Activism

Same Game Different Smokers Takes a Look at Tobacco Industry’s Footprint on Black Lives, Black Lungs

Published

4 years ago

November 21, 2019

The African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council and the San Francisco Public Library’s African American Center are presenting the exhibition “Same Game, Different Smokers” beginning Saturday Dec. 7, at the San Francisco Main Library.

Curated by Tracy Brown, AATCLC project manager and a renowned visual artist in her own right, “Same Game Different Smokers” is an exploration of the troubling relationship the tobacco industry has had with the Black community over the last 400-plus years. A collection of archival advertisements and images are brought together to answer some extremely important questions.

This exhibition seeks to illustrate the history of the tobacco industry’s targeting of the African American community with strategic advertisement placement, product distribution events, and divisive messaging. The majority of the images are pulled from the Tobacco Control Archives of vintage advertisements and artifacts.

Vintage ads of African Americans associated with tobacco products from the 1800s and 2007.

The exhibition begins with information about sacred tobacco and shows how tobacco strayed away from its spiritual roots, Brown said in a statement. It then shares the role that Europe’s demand for tobacco played in the creation of the Atlantic Slave Trade and how tobacco advertising evolved once the African American community became a target market.

Brown uses tobacco industry documents recovered from companies like Phillip Morris to show discussions between industry executives suggesting that menthol cigarettes be marketed to the Black community as well as stated planning to launch their now infamous aggressive marketing campaigns in publications like Ebony and Jet.

She also works to show that the tactics and narratives being used by e-cigarette companies like Juul are being taken directly from the nicotine addiction industry playbook.

To Brown, it is important that all people, especially those who are subject to constant targeting be shown what tactics are being used to influence the decisions they make.

Formed in 2008, the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC) partners with community stakeholders, elected officials, and public health agencies to inform the national direction of tobacco control policy, practices, and priorities, as they affect the lives of Black American and African immigrant populations. The AATCLC has been at the forefront of elevating the regulation of mentholated and other flavored tobacco products on the national tobacco control agenda.

The opening event will feature presentations by Ohlone Sisters Desiree and Carla Marie Munoz, who are representatives of the Costanoan Rumsen Ohlone Tribe, the indigenous people of the Central California Coastal area. Awon Ohun Omnira (Voices of Freedom) will sing a litany of songs in the Yoruba language for the ancestors in homage to Black lives lost working in the tobacco fields during the slave era and to diseases caused by or exacerbated by smoking.

Naomi Jelks, director of the African American Center at the San Francisco Main Library, the AATCLC Squad including Dr. Phillip Gardiner, Carol McGruder and Dr. Val Yerger will be on hand.

A mobile mural by Aerosoul Arts with the theme “Emancipate yourself from menthol slavery” will be on view during the exhibition opening.

“It is my goal to ensure that the African American community is not left out of the conversation around how to address the use of flavored tobacco products to target children and other strategic populations,” Brown said. “(About) 45,000 African Americans die from tobacco-related illnesses every day. This exhibition allows me to use my talents as an artist and a curator to try to bring that number down to zero.”

“Same Game Different Smokers” runs from Dec. 7, 2019 – Feb. 6, 2020, at the San Francisco Public Library, from 2-3:00 p.m. in the foyer of the library.

Courtesy of California Black Media

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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

6 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

6 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

1 week 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.