Activism

ILWU Local 10 Honors Angela Davis on Juneteenth

Willis, along with other Local 10 union officials, acknowledged Davis work as a professor and activist in the 1970s and 1980s and for standing up for freedom and union rights.

Published

4 years ago

July 2, 2021

Isabelle Price

Angela Davis speaks at the ILWU Local 10 Union Hall in San Francisco. Photo by Lee Hubbard

Trent Willis, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 10, promised that his union would honor Angela Davis, the former college professor, feminist leader and former Black Panther leader, the first chance he got.

Last week, Willis lived up to his word, as he along with the ILWU local 10 union, honored Davis in a star-studded ceremony on Juneteenth at the longshoreman’s union hall, which sits alongside Fisherman’s Wharf.

Willis, along with other Local 10 union officials, acknowledged Davis work as a professor and activist in the 1970s and 1980s and for standing up for freedom and union rights.

“In 1972, we had the first rally by organized labor to call for the freedom of Angela Davis,” said Jack Heyman, a retired former ILWU Local 10 member and a long-time Bay Area labor activist.

“We have a long legacy that has been handed down to us, and it’s our responsibility to uphold,” said Willis. “Angela Davis reminds me of Muhammad Ali. She sacrificed everything in defense of her people.”

As a result of this, and her fight for organized labor, Willis and officials with ILWU Local 10, made her an honorary member. This honor has only been given to one other non-union member: Dr. Martin Luther King, who made a member in a 1967 ceremony at the union hall.

Willis was referring to Davis and her ordeal and trial in the 1970s. During the Soledad Brothers trial in 1970, a judge and three Black defendants were shot and killed as they were leaving a Marin County courthouse. The guns used were registered in Davis’ name and hours after the incident, the FBI issued a nationwide warrant for her and she was placed on the FBI’s most-wanted list.

She was later captured in New York and brought back to Marin, where she was held in jail for 16 months before being granted bail. In 1972, she was acquitted of the murder charges by an all-white jury after they deliberated for 13 hours. After her release, Davis would become an international speaker and a college professor at San Francisco State University and UC Santa Cruz.

As she was being honored, Davis acknowledged the significance of Juneteenth and it being made a federal holiday.

“Finally, there is a holiday to celebrate the defeat of slavery,” said Davis, as the crowd cheered. This wasn’t the first time,Davis spoke in front of ILWU members. She had been a speaker at the 2020 Juneteenth celebration in Oakland. She also spoke at the ILWU Labor May Day Celebration last month at San Francisco City Hall.

At the Union Hall, close to 300 people showed up to acknowledge Davis’ leadership and to also swear in new registered union members.

“Local 10 has been at the forefront of radical unionism my entire academic career,” continued Davis. “I want to thank you for consistency for leading the struggle. “I want to thank this union for fighting for my freedom. I want to thank you for refusing to unload South African cargo during apartheid. I want to thank you for refusing to unload cargo that came from Israel. This union has fought all the international movements I have been a part of. And I am privileged to be an honorary member of this local along with Dr. Martin Luther King. An injury to one, is an injury to all.”

Isabelle Price

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Oakland Post: Week of May 14 – 20, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 14 – 20, 2025

Published

13 hours ago

May 16, 2025

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post

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Activism

The Best Advice for Raising Children: Discipline That Makes Sense

In his book Developing Positive Self Images and Discipline in Black Children, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu suggests that primary aims for socializing Black children should be: establishing goals related to God and the church; familiarizing children with religious texts like the Bible or Quran; educating them of Black culture like Khemetic (Egyptian) Civilization; enlightening them about Black leaders like Malcolm X and Sojourner Truth; and teaching them to strive to be employers, not employees.

Published

3 days ago

May 13, 2025

Oakland Post

Headshot of Dr. William A. Thomas. Photo courtesy of Dr. William A. Thomas.

By William A. Thomas, Ph.D.

In many African societies, the primary aim of socialization is to raise children to be socially responsible and eventually provide economic support to their parents and extended families. Ghanaian philosopher Kwame Gyekye taught that children are raised to be respectful of the wishes of their parents and extended adult family members.

In his book Developing Positive Self Images and Discipline in Black Children, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu suggests that primary aims for socializing Black children should be: establishing goals related to God and the church; familiarizing children with religious texts like the Bible or Quran; educating them of Black culture like Khemetic (Egyptian) Civilization; enlightening them about Black leaders like Malcolm X and Sojourner Truth; and teaching them to strive to be employers, not employees.

Effective disciplinary strategies appropriate to a child’s age and development teach them to regulate their behavior; keep them from harm; enhance their cognitive, social, and emotional executive functioning skills; and reinforce the behavioral patterns taught by their parents and caregivers.

Below are some specific guidelines for disciplining children.

Listen to what children are talking about with interest and show them you understand their feelings. Remember, children mirror and learn about their emotional selves by hearing their feelings reflected back to them. Staying on target also means avoiding labels. When children fail to do what is expected, discussing it is helpful rather than saying how stubborn, lazy, dumb, or bad they are. By the same token, more positive labels can be helpful.

Dependability is another essential component of the discipline process. When parents are dependable, their children learn what to expect and are helped to feel secure. When parents are consistent, children learn to trust, that is, predict their parents’ behaviors with certainty. A child thinks, “When I spill something, I will always be asked to wipe it up.” A child thinks, “If I use foul language, I will always be corrected.” A child thinks, “If I take something that doesn’t belong to me, I will always have to give it back.” The ability to predict with certainty leads children to rely on their parents and the village/community in which they live. Children feel safe when they know what to expect.

Conclusions

It takes a village/community to raise the divine gift that is the Black child. Parents look to therapists for guidance concerning a variety of parenting issues, including discipline. Keep in mind that evidence suggests that corporal punishment is both ineffective in the long term and associated with cognitive and mental health disorders. When parents want guidance about the use of spanking, a child therapist can explore parental feelings, help them better define the goals of discipline, and offer specific behavior management strategies. In addition to providing appropriate education to families, the Bay Area Association of Black Psychologists (Bay ABPsi) can refer them to community resources, like parenting groups and classes.

About the Author

Dr. Thomas is a licensed clinical psychologist with a private practice in the SF/Oakland Bay Area and Beaumont. He is a member of Bay ABPsi, a healing resource committed to providing the Post Newspaper readership with monthly discussions about critical issues in Black Mental Health. Readers are welcome to join us at our monthly chapter meetings every 3^rd Saturday via Zoom and contact us at bayareaabpsi@gmail.com.