damian trujillo: hello and welcome to "comunidad del valle," i'm damian trujillo, and today: the shop with a cop foundation, bringing backpacks to needy kids on your "comunidad del valle." cc by aberdeen captioning www.aberdeen.io 1-800-688-6621 damian: we begin today with a new exhibit at the san josé public library. it's called the "east side dreams: the untold stories of east san josé." with me now on "comunidad del valle" is shane curtin, he's with the san josé public library system. also, estella inda is a librarian at the san josé state mlk library. welcome, both, to the show. shane curtin: thank you, damian. damian: all right, we're gonna bring in linda--or estella here in just a bit but tell us, if you can, first of all, shane,

about what we're talking about here. we have some amazing video that we're gonna show during our interview here. shane: yeah, so we represent the archives at the library and we put together an exhibit just celebrating the east side of san josé, trying to highlight some history that we don't think has been seen before. damian: and we're gonna roll some of those images and, i mean, some of these are treasures, right? i mean, people might be able to recognize 'em by--look at that. but here we're looking at some video of--that's one of the homies, and we all know what low-riding history means to san josé. estella, how excited are you about this venture and this exhibit? estella inda: i am excited that it's finally being shared. we sat on this for several years. it's been something that's, i guess you can say, taken a life of its own and i'm excited to be able to share it with everybody that's helped us put it together. damian: and shane, we're talking about the east san josé here.

what do you want the folks in west san josé to get from this? [shane laughing] shane: i'd say that can pave the way for the next exhibit, you know? damian: no, absolutely. now, what did it take to gather all of this, just reaching out, reaching different groups and making sure that we collected as much of these jewels. there, we're looking at the emmys, i think, for my compadre rigo chacon there, part of the exhibit. but what does it take to put something like this together? shane: it takes everything from calling individual people, one by one, posting messages out in the community. we had signs saying we got an exhibit coming up, please give us a call and contribute. we had the extra pandemic years, which the silver lining of that was more time to gather things, and the word just kept spreading and spreading. eventually, we ended up with far more material than we could even use, so what's seen in the exhibit is a small sample. damian: and the great thing about this, estella, is that you

can invite folks from the community but also your san josé state students can walk in and learn a little bit of the history of what happens on the east side of highway 101. estella: yes, and then also high school students, it's set up so it goes into the school year so we can bring in the students from the university, from the community colleges, to the high schools, middle schools, everybody that should learn the history. damian: and why do you think we should know about the story and king, and white and aborn, and alum rock and king, and why should the rest of the city learn more about the history of this great area? estella: i would say it's because--oh. shane: no, go on, estella. estella: i would say it's because for a long time that history has been, one, overlooked. they often had to fight for everything they got, including just sidewalks, paved roads. that was something that many of us in our generation now take

for granted and everybody on the east side had to fight to get those basic civic improvements. and i think it's important that we know the history of all the areas but east side right now is the one that hasn't been told. and often, when you do try to find it, in doing the research you'll see that it's been glazed over or just highlighted in certain areas, but not the whole story of the community. damian: yeah, the same goes for kids on the east side. they should go to the west side and see what life was like there on the other side, if you will. you were gonna say something, shane, there for a bit. shane: oh, you want me to add in on that? yeah, so i'd say there's also an aspect of, you know, the fact that we have these overarching historical narratives that we understand, '50s, '60s, '70s, a time of big political action, but san josé, kind of, has not been represented in that story and we wanted the people in the community to

see how we were a part of it. damian: does your exhibit there take the guest, you know, through east san josé from the '50s and '60s, and for instance the smithsonian does a great job of doing that and taking you to the--for instance, the museum of black american history takes you through the different phases. do we do the same here with this one? shane: yeah, i don't think we can compete with the smithsonian there, but we've done our best to do that, '50s to present, you know, briefly kind of setting the context before that but then moving people through the stages of change on the east side. damian: yeah, well, this is great, and it's a great exhibit for--you mentioned school kids. it's great for them to stop by and visit this exhibit. again, it's happening--we're gonna show some information, through september actually. so it'll be up for a while at the mlk library in downtown san josé, "east side dreams: the untold story of east san josé," through september 24. there is the web address for more information. we'll be back and talk more about this great venture

when we continue here on "comunidad del valle." stay with us.

damian: we're talking today about "east side dreams: the untold stories of east san josé," a new exhibit at the mlk library, right in the heart of downtown san josé. now, i live on the east side, and i guess this might be a way for folks who might be "afraid" to travel east of highway 101 to see that it's actually beautiful out in this area and that they're welcome to come enjoy what the beauty of hal city of san josé has to offer. is that the case? shane: absolutely, yeah, and in fact, you know, some of the articles we highlight in our exhibit from early on are sort of showing a negative media portrayal that was rather sensationalized, you know, even at the time. particularly, there's one set of articles from around the time of the watts riots where they were kind of--the larger media was sort of riding that narrative of, "oh, you know, there's

gonna be uprisings everywhere, and people are unsatisfied in this part of the community, so we gotta watch out for them." then, of course, at the same time you had the local papers which are showing a completely different story. so we try to contrast those, let people see how they fit together and interpret it for themselves. damian: well, you know how the media operates, right? let me ask you this, estella. i'm sure that if--when i go visit the exhibit, and again, living on the east side of san josé, i'm sure i'm going to learn something that i didn't know before. talk about that aspect of it and how it is possible to learn learning the activism, the something even though you think you know everything there isllas amount of activism that ththey came together in a time where there wasn't social media. you didn't see how big the crowds became and how much they

came together to achieve their goal to get better education, to get rights to vote, redistricting, i can't even think of everything that they've done, but it's been a good amount of effort that it was really numbers and people in numbers that came together and fought for what they needed to have in that area to create change. damian: i mean, you get the greats who came out of the east side from jim plunkett to, again, rigo chacon, michael barra, i mean-- do you think, estella, that this might be a way to break the ice, if you will, for those who might be a little hesitant to travel to east san josé to say, "hey, you know what? it's not that bad, it's actually very good, and it's better than some other places"? estella: yes, i definitely do think it's that. i think that it is very eye-catching that, yes, you know some of the names, jimlunkett, luis valdez, rigo chacon, but there's also other community members that often

get overlooked because they work more behind the scenes, and so you'll see that. we highlighted a good amount of people but there's still a great amount of people that still need to be acknowledged for their work on the east side, and if you look through the exhibit, you'll see names that you haven't-- "oh, they're associated with the east side. oh, they did this. oh, they did that." you wouldn't necessarily know that without going there and seeing it and visiting the area. damian: yeah, ernestina garcia, blanca alvarado, and sofia mendoza to name a few who were champions of east san josé. what do you hope, shane, that the folks get out of this, those who--from elementary school to the adults who come and visit this exhibit? shane: yeah, well, i hope first of all, that, you know, they get a chance to see their community reflected as i kind of touched on before, to understand how they were a part of this larger national story that occurred; and i also just hope to, you know, like, as we said, it's the--we touched on people,

for example, jim plunkett, who are well-known but it's the untold story, fundamentally, so, you know, we were trying to shine a light on, you know, new aspects of those individuals as well as other individuals. so i hope that some of those names that have kind of been lost come forward again and get some new attention, because we also have certain collections we've been building here, archivally, that are associated with the things in this exhibit, of course, and so we have new resources for scholars to check out or students to check out, that shine more light on these people and these events. damian: and we're looking at video again and, boy, what the--there's such a huge space that you've allocated for this. what does that say, estella, about the commitment of the institution, the san josé public library system, the mlk library, and san josé state to say this topic merits this kind of space, this kind of attention? estella: it says that they know that it's needed. it's the acknowledgement that this history has

long gone untold and it's time for it to get the attention that it deserves. both institutions have been very supportive and it took a great deal of collaboration between the two institutions to make it happen in the first place. so it just gives, i dunno, for somebody that worked for both at some point, it just--it's awe-inspiring to see how much we can do just if we work together in that they both supported it in every way they possibly could. damian: and real quickly, shane, i mean, it's not the first time, right, i mean, i've seen many of these themed exhibits from the san josé library system when it comes to every culture, every nationality. shane: yes, that's true and we hope to have more in the future because we've gotten questions about that. "well, you know, what about this community? what about that community?" and so, you know, we tell people, "this is very much just a beginning." we hope to do more, to get in touch with more people, to build more collections, to really kind of cover all that stuff that

hasn't been looked at yet, historically. damian: well, i haven't been there but i promise i will be there to check this out and i'm sure i'll learng e way. thank you both so much for the work that you did in putting this together. shane: absolutely, thank you. damian: thank you so much and, again, this new exhibit is on exhibition at the mlk library in downtown san josé through september 24, "east side dreams: the untold story of east san josé." there is the web address for more information. up next, here on "comunidad del valle," shop with a cop and the need for backpacks. stay with us.

♪♪ a new chevy is the smart way to hit the open road trip, ♪♪ and seek new adventures. go a little farther this summer in a new chevy. find new get up and go. find new roads. enjoy the open road and make no monthly payments for 90 days on all 2022 silverado 1500 pickups. plus, get 2.89% financing when you finance with gm financial. find new roads at your local chevy dealer. damian: the shop with a cop foundation needs your help. darrell cortez is the president of shop with a cop, and margaret petkiewicz is the principal over at gardner elementary in san josé. welcome to the show, folks. margaret petkiewicz: thank you. darrell cortez: thank you for having us, damian. damian: yeah, we'll get to you shortly, darrell, but margaret, tell us about the collaboration between gardner and

the shop with a cop foundation. margaret: well, the collaboration goes back many years and i have been here for four years and it has all started with their desire to support our students to develop reading in their--in them. and so their--sorry, their tagline is "readers are leaders," and so they come, they really motivate the students, and we have been working together to improve reading in our second- and third-graders for many years now. and now, the last two years, we've been passing out backpacks and school supplies provided by shop with a cop which is a huge support for our families. damian: yeah, and we have video of those in the past and this is an endeavor, darrell, that you've been doing for quite a while, impacting a lot of kids who might not--whose families might not be able to afford that backpack and that material for that school year.

darrell: yes, damian, thank you very much, and i wanna also-- to your viewing public, we're celebrating 15 years. fifteen years of giving back on our latino-led, all-volunteer organization here in the south bay, and giving back to the community. and what makes us really very unique is that we're representing law enforcement work in the community to build mutual respect between law enforcement and the communities they serve and to change the narrative, or other people would say, change the optics so that these families, especially these children, see officers through a positive lens. damian: and you're a retired san josé police officer. how difficult has it been because your title does contain the word "cop" in it and you mentioned about the changing the narrative and we know the image, you know, that a lot of people have of police officers right now? darrell: yes, it definitely has been challenging for us, again, working on behalf of law enforcement here

in the community. we were here way before the civil unrest and we're gonna be here for a long time post-civil unrest and all the vitriol and all the negativity surrounding police work. so that makes us--makes us more--work harder, if you will, in the community so we're out there, rebuilding trust, humanizing the person behind the badge. again, let the children see us on a positive, rather than negative. we want the children to run to us, not away from us. and it has long-lasting effects. and what we do in the community, when we bring police officers into the school campuses, it leaves an indelible image on a young child. damian: no, and that's part of it, right, margaret, and you were mentioning on our telemundo show about the third-graders at gardner beating the cops when it came to kickball. margaret: yes, and that relationship is very, very important.

we want the children to be comfortable and confident in our police force. they are our friends, they are our supporters. and they are here to protect us, and so we want them to get to know each other and shop with a cop provides that opportunity for us to have them. they come and they read with our students, they play kickball, they go shopping with them. that is their sort of highlight, premiere event of the year, shopping at target and--for christmas gifts. and the children pick out gifts for all the members of their family and the police officers go with them and have breakfast with them and help them do their shopping. and it's just a magical experience. damian: and we had mentioned before, darrell, that there's been--you kind of touched on this, there's been a challenge, right, raising those funds because, you believe, of the name that you carry? darrell: yeah, that has been an effect. the pandemic has really, really curtailed our efforts in the community because we do three major events: the readers are

leaders, so children can thrive and succeed in school by reading successfully, proficiently, and with comprehension, et cetera; the operation backpack and school supply events; and our signature event which is the holiday shopping spree where we bring literally hundreds and hundreds of underserved youth from our community to shop with a police officer in uniform, military personnel from moffett field. so we do a myriad of programs. we're also collaborating with another stellar organization in the community called loaves and fishes, so we've been providing sustainable food kits, non-perishable foods to families in need during this pandemic crisis and addressing the food security that has really been exacerbated here in our region. so--and every child that we encounter at the schools and throughout the community, receives a brand new book, a

book that they can take home, create their own home libraries, and they can enjoy for years to come. and that's part of our work is doing these programs out here. damian: all right, well, if you'd like more information on the shop with a cop foundation, they are taking donations for those backpacks and to bring to the school kids, there is the web address for more information. it's a backpack and supplies drive. that's actually all year round so feel free to--and pitch in and help out in any way you can. we'll be back and talk more about the shop with a cop foundation when we continue our "comunidad del valle." stay with us.

damian: we're back here on "comunidad del valle" with the shop with a cop foundation and the principal at gardner elementary right here in san josé, and it's not cheap, right, margaret? we're talking about over $100 in backpacks and supplies that any average child might need. and when you're worried about rent and the car payment and

paying the water bill, the backpack and materials might go to the back of the line. margaret: absolutely, absolutely, and it is a huge gift, and shop with a cop this year has given us 150 filled backpacks plus another 100 packet supplies for other backpacks for students that are in need and we had the backpacks and they--but we didn't have the things to fill it, so i just want to show you. these are the backpacks that the children get and they come with a whole packet of materials. they get a folder, they get notebook and pencil case and pens, pencils, highlighters, everything that students would need, crayons, and it have to worry about that piece, getting ready for school. damian: and it's christmas in august, i guess, for the kids, but in reality it has to be a relief for the teachers as well because in this, they know that the students are coming in with

the material they need to educate themselves. margaret: absolutely, and that is really, really important. we do provide what all students need in the classroom and so they have those materials but there are many students that do not have the extra paper at home or the pencils at home or pens even, to be able to do their basic homework. so this is a huge support for families. damian: so it must be heartwarming, darrell, to know that you're making that kind of a difference in the lives of many children? darrell: yes, and helping low-income children to be ready for the start of the new school year is a valuable community service provided by our foundation and i think the best investments that we can make are putting a child on the path to success early, right? and having school supplies children need to achieve academically helps keep students focused and learning at school, and i would encourage the viewing public to join us on this mission so we can help others.

we cannot do this alone. it takes a village, if you will. and we depend on donations from corporations, local businesses, and individual donors. and we're making an impact, and that is as an all-volunteer organization, all the monies that come in go right in to support direct program costs. and we wanna make an impact on these students so they can start the school year off right, and it really builds up their self-esteem, it makes them smile, and they're ready to start school on a good note. damian: that's what we want. and margaret, finally, your students go back to school in about a week and a half. what advice would you give them for this next week and a half to do and prepare for that upcoming school year to meet their new teacher? margaret: definitely start getting back into the routines of going to bed early, making sure you have a good breakfast when you get up in the morning, and preparing your uniform or

clothes the night before, and putting all your backpack together at the doorway so it's ready to go in the morning and you are on time for school every day. so--and show up on the 16th so you can get your backpack and your materials and find out who your new teacher's going to be. damian: that's right, school starts on the 17th at san josé unified. backpack giveaway distribution on the 16th, so get ready for that. margaret, thank you so much for what you're doing for our children, thank you. darrell, any final thoughts for me? darrell: well, thank you very much. please go to our website at www.shopwithacopsv.org. you can venmo us at--swac-sv to make that tax-deductible donation, and we really need your help. it has been a tough economy. we've been going through this pandemic now on three years. we need to support these families and especially the children in economically challenged areas of the city, and to bring the community and police officers

together for a great cause, thank you. damian: all right, thank you so much. thank you for the work that all of you do. and if you'd like more information on the shop with a cop foundation, you wanna make a donation maybe, participate in some of the distributions, there is the web address for more information, the shop with a cop foundation of silicon valley. well, if you wanna get a hold of us here on "comunidad del valle," you can follow me on instagram. my address is @newsdamiantrujillo; on twitter, it's @newsdamian. we thank you for sharing a part of your sunday with us here on the show. we'll see you once again here next week. we wanna play a short clip of a little bit of music for you to kind of lighten the mood. thank you so much. we'll see you next week. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪

[singing in spanish] [singing in spanish] [singing in spanish] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪

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