Monterey Bay Black Folks Event Calendar |
Week of Mon Sept 28th through Sun Oct 4th, 2020 |
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About the Monterey Bay Black Folks Event Calendar
The purpose of the Monterey Bay Black Folks Event Calendar is to connect the Black Community of CSU Monterey Bay with the local Black Communities of the Greater Monterey Bay Area. The idea for the calendar came out of the community forums organized as part of CSUMB's annual Super Saturday Black student recruitment events. The Calendar is edited by Steven Goings with new editions being released every Monday. To submit an event for possible inclusion, please send to AfricanQuazar@gmail.com. The submission deadline is Friday at 6pm.
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Editor's Note:
Throughout this newsletter, Blue Underlined copy (including above!) indicates a searchable link.
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Dr. Vivian Waldrup-Patterson's House Raised by Fire and She Needs Our Support!
Dear Family and Friends:
Our very own Dr. Vivian Waldrup-Patterson lost her home to fire last night, September 23, 2020. Vivian, daughter, and two grand children are safe and unharmed, thanks be to God. It is believed that the fire started in the garage but we will know for certain after investigations are conducted.
Vivian's family needs financial assistance for supplies, groceries, and for the potential rebuilding of the house. She also needs emotional support, so please send her virtual hugs when you are able. As you can imagine, the experience is devastating. You know how Viv is; she is handling the entire incidence with poise and grace, never complaining.
Vivian's family needs these funds as soon as possible, as they have been displaced and the home will need to be reconstructed so that they can move back and settle down.
Share this GoFundMe Link with your family and friends and on Social Media platforms.
Thank you in advance for contributing to this campaign.
Dr. Veronica Chukwuemeka
Ms. Rhonda Evans
Dr. Brian Corpening
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Steven's
Take on Justice for Breonna:
There is every reason in the world for emotions to be heated about the unnecessary death of Breonna Taylor and the subsequent failure to indict any of the three police officers who raided her home for causing her death (one was indicted for endangering Ms. Taylor's neighbors!).
A few days after the announcement that there would be no charges filed for two out of the three police officers, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal were criticized over social media for essentially agreeing with the Kentucky District Attorney and Grand Jury finding that because Breonna's boyfriend fired at police first when they busted in her apartment, there was a reasonable expectation that any police officer in the same situation would have fired back in self defense.
Regardless of how we may feel about it, Barkley and O'Neal are essentially right. And that is precisely the problem.
A 2nd Amendment Right to Bear Arms, the Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground Laws are fundamentally incompatible with a police force empowered by courts and legislatures with no-knock warrants on persons who may have at one time or another associated -- simply ASSOCIATED!-- with someone who may have used or dealt drugs at some time.
The completely predictable result is that totally innocent people like Breonna Taylor will continue to be just so much collateral damage in the endless War on Drugs that functions as a War on People of Color, especially African Americans. Meanwhile, like blaming the soldiers for the war, public anguish about the infinite number of scenarios in which Black people end up dead in encounters with the police and other vigilantes results in the cathartic need to punish the cops on the scene for doing exactly what the system SHOULD NOT HAVE -- but did -- tell them to do.
Emotionally speaking, the cases of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray and Breonna Taylor are indistinguishable because they all have the same result -- another dead Black person.
Nevertheless, rationally speaking, in order to enact policy or personnel changes that stand any chance of actually reducing the ways in which Black people are disproportionately killed by the police and other vigilantes, distinguishing between cases and causes is precisely what we MUST do.
Given that police attempted to serve a no-knock warrant in the middle of the night, and given that Breonna's boyfriend had no idea it was cops he was shooting at when persons unknown to him violently invaded his girlfriend's apartment, you could exchange the two unindicted police officers with any two other officers from across the country and would have had the exact same result.
According to a New York Times article on the case, the third officer, "Brett Hankison, a detective at the time, fired into the sliding glass patio door and window of Ms. Taylor's apartment, both of which were covered with blinds, in violation of a department policy that requires officers to have a line of sight."
Hankison (whose bullets were NOT among those that killed Ms. Taylor) was charged with "wanton endangerment" and terminated for "an extreme indifference to the value of human life." But he was not the only guilty party. No-knock warrants are fundamentally also an expression of wanton endangerment and an extreme indifference to the value of human life.
If as a society there is not yet any real political will to abolish the police as an institution that arguably does more harm than good, we must at the very least start abolishing or criminalizing the tools and tactics -- choke holds, no-knock warrants and the like -- that render police (bad apples or not) a dangerous and unaccountable force.
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Steven's
Take on Loss:
2020 continues to be everyone's least favorite year in recent memory, including mine. It has been a year marked by remarkable, historic losses. First and foremost is the Corona Virus Pandemic that as of this writing is just shy of causing one million deaths world wide, over 200,000 deaths in the U.S., over 15,000 in California, and close to 10,000 cases in Monterey County with 71 deaths...so far...
Then of course there were the continuing -- almost routine -- killings of African Americans at the hands of police (one for every week of the year!); Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd being only the most infamous among the 164 African Americans killed by police this year...so far...
Let's not forget about 2020's record-breaking California fires that confirm beyond all reasonable doubt that climate change is real and no longer a future threat inching closer but a present threat that has us in its too hot grip.
Like all years, there was the Grim Reaper's usual harvest of celebrities and other prominent figures. For Black Celebrities, the reaping began with the fatal helicopter accident that took Cobey Bryant in January. By September, "Curly" of the Harlem Globe Trotters, Little Richard, John Lewis, C.T. Vivian and Chadwick Boseman (among others) would be added to the list...so far...
The entire presidency of the Liar-in-Chief has been a loss for the so-called Party of Lincoln which -- already headed in that direction -- has been firmly pushed over the cliff and is now in free-fall towards unabashed White Supremacy. This presidency has been a loss for America's standing in the world and a loss for the American people as his benighted "leadership" led to far more COVID-19 related deaths than would have been the case under any other president, Republican or Democrat.
The untimely loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg -- and the subsequent cynical, hypocritical determination by Mitch McConnel's Republican-led Senate to confirm the President's nominee for her seat weeks before the 2020 election despite denying President Obama the same opportunity months before the 2016 election -- may prove to be the nail in the coffin of the Supreme Court as the nation's chief institutional defender of human and civil rights.
Many of us were outraged over the outcome of the decision by the Louisville Grand Jury that brought back no charges for 2 out of 3 officers involved in the home raid that brought about the death of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor. The officer for whom charges were filed (reckless endangerment) were because he shot into the neighboring apartment. Breonna Taylor for whom the hashtag# "Say Her Name" became nationally known was not even mentioned by officials announcing the decision.
Locally, I received news that my good friend Dr. Vivian Waldrup-Patterson's house caught on fire Tuesday night and was totally lost along with all household possessions. Viv, her children and grandchildren all got out safely and are being housed by CSUMB.
Among so many other things, Dr. Viv has been a tireless advocate for Black students, staff, and faculty out at CSUMB. She co-leads our African Heritage Faculty and Staff Alliance, is an NCBI diversity and Koru mindfulness trainer and runs the Mandla Mentoring program for Black students all of this and more on top of her actual job at the university as the Director of Teaching, Learning and Assessment.
In a year characterized by so much loss -- most of which we are powerless to change -- here at last is an experience of loss that we have an opportunity to mitigate if not totally alleviate. At the same time, we demonstrate that no matter what trials and catastrophe we face, if we face them together, we will overcome them together.
Please help out Viv if you can.
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Truth Be Told! with Dirrick Willams
THINGS WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT BUT DONT KNOW HOW TO TALK ABOUT
Hey,
Its Dirrick Williams. I hope you are safe, healthy, and going through this difficult time with a great deal of peace and hope.
I am here to share with you the weekly Tok2Me production. It is a 4 part video on the topic of White Rage and how it looks like in your everyday life. I was able to sit down and have a meaningful discussion with two amazing community leaders, Mel Mason and Fred Jealous and we were able to dive deeper on the topic of White Rage. You can watch part 1- 3 on my website, Tok2me.tv or you can click the link, to watch the last episode.
--Dirrick
Tok2Me:
Video & Podcasts @
Podcast only:
Video only:
Petition:
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Fall 2020 Historically Black Virtual Church Tour...
On Sept 27, 2020, we visited Friendship Baptist Church. Here is a link to the Sunday Service Recording "Surviving Snake County".
This week we visit Emmanuel Church of God in Christ...
Sun Oct 4, 11 AM
Emmanuel Church of God in Christ
Ways to attend Sunday's Service:
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Go to Emmanuel COGIC website and click on "Experience Live Stream
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Go to Emmanuel COGIC Facebook page where the service will be broadcast live
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To join the Historically Black Church Tour Watch Party, join the Monterey Bay Black Folks Calendar Facebook group and login before 11 am. All members will receive a watch party notification through Facebook.
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In the Spotlight:
Emmanuel Church of God in Christ
When the McGee family, moved to Monterey Peninsula they sought out a church home and became faithful working members of the Victory Temple COGIC, under the pastoral leadership of Bishop S. R. Martin. Pastor McGee remained there until he received and accepted the call of the Lord to become a Pastor.
As the founding pastor of the Emmanuel COGIC, Elder McGee, required the guidance and direction of the Lord. As he yielded to the calling God placed on his life he submitted himself to the Lord with much fasting and praying that the right decisions would be made. As Pastor McGee sought the Lord for a location, he relied on Hebrew 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen”. Pastor McGee continued in fasting and prayer to God and encouraging himself. The Lord directed Pastor McGee to Reverend Johnson, pastor of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. They were in the process of relocating the church to its current location, Elm Avenue and Imperial Street, Seaside, CA. Reverend Johnson put him in contact with the property owner of Emmanuel COGIC first location, on the corner of San Lucas and Broadway.
July 1959, the little building on the corner of at San Lucas and Broadway, became the location of the Emmanuel COGIC ......
Many great leaders, pastors, teachers, preachers, missionaries, district, state and national workers began their work for the Lord as a part of the Emmanuel COGIC, Seaside family.
In 2013, Pastor McGee passed the vision of the Emmanuel COGIC to Elder Eugene B. Jones, a faithful member of the ministry and a blessed preacher who was raised up under Pastor McGee. Pastor McGee’s legacy will be upheld as God continues to be Faithful to this ministry and all generations that have come through.
Click Here to Read Full History on the Emmanuel Church Website
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In the Spotlight:
Rev. Eugene Jones
Dr. Eugene B. Jones is the 9th of 11 children born to the late Pastor of the Emmons Memorial Church of God By faith located in of Cocoa, FL.
Raised in the fear and admonition of the Lord, Pastor Jones was saved at an early age and accepted his calling into the ministry. After serving as the Assistant Pastor of the Emmanuel Church of God In Christ, in Seaside, California for over 20 years. On June 8, 2014, he was officially installed as the Pastor and Shepard of the Emmanuel Church of god in Christ, where Superintendent Emeritus Welton McGee, the founder and father, passed on to him the shepherd’s staff.
During his pastoral installation service Pastor Jones received a Doctor’s of Divinity degree from the Living Faith School of Ministry, Champaign, Illinois, conferring upon him all the rights, privileges, and honors of Doctorate.
Pastor Jones serves as the Superintendent of the Monterey District Church of God In Christ. Under the leadership of Bishop N. A. Bullock, Pastor Jones also serves as Chairman of the Ordination Board, Chairman of the General Assembly and the Treasurer of the Pastors and Elders Counsel for the Church of God in Christ California Northwest Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction.
Pastor Jones has been married to his wife, Missionary Mary Grace Lewis Jones, a native daughter of the Church Of God By Faith, for 37 years. They have three children, Dominique (Kemar), Detrek (Christina), and Danielle (Michael); one granddaughter Kennedy and two grandsons Miles and Manoah.
He retired from the California Department of Corrections in 2012, as a Correctional Administrator with 30 dedicated years of service.
Pastor Jones has been a longtime supporter of the CSUMB Harambee African Heritage Men’s Support Group and Community Gathering at the Personal Growth and Counseling Center. Pastor Jones has also served on the CSUMB’s Super Saturday Committee.
Pastor Jones’ constant request is found in 2 Thessalonians 3:1 “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you.”
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NAACP in the News
NAACP Monterey: The Monterey County Branch officially started its own election season at this month's General Members Meeting in which a Nominating Committee was elected to start the process of looking for the best candidates to fill the Executive Committee and Officers of the Branch for the 2021-2022 (2-year) term.
California NAACP Finds in Social Justice Impact Study, Spilt Roll Initiative will Accelerate Gentrification and Affect Minority-Owned Firms the Hardest
"The NAACP family is devastated by the passing tonight of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg was an incredibly accomplished civil rights lawyer who devoted her entire legal career to the pursuit of equal justice and eliminating discrimination of all types. When President Bill Clinton nominated her to the Supreme Court, he called her the “Thurgood Marshall of gender equality law.”
“The pain and angst Americans have felt during this 191-day delay are due to a lack of care and attention to Black lives, said NAACP President and CEO, Derrick Johnson.”
2020 vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) participated in a virtual conversation on race and the 2020 election as part of the NAACP’s National Convention.
Oprah Winfrey wants you to get out the vote this November, and the TV legend is using the power of her network to make sure you do. This week, Winfrey and OWN hosted a virtual town hall that aimed to inspire people, especially Black women, to vote and mobilize ahead of the upcoming presidential election. Winfrey teamed up with the NAACP and national voting rights leaders for the virtual conversation.
The NAACP is recruiting poll workers and monitors to ensure the machinery of democracy works as smoothly as possible. Paper ballots, which offer more safety and reliability, should be utilized rather than touchscreen machines.
During a year that saw a national reckoning on racial injustice ahead of the 2020 presidential election, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People–NAACP– convened virtually for its 111th convention amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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Recruiting Teachers of Color for MPUSD!
Ann Jealous has been in conversation with MPUSD Superintendent PK Diffenbaugh about the need to bring in more Black and teachers of color to Monterey K-12 schools, and asked for our help in getting word out to possible candidates for the Alder Teacher Residency program they are offering.
Adler Teacher Residency is recruiting now for the 2021-2022 school year. Application deadline Nov. 9, 2020.
$15,000 living stipend
$10,000 tuition reimbursement for math, science, and SPED candidates
Year-long apprenticeship with Mentor Teacher
Master's Degree and Credential in one-year
Priority hiring for full-time position at MPUSD
Requirements: BA completed by June 2021; 3.0 GPA preferred; eligible to work in US
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Voter Registration at the Recognizing Military Service Center
Weekly: Wed-Sat from 3 to 6 PM
Located at 2087 Del Monte Blvd., Seaside
Long time members, Mary Davis and Yvonne Kirkland will be on hand to register voters at the RMSC. At the same time, Michelle's Soul Food Kitchen is available on-site for take out.
If you are interested in volunteering for the Voter Registration Drive, contact Mary Davis at Mary.Davis0406@gmail.com
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The newly created Center for Black Student Success announces its inaugural programming.
Fall 2020 Artists
October 1, 2020
6:00pm — 7:30pm
The Center for Black Student Success invites you to experience Kiazi Malonga performing traditional drum rhythms from the Congo and in conversation with HCOM Professor Umi Vaughan about the role of drumming in African Diaspora cultures.
Cultural Programming
The Center for Black Student Success brings relevant cultural programming to campus by welcoming authors, artists, scholars, and performers from throughout the African Diaspora to enrich the CSUMB experience with concerts, workshops, exhibits focused on engaging and inspiring Black students.
Upcoming events include:
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Keenan Norris: October 8, 2020 Time: 6-7:30pm
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Black finances Matter with Byb Bibene: October 22, 2020, Time: 6-7:30 pm
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Chef/Musician/Researcher: Roberto Perez (URBAN PILÓN) November 12, 2020, Time: 6-7:30 pm
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Nate Cameron: December 3, 2020, Time: 6-7:30 pm
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Upcoming
NATIONAL Events:
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About the above "Dismantling Inequities and Injustices in
Health Care and Public Health"
I recognize some of the copy above may be too small or blurry to read. The presenters are Dr. RaJade M. Berry-James, Cynthia Golembeski, Dr. Carla J. Sampson, and from Cal State Monterey Bay, our very own Dr. Vanessa Lopez-Littleton.
Wed Sept 30, 10 to 11:30 Pacific Time
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Black Boys Documentary
Free on Peacock:
https://www.peacocktv.com/black-boys
lluminating the full spectrum of Black male humanity in America through an intimate, intergenerational conversation at the intersection of sports, education and criminal justice.
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Latinx / Hispanic Heritage Month Afro-Latino Profile Link
John Carlos
He is the author, with sportswriter Dave Zirin, of The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World, published in 2011 by Haymarket Books.
Carlos was awarded an honorary doctorate from California State University in 2008. In 2012, he was awarded honorary doctorates from his alma maters Texas A&M University-Commerce (formerly East Texas State University) and San Jose State University.
Click Here to continue reading John Carlos' Wikipedia page.
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Useful Links:
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Here is something the Monterey County Branch NAACP is working on. You can send your entries directly to lbogene@yahoo.com
- Check out the list and add your bio and photo to it.
- We all know the so-called criminal justice system treats our folks much more harshly than others, sometimes just having community members show up at court can make a difference in how things turn out.
- Check it out or add your favorite to the list
- With so few African Americans working in our K-12 and higher education systems, our kids have too few opportunities to see professionals and role models who look like them. We are looking for Black community members and professionals who can be called on to be occasional guest speakers in local classrooms.
Black Voices and Photo Portrait Project
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Local photographer Nic Coury has launched this Black Portrait Project and looking for subjects. If interested in posing for a professional picture message him on Facebook or send me (africanquazar@gmail.com) your contact info for me to forward.
- Just the basic public contact and position info
- Click on this google document to share your thoughts about what is needed in the Black community. We will prioritize them for further action.
- Check out the current list of churches, update existing entries or add new ones.
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Monterey Bay Black Folks Weekly Event Calendar
Submit to AfricanQuazar@gmail.com
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