By Carla Thomas

A celebration of life for the mayor of Bay View Hunters Point, businessman Charlie Walker, was held on Friday, Feb. 10 at Third Street Baptist Church in San Francisco. Walker passed away just six months shy of his 90th birthday on Jan. 26.

Born in the South, Walker relocated to San Francisco in his early teens and faked his birth certificate to join the Air Force, where he served for three years. He returned to the city and started — with one truck — his first trucking business.

He went on to become such a renowned figure in the community that he became its unofficial mayor: Arching over Walker’s casket were hundreds of flowers in blue and red spelling: Mayor of BVHP, Bay View Hunters Point.

Through an all day and night series of events, Walker was remembered as a community titan who never gave up as he fought racism and blazed a legacy for his family and the community, while opening doors for fairness in contracting in San Francisco.

Eulogized by Third Baptist pastor Rev. Dr. Amos Brown, Walker was described as a fearless businessman who never gave up a fight.

Brown described one of the many times Walker spoke up for the community. To get his point across at a school board meeting where others were backing down, Brown said Walker jumped up on the table and demanded support for youth of the San Francisco Unified School District.
Story after story revealed the truth about a man that stood for racial equity in contracts and civil rights.

“Today we are celebrating a servant of the people, a champion of social justice, an entrepreneur, and our brother in ‘good trouble,’” said Brown.

Close friend, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown recalled the early days and their longtime friendship. Brown described Walker as extraordinary in that while Walker’s companies held some of the largest civic contracts like BART, he and his wife of 63 years, Annette Walker, demonstrated kindness by inviting people with nowhere else to go to his home for every holiday.

“He did social work and wasn’t a social worker. He was heavy duty into education, a community organizer and he was able to brilliantly drown out the noise of racism and distractions to change the city for the better,” said Willie Brown.

In the 1970s, Walker was known for chaining trucks together on construction sites where Black people had not been hired. In 1971, he secured a lucrative contract to clean up an oil spill after two oil tankers collided under the Golden Gate Bridge spilling tons of oil in the Bay.

In a 30-page commemorative booklet of his life, Walker said: “I made $5 million in 30 days.”

“America is still the place” he was often quoted as saying. In Walker’s heart, only in America could a son of sharecroppers, a grandson of slaves, with not even a high school education garner such success. “America Is Still the Place,” the book Walker wrote on that chapter in his life has been adapted into the major 2022 film, “I’m Charlie Walker,” funded by his friend Bill O’Keefe and starring actor Mike Colter as Walker.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed fondly remembered Walker as a friend, supporter and fighter who stood up to white people at a time when Blacks could suffer repercussions.
“He drew attention to the many injustices and stood up for what was right at a time when Black people could be concerned for their lives. Charlie did not back down,” she said.

For San Francisco Councilmember Shamann Walton, Walker was a mentor he referred to as “Uncle Charlie.” “He knew his power when he entered a room and no matter where he was, no matter the conversation, and no matter who was around, he was unapologetically Black and paved the way for me to do the same.”

Businessmen Shelly Tatum and Timothy Alan Simon referred to Walker as a “once-in-a-generation thought leader, businessman, advocate and revolutionary.”

“This gathering is a testament to how much he loved the community, and the community loved him,” said Simon. “His legacy will live on,” said Tatum.

Businessman Dwayne Jones, former Young Community Developers director, said, “He helped me transform my trajectory from a nonprofit director into an entrepreneur and to be unapologetically Black about it.”

Walker’s granddaughter Lyn-Tise Jones read the opening scripture at the service (2 Timothy 1:7) “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.”

“If you knew anything about my grandfather you knew he wasn’t afraid of nothing or nobody. He lived fiercely and ferociously for his family, his friends and his beloved community,” said Jones.

Walker’s granddaughter Geoffrea Morris read letters of acknowledgement from U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Assemblymember Matt Haney and State Controller Malia Cohen.

A reading included Walker’s favorite poem entitled, “A Gentleman” written by Beverly Al-Kareem.

Family member Crystal Walker sang “Trouble of the World.”

While fighting the troubles of the world Walker blazed a trail creating businesses, opportunities, and promoting education. Walker’s dreams produced lawyers, doctors, engineers and dentists in the family.

Until her untimely death, Walker’s daughter, Yolanda Jones took up the trucking business, which was how her father started out. She had headed Yolanda’s Construction Administration and Traffic Control, where the company secured government contracts and hired and trained people of the community on the business, opening doors of opportunity to members of a sidelined community.

For Minister Abdul Rashidullah Muhammad, Walker was a welcoming bridge when his mosque moved into the neighborhood. “Charlie’s living was not in vain. He didn’t let anyone put him down. He used his time to help people,” he said.

Maestro Curtis of the Curtis Family C-Notes credited Walker with helping him create a music studio early in his career. “Walker took me to the music store and purchased everything I needed, $20,000 worth of equipment. Who does that? Because of the quality of music I was able to produce in that studio, I was signed to Earth, Wind and Fire’s label.

A procession of vehicles from Gilman Street traveled past Walker’s Bret Harte Middle School to the New Southeast Community Center along Third Street. A flatbed truck bearing Walker’s mega image with a dozen of his grandchildren in tow, led the way with police and the Kings of Cali Motorcycle Club as traffic escorts.

At the New Southeast Community Center, an art tribute in honor of Walker produced by Malik Seneferu showed the many facets of Walker’s life. From articles of clothing to photographs in Africa and meetings with heads of state, each item included a scannable QR code providing the item’s context with additional video.

Later that evening, SF Black Wallstreet presented a Lenny Williams concert in Walker’s honor. The audience danced and sang along to Williams’ hits, as the famous R&B crooner belted out “’Cause I Love You,” “This Time It’s Real,” and “You’re Still A Young Man,” among others. “Charlie was a man of the people, and we will miss him,” said Williams.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez, LLC

It’s all in the balance.

You need to maintain that first and everything else comes next. Without balance, you can’t pedal and the wheels won’t turn. Without balance, you’d dream of a place with no chance of biking there. No balance, no movement — and, as in the new book, “On Freedom Road” by David Goodrich, forward, northward, is the only way to go.

In the early spring of 2011, while taking a rest from a cold bike ride, David Goodrich wandered into a museum. There, he was handed a large brass ring that was once a slave collar.

It reminded him of something he knew: one of his ancestors was a ship’s captain in the “Triangle Trade,” also known as the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Holding the collar and acknowledging that “white folks like him” have different ties to slavery than do Black Americans, he yearned to “discover how some … [African] descendants later brought themselves to freedom.”

In 2015 and 2017, he and a friend had taken trips from New Orleans, Louisiana, and Jackson, Mississippi, respectively, following routes that enslaved people might have been forced to travel. He writes about those trips in later pages here, but he begins this book near the birthplace of Harriet Tubman.

To find Tubman’s exact route north on the Underground Railroad took some effort, Goodrich says, because she was illiterate and written details could have been dangerous. Still, there were notes and clues indicating where she went. She tried not to attract attention but the owners of the safe houses along her route knew her. Those facts helped shape the journey that Goodrich and two fellow riders took in the summer of 2019.

From Maryland to Canada, they biked up hills, through wooded areas and mud, following an app, notes, roadside signage, and traveled along many of the same roads that Tubman had made repeatedly under cover of night, despite threats on her life and that of her ‘passengers.’

As for Goodrich and friends, “we would be traveling by daylight, without dogs in pursuit, and with the benefit of Gore-Tex, shiny gears, and freedom.”

“On Freedom Road” is a pleasantly odd read.

The timeline, first of all, is backwards: author David Goodrich opens this book with a recent tale, leaving a later journey for the back half. It’s somewhat befuddling.

And yet, neither part lacks in excitement: because a bicycle isn’t a car, Goodrich had a vantage point that’s unique in travelogues, which is at least partly what this book is. Readers will find descriptions of bicycling and scenery, yet it doesn’t distract from history, which is the reason behind the ride. The nimbleness of the transportation mode helps Goodrich share the smallest, bravest, most impactfully historic tales of danger, determination and daring.

“On Freedom Road” is not filled with the tales you learned in school; no, it recounts the wild and violent and heroic, told between gentle accounts of weather, traffic and flat tires. Readers who are looking for something unusual will find that to be a nice balance.

“On Freedom Road: Bicycle Explorations and Reckonings on the Underground Railroad” by David Goodrich. c. 2023, Pegasus $27.95 246 pages

By Post Staff

The Multi-Cultural Chambers of Commerce collaborated with Wells Fargo bank to give business owners information and access to capital at an event was held Nov.18 at Higher Ground Community Center, 2010 Mandela Parkway, Oakland, California.

Banking professionals and representatives from Community Development Financial Institutions shared their knowledge en masse in the morning, then, following lunchbreak speakers, were available for one-on-one networking.

“We are excited to have hosted an informative workshop with representatives from Working Solutions and KIVA,” said Cathy Adams, president of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce. “Our businesses have suffered in so many ways during this pandemic and we need to take advantage of each opportunity to access capital for our businesses to increase revenue sales.

“I am equally proud to have Wells Fargo as a partner with the Multi-Cultural Chambers of Commerce to unite our efforts to support our businesses in Oakland. The grant in the amount of $100,000 will assist each Chamber to do similar workshops starting January 2022,” Adams said.

Representatives from the following Chambers were in attendance: Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce, Oakland Latino Chamber of Commerce, Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce.

Wells Fargo Bank provided business owners the opportunity to learn what banks look for when they review loan applications. Wells Fargo Team Member Network discussed how they provide support for local business owners.

“Wells Fargo is proud to team up with the Multi-Cultural Chambers to create a three-phase coaching platform that can demystify access to capital,” said Chuck Baker, vice president of social impact and sustainability for Wells Fargo. “The first phase is the kickoff event that helps businesses understand how to access capital at a broad level — from crowdfunding via Kiva, to low-interest loans with Working Solutions Microloans, to up to $200 million through Wells Fargo.”

The next phase will be the culturally relevant workshops that will be conducted by each chamber in early 2022. The third phase will be one-on-one coaching that will occur directly with businesses, including in-language tools and direct technical assistance for their members

The Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce OAACC was established in 2003. It is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to advance economic opportunity and strengthen Oakland’s Black business community. We provide a number of services for our business associates and members including access to workshops, business development opportunities and advocacy.