EPA Today Online: Recent Episodes
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Reparations - An Idea Whose Time Has Come - Talking with HenriettaThe topic of reparations has become an issue for discussion in a number of cities, counties and states throughout the U. S.
In fact, at least 10 states -- including California, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Tennessee – have cities which have established commissions to research the feasibility of adopting a reparations program.
Not only are Los Angeles and San Francisco included in this category, but the California State Legislature, itself, has a set of bills before it that resulted from the recommendations of a state appointed reparations task force.
Given the momentum that this issue is having, it became the focus of my latest show with five guests who are advocating for the payment of reparations in California.
See the show and hear the arguments that they give to justify the payment of reparations to Black Americans living in California.
Certainly, reparations is an idea whose time has come!
So, what do you think? Feel free to share your ideas below.
Have you heard the term, Model Minority? Do you know to which group it refers? On this show, we discuss the term and the repercussions it brings with it.
Make sure you see this show!
https://youtu.be/IzK\_EG6bkr8
There is a concerted attempt to get back to some of the things we did pre-COVID, before the shelter-in-place orders were made in the beginning of 2020. Now that many routines are being normalized, what is being done and can be done to repair some of the negative effects the pandemic brought to small landlords and many of those, who are renters who've faced eviction?
The participants on this edition of Talking with Henrietta address this question and others that involve landlords and tenants. You can see the show on Youtube above and also get more information about the show on the East Palo Alto Today website at www.epatoday.org/tv.html#landlordsandrenters
Did you know that yesterday, March 2, 2021, marked one year to the day that we had our first case of COVID-19? At his press briefing today, San Mateo County Manager Mike Callagy said that there were 38,800 cases of COVID-19 in the San Mateo County during the year, with 521 deaths from the virus.
But, he said, "The good news is that we are seeing a turn for the better here with only 39 people that are hospitalized with COVID." Still he continued, "Even if you've been vaccinated, this is the critical time - the time that we know that we can save lives with people getting vaccinated and people socially distancing, wearing their masks..., washing their hands and not letting their guard down."
It's so important, as this video shows, that we continue to take important basic steps - and not let our guard down! Our Comeback Depends on All of Us. https://youtu.be/n8eeyQ9hLdU
What are you doing to reduce the spread of the virus? Help us distribute this video to get the message out about the basic things that we all can do!
East Palo just celebrated Juneteenth, the annual holiday on June 19 that was established to recognize the end of slavery. The actual date, June 19, 1885, marks the time that the slaves in Texas finally learned that they were free, ironically three years after the U.S Civil War had ended on January 1, 1863, with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.The City of East Palo Alto has recognized and celebrated the anniversary for years, almost from the time it was incorporated as a city in 1983 (Coincidentally, on Monday, June 18, 2018, the City of East Palo Alto celebrated its 35th anniversary as a city.).If you missed East Palo Alto’s celebration of Juneteenth this year on June 16 at the University Circle complex, then you can get a taste of it at the Presidio Trust Picnic, which is taking place this Sunday, June 24. The Presidio Trust will present a variety of cultural and community programs. This month the picnic will feature international cuisine, Afro-Haitian dance performances by the Alafia Dance Ensemble of the City College of San Francisco, a live Zumba lesson led by Gigi Hill-Hopkins, the director of African American holistic wellness at the Bayview YMCA, and food by the Presidio Trust's guest chef, Dimitri Lilavois, who will offer Haitian-Caribbean food from his food-truck Manjé.This past Monday, June 18, I had the special treat of
| | | Margaret Casey |
interviewing Margaret Casey, the cultural and community programs manager for the Presidio Trust and Mariella Morales, who is a professor at the City College of San Francisco and the director of the Alafia Dance Ensemble. We had an a very informative discussion about the upcoming Presidio Picnic and the variety of cultural programs the Presidio Trust will offer each month for the rest of this year.
| | | Mariella Morales |
You can listen to our discussion by clicking here or by pressing the arrow on the left under the photo below, if you can see the photo in your browser.
Find out more about the Presidio Trust online at https://www.presidio.gov/presidio-picnic and at https://offthegrid.com/event/presidio-picnic .
Aren’t we, indeed, fortunate that we live in such a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic area that celebrates the diversity of the many cultures around us?
If you missed the EPA Today article on the award the Presidio received from the U.S. Environmental Agency, you can read it here.
Click here for the audio of the interview.
Screen shot from the Palo Alto Online Virtual Town Hall Forum on Race, Policing and the Color of Justice, June 25, 2020.
The murder of George Floyd by Minnesota police officers on May 25, 2020 led to massive protests in our country and around the world. It has also led to multiple discussions about the social injustices that exist today, which started centuries ago. I had the opportunity to participate in the Palo Alto Online Virtual Town Hall Forum on Race, Policing and the Color of Justice, which took place over Zoom on Thursday, June 25, 2020.If you missed it you can see it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6ddHFLbxO4&feature=youtu.be At least 500 people registered to see it. Three hundred of them participated online and others saw it when it was live streamed over the Palo Alto Week’s Facebook page. All credit goes to the Embarcadero Publishing Company, the publishers of the Palo Alto Weekly, The Almanac and the Mountain View Voice for putting this forum together. Much credit also goes to the panelists and the audience members who participated.No doubt, there will be many discussions like this one that will take place all across our country and in other countries as well, as people tackle some of the hard issues that involve power, social equity, justice, the social determinants of health and related concerns.All of the talk will be meaningful if it leads to solutions that can be enacted to improve lives. This doesn’t mean making improvements for some, but making improvements for everyone across the board.Improving the structural systems on which our country is based and applying the principles on which our country was founded to cover everyone is a laudable goal. But, let there be no misunderstanding the fact that it is a goal that will take all of the best ideas and actions, which we can muster to fulfill.
| | | Lady JusticeCourtesy of clipart-library.com |
Many in our nation have known for some time that our country has two criminal justice systems: one for the rich and the other for the poor.
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This fact was not only highlighted, but also underscored when Paul Manafort was sentenced to 47 months in prison this week – well below the federal guidelines that ranged from 19 to 24 years.
If there were ever a case of sentencing disparity, this is it! How do you give someone life in prison for stealing a slice of pizza or for selling or smoking marijuana (which has happened), and give Manafort less than four years in prison for being convicted on eight counts of bank and tax fraud?
The scales of justice are skewed. Sen. Cory Booker decried the sentence saying, “One of my friends says we have a criminal justice system that treats you better if you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent.”In justifying the light sentence that he handed to Manafort, Virginia Judge T.S. Ellis III said that Manafort had lived “a blameless life,” before committing his crimes.When you consider some of Manafort’s experiences and how he made his fortune, this was quite a statement (See the East Palo Alto Today editorial – Lessons we can learn from the career of Paul Manafort, on page 4 of the September 2018 issue.).Harvard law professor Lawrence Tribe tweeted, Judge Ellis’s assessment that Manafort led an “otherwise blameless life” was proof that he’s unfit to serve on the federal bench. I’ve rarely been more disgusted by a judge’s transparently preferential treatment to a rich white guy who betrayed the law and the nation.Given the sentence, Sen. Kamala Harris declared, ‘The justice system is broken in America.”Through all of this, one important question stands out: If our justice system is broken, what are we doing to fix it?Whatever we’re doing, Manafort’s sentence shows that we aren’t doing enough!But all, who are disappointed or distressed by Ellis’ decision, can still take heart. Manafort still faces charges for a different set of crimes. He will soon be sentenced for these crimes by District of Columbia Judge Amy Berman Jackson and he could get another ten years, which is the maximum time to be given, added to his current sentence.We’ll see on this coming Wednesday, March 13, Manafort’s next court date, the type of sentence he gets from Jackson.Lady Justice is, obviously, not blind, but how do we enable her to see more clearly?
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| | | Photo courtesy of https://thetoolkit.wixsite.com/toolkit/black-lives-matter | | | | | | |
It’s easy when one is a member of an ethnic group in America to be intimately aware of the challenges that confront the group to which one belongs. For example, a person can be all too aware of the discrimination faced by individual group members and the stereotypes attributed to one’s own racial group.Given the attention that has been paid to Latino immigrants at the U.S.’ southern border and to DACA recipients, media reports have given our nation disturbing insights into the challenges that many Latinos face.But, unless a group’s struggles are highlighted by various media outlets and discussed as a local or national issue, many Americans might be unaware of the challenges faced by the various ethnic groups around them and they might not understand the sensitivities that some of them hold. This fact was brought to my attention recently during a conversation with one of my neighbors, who is Indian American. The neighbor told me that, a few hours prior to our conversation, he was going to a restaurant with his college-aged son. He dropped his son off at the restaurant and then, intending to join him after he had parked, he drove around the block to find a parking space. Within minutes, his car collided with another car.The police quickly arrived. The father told me that he called his son on his cell phone to tell him what happened. Standing on the sidewalk at the scene of the accident and facing the direction in which his son was coming, he stood holding his hands behind his back. Upon seeing his father, the son almost collapsed in tears, thinking that his father was handcuffed and being arrested. In relating the incident, the father said that his son is keenly aware of the Black Lives Movement and of the heartrending experiences that some people of color have had with the police. Since his son saw him standing near several police officers with his hands behind his back, he said that his son feared the worst. When one thinks of the Black Lives Movement, many people in the U.S. would not necessarily think that it is a movement to which other ethnic groups feel included.
In my latest Talking with Henrietta television show called, Ethnic Media: Who Produces It and Why, one of my guests, Vandana Kumar shares a conversation that she had with one of her twin sons. In the conversation, her son told her that she was Indian and he was American.
| | | Seated left to right on the set of the Talking with Henrietta show on Thursday, November 14, 2019 is Vandana Kumar, Sandy Close, Henrietta J. Burroughs and Diana Ding. |
Kumar’s response to her son might surprise you.See for yourself what she had to say. You can get more details about this show at www.epatoday.org/tv.html#ethnicmedia and see it on YouTube here.
For years, members of minority groups in America were given the crumbs that fell from the table and they rightly complained that they were underrepresented in the halls of power and excluded from having a seat at the table.Census 2020 supporters are urging everyone to participate in the census and let their voices count.Newly released Census 2020 data shows that as of April 24, 2020, San Mateo County, with a self-response rate of 62.9%, ranks as the number one county in California, in having the most residents who have submitted their Census 2020 questionnaire. Even California’s statewide response rate is 54.2%Two San Mateo County cities, Hillsborough and San Carlos, both with a response rate of 72.1%, rank among the top 10 cities with the highest response rates.Guess which cities in the state have the lowest response rates. If you guessed that East Palo Alto is among them, then you’re right. East Palo Alto has a response rate of 47.1%
The city ranks just under Compton at 47.6% under Watsonville at 49.3 and under Bell, which has a response rate of 45%.
East Palo Alto also ranks under southern states like Alabama (51.1%) Georgia (49.6), Mississippi (49.4) and Florida (50.8%), which all fall under the national response rate that is 52.8%. See more rankings at https://2020census.gov/en/response-rates.html
If the residents of East Palo Alto want to have a seat at the table, then they will have to participate where their voices can be heard, whenever the opportunity arises. Participating in Census 2020 is one of those opportunities. If people feel that as a group they are pushed aside by the system and treated as if they don’t count, then it is critical that they step up, present themselves, demand their seat and pull back the chair at the table. Census 2020 allows everyone to present themselves and demand a seatDoesn’t it make sense, then, for all of us to respond to the census as quickly as possible? In being counted and in allowing ourselves to be seen and heard, we can demand our fair representation in the halls of power and get the seats to which we are entitled. In being counted, our communities will get the money that they deserve.So, submit your Census 2020 response now, if you haven’t already done so. East Palo Alto can be among the cities with the highest Census 2020 response rates and youcan help make that happen.
Henrietta J. Burroughs is shown delivering the keynote speech at the Public Allies graduation ceremony, which was held on June 29, 2019 at the Redwood Shores Sobrato Center in Redwood City CA.
The months have passed, but the memories linger. Working with the Public Allies, who interned from January to June of this year at the East Palo Alto Center for Community Media was just such a satisfying experience. Those 6 months marked a very special time.
| | | Emily Hess, above top left with Alamoni Afungia, Edgar Tenorio, Lea Bolosan and Shristi Prabha |
It was truly an honor to be asked to be the keynote speaker at their graduation, which was held at the Redwood Shores Sobrato Center last June.The graduation, marking their completion of the Public Allies program, was truly an inspiring affair.
At this time of Thanksgiving, much thanks and best wishes go to EPACCM’s five Public Allies for the contribution they made to the Center and to the East Palo Alto Today newspaper.
The five Allies called themselves the Tiny Gang. But there was nothing tiny about them, even when one member of the group dropped out of the program.
| | | From left, Lea Bolosan, Edgar Tenorio, Srishti Prabha and Alamoni Afungia |
The remaining four Allies launched Media Day in East Palo Alto to celebrate East Palo Alto Today's 13th birthday.
Media Day, which brought together nearly 25 of the community’s nonprofits, will become an annual event.
You can see their engaging video interview on the Talking with Henrietta television show here.
You can even see an article about the Allies and the Media Day event on the midpenmedia.org website.
| | | The Public Allies had fun posing with the EPACCM's founder Henrietta J. Burroughs during Media Day inEast Palo Alto on May 4, 2019 | |
During the time the Allies and I spent together, I had a chance to witness their commitment, their focus, their collaboration with each other and their interest in positively addressing the challenges that our communities face.
Even more appreciation is given to them for the lasting memories that they left, which will be ongoing.
So, we give thanks this Thanksgiving to our former Public Allies, to all who participated in our Media Day celebration, to our readers and our viewers, to the East Palo Alto Today's advertisers and to the East Palo Alto Center for Community Media's donors. Many thanks to all of you!
| | | http://thehilltoponline.com/ |
It sometimes feels to me like the end of an era when someone famous dies. I felt that way upon hearing of Diahann Carroll’s death this year on October 4. News reports of her death brought in a flood of memories and I emphasize memories.It seems like ages ago that I was a college student at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and truthfully, it was ages ago. As a sophomore at the university I volunteered, as one of my extracurricular activities, to report for my college newspaper, which was called The Hilltop. Diahann Carroll was in the city doing several evening shows at a major hotel. So, I suggested to Michael Thelwell, The Hilltop’s editor in chief,* that we feature Carroll in The Hilltop. He agreed that I would write the article. I don’t really remember whom I contacted to get the interview. But, several days later I had an interview with Carroll. We had a late morning meeting in her hotel room, and to my knowledge, there was no one there, but the two of us.It’s amazing to me now, looking back that, here she was, a well-known star, and she agreed to an interview with me, a college student, in her hotel room.
I don’t remember what she wore, but I do remember that she had a slight amount of light blue eyeshadow on. At the time, I thought that eyeshadow was only worn at night, so I assumed her makeup was from her performance the night before and she hadn't taken her makeup off. What did I know? I was 17 and not at all worldly-wise.I pulled out my pad and pencil and the interview was underway. The interview lasted less than an hour, during which time, she was warm, soft-spoken and very gracious and, she answered all of my questions. I learned that her real name was Carol Diahann Johnson, which was something of a surprise, since my maiden name is also Johnson. My interview with her took place at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. She expressed optimism about race relations in the U.S. and pointed to her own career and her interracial marriage as indicators that things in America were changing and that doors for African Americans were opening. I had a camera with me and asked her if I could take a picture of her for the article. She told me that it would be better if she sent me one. I was relieved, because being such a newbie at taking photos professionally, I wasn’t really sure how the photo would turn out.I thanked her for the interview and that was the end of it, except for the fact that I did get the photo several weeks later. It was a headshot and I still remember what she looked like in the photo. The photo arrived after my article was published, and being the collector that I am, who throws few things away, I might still have it, along with the article that I wrote about her. I’ve never really thought of my interview with Diahann Carroll until now. I am just thrilled that she accorded me the time. I walked away from the interview feeling that the sky was the limit. Perhaps, the interview I had with her played a role in my being selected that year by the Hilltop staff as “The Outstanding Newcomer of the Year.” It’s said that she was the first African American actress in a major role, in a movie or play, who was not cast as a servant or as subservient in some way.Through her accomplishments, Diahann Caroll showed that the sky can be the limit. Thank you, Diahann, for being a real role model in many ways.
- The Hilltop, Howard University's award-winning student-run newspaper, was co-founded in 1924 by Zora Neale Hurston and Louis Eugene King. In 2005, it became the first the first HBCU newspaper to be published daily. See the paper's website at http://thehilltoponline.com/
** Among his many accomplishments, Michael Thelwell became the founding chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.--> --> -->
| | | Courtesy of pixabay.com/photos/ |
Are you aware that there is a bill going through the California State Assembly that needs your support? The bill - AB 392: The California Act to Save Lives – redefines the circumstances under which police officers in the state can use deadly force. Currently, police officers can kill a person even when they have available options other than the use of lethal force.AB 392 limits the power of police officers to use deadly force and gives them the authority to use deadly force only when they don’t have other options. AB 392 was introduced in February 2019 by California Assembly members Shirley Weber and Kevin McCarthy in response to the murder of Stephon Clark in Sacramento and the recent murders of other young black men at the hands of the police.The bill is expected to be voted on in the California State Assembly by the end of this month.AB 392 amends California Penal Code (CPC) section 196 (Justifiable Homicide by a Peace Officer) and CPC 835a (Authority to Use Force) and enacts a new standard for police officers to follow before they use their guns. Read the complete bill here.Unlike AB 931, an earlier bill, which was also authored by Assembly members Weber and McCarthy for the purpose of restricting police officers’ use of deadly force, that was defeated by the law enforcement community, AB 392 recently gained the backing of key law enforcement groups.You can see several of the supporters of AB 392 discuss the impact that police shootings have had on their lives and on their family members in this Talking with Henrietta television show called, Getting a Male Perspective. The show was taped on May 23, 2019 and can be seen in its entirety here.While AB 392 establishes separate standards for non-lethal force, lethal force and non-lethal use of force resulting in an in-custody death, it also allows for an officer to be charged with manslaughter if a mistake is made, for example, in “situations in which the victim is a person other than the person that the peace officer was seeking to arrest, retain in custody, or defend against, or if the necessity for the use of deadly force was created by the peace officer’s criminal negligence.”AB 392 is supported by such organizations as the ACLU CA, Alliance for Boys an Men of Color, Anti Police-Terror Project, Black Lives Matter, CA, CA Faculty Association, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ) , PICO (Faith in Action), CA, Silicon Valley DeBug, United Domestic Workers of America (UDW), AFSCME Local 3930, PolicyLink, Youth Justice LA, CA Families United 4 Justice, STOP Coalition Public protests and concerns over police shootings are making a difference. A second bill, SB 230, which was originally backed by the law enforcement community, “would require each law enforcement agency to maintain a policy that provides guidelines on the use of force, utilizing deescalation techniques and other alternatives to force when feasible, specific guidelines for the application of deadly force, and factors for evaluating and reviewing all use of force incidents, among other things. The bill would require each agency to make their use of force policy accessible to the public. By imposing additional duties on local agencies, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.”AB 392 was last amended by the Assembly Rules Committee on May 24, 2019 and is expected to be voted on by the full assembly soon. SB 230 was ordered to have a third reading by the CA State Senate on May 16, 2019. Expect a final vote later this month or in early June.Contact your local state legislators and let them know what you think. Leave your comments below, also. We’d like to know what you think, too. It is a life and death matter! -->
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Dorothy Gilliam sits with Martin Reynolds at theKapor Center in Oakland, CA on March 30, 2019.
It is not everyday that one has the chance to hear from people who broke through barriers to become the first in their field. But, such was the case last Saturday, March 30, when the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education held a media event that featured Dorothy Gilliam, the first African-American, female reporter at the Washington Post. The event was called 'A Conversation with Dorothy Gilliam,” and as you might expect, some of the experiences that Gilliam shared were not only informative, but also quite moving. Gilliam discussed some of the challenging experiences she had working at the paper and reporting on some of the civil rights protests that happened in the American south during the height of the civil rights struggles of the 1960’s.
Her appearance Saturday at the Kapor Center in Oakland came at the end of her three-month book tour to promote her new memoir called, “TRAILBLAZER: A Pioneering Journalist’s Fight to Make the Media Look More Like America.” Those of us who attended the event had a chance to ask her questions after the riveting discussion she had with the Maynard Institute’s co-executive director, Martin Reynolds, who moderated the event.
Having a photo taken with Dorothy Gilliam and two of the East Palo Alto Center for Community Media’s board members after her talk, made the event all the more memorable.
From left, EPACCM board members Elizabeth Jackson, Marie Davis and Henrietta J. Burroughs
stand with Dorothy Gilliam after her presentation at the Kapor Center on March 30, 2019.You can get more information about Gilliam and her book from her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pg/DBGilliamTrailblazer/photos/. I, definitely, look forward to speaking with Gilliam in the upcoming months on my show, Talking with Henrietta. I’ll keep you posted, when a taping date is near.
In October 2014, I produced an episode of Talking with Henrietta, called Crime and Punishment: How Will You Vote? On the show, I talked with three guests: Stacey McGruder, Raj Jayadev and Contra Costa County District Attorney Mark Peterson. We discussed the pros and cons of Proposition 47, a measure on the November 2014 California State Ballot that, if approved, would reclassify crimes that were considered felonies as misdemeanors. Such a reclassification would allow many ex-prisoners, who were convicted as felons to get the felony convictions off their records. Their record clearances would allow them more access to employment, housing opportunities, financial aid and the right to vote. It would also open other doors that were once formerly closed to them. On the show McGruder and Jayadev argued for the passage of Prop 47, while Petersen argued against it, supporting the idea that the passage of Prop 47 would lead to an increase in crime. In his words, it would “make our neighborhoods and schools less safe.” See the show description on the East Palo Alto Today website hereDuring the November 2014 election, California voters gave overwhelming support to Prop 47, leading to its passage by a vote of 59.61% to 40.39%At the time of the show, Peterson was up for reelection as Contra Costa County’s District Attorney and he ran uncontested. Well, three years later, as life would have it, in an ironic twist of fate, the California Attorney General’s office charged Peterson with 12 counts of felony perjury and a single count of felony grand theft for allegedly lying on his campaign disclosure forms from 2012 to 2015.In response to the charges, Peterson, pleaded no contest to a felony perjury charge of using more than $66,000 in campaign funds to make 600 purchases, which included the purchase of jewelry, groceries, various other items and the payment of personal bills. Immediately, after his plea on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, Peterson was sentenced to three years’ informal probation and ordered to serve 250 hours of community service. After being sentenced, Peterson resigned from office.Earlier this year, a Contra Costa County grand jury formally accused Peterson of “willful or corrupt” misconduct and initiated proceedings to remove him from office. Peterson was fined $45,000 by the California Fair Political Practices Commission, which ruled that he had “violated California’s political reform act nine times.”
In response to the grand jury findings, the fine and other allegations surrounding Peterson's office, a petition was posted to Change.org, calling for his resignation. The petition garnered 442 votes. With Peterson’s felony conviction and his resignation from office, it seems only just that public officials, who are sworn to uphold the law, are prosecuted when they commit crimes. What a dramatic fall from grace for Peterson!Peterson’s case shows that district attorneys are not above the law themselves when they commit crimes. So, is it true that the way you judge others is the way you, yourself, will be judged? Now wouldn’t it be interesting if the felonies Peterson had been charged with had been reclassified as misdemeanors? He, certainly, would not have supported that idea when he was campaigning in 2014. Would he have a change of mind now?Given his situation today, wouldn’t it be accurate to consider him a convicted felon, who took a plea deal?
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Dealing with Climate Change Talking with Henrietta - Taped February 13, 2011
The fact that Pres. Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord has disturbed millions of people throughout the world. It’s somewhat troubling to see that the U. S. now joins only two other countries, Nicaragua and Syria, which are not signatories to the agreement. It is reported that Nicaragua did not sign the climate agreement because the agreement was not strong enough. Even North Korea has signed it.In explaining his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris agreement, Pres. Trump made his now famous remark that he was elected to "represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris." You can read the complete text of his speech here on the whitehouse.gov website. However, Bill Peduto, the mayor of Pittsburgh, PA, issued a statement in which he wrote, “Pittsburgh stands with the world and will follow the Paris agreement.” The day after making his statement, Peduto issued an executive order stating, “The City of Pittsburgh endorses and remains fully committed to our 2030 objectives, as announced during the Paris summit.” As of today, 187 U.S. mayors, including Peduto, and 10 state governors denounced Trump’s decision and vowed to uphold the Paris agreement. You can see a partial list of their names here.
Some U.S. cities already have Climate Actions Plans. It might be surprising to hear that the City of East Palo Alto is one of these cities. In fact, Russell Averhart, the former redevelopment manager for the City of East Palo Alto, wrote the city's Climate Action Plan more than five years ago. He discussed the city's plan on the Talking with Henrietta television show called, Dealing with Climate Change. Averhart appeared on the show on February 23, 2011 with two other guests, artist Michael Killen and NASA scientist Edwin Sheffner. You can see a video excerpt from the show at the top of this column or click here to see it directly on YouTube.
Of course, now, there are people, who agree with Trump and one such group held a rally across from the White House on Sunday, June 4, 2017, holding signs saying, "Pittsburgh, not Paris."
So, with whom do you agree, with most of the world or with President Trump and his supporters?
There is more and more data to show how poverty affects where we live, how much education we receive, the quality of our education, the type of jobs we get and how long we will live. The presentation that Edith Cabuslay presented to the Palo Alto Rotary Club this past Monday, November 2nd was a powerful description of what are called the social determinants of health. As the program services manager for the San Mateo County Health System’s Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention Unit, Cabuslay has compiled a lot of data to show just how much income and educational disparities have a ripple effect throughout society. You can see by clicking here some of what Cabuslay says about these social determinants on an edition of the Talking with Henrietta show.
Not only does the lack of education and opportunities affect African Americans, Native Americans and Latinos the most in the United States, but articles are now being written on how the lack of educational opportunities is a major factor in the increasing suicide rates among middle-class white Americans. You can read one of these articles here.
It's becoming more and more obvious that all sectors of our society are connected to and affected by what happens to other sectors in our society. New research shows that there are stresses and strains on every group in one way or the other. We will know that America has turned the corner in offering equal access to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" to everyone in our society, regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, etc. when it gets better at offering equal access to educational opportunities to all of its residents. Cabuslay thinks this video shows where we must put our attention as a society to improve the quality of life for everyone. See if you agree with her.
--> It has been said that getting an education is a way out of poverty and a way for people to dramatically improve the quality of their lives. Pres. Obama certainly seems to subscribe to this idea with his emphasis on education this month, both in his recommendation to have community college education provided free to those who want it, and in the emphasis that he placed on education in his State of the Union address. But with all of the emphasis being placed on the importance of education, what does it mean to be educated? For many educators and philosophers, education involves more than a focus on academics, for the sake of learning facts and figures. In some circles, being educated was traditionally looked at as a pathway for an individual to become a well-rounded human being. --> The Cambridge Dictionary defines well-rounded as "involving or having experience in a wide range of ideas or activities."
One can even find online in WikiHow a series of steps that each person can take to become well-rounded. These steps include learning about other cultures and countries; reading books, magazines, newspapers; getting involved in lots of activities, like painting, dancing, creating music and other hobbies; and being open-minded to new things. The entire list can be seen at http://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Well-Rounded-PersonIt might be that in East Palo Alto, the Ravenswood City School District Superintendent, Gloria Hernandez-Goff, is starting students off early on the road to being well-rounded, since she and other district leaders think that the district must go beyond the teaching of academic basics, if the students in East Palo Alto are to excel in academics. The superintendent has taken the position that public school education in East Palo Alto should address the needs of the whole child (Click here to see an excerpt from Superintendent Hernandez-Goff's recent interview on the Talking with Henrietta show, Looking at the Common Core - Part 1.).The district recognizes that students can't learn well, for example, when they are hungry, when they are sick, when they are regularly subjected to stressful living conditions, like crime and violence or when they lack regular opportunities for exercise. So, the district has created wraparound programs for students that address these situations. Even today, January 21, the district formally launched a new program, which includes yoga, to promote the health and wellness of each student. Read a brief post about the program on East Palo Alto Today's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/eastpaloaltotoday.So, as one considers various perspectives about education, one can still ask, what does it mean for individuals to be educated? What does it mean for the U.S. to have an educated citizenry? How best should that education be provided and should it be accessible to everyone regardless of his or her ability to pay? These are just a few questions our national leaders and local educators are addressing as our country grapples with some of the global, national and local issues we face. When all is said and done, even the definition of education is becoming more inclusive, with education currently being acknowledged not only as a personal way up the ladder, but also as a national prerequisite for the U.S. to maintain its position as a world leader among nations. It isn't heard as often as it once was and it has undergone change, but the United Negro College Fund's saying that "A mind is a terrible thing to waste" is probably even more true today than ever. Certainly, such a loss would be a loss for the individual and for those who are close to that person. Now, as things are shaping up, each mind, around us, that is not fulfilling its potential, not only represents a personal loss, but it also represents a loss for our country and for our planet, as well.
The U.S. recognizes the third Monday in January as an official holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year the holiday falls on Monday, January 19. But, did you know that January 15 is Dr. King's actual birthday.
In recognition of Dr. King's birthday, today, and in honor of the King holiday, the Rainbow Push Coalition, led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, issued a special press release. It is called, An Open Letter to the Technology Industry
Honor the King Holiday “The Time is Always right to do what is right”
It is written by Rev. Jackson. You will find it reprinted in its entirety below:
January 15, 2015
Today is Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday. After much blood, sweat and tears, it is a cherished national holiday when we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, his life of struggle and the legacy he left for our ongoing struggle for civil and human rights.
Government offices, banks, schools, and many businesses will close this coming Monday, January 19, 2015.
But most technology companies will not be observing Martin Luther King Day – sadly but not surprisingly, they be open and conducting business as usual.
Last year, the Rainbow PUSH successfully engaged over two dozen leading technology companies to release their EEO-1 report and workforce diversity data. The data over and over showed the glaring under-representation of Black, Latinos and women in the every company.
And the campaign has generated a new climate of change sweeping through Silicon Valley and the tech industry. Nowhere is this climate of change apparent than in Intel’s diversity initiative announced at the start of 2015: they have set a goal of reaching full representation of women and people of color in their workforce, measuring progress, tying compensation to diversity performance goals, and setting a specific timetable – 2020, just five years from now – to achieve their goals. And they’ve allocated an initial $300 million budget to begin to implement their plan.
RainbowPUSH is holding its 18th annual Wall Street Economic Summit in New York this week – including keynotes from Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and participation from Silicon Harlem, Tech Meet up, Black Enterprise and the Nat.l Venture Capital Association.
We started this Wall Street initiative with the simple idea that the NY Stock Exchange should honor the King Holiday. We appealed to Dick Grasso, chair of the NYSE at the time, and we won.
It does not make sense to tout diversity and inclusion, to promote change and innovation and not recognize the King Holiday.
It’s time for the technology companies to join with America, and close their doors and honor the King Holiday. Close your doors on the King Holiday, and expand your effort to open the doors of opportunity for women and people of color.
This Monday only a handful of technology companies will close their doors and honor the King Holiday. For those that don’t, make clear your commitment to diversity and inclusion. Make clear your alignment with civil and human rights.
Make clear your intention to close your doors and honor the King Holiday in 2016 and forever on, and let freedom ring throughout the valley.
As Dr. King would say “The time is always right to do what is right.”
East Palo Alto Today will be nine years old in January 2015. This year, especially, it has worked in collaboration with other ethnic media organizations to expand and enhance the news coverage it has provided to its readers.
The partnerships the paper has formed have only added to the collective strength that collaborating media organizations bring to the individual communities they serve.
As 2014 comes to a close, EPA Today, on behalf of its founding organization, the East Palo Alto Center for Community Media, would like to thank all of its followers for the opportunity to be of service. We know that with their support and your support, EPA Today will be able to continue to fulfill its commitment to bring relevant news and information to its reading public. It will also be able to continue to strengthen its partnerships with other media organizations.
As the new year unfolds, we have one request of you. As EPA Today and the East Palo Alto Center for Community Media partners with others, a key goal is to continue our collaboration with you - our reading public.
So, as you read these words, please consider how you can partner with us in 2015 to enable us to fulfill our commitments to you. For ideas, see http://eepurl.com/baufA9
With California's growing multi-cultural population, one can expect that various ethnic groups will develop and support media outlets that focus on their individual issues. Félix Gutiérrez, a professor of journalism and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, supported this idea when he said, “In a multicultural society, people pay attention to media that pay attention to them.”
A 2013 Pew Research Center survey showed that the mainstream media in the U.S. is declining dramatically. Nearly one-third of the survey's respondents (31%) said that they had deserted their regular news outlets because they no longer provided them with the in-depth news and information to which they had grown accustomed.A poll taken several years ago by the firm Bendixen & Associates, showed that ethnic media in the U.S. is thriving. According to the poll, one quarter of the U.S. population regularly turns to ethnic media for information and 13% of U.S. adults said that they preferred ethnic media over mainstream media as a source of their information. As mainstream media outlets shrink and undergo various transformations, ethnic media outlets are continuing to assume responsibility for getting critical news and information to their individual communities.While some might debate the extent of the growing power of ethnic media, their influence is evident in many communities throughout the U.S. One of the nation's most prominent ethnic media organizations is New America Media, also known as NAM. In future posts, I'll say more about New America Media and describe how East Palo Alto Today and my show, Talking with Henrietta, are working with NAM to get information to the public on several important issues.