really what is going on with us, the resentment, the hatred, the inability to love, to get through the past and beyond the past, that's what has us so unhealthy in our neighborhoods. thank you, and thank you for having someone today who would help us. once again, thank you so much. i left my program over there somewhere. let me right now invite up the honorable supervisor ross mirkarimi, supervisor of district 5, to greet us, and then we will move in. thank you. supervisor mirkarimi.

>> when i was with speaker pelosi, honoring the center's work, there are still 1 of 50 children in the u.s. qualified as homeless, and one in 8 are on the cusp of losing their mortgage and going into default or foreclosure. and unemployment after 6 months continues to grow. sobering statistics, and yet i said to the speaker, my god, what would the country be in if

it was not for the election of president obama, making sure that great cities like san francisco continue to move forward. the crowd erupted in applause, because they realize how severe the condition has been. mary rogerds would remind us of those realities. she would remind us that last year was the conclusion of redevelpoment in the fillmore, and remind us of the prospective new beginnings of redevelopment in the southeast sector. she would remind us to remain vigilant and true to the vision of what it means to make

this city prosperous for all and do all we can to prevent the hemorraghing of the community. with so much progress happening in the southeast, considering the progress we have seen in the fillmore, we have not had the hazards we had seen years before. the lowest crime rates in san francisco are in the fillmore, and that has to do with the collective work of police and community leaders in making sure we take back our streets.

that prompts the kind of vitalization we want to see. mary helen would say, hey, maybe we should bring juneteeth back to fillmore, or bring them together alternating each year for the celebration. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, supervisor mirkarimi. as usual, right on point. i just had someone who works in housing in bayview tell me that since 2009, there has been about 1400 foreclosures in bayview. we'd like to think that doesn't touch us in san francisco because property is so expensive. that is not the case, and we

have to quit ignoring that fact. it is our responsibility. i would like to introduce -- it is interesting, because someone said to me yesterday, man, how i miss mary rodgers, and i said i miss her too, because her being gone is one of the reasons i have to work so hard in my community. she is not here, and everyone is having to step up. with juneneeth, the next speaker, lou garrett, took over the presidency, and juneteenth has not missed a beat. they do this every year. this is still america, and they

don't do it with all the resources so many other festivals you see happen in san francisco have. there are folks who give money to other places, and to be honest with you, they won't give money to juneteenth. they don't see it as important. for these people to do the job they do with the resources they have is monumental, and i want to thank them for their hard work. i will point a few out to you. let me present to our sponsors those people who do hang in with us, support us, who think juneteenth is important. we want to thank them publicly right now. mr. garett is going to do

that now. give him a hand. [applause] >> what he keeps forgetting to remind us of, we were at state college together many years ago, and we have been doing the same thing for many years together, starting in 1971. so thank you for your support. i want to thank supporters. i would ask sponsors to come up, and i want to offer them a certificate of appreciation. at & t. [applause] >> good morning. rather, good afternoon.

on behalf of at & t, let's give applause and congratulations to the juneteenth committee. one of the things i think we should celebrate is the people who have a vision in san francisco know that juneteenth is a whole weekend, and you will have activities throughout the city that are educational as well as fun, teaching you about health. we think it is awesome, and we are happy we got the call from supervisors maxwell and dufty so we can continue to show you we are in your neighborhood and

we care. if anybody's looked at our new ads, there is something called "rethink possible." i would like to think we share the spirit, to refresh the desire to achieve for all. let's have a good time, and thank you again to the committee. [applause] >> another strong sponsor, comcast. [applause] >> good afternoon. i am glad to be here to give you a greeting.

we are proud to be a sponsor this year. we believe in investing in comunities where our sponsors live and work, so this is part of that. juneteenth is certainly a celebration to rejoice in how far we have come, to remember those who got us where we are today, and a moment to reflect on how much further there is to go and how much more work there is to be done. i am proud to say that comcast will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us to get that quality. thank you so much for having me here today. thank you.

>> this year, we would like to remember linda for all the work she has done with comcast supporting us. there is strong support of juneteenth for linda, but she is under the weather and was not able to come. but i want to thank her for her support over many, many years. >> ucsf medical center. [applause] >> thank you for letting us be a part of the celebration. >> wells fargo.

[applause] >> it is a pleasure to be here today with all of you. this reflects the beginning of indepndence. independence to become an entrepreneur, obtain financial security, and i am proud to work for a bank that supports my community and me in my career aspirations at wells fargo. on behalf of the 1800 team members in the bay area, wells fargo wishes you all a healthy,

wealthy, and properous juneteenth. thanlk you very much. happy juneteenth. >> medical center. [applause] >> i've been working with california medical center for some time, and reverend dyson has been working with juneteenth. she wanted to send her regards, that she would love to be here, but she went to a graduation. >> i will be brief, because i hear you get more applause that way. i am vp operations at cpmc and i

would like to congratulate everyone and wish you a happy juneteenth. take care. [applause] >> another strong supporter, someone here from lennar. where are you? oh. [applause] >> in the spirit of the day, i want to thank the committee. i want to thhank the supervisor for 10 years of working in bayview-hunter's point. i appreciate you.

we are pleased to have been part of this celebration. thank you. >> another strong supporter, p g & e. [applause] >> i would like to say this is not the first time i have sang an entire black national anthem, but it is the first time i have seen it signed, so i thank the organizers for making sure everyone can appreciate the celebration. we understand how important it is to the african-american

community. that is why we have stepped up again this year and will continue to support the community. and thank you to the organizers, everyone who has put in hard work. thank you. [applause] >> i am going to say goodbye, because my beautiful daughter is here, and she came home from ucla to ride in the aids ride, so i will go and take her for some medical support so she can do this ride. anybody having a birthday today? this week? uh-oh. i see you pointing to her. this is for you, sweetie.

anybodyx is for you. anybody else having a birthday this week? yes, sir, please, not. [applause] >> ok, dr. williams, thank you very much. next would be safeway. they are not here. [applause] bart. [applause] someone representing part -- bart?

>> good afternoon, everyone. on behalf of bart and its board of directors, i want to say it has been an honor to be part of the celebration for the last number of years, and i'm looking forward to bart's continued participation with this juneteenth festival. one thing i want to emphasize is shelly tatum does a wonderful job with the comedy, but it is not well attended, and the comedy is great, so i just want to encourage everyone here. you cannot get a better, the show for the price other than the one happening here on the

17th, so thank you all and enjoy juneteenth. [applause] >> this is the quietest juneteenth kick off i have ever heard. we have one black married couple over here. can we show them out? amen.

>> on behalf of the of cake, the san francisco housing development corp. -- okay. on behalf of [inaudible] i guess you guys know that that is the owners proud daughter. for those that have supported juneteenth, i'd like to thank you very much and come out to the activities we will be having on june 19 and 20. we start with june 18, a comedy show at the african-american culture center. that will start about 7:30. following that at 11:00 on saturday a.m., we will start the parade. the parade will be on fillmore, down fillmore to mcallister, mcallister into the civic center. at the civic center, we will have outstanding entertainment for the two days.

we will have a health care, and housing corporation, an exhibit, and we are going to have some outstanding entertainment. one of the entertainers that will be on the program i see is here now. he is one of the entertainers, so many other entertainers will be there. i want to thank you very much for coming out. [applause] >> also, let me remind you that the san francisco black film festival that lady montague started in build up to be internationally recognized, that will be june 17 through 20, and we just want to encourage you all to attend that as well. we are so excited and grateful to all of you for coming out. let me say very briefly that there are some people here who do not ever move to get their names mentioned, but i'm going to mention some of them right now. duane garrett, camille dawkins

from the mayor's office, just as an outstanding job of helping and supporting on putting this together. mr. leroy king, keith jackson, reverend is male birch. fisher burch was here somewhere. he works with putting a parade together. the young lady who came out and accepted for kpoo. that is rachel townsend, my child. shelly tatum who just does outstanding work. montana jennings, tell helps raise money and he is a guy who does not mind raising money or doing groundwork, either, as all of these people are. raymond brown. janet bonds, and janet sits at the table right there. she helps on every aspect. the jordan group, and ms. collins.

all of you. we thank you for doing such an outstanding job, and let me say this, that every year they are accepting volunteers, so any of you looking for something to get involved in, there are a lot of good things to do. this is one of the many that you can get involved with and support. now, let me give you the very important direction -- there is food over on the other side. please help yourself. hang out with us a little while longer. god bless you. go in peace. thank you.

>> welcome to culture wire. did you know the city of san francisco has an art collection consisting of 3,500 objects? it ranges from paintings and objects placed in public buildings to w.p.a. era murals and bronze busts in city hall to site specific sculptures. many of the large sculptural public works are in need of repair and a long-term solution is needed to ensure the treasures will be cared for.

the story of the arts commission's new program art care begins with venerable art dealer ruth bronstein. 2010 is her 50th year as an art dealer. at the helm of the bronstein key gallery she has represented some of the most notable bay area artists and continues to look for new talent. >> the artists that i represent and why do i choose them has to do with the background of what the gallery is about. i love the idea of finding new artist he is and watching them grow. it is the old fashioned way of having a gallery, which is having a stable. so, what you have there is a loyalty to them and the artist is loyal to you. so, the whole philosophy behind th

that, my philosophy hasn't changed since i started 49 years a ago. i take care of you and you take care of me. it has been that way ever since. >> she represents the estate of world renowned skuculptor peter vulkus who passed away in 2002. in 1971 he created a beloved untitled public work sited at seventh and brian. like many other public works of art it is in need of repair. ruth began conversations with the director of cultural affairs and art care was born. >> art care will be responsible to look at all the pieces and decide what pieces need the most repair to bring it back to what it was before. that is what i'm after. so they will take that on the corn of seventh and brian.

you can't see it as you ride down seventh street. you can only see it when you are in front of it. >> the skull -- sculpture is one of the tpeufirst pieces commissioned by the arts commission after the advent of the 1969 art enrichment ordinance so it is quite significant that we are planning to treat it as part of the art care program. art care has plans to take care of several other pieces in the collection including man lin choi's sculpture the monument to the korean community. it has been in the park over 0 years and has become a magnet for vandalism. we are looking at several henry march sculptures. one in front of the symphony building that needs to be treated. we are looking at the yin and

yang. a much loved piece but as a resu result. it was launched may 20, 2010. ruth was celebrated with a lifetime achievement award for her contribution to and influence of the bay area community. the award is embarrassing to me like mad but i have to learn to accept it. and good things are heard about people when they are dead and i'm hearing it while i'm alive. i look upon the award as an opportunity for me to find a place for myself and keeping the art care program going. >> the arts commission director

of programs addressed the crowd and asked for each member to consider donating funds to help save some of san francisco's most important neighborhood landmarks. >> as one of san francisco's living treasures, we respect you a and, frankly, we are in awe of your 50 years of tireless efforts as an early art entrepreneur. >> giving is contagious. i would like to be perhaps the first donation to art care and present you with a check to get the ball rolling. >> because i know the arts commission is very sincere about them i'm going to make a personal commitment of $10,000. >> what is significant about the program is the way it is set up allows us to treat the art works that have the most need, the ones that our conservators are pointing out as most vulnerable as opposed to th