Activism

Black Women Revolt: Bay Area Org Gets to Grassroots of Domestic Violence

Considering itself a grassroots community activist movement, Black Women Revolt was founded in 2020. The group’s founders, Geoffrea Morris and Lyn-Tise Jones — who are sisters — say they both felt a strong desire to set up an organization in San Francisco offering help to Black women dealing with the suffering and setbacks domestic violence can cause.

Published

2 years ago

March 15, 2022

Charlene Muhammad

While there is much work to be done to lower the startling number of DV cases in the Bay Area, the founders and director of the resource center say they are making a difference in the lives of survivors of domestic abuse.

By Charlene Muhammad | Special to the Oakland Post

In the San Francisco Bay Area, the Black Women Revolt Resource Center is dedicated to creating awareness about domestic violence and solving it — with a specific focus on women of color.

“I think that Black women and Black families in particular really suffer in silence,” said Black Women Revolt Resource Center’s executive director Paméla Tate, an author and domestic abuse awareness advocate.

“And that’s not to say that other Brown families don’t. Latino families do, as well as Asian families. But, particularly, African Americans here in the U.S. have suffered with domestic abuse and intimate partner violence, since we were brought to this continent,” Tate continued.

Morris was inspired to step in the gap after she found out that there were no organizations providing treatment, care, counseling, and other social and health services to Black women dealing with domestic violence. Jones, her younger sister, also felt moved to create a program that would help Black mothers and children dealing with trauma.

So, the sisters teamed up to create what is now known as The Black Women Revolt Resource Center in San Francisco.

According to Morris and Jones, the organization serves its clients and community in several ways, including increasing awareness about the impact of intergenerational violence in the Black community; removing barriers for Black women who have experienced domestic abuse to receive access to culturally sensitive resources; and providing a designated space with resources specifically for Black women in San Francisco to help educate and heal as they recover from abuse.

Tate has trained over 100 community members and domestic abuse agency staff, preparing them to work as advocates throughout California, according to the agency.

The San Francisco Family Violence Council’s 2020 report cites clear racial disparities across all three forms of family violence. It disproportionately impacts African American and Latinx populations: 4 out of 10 substantiated child abuse cases involved Black children and 1 in 3 involved Latino children; 28 % of dependent adult abuse victims were Black; and more than half of domestic violence victims were Black or Latino.

“The lack of choices around marrying a partner, mating with a partner, and how they were treated on a daily basis, in terms of work expectations, sexual ideation, has all been put upon Black women, and I think, because we had to take it, when we got here, and centuries later, we’re still kind of taking it,” said Tate.

Part of the problem, observes Tate, is that there is a culture of secrecy in the Black community. Many Black women live in households where problems aren’t discussed outside of the family unit. There are also unspoken rules that encourage silence around mental health issues and physical abuse.

“We just don’t talk about it. So, we function in these isolated silos, and then once someone shares that something has happened to them, people are not necessarily always supportive.” Said Tate.

“One, because they don’t know that there are resources available to assist; two, because again, you’ve broken the code of silence; three, because this is kind of how we’ve been conditioned to live and respond. And four, I think, would just be because it’s not normal to talk about,” Tate went on, adding that the Black Women’s Revolt Resource Center is not yet fully operational and still awaiting funding to expand its work.

Tate says one class at the center trains batterer intervention staff, arming them with information about anger management techniques they can share with clients.

Recently, the center launched another class exclusively for advocates, who will answer crisis lines and work directly with domestic abuse survivors. Soon, it plans to start training outreach staff, who will be working on launching a youth advisory council. The aim is to get some teens to jump start conversations with teenagers, who represent a rising population of people encountering intimate partner violence and domestic violence, according to Tate.

To solve domestic violence, talk about it, said Tate.

“A lot of people don’t discuss domestic violence. A lot of people don’t even know the actual definition of domestic violence, meaning it’s more than just hitting. I think conversations and a lack of judgment would be a great start,” she said.

Charlene Muhammad

As seen in: The Final Call, Canto Talk Radio Show, AlterNet, LA Weekly, Los Angeles Sentinel, San Francisco Bay View, The Gary/Chicago Crusader, The Sentinel (Guwahati), Sacramento Observer, The Louisiana Weekly, The Westside Gazette and more

Nat'l Correspondent for The Final Call Newspaper - Founder-Host- Liberated Sisters on KPFK.org & Liberated Sisters Radio - Wife/Mom/Sister

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Charlene Muhammad

Nat'l Correspondent for The Final Call Newspaper - Founder-Host- Liberated Sisters on KPFK.org & Liberated Sisters Radio - Wife/Mom/Sister

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

7 days ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.

Published

1 week ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

By Post Staff

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.

His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.

Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.

At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.

The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.

Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”

After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”

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Activism

WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Juanita Matthews

Sister Juanita Matthews

55 Years with Oakland Public School District

The Teacher, Mother, Community Outreach Champion, And Child of God

Juanita Matthews, better known as “Sister Teacher,” is a walking Bible scholar. She moved to California from the great state of Arkansas in 1971. Sister Teacher has a passion for teaching. She has been a member of Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church since 1971. She followed her passion for teaching, and in 1977 became the lead teacher for Adult Class #6. Her motto still today is “Once My Student, Always My Student”.

Beyond her remarkable love for the Lord, Sister Teacher has showcased her love for teaching by working for the Oakland Unified School District for 55 years, all but four of those years spent at Emerson Elementary and Child Development School. She truly cares about her students, making sure they have the tools/supplies needed to learn either at OUSD or Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

She’s also had a “Clothes Closet Ministry” for 51 years, making sure her students have sufficient clothing for school. The Clothes Closet Ministry extends past her students, she has been clothing the community for over 50 years as well. She loves the Lord and is a servant on a mission. She is a loving mother to two beautiful children, Sandra and Andre. This is the impact this woman of God has on her church and the community.