Commentary

COMMENTARY: Actively Working For The future

CHARLESTON CHRONICLE — Set a goal, keep your eyes on the prize and work toward it. That’s what you have to do.

Published

7 years ago

March 27, 2019

Oakland Post

By Barney Blakeney

Set a goal, keep your eyes on the prize and work toward it. That’s what you have to do.

I was sittin’ here trying to figure out what the heck I’m gon write about this week. I had an idea in mind, but things didn’t go my way – one thing didn’t pan out and the other thing got bent in another direction. So here I am at the final hour trying to figure out what I’m gon do. But the goal is to write a column. I kept my eye on the objective and continued to work toward it. Then it happened! As the song says, “You gotta take what you got to get what you want sometimes, ya’ll. Gimme the bridge now, gimme the bridge now! I feel like bustin’ loose!”

I had on my mind writing about young people and activism. For the past lil while I’ve been thinking us old geezers really need to get a grip. The cycle of life dictates you get older and you die – no one lives forever. That’s the way it is, and perhaps, the way it should be. We talk about how much we love our children, but don’t plan for the future – the place and time in which they will live. We selfishly insure that our lives are comfortable, but don’t work toward their comfort.

Yeah, we give it a lot of lip service, talking about how much we do to make things better for our loved ones. And some of us actually fake the funk doing stuff that looks like we’re pushing the needle forward either knowing full well or deluding ourselves to think that we’re accomplishing something. Rev. Nelson Rivers said something recently that’s stuck with me – we must assess our work to insure we’re producing the desired result.

So I asked myself when it comes to activism, are we engaging our young people in ways that help them create the world they want to live in after we’re gone. I only can see so much. I looked at our civil rights organizations and asked if they are engaging young people so they continue what obviously is a perpetual struggle for equal rights and opportunities. Some do, some don’t. I looked at our businesses, asked the same question and got the same answer – some do and some don’t. Looked at our social organizations and asked that question getting the same answer, some do and some don’t.

So what do we get from that hit and miss strategy of inconsistency? The same thing we already have – inadequate civil rights, businesses and social opportunities.

I guess it’s hard teaching young people to become activists. Maybe that’s why our elders didn’t worry so much about it; they just did the darn thing. “Don’t do as I do. Do as I SAY!” they demanded. I talked to a young sister who thinks my generation didn’t always provide that kind of role model for them. They often didn’t see the kind of leadership in us that we saw in our elders, she said. We got too comfortable with stuff and thought that was the end game, she believes. We sought stuff and forgot about substance.

This week a local civil rights organization led a protest of public education at a Charleston school board meeting – classic direct action move. It’s been effective in the past and can be effective today. But I’m wondering if it will be. Racist oppressors have proven methods of getting around direct action. They either confront it with overwhelming force or wait for the passion to subside then develop alternatives that appease the discontented. In the end they pretty much maintain the status quo.

This publication and the daily newspaper publishers are working on a story about the effort to integrate public eating establishments in the 1960s. The millennials of that time conducted direct action sit-ins at segregated eating establishments, ultimately succeeding in integrating them. The lunch counters of today still are integrated, but most eating establishments still are very much segregated. And sadly, the few Blacks who are allowed to eat at those exclusive places feel so privileged, they ignore the segregation. Again, we place more value on stuff than substance.

My concern about the public education protests is that it may fail to produce the desired results. First of all, you can bet them folks are figuring how to end the disruptive activism of that direct action. If they have to put cops at the front door they’ll do that – it may not be legal, but they’ll do it! Or maybe they’ll go after the ring leaders. That usually shuts Black folks down!

We lost 50 years of civil rights activism because they cut off the heads of our two-headed snake – Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Whatever they decide, those folks will come to shut down the protest. I’m concerned our leadership may not have a plan beyond knee-jerk reactions. What’s the plan B? And why do Black folks expect white folks to education their children anyway? That’s never happened. In fact, they made a law against educating Black children! In the history of America white folks never have educated Black kids! We always had our own schools.

Demanding a quality education for all children is the right thing to do. White folks need to get a clue because their kids don’t get a quality education either. We’re all paying taxes to give big business tax incentives to locate in our community – businesses which import their workforce from other communities. That ain’t Black or white. That’s business! And the white kids at segregated specialty schools are part of that business as well. They’re being kept just as dumb! They also are not getting the quality education that prepares them for the multicultural world of the future in which they will live.

Where do we go from here? We set a goal of producing the best possible world for our children and grandchildren, keep our eyes on that prize and work toward it. It’s hard, uncomfortable work, but they’re worth it.

This article originally appeared in the Charleston Chronicle.

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Black History

Jackie Wright Champions Bay Area Stories, Filmmakers and Cultural Institutions

As an award-winning communications professional, Wright has worked with corporations, nonprofits, government agencies, educational institutions, artists, and community organizations. In 2026, she expanded that work by launching an introductory public relations class for small businesses and nonprofits, offering practical tools for gaining visibility, shaping messages and building productive relationships with the media.

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7 days ago

August 30, 2026

Post News Group

Jackie Wright of Wright Enterprises. Photo courtesy of Wright Enterprises.

By Carla Thomas

Jackie Wright has spent more than two decades helping people, organizations and communities understand the power of a well-told story.

As founder and president of Wright Enterprises, a San Francisco-based strategic communications and public affairs firm, Wright has built a career spanning journalism, public relations, media relations, crisis communications, community engagement and multimedia storytelling.

Wright’s commitment to storytelling is also deeply personal. She wrote and co-directed the 15-minute documentary, “Love Separated in Life…Love Reunited in Honor,” which chronicles the story of her parents, Specialist Five (S5 Wyley Wright Jr. and Ouida Fay McClendon Wright. Her father, a U.S. Army helicopter crew chief, died in Vietnam in 1964 while serving as an honor guard during a visit by then-Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Decades later, Wright and her siblings had their father exhumed from a segregated cemetery in Jacksonville, Florida, and their mother moved from her burial place in Georgia so the couple could be reunited at Arlington National Cemetery in 2014.

The family journey later took Wright and her sister to Vietnam, where they discovered the former military compound that had been named in honor of their father and another fallen soldier. The documentary, centered on love, war, family, racial understanding, and remembrance, earned festival recognition at screenings.

“It was quite an honor to learn about my family’s history and share it on film,” said Wright.

That filmmaking experience complements Wright’s longstanding advocacy for independent cinema. She has served as a media partner and brand ambassador for Bay Area film festivals, including the San Francisco Black Film Festival, Oakland International Film Festival, and the Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.

“It’s important to help filmmakers and underrepresented stories reach broader audiences,” said Wright.

Whether promoting a neighborhood organization, championing an independent filmmaker or preserving her own family history, Wright has remained consistent. Through Wright Enterprises, she has turned communications into both a profession and a form of community service, telling stories that might otherwise go unheard.

“Our stories are an integral part of our history, and our history is not only American history, but worldwide,” she said.

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Business

Chef Sharon Lee Blends Culinary Excellence, Education and Empowerment

Lee’s professional training took her to New Orleans, where she worked at Restaurant August and expanded her knowledge of Cajun, Creole, and French cuisine under the guidance of internationally recognized chef John Besh. When she returned to San Francisco, Lee was part of the kitchen staff that helped reopen the remodeled Cliff House at Ocean Beach.

Published

7 days ago

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San Francisco Chef Sharon Lee, culinary educator and owner of The Spot! Photo courtesy of Chef Sharon Lee.

By Carla Thomas

For Chef Sharon Lee, the kitchen has never been just a place to prepare meals. It has been a classroom, a workplace, a training ground and a doorway to opportunity.

The San Francisco chef, culinary educator and owner of The Spot! Fine Catering Services has spent more than two decades building a career that blends professional cooking with community service.

Now, Lee is expanding that mission through culinary workforce training and plans to launch a culinary academy that would provide underserved youth and adults with a pathway into the food and hospitality industries. Lee’s passion for cooking began in her mother’s kitchen; however, she built a thriving barbering business before graduating from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, where she completed the Cordon Bleu program with an associate degree in operations.

“At some point I wanted to try something new, and I have wonderful memories of helping my mother in the kitchen,” said Lee.

Those experiences helped shape the culinary style she later brought to The Spot! Fine Catering Services, which she founded in 2003.

“I have cooking specialties, but I can also cook Italian, soul food, and many foods inspired by different cultures.”

Along the way, Lee strengthened her business and operational skills by working with Paula LeDuc Fine Catering and Levy Restaurants, as well as venues such as the Oakland Arena and Coliseum, Chase Center, and Moscone Convention Center.

As a culinary department head with the San Francisco Unified School District, she directed enrichment programming for high school juniors and seniors, designing curriculum, field trips and health education seminars. She also created a pilot culinary and nutrition program through the University of San Francisco’s Upward Bound Program, teaching college-bound students healthy cooking through a garden-to-table model.

Her community work has included youth culinary education through Big Moma House, food safety and kitchen fundamentals through the Holiday Apron & Hat Program, reentry and job-readiness training through Black Owned Project 365, and culinary instruction for formerly incarcerated men through the Black Cultural Zone in East Oakland.

In her spare time, Lee enjoys feeding her friends, family, and the homeless in the community.

Lee also hosts culinary cohorts to help underserved participants develop practical skills needed to enter the workforce as prep cooks.

Her long-term vision is to build a culinary academy that brings those experiences together under one roof. Lee wants the academy to provide students with more than cooking lessons. Her goal is to teach employable skills, discipline, confidence, and the business knowledge needed to move from an entry-level kitchen position into careers in catering, hospitality, food service management, or entrepreneurship.

For Lee, the recipe is simple.

“It’s all about the next generation and making sure they have the skills and a level of preparation to build a viable career, a good life, and always help others on your journey,” she said.

Chef Sharon Lee will be a guest vendor at the 11th Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival on Sept. 12 with the Freedom Farmer’s Market at 4521 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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Commentary

OPINION: Angie Nixon Will Turn You Into a Democratic Socialist If Donald Trump Hasn’t Already

The survey defined “comfortable” as spending 50% of income on necessities, 30% on “like-to-haves,” and putting 20% in savings. Are your percentages way out of whack? Like 100% on necessities?

Published

7 days ago

August 30, 2026

Post News Group

Angie Nixon. Courtesy of Angie Nixon’s Facebook page.

By Emil Amok Guillermo

The midterm elections are more important than ever as we fight back.

And we all know “affordability” is the No. 1 issue in the U.S.

So, how are you doing? A new survey says that, for a single person, being comfortable in California requires an income of $126,797. Or $302,682 for a family of four.

Did those numbers make you uncomfortable?

A single person making just $102,794 could be comfortable in Utah. But wouldn’t you rather just look at the Mormon Temple in Oakland from 580?

The survey defined “comfortable” as spending 50% of income on necessities, 30% on “like-to-haves,” and putting 20% in savings.

Are your percentages way out of whack? Like 100% on necessities?

What if the car breaks down? What if the kids need x, y, or z? What if overtime gets cut back? What if Social Security goes bankrupt?

Are you a democratic socialist yet?

That’s not where Blues go Red and turn communist. It’s about a government that puts people before profits. And cares for all of us. Not just the billionaires.

Angie Nixon

In last week’s Florida primary, people around the country saw Florida legislator Angie Nixon win the Democratic U.S. Senate primary with a stunning upset over Alex Vindman.

Vindman was well-funded ($16.3 million to Nixon’s $975,000), and well-connected nationally. But Nixon—an African American with state house cred, union organizing experience, and a fighter who was arrested protesting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ redistricting efforts— proved to be unbeatable. She’s officially aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

That means Nixon, 42, believes in universal health care, a/k/a “Medicare for all,” taxing the wealthy, and a minimum wage of $25 an hour.

Think back to that comfort level survey. At 40 hours a week, $25 an hour is just $1,000 a week or $52,000 a year. It’s not even half what that survey said was needed for a single person to be “comfortable” in California.

We’re forced to get 3-4 low-wage jobs.

Nixon and the DSA want to set the floor, so no one sinks into oblivion.

Republicans would simply let us all sink.

Nixon now goes up against Republican Sen. Ashley Moody in November. Florida’s Republicans outnumber Dems by 1.5 million voters. And Nixon’s DSA tag makes her a clear underdog, maybe even unelectable.

But the Dems are sticking with her. Voters seem to be turning out for someone who will directly and boldly address affordability.

Meanwhile, Trump is turning the Iran War, which has caused the oil price run-up and high inflation, into an economic war on the world. At the same time, he’s declared a tariff war on our good ally, Canada, guaranteed to raise prices on imports to America.

That could make Nixon the one in Florida 2026. And it would move Dems closer to flipping both houses of Congress, a vote for super normalcy.

Trump is so far down in the polls, he’s resorted to election disruption and voter suppression.

But the antidote in Florida at least is Angie Nixon, a woman worth watching, who’ll turn you into a Democratic Socialist if Donald Trump hasn’t done so already.

About the Author

Emil Amok Guillermo is a veteran journalist, commentator, and comic monologist. He does a micro-talk show on YouTube.com/@emilamok1