifford L. Williams

Freddie Hughes, one of the most gifted vocalists and a great human being, passed away unexpectedly from leukemia and complications from COVID-19 on Jan. 18, 2022, according to drummer, songwriter and producer Paul Tillman Smith. He was 78 years old.

Hughes was born on Aug. 20, 1943, in Berkeley to parents who moved West from Texas seeking the plentiful jobs during WWII.

His father, Fred W. Hughes, was a longshoreman and pastor who helped found Oakland’s Good Samaritan Church of God in Christ, and his mother Lola Mae Anderson was a singer and missionary.

“Freddie has been singing and recording since a young child and had a huge hit in 1968 with the recording of ‘Send My Baby Back,’ said Tillman Smith. “The song showcased Hughes for the public at a time when everyone in the music business in the Bay was trying to find a way to get through…to find their niche.”

Hughes’ son Derick, a former lead vocalist with Tower of Power, has followed in his father’s footsteps, having recorded with Motown and Prince, and toured extensively with Roberta Flack.

Freddie and Derick are featured performers on a new CD, sponsored by the Bay Area Jazz Society and the West Coast Blues Society called “The Sounds of Oakland” to be released this month throughout the nation. The CD celebrates the legacy of East Bay soul and R&B.

“(Hughes) was the epitome of the likes of Johnny Mathis,” noted Tillman Smith. “That’s how impressive he was. Most people have no knowledge of his schooling or if he ever had a job, but they do remember his love for singing. Every time you saw Freddie, he was always handing out his latest CD.”

The East Bay Times noted that “Hughes was held in the highest esteem by his peers during the past six decades and was a pillar of the Bay Area music scene. Hughes played a central role in shaping the sound of East Bay soul during a pervasively influential era defined by church-reared Black vocalists bringing the fervent cadences of gospel music to secular settings.”

Oakland blues artist Johnny Talbot, a close friend of Hughes, said that his relationship with Hughes started in church when they were teenagers. “It was me, Freddie, Walter and Edwin Hawkins who sang in the choir at the Good Samaritan God in Christ Pentecostal Church,” said Talbot. “When Freddie was just 13, he sang lead in the grown-up choir, and the grown folks couldn’t take that away from him. That’s how good he was.”

Hughes is survived by his brother, Wayne Hughes of Oakland; five children, Sonia Hughes Farmah of Hanford, Derick Hughes of Oakland, Derene Hughes Jones of Alameda, Lena Hughes, and Jelani Hughes; 23 grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, at 11 a.m. at the Lily of the Valley Christian Center, located at 1010 91st Ave., Oakland. A repast will be held at 1 p.m. at St. Augustine Episcopal Church, located at 501 29th St. in Oakland.

The Bay Area Jazz Society, a 501(c)(3) organization, is asking the public to help raise money for Hughes’ memorial and burial. Hughes spent his lifetime performing throughout the Bay Area but didn’t leave behind a pension or available savings. The goal is to raise $20,000 in this effort. Please consider making a donation to www.gofundme/money-for-freddiehughes. For more information, contact Tillman Smith at 510-697-7130.

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Faces Around the Bay: Jim Brosnahan, Esq.

James J. Brosnahan, ESQ, an international trial lawyer and trial advocacy teacher, has remained unshaken in his fervent belief in the power of the law to right injustices. Brosnahan has fought to open the legal profession to those previously excluded and worked to provide lawyers to the millions who go without.

Published

3 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

By Barbara Fluhrer “Isn’t this what old men are supposed to do… sit on a bench in the park?”

By Barbara Fluhrer

James J. Brosnahan, ESQ, an international trial lawyer and trial advocacy teacher, has remained unshaken in his fervent belief in the power of the law to right injustices.

Brosnahan has fought to open the legal profession to those previously excluded and worked to provide lawyers to the millions who go without. He has argued for the administrators of justice to represent the whole community. He’s tried 150 cases to conclusion and is ranked among the top 30 trial lawyers in the U.S. (Legal 500 US). He’s been called “scrappy,” “a lion in the courtroom,” and “ultra- liberal.”

One of his earliest cases (1962) involved two Navajo children shot by a White man on a reservation in Arizona. “The legal system needed to work as well for Native Americans as for White people,” he said. “The defendant was found guilty of second-degree murder.”

In 1963, U.S. Attorney Cecil Poole hired him as U.S. Attorney from a list of 200 applicants.

He and Poole, as federal observers, led the Vietnam protesters as they marched. The purpose: to avoid violence.

“Poole taught me preventative law in a chaotic situation and became one of my strongest mentors,” remembers Brosnahan.

In 1964, Brosnahan served on the NAACP’s Housing Committee in S.F., when 70% of the city’s housing was not available to Blacks. They sued racial discriminators, fought for reform and opposed the displacement of minorities in the Western Addition. They won and they lost, but they became the racial conscience of San Francisco in the fight for fair housing.

In 1969, two Black community workers in Oakland were indicted for stealing federal money.

“My two clients were activists in Oakland. I believed there was an element of racism running through Washington’s decision to indict two Black men who worked every day to help the poor,” he said.

The case was eventually dismissed. In the early 70s, he responded to a subpoena and testified against Judge Rehnquists’ confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court. He had witnessed Rehnquist obstructing voting at a polling place. Amid threats on his life, he was the chief defense lawyer for the American who joined the Taliban in 2002.

Brosnahan, his wife Carol and three children moved from S.F. to Berkeley in 1964, in part, to participate in the Berkeley school integration program. She is a retired Alameda County Superior Court judge.

Brosnahan, 90, checks in to his San Francisco firm, Morrison & Foerster often. He paints, reads, walks a mile a day, journals, and lectures, while writing another book: “Cultural History of Trials over the Centuries.”

His last book “Justice at Trial,” published in 2023, details his life and battles.

He reflects, “Over my career I have come to realize that one secret for enriching your own life is trying to help others. What better way to do that than to represent them in court.”

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Activism

Obituary: Social Justice Leader, the Rev. Cecil Williams, Passes at 94

On April 22, community leader and social justice advocate Reverend Cecil Williams died at his home in San Francisco surrounded by his loved ones, according to his family. He was 94 years old.

Published

4 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

The Rev. Cecil Williams, civil rights activist and social justice leader was the head pastor of San Francisco’s non-denominational GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church.

By California Black Media

On April 22, community leader and social justice advocate Reverend Cecil Williams died at his home in San Francisco surrounded by his loved ones, according to his family.

He was 94 years old.

The reverend was a civil rights leader who advocated for the equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the Bay Area.

Williams was the head pastor of the non-denominational GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church. The church welcomed individuals from the queer community and people struggling with homelessness, housing instability and substance use disorder (SUD).

Through his work, Rev. Williams attracted national attention. Prominent political and cultural leaders such as Maya Angelou, Bono, Oprah Winfrey, and Bill Clinton all attended church services at Glide.

Congressmember Barbara Lee (D-CA-12) said she is deeply saddened about the passing of her dear friend.

“The Reverend changed the lives of millions through radical love, support, inclusivity, and a commitment to service to the most marginalized,” Lee said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said that the reverend inspired people across California to embody the values of generosity and acceptance.

Rev. Williams was, “a visionary leader whose legendary compassion and love for his community transformed the lives of people from all walks of life,” Newsom said.

Rev. Williams served as the chief executive officer of the Glide Foundation until his retirement in 2023.