I was blessed to visit my hometown from May 17 through May
19, blessed to join a stellar group of
twenty-five women who graced the front page of
the San Francisco Sun Reporter during Women’s
History Month. These were sisters who are
making a difference, from elected officials
like Mayor London Breed and District Attorney
Brooke Jenkins, to legendary television
personalities like Pam Moore and Carolyn
Tylor. The room at the Filmore Center was
filled with power and enthusiasm, anchored by
Sun Reporter publisher Amelia Ashley-Ward,
whose joy and appreciation for the women she
featured in her paper was palpable.
My
role? Simply to offer a keynote
recognizing women and lifting us up.
That might have been one of the easiest
assignments I’ve had in a while. It was
also a blessing that we were able to give away
dozens of my book, Surviving
and Thriving: 365 Facts in Black
Economic History. Between
the event at the Filmore Center on Friday and
the book signing at the Sun Reporter offices
on Saturday, my cup run over so much that a
saucer couldn’t handle my feelings.
I am so proud of Mayor London Breed, my sorority sister,
and an impactful leader. It was informative
and important to hear her outline her
accomplishments as Mayor – too many women are
reluctant to toot their own horns. The Filmore
Center is testament to the mayor’s leadership,
and to her recognition of the African American
legacy in San Francisco. The lease on the
center is held by the Westside Community
Health Care, ably led by Dr. Mary Ann Jones, a
sister whose work on trauma is global. Another
of the key players in San Francisco is Dr.
Sheryl Davis, who leads the City’s Human
Rights Commission, which includes the City’s
reparations work. Imagine all this woman power
in one room!
Of course, there were a few good men, including Mayor
Willie Brown, who is enthusiastically
supportive of Mayor Breed, and Timothy Simon,
a civic powerhouse recently led the California
Black Chamber of Commerce. Ace Washington, who
I worked with “back in the day” was there
helping, as he always has, moving chairs,
helping people to their tables and being the
all-around good guy that he has always been.
While I was working, I was also walking down memory lane,
and marinating in the memories. Whenever my
plane lands in San Francisco, as I see the
water I get choked up with nostalgia. I left
San Francisco thirty years ago, but I still
identify myself as a San Francisco woman. I
still bristle when our city is referred to as
“Frisco”. We are worth all the syllables.
And we are blessed to have London Breed as our mayor. She
describes herself as a child of the projects,
raised by her grandmother. Her lived
experience brings a depth of policy knowledge
that her melanin-deficient opponents in this
mayor’s race do not have. But she should not
be reelected simply because she is a Black
woman who grew up in the projects. She should
be reelected because she is policy-superior,
because she is determined to serve ALL the
city, but especially the least and left out. A
millionaire whose mama is prepared to fund his
campaign isn’t focused that way. Neither is a
so-called progressive who embraces the NIMBY
(not in my back yard) philosophy. NIMBY won’t
help with rising rents or the homeless
situation. NIMBY is backward thinking.
San Francisco used to be one of the most progressive
cities in the nation. We are a city who
elected the iconic Senator Dianne Feinstein in
the wake of tragedy, the city that produced
our current Vice-President, the city that
elected Willie Brown as Mayor, the city that
elected Ed Lee, who preceded London Breed as
Mayor. Some of the anti-Blackness in this
current campaign belies our city’s progressive
roots. The power in the room at the Filmore
Center can repel these repulsive sentiments.
I came to San Francisco on the heels of the victory of
Angela Alsobrooks, who wrestled the Democratic
nomination from David Trone, the billionaire
bully who thought he could buy himself a
Senate seat. Some say Angela’s double-digit
win over an opponent who spent more than $60
million of his money on the race, is an
example of “Black Girl Magic”. Nope! Angela
worked hard for her victory, there was no
magic dust! Like Angela Alsobrooks, Mayor
London Breed has worked hard. She deserves
reelection. And my time at home reminded me
how much I love my city. What a wonderful walk
down memory lane!
