Community
Maui, The GOP Debate, an Ex-President’s Arrest, Who Shall Lead America?
On a week that an ex-president is arrested and arraigned for an historic fourth time, one must wonder what kind of leader the American public really wants. Especially when the four-time indicted ex-president is leading all Republicans to be our next president.

By Emil Guillermo
On a week that an ex-president is arrested and arraigned for an historic fourth time, one must wonder what kind of leader the American public really wants.
Especially when the four-time indicted ex-president is leading all Republicans to be our next president.
Here’s one measure. On Aug. 21, 1983, Benigno (Ninoy) Aquino, the Philippine political activist in exile in the U.S., went home to win back freedom for Filipinos living under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.
Aquino never made it out of the airport, assassinated on the tarmac, apparently by a single gunman. After an investigation, his murder was pinned to 16 members of the Philippine Army loyal to Marcos.
Within 10 days of the assassination, I was in Manila at Santo Domingo Church reporting for the San Francisco NBC station from the funeral Mass, and then observing the procession to the Manila Memorial Park.
More than 2 million people were in the streets following the casket of Ninoy, their exiled leader. But they were also angered by the lost chance at real democracy.
That demonstration was the precursor to People Power, which would lift up Ninoy’s wife, Cory Aquino, and ultimately topple Marcos.
I have never seen 2 million people in one place, before or since.
That’s the spark missing in American politics. We just don’t have leaders who are beloved and respected as we’ve had in the past.
Instead, we have a personality cult that has a stranglehold on our politics. And even after this week, some people still won’t quit the indicted one.
Think of the Philippines. Could we even see 2 million people on the streets for a real bi-partisan pro-democracy movement in the U.S. today?
Maui Disaster a Test in Leadership
President Joe Biden went to Maui on Monday, as he should. Last week, he announced $700 per household in cash aid to victims of the Maui wildfires. By Friday, FEMA pledged $5.6 million in assistance to nearly 2,000 families in Maui. But money isn’t everything. This will be the time for Uncle Joe to act like ohana (family).
We needed to see some compassion from Biden. And he delivered. He wasn’t like Trump who threw toilet paper at the Puerto Ricans in 2017 after Hurricane Maria.
In Maui, Biden stood by a surviving banyan tree, saw it as a symbol, and vowed that the whole country will be behind Maui. And then he said the government would be respectful of the traditions, and “rebuild the way that the people of Maui want.”
That was an important acknowledgment if you know Hawaiian history.
We need leaders to admit that Hawaii is ground zero for a form of economic imperialism. A reminder about how Hawaii did not come begging for statehood and how it was made a U.S. protectorate via a coup staged against her.
Those are the words of Marianne Williamson from her Substack article, “Hawaii’s Broken Heart.”
“Hawaii is deeply sacred land,” she wrote “And her heart has been wounded by the soulless economic overreach of everyone from Dole to Monsanto.”
Specifically, James Drummond Dole, who was known as “The Pineapple King.” Aided by exploited Filipino labor, he colonized the spiky fruit and sent it around the world.
He was inspired by his cousin Sanford Dole, a Republican appointed by the U.S. imperial president William McKinley as territorial governor. That wasn’t enough for Dole, who then led a coup against Queen Lili’uokalani in 1893 and became the first president of Hawaii.
Corruption, connections, and greed. This is how paradise has been co-opted in the past. In the modern day, it falls victim to the fury of climate change.
We’ve got to help Hawaii and make sure we don’t have another wildfire disaster that kills more than 100 people.
It can’t happen again.
“If this country cannot ramp down the fossil fuel extraction that is exacerbating these weather catastrophes, then the message is loud and clear that we are on the wrong road,” Williamson said last week.
Williamson is one of those candidates for president you don’t hear much about. She’s the other Democrat who is running, who speaks from the heart about people and government in a way that seems more honest and caring.
If more politicians talked like that, could we end our divides and work together? Or does the loving language of Williamson only deepen the divide?
It’s surely a moral rhetoric from left of center that exposes the right-wing theocracy and all its hypocrisies.
But few people talk about Marianne Williamson.
Maybe because she makes too much sense?
GOP’s Anti-Asian Hate and the Personal Debate of Tucker /Trump
You’re likely not going to hear much candor about Maui from Republicans at this week’s first GOP debate.
But there will be a debate, and Donald Trump won’t be there.
Trump will show his stranglehold on Republicans by refusing to debate the also-rans. Instead, at the same time, he’ll submit to an interview by the disgraced former Fox host Tucker Carlson, a noted Trump sycophant.
I will be watching the debates mostly because Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign has been exposed as adopting an anti-Asian, name-calling approach against Vivek Ramaswamy, the businessman who’s quickly catching up to DeSantis.
There’s a reason to go after Ramaswamy — wanting to cancel the Juneteenth holiday is one.
But what we’re seeing is standard after conservatives won the Harvard affirmative action case.
White people going after affirmative action was a no go. The folks who led the Harvard case saw that. With a white plaintiff, they lost. With an Asian plaintiff, they won.
So, the model for conservative causes will be to lead with the Asian. Let the ‘model minority’ do it. It may even be the reason we see so many Asians in local races leading conservative recall efforts.
Vivek is a congenial panderer who will do anything for attention – even rap like Eminem last week at the Iowa State Fair.
He’s making headway by being the likeable non-white white.
It hasn’t worked that well in this campaign for Nikki Haley. But it may yet work for Tim Scott.
For now, Vivek is the dynamo among the also-rans and it’s getting to DeSantis. If you hear DeSantis say “Vivek the Fake,” you’ll know he is running out of gas.
Call it model minority politics, acceptable for white consumption. And after the conservative win over Harvard to defeat affirmative action, expect to see more of that in the future.
It’s fighting race with the non-white face.
You won’t get 2 million marching in the streets. But it gets a candidate what he needs in our polarized society, one more vote than the minority.
Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. See his web talk show on www.amok.com
Arts and Culture
Berkeley’s Black Repertory Theater to Hold Fundraiser for Youth Programs
The Bay Area Jazz Society will hold a fundraiser and CD listening party to raise funds for youth programs at Berkeley’s Black Repertory Theater (BBRT), the only Black-owned-and-operated theater in the East Bay.

By Clifford Williams
Special to The Post
The Bay Area Jazz Society will hold a fundraiser and CD listening party to raise funds for youth programs at Berkeley’s Black Repertory Theater (BBRT), the only Black-owned-and-operated theater in the East Bay.
The event will take place at the BBRT on Sunday, Oct. 8 from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. at 3201 Adeline St., Berkeley, CA. Tickets are $25. The master of ceremonies will be KPFA’s Afrikahn Jamal Davis.
Many artists featured in “The Sounds of Oakland: Music from the Streets” compilation CD will perform with special guests including Larriah Jackson from “The Voice” Niecy ‘Living Single’ Robinson, one of the Bay Area’s most popular vocalists and Derick Hughes, who sang with Roberta Flack for many years, taking the place of Donnie Hathaway.
Other artists attending include Donnie Williams from “American Idol,” (the same year Jennifer Hudson and Latoya London appeared), and Williams’ sister, Terrill Williams. There will be live performances with food and drink for everyone, and the CD will be playing in the lobby when the performers take a break.
BBRT has had limited programming during and throughout the pandemic and is now struggling to regain continual of operations. Bay Area Jazz Society Executive Director Paul Tillman Smith, has an extensive background in theatre, starting with a stint as musical director for the Oakland Ensemble Theater’s Melvin Van Peebles play, “Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death,” featuring television star Ted Lange of the “Love Boat,” as director.
Tillman Smith is also the co-producer, along with Norman Connors, Levi Seacer Jr., and Nelson Braxton for the new Bay Area CD ‘The Sounds of Oakland: Music from the Streets.” Other artists listed on the CD may be in attendance, including Lenny Williams, Derick Hughes, and Lady Bianca to meet and greet guests.
The Berkeley chapter of the NAACP will also support the fundraiser.
The first 20 individuals attending the fundraiser will receive a free copy of the CD. Thirty percent of the CD sales will go into a fund to help aging artists who don’t have a pension and, in many cases, no social security.
For more information regarding the fundraiser and how to obtain tickets, contact Paul Tilman Smith at 510. 689.3332, or Bayjazz@gmail.com.
Black History
Remembering the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
The “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,” brought an unprecedented throng to the National Mall on Aug. 28, 1963. From every corner of the U.S., marchers came to demand fair wages, economic justice, an end to segregation, voting rights and long overdue civil rights. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his incomparable “I Have a Dream” speech on that day.

By Gay Elizabeth Plair Cobb

Gay Plair Cobb
Editor’s note: The “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom,” brought an unprecedented throng to the National Mall on Aug. 28, 1963. From every corner of the U.S., marchers came to demand fair wages, economic justice, an end to segregation, voting rights and long overdue civil rights. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his incomparable “I Have a Dream” speech on that day. Below, Gay Plair Cobb shares her remembrance.
“Sleepy eyed, joining the early morning-chartered bus ride from New York City to Washington, DC … exhilarated, but not knowing what to expect in the late August heat
…. the yearning for justice, solidarity with others on the journey, the possibility of new legislation, and also the possibility of violence … We just did not know.
In the end, there were an amazing 250,000 of us, awed and inspired by Mahalia Jackson, John Lewis, Dorothy Height, James Farmer and, of course, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Dream that became our North Star is still our North Star 60 years later and into eternity. Grateful to have been a foot soldier then. Still grateful now.”

Poster for March on Washington.
Art
Oakland Celebrates Hiero Day 2023, Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop
Thousands of music fans showed up at Oscar Grant Plaza Monday, Sept. 4 to celebrate the 11th annual Hiero Day block party and commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, featuring the Souls of Mischief, Oakland native Kev Choice, Mister F.A.B. and a special guest appearance by Common.

By Post Staff
Thousands of music fans showed up at Oscar Grant Plaza Monday, Sept. 4 to celebrate the 11th annual Hiero Day block party and commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, featuring the Souls of Mischief, Oakland native Kev Choice, Mister F.A.B. and a special guest appearance by Common.
Hosted by the City of Oakland and Mayor Sheng Thao, the free event showcased over 30 live performances on three stages, including legendary, underground and undiscovered performers of hip-hop, R&B and other genres.
Souls of Mischief is part of the rap collective Hieroglyphics, which founded Hiero Day and this year celebrated its 30th anniversary.
“HIERO DAY (is) a driving force in the music festival culture in Oakland,” according to event organizers. “The event is widely regarded as a day to celebrate independent hip-hop music and serves as a Labor Day destination being one of the largest hip-hop music gatherings in the Bay Area.”
The event was held at Jack London Square last year, but this year, it moved to the plaza in front of Oakland City Hall, reflecting its new connection with the Mayor’s Office and the City of Oakland.
“I’m so grateful to be here in Oakland,” said Common said after receiving a “heavyweight champion” belt and proclamation from Mayor Thao. “Y’all inspired us … The music, the culture — Hieroglyphics influenced me.”
Said Mayor Thao: “Oakland is the heart of the Bay Area’s music, art and culture scene, and I am so grateful for all the work our Hiero Day organizers did to celebrate it.”
The City of Oakland this year is hosting three events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, including the collaboration with event organizers of Hiero Day. A special event was held on Sept. 10 to honor “50 years of women rooted in hip-hop,” including Pam the Funkstress, the Conscious Daughters, Traci Bartlow, and Mystic and Black.
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