Monterey Bay Black Folks Event Calendar
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Week of Tue June 2 through Sun June 9th, 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 Calendar is edited by Steven Goings, MSW and is entirely voluntary and looking for institutional support. To submit an event for possible inclusion, please send to AfricanQuazar@gmail.com.
The plan
is to send out the Calendar
every
Monday at 9 AM for those who wish to receive it. The deadline for Monday submissions is midnight of the previous Thursday.
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Join Dr. Vanessa Lopez-Littleton for this important conversation.
Zoom Registration Link:
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Remembering George Perry Floyd
Like all decent human beings, I am horrified and disgusted by the senseless murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin abetted by the dereliction of duty of three other police officers who did nothing more than watch thereby rendering themselves complicit bystanders.
So that we don't lose sight of the individual human being whose murder has caused outrage around the world, here is the
Wikipedia article
on George Perry Floyd
George Perry Floyd
(October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was a 46-year-old African-American man who was born in
Fayetteville
, North Carolina, and raised in
Houston
, Texas. He attended
Yates High School
, where he played on the basketball and
football
teams. Floyd was a star
tight end
for Yates, helping them to the 1992 state championship final game. He attended South Florida Community College (now
South Florida State College
) from 1993 to 1995 and played on the school's basketball team. Floyd returned to Houston, where he joined the
hip hop
group
Screwed Up Click
and rapped under the stage name "Big Floyd", after entering the Houston Hip Hop cultural scene as an automotive customizer. In 2014, Floyd moved to
Minnesota
. He lived in
St. Louis Park
and worked in nearby Minneapolis as a restaurant security guard for five years, but lost his job due to Minnesota's
stay-at-home order
during the
COVID-19 pandemic
. Floyd was the father of two daughters, ages 6 and 22, who remained in Houston.
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Statement on George Floyd
The Monterey County NAACP is outraged by the senseless murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police officers last week. We send our sincere condolences to Mr. Floyd’s family, friends and loved ones and want them to know that his death was not in vain, and we will not remain silent.
We watched Derek Chauvin literally kneel on George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and murder him. It is now time for us to figuratively kneel on the neck of the criminal justice system until everyone responsible for this heinous act is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We are tired of waking up every morning and hearing news reports that another black man has been profiled and murdered by an officer of the law.
BAD COPS MUST GO TO JAIL.
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In the Spotlight:
Taina Vargas-Edmund, Executive Director and Co-founder of
Initiate Justice
.
Taina Vargas-Edmond founded
Initiate Justice
in September 2016 with the intention of activating the political power of people directly impacted by mass incarceration. Prior to creating Initiate Justice, she worked in the organizing and policy advocacy field as the Statewide Advocacy Coordinator with Essie Justice Group, State Campaigner with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, and as a Field Representative for the California State Assembly. She is directly impacted by mass incarceration, with her husband having served seven years in CA state prison.
Initiate Justice was founded in late 2016
by
Taina Vargas-Edmond
and
Richard Edmond-Vargas
while Richard was incarcerated in state prison. They saw that their peers, people in prison and loved ones outside, were extremely motivated to lead criminal justice reform efforts, but did not have access to accurate, timely information, or resources on how to organize and create momentum for change.
Taina and Richard saw
Proposition 57
as a great opportunity to mobilize their community to start building power. They gathered 500 signatures to help Prop 57 get on the ballot in 2018, and began growing a mailing list of people in prison they could share updates and strategies with. When Prop 57 passed, they mobilized volunteers to survey 2,000 people on their inside mailing list to develop a set of demands for how Prop 57 would actually be implemented. This campaign was the birth of Initiate Justice, our model for building our community’s power both inside and outside of prisons.
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Tania's Take:
The Time is Now:
Defund Police & Abolish Prisons
by Taina Vargas-Edmond
George Floyd
should still be alive. So should
Breonna Taylor
, who was killed by Louisville police who violently entered her home in March. So should
Tony McDade
, a Black trans man who was shot and killed by Tallahassee police last week.
Black Americans are drowning in a sea of state-sanctioned violence and death. Every news story of another person killed by police hits like a wave, the grief and anger and fear threatening to pull us down with each swell. We are tired of trying to keep our heads above water.
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Office of Inclusive Excellence, Dr. Brian Corpening
Statement on George Floyd
June 1, 2020
Otter Family:
The disturbing video of the death of George Floyd and the resulting demonstrations across this country is sadly another stark reminder of our continuing national failure to address issues of racial injustice. Racism remains a dominant force in the United States. The jarring images of George Floyd’s last moments coupled with the senseless deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, are a reminder of racism’s continuing grip on this country. The horrifying video images from Minneapolis have been seared into our collective memory and remind us that we have work to do to end this scourge of systemic racism.
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CSUMB 2020 Commencement & Affinity Graduations
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Commencement 2020 has been postponed due to CDC requirements. The following [video links are] to celebrate the achievements of our graduates. This celebration does not replace Commencement, but rather it is a way to celebrate our students' achievements and the completion of 2,395 degrees. Planning for an in-person ceremony will begin as soon as the county and state announce when large gatherings will be permitted. Congratulations to all of our graduates, we are proud of all your accomplishments.
Click on any of the Affinity Grad video links below:
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In the Spotlight:
CSUMB Harambee Members:
J.P. Mackey and Jerome Baker
JP Mackey, put together a YouTube video "On This Day in Black History Month". Excellently narrated by Mr. Mackey, it features historic happenings in Black History for each of the 29 days of February.
Click Here to View
At just 22 years old, John-Paul (J.P.) Mackey
has established himself as a multi-talented content creator. Besides making the dean’s list at CSUMB, he has produced almost 400 songs, hosted a throwback radio program, and edited a short film showcased in a 2018 film festival. With all of these accomplishments, it may be hard to believe that the San Francisco native and transfer student has lived with borderline autism, yet he will graduate from college in 2021. Although J.P. seems reserved, people have described the self-starter as a “genius”, which serves as his nickname. Currently, he is working on a documentary about Black History Month and a podcast similar to his radio show.
Jerome Baker, a graduating senior from CSUMB
wrote an essay on Black Persistence in College for his senior capstone project:
Abstract
Studies show that black males persist to college graduation at low rates as compared to other demographics in this country. There is a significant amount of research into both why this is the case and solutions to these “achievement gaps”. In the essay below, I highlight some of the explanations to both the historic and contemporary barriers to academic achievement for black males and solutions to the problem...
Click Here to Continue Reading
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New Role for Former NAACP CEO and Pacific Grove Native Ben Jealous
Monterey County native and former president and CEO of the NAACP Ben Jealous was named president of the People For the American Way and People For the American Way Foundation in Washington, D.C., the boards of directors for both nonprofits announced on June 2. He is the first African American to lead the 39-year-old organization.
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Local inspirational speaker, Dirrick L. Williams offers "life changing videos" on You Tube and Vimeo:
"Goodmorning everyone, I have a special gift for you all. If you don't know who I am or what I do my name is Dirrick Williams I am a life coach, author, and inspirational speaker. We have been uploading our life-changing videos on Vimeo and Youtube as we speak. These videos will be covering the core elements of relationship, acknowledgment, acceptance, communication, and trust are present spiritually, and intra-personally."
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LGBTQ Month Profile Link:
Little Richard
Known for his flamboyant performances, Little Richard's hit songs from the mid-1950s were defining moments in the development of rock ‘n’ roll.
Click here
for link to the Guardian article on Little Richard: "Too Black, Too Queer, Too Holy; Why Little Richard Never Really Got His Dues".
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Monterey Bay Black Folks Weekly Event Calendar
Submit to AfricanQuazar@gmail.com
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