Activism
Hunters Point Entrepreneur Yolanda, ‘Londi’ Jones, 60
Jones was the president and CEO of Yolanda’s Construction Administration & Traffic Control (YCAT-C) an African-American and woman-owned business offering a wide range of administrative and traffic control services to support public and private sector clients on engineering-construction projects.

Entrepreneur, community champion and philanthropist Yolanda “Londi” Jones died at her Richmond home on Feb. 18, 2021, a two-year battle with cancer. She was 60.
Jones was the president and CEO of Yolanda’s Construction Administration & Traffic Control (YCAT-C) an African-American and woman-owned business offering a wide range of administrative and traffic control services to support public and private sector clients on engineering-construction projects.
Jones started YCAT-C in 2010 with just $200 and two goals in mind: to create a better way of life for her family and to employ men and women from the Bayview Hunter’s Point community where she grew up. She singled-handedly grew YCAT-C to a multi-million dollar company with 14 full-time employees.
In 2012, YCAT-C was named Small Business of the Year by the San Francisco Small Business Network (SFSBN). And in 2013, she was awarded the Business Leader Award by the National Council of Negro (NCNW) at the Golden Gate Section 30th Year Annual Celebration.
Born in San Francisco on Sept. 7, 1960, Jones went to neighborhood schools and graduated from George Washington High School.
Her entrepreneurial spirit showed early with engagement in several small businesses, including a fish-fry eatery that she started with her father, Charles Walker.
“Londi loved her community. She reached in and pulled out under-served men and women out and employed them, so they could have a better way of life,” said Ginger Jones, her niece.
“She believed everyone deserved a chance, so she gave everyone a chance. I don’t know what life will be like without Londi,” she said.
In 2016, YCAT-C made national headlines after Jones won the #PitchLeBronContest, a competition in which small business owners across the U.S. submitted 23-second videos vying for a highly sought after social media mention from A-list athlete Lebron James, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Jones masterfully used her 23-second pitch to talk about YCAT-C and their commitment to employing men and women from under-served neighborhoods as a pathway out of crime and poverty.
“Lebron I need your help. I’m an African-American, women-owned flagging business in Bayview Hunters Point San Francisco. We place men and women on construction projects to earn a decent living. Put the guns down, put the dope down, pick up a stop sign and earn a decent living,” Jones said, dressed in a construction vest, hard hat and holding up a stop sign.
James commended Jones for her work on his Facebook page, which had over 23 million followers.
“HUGE s/o to CLE Hustles #PitchLeBron winner Yolanda Jones & YCAT Control!! Loved watching the video. Keep going Yolanda, keep changing lives… your passion is inspiring.” James posted.
He also sent out a Tweet congratulating Jones from his Twitter account, which had 32 million followers at the time.
Jones was always able to leverage any publicity: by 2020, prior to the pandemic, Jones employed 50 people, 80% of whom were formerly incarcerated and Black residents of Bayview Hunters Point.
Jones will be remembered for her fearlessness, generosity of spirit and her love for the community.
She was preceded in death by her son, Leonard Bradley Jr.; brother-in-law, Jacoby Jones Sr., her favorite cousin, Hebret Walker, and her bonus son, Charles Johnson, Sr.
She is survived by her husband Rayshean Jones Sr., mother-in-law, Vickie Jones, her children, Geoffrea Morris (Erik), Meiko-Ann Davis, Lyn-Tise Jones (Jeremy), Raysean Jones Jr. and Rome Jones; her bonus children, Ginger Jones, Jamese Jones, JaQuan Jones, Iyshawn Jones, Rayshanae Jones, and LaDante Johnson; her siblings, Charlette Carnegia (Lester), Ruedell Mendoza (Michael), Lorraine Walker and Charles Walker Jr.,
The Jones family has arranged an all-day public viewing Friday, March 5 at Duggan’s Funeral Services, 3434 17th St., San Francisco, CA 94110. Due to COVID restrictions only groups of 20 or fewer are permitted at a time, so the family has booked multiple viewing slots: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. or 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Activism
Sheriff’s Deputies Skate with Marin City Youth
Sgt. Scotto and Deputy Gasparini, two officers from the Marin County Probation Department, came to interact with the youths and help them learn to skate and play basketball. Sharika Gregory, who hosted the event, really appreciates how Scotto and Gasparini interacted with the kids and said that it made a great difference.

By Godfrey Lee
The Father’s Day Skating event on Sunday, June 12, at the Golden Gate Village’s Basketball Court in Marin City was a successful event that contributed positively to the relationship between the Marin County Sheriff’s Department and the Marin City community and helped some of the children get to know the officers.
Sgt. Scotto and Deputy Gasparini, two officers from the Marin County Probation Department, came to interact with the youths and help them learn to skate and play basketball. Sharika Gregory, who hosted the event, really appreciates how Scotto and Gasparini interacted with the kids and said that it made a great difference.
During the event, Scotto helped lift Aria, a 7-year-old girl, so she could make a basketball shot into the basket. Later Scotto played limbo with the children and tried his best to go under the rope.
The community generously contributed to the skating event. The Corte Madera Safeway and Costco donated the food. The Costco in Novato gave the skates. The Target in Marin City and the Marin County Probation Department also gave skates and gift cards.
Rev. Stephanie Ryder and the Redwood Presbyterian Church in Larkspur, also donated money to help to buy more skates for the events.
Gregory said that this was a very wholesome event for the community and will continue to host similar events in the future.
Activism
Advocates Pressure Gov. Newsom to Fund Health Equity, Racial Justice in Final Budget
“Our state boasts a staggering $97 billion budget surplus,” said Ron Coleman, managing director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network. “If not now, when? Given the devastating impact of racism on the health and well-being of Californians of color it’s a travesty of the highest order that racial justice isn’t even mentioned in the Governor’s budget proposal,”

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media
On June 8, community leaders, public health advocates and racial justice groups convened for a virtual press event to urge Gov. Gavin Newsom to support the Health Equity and Racial Justice Fund (HERJ Fund).
The initiative supports community-based organizations addressing the underlying social, environmental and economic factors that limit people’s opportunities to be healthy — such as poverty, violence and trauma, environmental hazards, and access to affordable housing and healthy food. Health advocates would also address longstanding California problems related to health equity and racial justice problems.
The fund cleared a significant hurdle last week when the state Legislature included $75 million in their joint budget proposal. This means both the Assembly and Senate support the HERJ Fund and they will go into negotiations with the governor to seek his support to approve it.
“Our state boasts a staggering $97 billion budget surplus,” said Ron Coleman, managing director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network. “If not now, when? Given the devastating impact of racism on the health and well-being of Californians of color it’s a travesty of the highest order that racial justice isn’t even mentioned in the Governor’s budget proposal,”
Last Wednesday’s virtual community meeting and press event capped off a series of rallies held by supporters in cities across the state calling on Newsom to make room in his budget for the HERJ Fund.
Coleman facilitated the online event featuring representatives from service organizations speaking about their support for the fund and presenting plans for how the money would be used to support their shared mission of providing services to minority and underserved communities in California.
Jenedra Sykes, a partner at Arboreta Group, spoke about inequalities that exist in funding for smaller grassroots nonprofits and how traditionally larger, white-led nonprofits use state funds to subcontract with grassroots nonprofits to provide services to communities of color at lower costs.
“The faith-based non-profits on the ground have the relationships, the access to those who are most vulnerable and marginalized among us who disproportionately have poorer health outcomes,” said Sykes. “This bill also evens the playing field a bit. Instead of going through the middleman of the established larger non-profits, funding will go directly to the people who are doing the work. The passion, the heart, the skills, the talents are there. It’s about the resources to fund these talents”
Coleman gave attendees an update on the status of the HERJ Fund’s path to inclusion in the state budget.
Now that the state Legislature has included the fund in their spending proposal for Fiscal Year 2022-23 (it was not included in Newsom’s “May Revise”), it must survive negotiations with the governor’s office before the June 15 deadline to finalize the budget.
A final budget needs to be in place by June 30, the last day for the governor to approve.
HERJ Fund supporters remain hopeful that funding for their program will be included in the final budget.
Updated mechanisms about the budget were added to the HERJ Fund’s proposal to alleviate those concerns and supporters of the fund believe that Newsom is out of excuses.
“Our best shot at getting the HERJ Fund in the budget is now. We are hoping that all of you will keep the pressure on the governor to ensure that this becomes a reality,” Coleman said. “If he does care about the intersections of health equity and racial justice then we will see funding.”
Attendees were encouraged to contact the governor’s office and the Legislature to keep the pressure on them to include the fund. You can visit herjfund.org to learn more about the proposal and the effort to include it in the state budget.
Nadia Kean-Ayub, executive director of Rainbow Spaces, shared details about the valuable events and services community-based non-profits provide. She said there is no shortage of families in need who want to participate in their organizations’ programs but, due to limited funding for transportation, many people never access services meant to help them.
“This tells me that when things are created in our communities, they are not making the impact we need in our Black, Brown and API communities,” Kean-Ayub said. “I will continue to fight. To really make this grow, we need the state to understand that the true impact comes from the community and the people who are living these issues and who know how to help them.”
Activism
‘Birding While Black’ Incident in N.Y.’s Central Park Brings Black Bird Wildlife Enthusiasts Out of Shadows
“For far too long, Black people in the United States have been shown that outdoor exploration activities are not for us,” Corina Newsome, who studies Seaside Sparrows, said in a video posted on Twitter. “Whether it be the way the media chooses to present who is the ‘outdoorsy’ type, or the racism Black people experience when we do explore the outdoors, as we saw recently in Central Park. Well, we’ve decided to change that narrative.”

By Tamara Shiloh
Birdwatching is the observation of live birds in their natural habitat.
It’s a popular pastime and scientific sport developed almost entirely in the 20th century and made possible largely by the development of optical aids, particularly binoculars, which enabled people to see and study wild birds, without harming them, according to Britannica.
Many typically think of birding as a homogenous hobby, thus hearing the word “birdwatcher” rarely evokes images of Blacks enjoying the outdoors.
“For far too long, Black people in the United States have been shown that outdoor exploration activities are not for us,” Corina Newsome, who studies Seaside Sparrows, said in a video posted on Twitter. “Whether it be the way the media chooses to present who is the ‘outdoorsy’ type, or the racism Black people experience when we do explore the outdoors, as we saw recently in Central Park. Well, we’ve decided to change that narrative.”
In 2020, Newsome, along with a group of Black birders comprised of scientists, nature lovers, and friends came together to organize the first annual Black Birders Week, a social media celebration hosted by the Black AF In STEM Collective.
The birders group served as a springboard to shape a more diverse future for birding, conservation, and the natural sciences.
The third annual Black Birders Week ran from May 29-June 4 this year, according to https://www.blackafinstem.com, with the theme ‘Soaring to Greater Heights.”
Goals set for the Black Birders Week and the Twitter group are to:
- Counter the narrative that outdoors is not the place for Black people;
- Educate the birding and broader outdoor-loving community about the challenges Black birders specifically face; and
- Encourage increased diversity in birding and conservation.
According to Newsome, Black birders encounter “overt hatred and racism in the field and are too often the only Black person, or person of color, in a group of bird or nature enthusiasts.”
Its formation came on the heels of the May 25, 2020, incident in New York City’s Central Park when Amy Cooper, later dubbed “Central Park Karen,” claimed she exhausted “all options” before she called 911 on Christian Cooper (no relation), a Black birdwatcher.
Christian Cooper has been an avid birdwatcher since age 10 and will soon host his own show, “Extraordinary Birder,” on National Geographic, according to NPR. He will take viewers into the “wild, wonderful and unpredictable world of birds.”
Cooper told the New York Times that he loves “spreading the gospel of birding. [I’m looking forward to encouraging people] to stop and watch and listen and really start appreciating the absolutely spectacular creatures that we have among us.”
Black Birders Week co-organizer Earyn McGee conducts research near the US-Mexico border. Her concern is encountering U.S. Border Patrol officers while searching for lizards.
“We all have this shared experience where we have to worry about going into the field,” McGee said. “Prejudice might drive police or private property owners to be suspicious of or antagonistic toward Black scientists doing field work in normal clothes, putting them in danger.”
To learn more about the study of birding, read John C. Robinson’s “Birding for Everyone: Encouraging People of Color to Become Birdwatchers.”
Image: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/landtrust/black-birders-week/
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