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Official Name Sought for the Concord Hill Regional Park

Published

4 years ago

September 16, 2020

Top Photo: Oak Tree with a view of Mount Diablo (Photo by Stephen Joseph). Bottom Zoom photo from left: EBRD Board members Dee Rosario, Ayn Wieskamp, Ellen Corbett. Bottom right: Lewis Thrower representing Citizens for Historical Equity.

The East Bay Regional Park District Board of Directors is searching for a new name for the Park District’s 2,540 acre Concord Hills Regional Park that was acquired from the Navy earlier this year.

The Park includes a joint visitor center with the National Park Service highlighting the history of the Port Chicago, the Naval Magazine National Memorial, and the Diablo Valley. This is also the former site of the Concord Naval Weapons Station, and Port Chicago, when on July 17, 1944, over 5,000 tons of munitions at Port Chicago exploded, killing 320 mostly enlisted African American sailors, which accounted for a quarter of all African American deaths in World War II and highlighted racial inequality within the Navy.

After the explosion, 50 sailors, eventually known as the Port Chicago 50, refused to return to load munitions because no safety measures had been implemented, and were sentenced to 15 years in prison.

They were released at the end of the war. A white lieutenant and later, Thurgood Marshall, defended these men at their trial. “This is not 50 men on trial for mutiny,” Marshall said, “This is the Navy on trial for its whole vicious policy toward Negroes.”

Today, names are being sought for the naming of the Concord Hills Regional Park. One name is the “Thurgood Marshall Regional Park” to honor the life and work of the Supreme Court Justice who fought for the civil rights of both Native and African Americans, especially the Port Chicago 50.

The District has planned to name the Park the “Chupcan Territories Regional Park” in honor of the Bay Miwok Indian tribes who lived in central and eastern Contra Costa County. They also welcomed input from the Ohlone, Bay Miwok, Muwekma, and or Delta Miwok Indian tribes.

The Park District will welcome the community involvement and not rush the naming process. They have delayed the naming selection to ensure that all voices can be heard.

During a Board of Directors video conference meeting on Sept. 3 for the naming selection of Concord Hills, Diana McDaniel, representing the Friends of the Port Chicago National Memorial, shared her concern that the Port Chicago story will be lost, and suggested the name Port Chicago Memorial Regional Park.

Lewis Thrower, the spokesperson for Citizens for Historical Equity, said that people of color are underrepresented in East Bay Regional Park names as there are currently no regional parks named after African Americans in Contra Costa County.

Thrower and Citizens for Historical Equity recommend renaming the Concord Hills Regional Park to “Thurgood Marshall Regional Park,” and one or more neighboring parks to “Chupcan Territories Regional Park” to honor the Native tribes in Concord.

For more information, go to https://www.change.org/p/east-bay-regional-park-district-rename-bay-area-park-to-honor-thurgood-marshall?recruiter=1145248678&recruited_by_id=310cba10-ea12-11ea-86a37b226e9af80e&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard

Michelle Snider

Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

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Michelle Snider

Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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

Published

4 days 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

4 days 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

5 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.