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Elks Recognizes Two Marin Law Enforcement Officers

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, as part of their ongoing Drug Awareness program, awards an annual Enrique Camarena Award, during their Red Ribbon Week at local, state and national levels to a member of law enforcement who carries out anti-drug work.

Published

2 years ago

May 4, 2022

Oakland Post

Left: Enrique “Kiki” Camarena Salazar (commons.wikimedia.org), Card Celebrating Red Ribbon Week (elks.org). Right: Corporal Mark Reischel, Deputy Josie Sanguinetti. (Photos by Godfrey Lee).

By Godfrey Lee

The Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks (BPOE), or the Elks in San Rafael, has recognized two law enforcement officers who have made a significant contribution in the field of drug prevention, and has awarded them with the Enrique Camarena Recognition Award Ceremony and Dinner on Friday, April 22, 2022 at the Elks Lodge #1108 on Mission Street in San Rafael.

The first officer to be honored was Corporal Mark Reischel (retired), Central Marin Police Authority, who was honored for his 20 years of dedicated work as a police officer. He was the 2021 Camarena Award Winner. The second officer to be honored was Marin County Sheriff’s Deputy Josie Sanguinetti.

Enrique “Kiki” Camarena Salazar (July 26, 1947 – Feb. 9, 1985) was an officer for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) who was killed, interrogated under torture and murdered in Guadalajara, Mexico, according to narcos.fandom.com and other news organizations.

Camarena was born on July 26, 1947 in Baja California, Mexico. He moved to the United States of America at a young age. After graduating from Calexico High School in California, he served in the U.S. Marines for three years, attaining a rank of Lance Corporal. After his discharge, he briefly had a stint working as a fireman before eventually joining the Drug Enforcement Administration at their Calexico office in 1975. He was later transferred to the Fresno office of the DEA, and in 1980, Kiki started working in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Camarena was close to exposing Mexican drug lord Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, and the Guadalajara Drug Cartel, when he was kidnapped, tortured for over 30 hours, then murdered. He was injected with drugs, most likely to ensure that he remained conscious while being tortured, and suffered from broken ribs, and finally a punctured skull. Camarena’s body, along with the Mexican pilot Captain Alfredo Zavala Avelar who took aerial photographs of the Rancho Búfalo, a marijuana farm run by Rafael Caro Quintero of the Guadalajara cartel, was found wrapped in plastic and dumped on the road outside the small town of La Angostura, in the state of Michoacán on March 5, 1985.

Kiki’s body was examined by American Navy physicians in the embassy, and was flown back to San Diego, California, where he was buried with full honors.

Within months of Kiki’s death, Guadalajara Cartel leaders Caro Quintero and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo were arrested by the Mexican police and received lengthy sentences. The U.S. investigation into Camarena’s murder led to ten more trials in Los Angeles for other Mexican nationals involved in the crime.

In 2004, the Enrique S. Camarena Foundation was established in Camarena’s memory. Camarena’s wife Mika and son Enrique Jr. serve on the all-volunteer board of directors together with former DEA agents, law enforcement personnel, family and friends of Camarena’s, and others who share their commitment to alcohol, tobacco and other drug and violence prevention.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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

Published

5 hours 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.

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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

16 hours 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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WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

2 days 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.