so let me get -- i'm going to stay on my time. stay on my time. i want you all to know shirley and i will have been married 44 years on monday of next week -- friday of next week, and she's the best part of my day. her birthday is monday so only al williams could get us to come up here on a friday or thursday and do this but we are really appreciative to do this. up need three things for a successful life. i'm going to give you some little jewels here. something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to. think about it. that's it. you need three things for a successful life. something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to mpltd and shirly fulfills all three and when you get the right partner, you don't have to go nowhere. ok? we live our lives on two simple

principles. one, two whom much is given, sch required. and a life of no regrefments and let me say this, the second is harder than the first because live a life of no regrets means you life in the present tense. you have to make decisions while they're coming at you because if not you will say boy, i wish i'd done that differently. so practicing this notion of no recigarettes difficult. we have a saying, god grant me a gift that i need so i can give it to someone else that needs it more. that's a hell of a practice. you hear what i just said? you can't have a blessing with a closed fist. and a lot of us walk around with both our fists closed all the time and think that you're going to get some blessings. in baseball, you get a glove and you throw the ball back. some of you got two gloves on your hands. you got to take one off.

because that's the only way you can share and god does not bless us unless you give to others first. ok? all right. i got our good friend ron brown the commerce secretary who decide -- died suddenly, he had a saying, "leave the door open and the ladder down," and i want to you remember that because far too often we don't help each other. if i have an event and al calls me or he has an event and he calls me up, i might say with, i'll help up a little bit. so next time i need help, i call and he helps a little bit and the effort is a little bit successful. you know what happens particularly in the black community, in others too, because we don't help each other, we're not doing as well

as we can do. that is a problem we all have to take responsibility for. all right. i don't know what i'm doing. i got to get back to it. the greatest tragedy in life is not death, but a life without purpose and vision. the greatest treasures in the world are not the companies that make up the new york stock exchange or the oil wells of the middle east but the semteries all ofe the world because of the lost potential did you hear what i just said? in the semteries -- semeteries because of lost potential. in other words you didn't do what god put you here to do. like the story of the chicken and eagle. a tiny eagle egg was found by a hen. she took the egg home to the coop and sat on it with all the love and patience of an incipient mother. a few weeks later the egg was

hatched. out stepped a tiny eagle. the tiny bird had eagle history, eagle genes, eagle d.n.a., eagle chromosomes, eagle power, and eagle potential. but because it group -- grew up in chicken surroundings, it grew up thinking it was a chicken. you hear what i just said? it thought it was a chicken. it grew up dreaming chicken dreams and thinking chicken thoughts and entertaining chicken am bigs. am i talking to you? in fact it was even made to feel sthamed of his eagle features. eep though he didn't know who he was, the chickens in the barn yard absolutely now -- knew who he was and they said to each other, boy, we got to keep this little bird thinking that he's a chicken because if he ever finds out he's an eagle, he'll rule over us. as a result, the little bird

became ashamed of his eagle fought -- features and heritage. they made fun of his eagle beak because she had tiny narrow chicken beaks and of his talons because they had weak, scrawny chicken feet. he even became ashamed of his darkness. y'all ain't done none of that, right? and the beauty and rich heritage of his eagle feathers. at one point in his life he even considered cosmetic surgery. he thought about cutting off half his eagle beak and dyeing half his feathers to look more like a chicken. ironically, his greatest ambition in life was one day to hop, skip, and skip on the fence post and cock-a-doodle-doo like the

reast -- rooster. but one day this confused eagle was playing and he looked up jarred -- up ward and saw an eagle in flight. sure enough, this lost bird's mind was blown. he said to himself, in so many words, woirks -- wow, i wish i could fly like that. that adult eagle swoomed down from the stratosphere and said to the confused biffered, boy, you ain't no chicken. you're an eagle. your mighty talents weren't meant to scrape on the ground for cat er pillars. he said boy, you ain't no chicken, you're an eagle. your eagle eye was not meant to be limited to the narrow confines of the barn yard but to seek out your unfulfilled potential and spread your wings.

you ain't no chicken. this is the message to each of us today. i don't care what you've done up to this point in your life. i don't care if you've had chicken parents, attended chicken school, even if you had chicken teachers, chicken assignments and even some of you have some chicken jobs with chicken managers arpped -- and supervisors. don't think chicken thoughts and don't dream chicken dreams. think like an eagle. ok? all right. all right. [applause] wasted time and potential we will never be able to recover the time wasted. i repeat, the greatest tragedy in life is wasted time and wasted potential. even at my age i wake up every day with this notion of discovery, wanting to know more and to do more. that's what this is about. don't sit on it because if you sit on it, it will go away from you because god will say hey,

you ain't using it, i'll give it to somebody else. ok? the wealthiest place on earth really is the cemetery because it's are where all the hopes, dreams, goals, music, arts, inventions, are lost forever. the hardest jobs, listen to me good, the hardest job for a black preacher is to give a eulogy of an irrelevant black child. you hear what i just said? to try and console their families and try to give meaning to a life of no purpose. how many of those eulogies have been said in our community? because we have been wayward. you remember the song "i got plenty of nothing, and plenty of nothing is good for me?" i don't like that song. i like the song "god bless the child that's got his own" because that's what i got to

do. anyone that professes to love this country must know history. we were taught his-story. that george washington cut down the cherry tree and did not tell a lie. nothing could be further from the truth. because if we were taught history we would know about the great and wonderful people called african-americans and how much they gave and sacrificed to build this country and leave a rich legacy of -- to all of us. not just black folks, to everybody. this country was built by africans, yngsdz and americans. we came here in 1619, one year before the mayflower. we did not come here as enslaved people. we came as indentured certify vanlts just like whites did and the people of jamestown were starving until black folks came there in 1619 and showed them how to grow tobacco.

any time y google it, because we're in that age. do you know in 1624 euro and isabella johnson had their first child. it wasn't out of wedlock, they were married. william tucker, 1624. i want you to know that we are just full of myths. we are full of myths and we bought them all and what we have do is to say that we're not going to deal with it. how many -- who told the colonies that the british were coming? no, no, that was the first person killed in 1770 but who rode off and told the british was coming. paul revere. nothing could be further from the truth. ever heard of israel bizle. he run 346 miles on horse back from boston to philadelphia to

warn not just boston, but all of the colonies in that upper area about the parish were coming. in other words, there are stories that made america and there are stories that america made up. you hear what i just said? there are stories that made america and there are stories that america made up and too often the myth becomes the choice and you believe rather than the facts and here's one thing and i'm going to close it here. he give me 15 minutes. i say, how are you going to give me 15 minutes? it takes a day of my time to come up here and give me 15 minutes. but i'm going to take what i need to take. what else are you going to do when you get up here? i'm going to leave you with this and you got to listen to this. the myth of absent.

in american history as in american life, black americans are invisible presence. did you hear what i just said? you got to just listen to that a little bit because it's got to sink in a little bit. they are not seen not because of their absence but because of the presence of a myth that prepares and requires their absence. did you hear what i just said? they are not seen not because of their absence but because of the presence of a myth that prepares and requires their absence. the myth of absence which expresses this idea and intention operates not by misinterpretation and slander but by silence and exclusion. by simply not mentioning certain realities and by removing black actors from scenes in which they played supporting roles, the manipulation of the myth changes the color of the past and controls the perception and acts in the present and it's no

accident that the dominant images of popular history are white. do you follow me? if you think about the myth of absence, if you look in all, every aspect of history, or even if you go to a place that you see nobody of color -- i went into an insurance company two days ago and the pictures on the wall was from 1937 and 1951. there was not a black face, there was not a woman and there was not a latino in the picture. that's the myth of absence. and if you see it long enough, you will believe that that is how it's supposed to be and for many of us, we've swallowed the pill, o.k.? we've swallowed the pill and i'm going to close right there, i got one poem and i'm going to get off of here so al can get his program back. me and this boy go back 100 years so we can talk like this,

you understand. all right, here we go, do it anyway. people really are unreasonable, illogical and self centered, love them anyway. if you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives, do good anyway. if you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies but succeed anyway. the good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow but let's do good today anyway. honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable but let's be honest and frank anyway. the biggest ideas with the can be shot down by the smallest of minds. what you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. let's keep building anyway because people need help but they attack you when you help them but let's keep helping them anyway and give the world the

best you got and you'll get kicked in the teeth, but guess what, give the world the best you got anyway. thank you very much. ♪ >> we are going to start off with a super blessing with the rev. dr. mcrae and reverend norman fong.

[laughter] we have got the mayor here. we have got the family here. bless the family. this is a very special occasion that we want to start off right with the rev. dr. mcrae. >> made the spirit of peace, joy, collaboration, inspire the building of mary helen rogers senior community housing. made the spirit of life, commitment, and tenacity demonstrated by the life and love of mary helen rogers bless all that will dwell in this new development. they all of the workers, the contractors, developers, funders, architects, be filled with a spirit of harmony,

creativity, as they build not only a new facility, but a new community. >> as we anticipate the building of the mary helen rogers senior community center and housing, maybe we -- may be be inspired to do justice and demonstrate love and compassion as we continue the good fight in the city of st. francis. >> made a piece of the gods blessed mary helen rogers, the love of it -- loving mother of the western addition. made that same got of peace bless this community as it moves it forward. may god bless the new senior community, the facility that is built in the honor of this icon

of our community. amen. >> and it is valentine's day. what a perfect day to celebrate love in this community. >> thank you. my name is gordon chan, the executive director of the chinatown community development center. we are delighted that you have joined us on this special occasion. perhaps the speeches will be shorter because of the rain. i will not talk much about the project. you can see the statistics on the board. but i did want to share a personal gratitude with rogers family. mary was a hero and a champion to many of us. i met her when i was working at the international hotel, struggling in the 1960's and 1970's.

a champion for the entire city, not just the western addition. we oblast and daughter that she -- we are blessed and honored to be here today. the san francisco redevelopment agency, the silicon valley bank, our architects and contractors. without any further ado, let me turn it over and welcome the mayor. i was going to wear my giants hat, but since the war mayor more his hat, i think it is ok. >> good morning, everyone. thank you. i am not a big celebrators of valentine's day. but there is a great analogy in that we break ground today on this day.

when i think of mary helen rogers, many years ago when i was attempting to understand what was happening in the western addition, meeting people that were introducing you to the problems and challenges of youth and why the city's families needed to get closer together, that is what i met mary ellen rogers. i remember her, as well as so many others, who had such a strong love of community. it is a -- it is appropriate that this housing development been named after her to reflect that great love that she had for her family, as well as her community. i also find it extremely significant, as this is not to be passed.

in building these 100 units of affordable senior housing, 20% of which will be housing formerly homeless people, that it is done in such a way that it reflects the great collaboration that exists within the city. so that the talent of the tabernacle and it's great reverence are coming together with the people in the community. our two great communities in the city, coming together to forge this great relationship, doing the best work that it can. making sure that this housing uses those valuable tax increments that we have been talking about for the entire month. redevelopment in the city has been doing a great job. leveraging dollars with a financial community like silicon

valley bank and others to fund this project. we could not do it without this great collaboration or leadership from both communities coming together. whether it is the reverence or clergy here today working with redevelopment agencies, as well as the chinatown community development organization. i would also like to express that this legacy of mary helen rogers will continue beyond just this one project. this project is a labor of love. you cannot build 100 units in this place without high degrees of cooperation. for everyone to come together in her name and other, it says a lot about san francisco, our values, and what we are about. i would like to let you know that we are joined by our board

president, david chiu. supervisor kim is on her way -- due to meet you. -- good to me to be read from the official city family be recognized the importance of this family. not only for the name, but the extremely high level of collaboration it takes. this is a senior housing wrapped around with services. with this development, 100 more families below longer be isolated. finding affordable housing in the city. a wonderful story. many other cities envy the way that we do it. with that, thank you for coming together everyone.

>> thank you, mayor. our next guest is here to talk about the wonderful partnership that this project represents. in addition to the tabernacle, the urban core is our young partner. please welcome muhammed adiri, the chief operating officer. >> thank-you. thank you. i will try to keep my comments brief. thank you to everyone that came out. i am the chief operating officer for urban core. i have a few acknowledgments, if i can. first i would like to acknowledge my partner, the president and ceo, marvin johnson. many of you know him for the wonderful work he has done over

the years. i would like to recognize the relationship for the past 10 years that mrs. rogers has had with our company. thinking specifically about the support and the advice, mentoring and leadership that she provided for michael when we were doing a film at the heritage center. something i have heard a lot about and that i know you hold dear to your heart's. i would also like to acknowledge our corporate funders. for us, they allow us to do the work that we do in the community. i would also like to acknowledge the development team. you have heard a few of the vendors. i will also like to acknowledge a couple of people individually. monocle wilson from the urban core. along with our partners, we need

jones and tonya young of ccgc. you with your a lot about the partnership as time goes on. it has proven to be a wonderful, wonderful opportunity. hudson valley and silicon valley bank, our project funders. without them, none of this would have gone forward. the san francisco redevelopment agency in particular, they have worked with us over the years to get this project where it is. i would like to abolish them. i believe that fred is here. i believe that i saw sally. finally, i never had a chance to meet mrs. rogers. i will not try to be count other people's memories.

i am sure that we will have plenty of time for that. but i did hear from everyone that no matter what side of the issue you were in, no one had anything but respect for her passion, commitment to the community. i hear that all the time. the second thing is something that i have heard from the family. something likely said about my grandmother, mother, and other people. her family agreed early on to share her with the community. that was how important the community was to her. i am proud to be associated with a building that will reflect the spirit, energy, and pride that she had in the community. thank you and carry on.

[applause] >> earlier i mentioned the wonderful support from the green valley agency. please join me in about coming fred blackwell, the director of the san francisco redevelopment agency. >> thank you, gordon. good morning, everybody. just wanted to make a couple of acknowledgements the fourth saying a few words. -- acknowledgments before saying a few words. a number of commissioners are with us today that made significant contributions. leroy king is right here to my right. as well as the president of the commission, if any of you are missing, let me know and grab me. today is very timely in terms of the dedication of a building to mary ellen rogers. because of what we are going

through as an agency. as everyone knows, she was a critic of the agency. she held everyone accountable at the agency. but she was also responsible for for reform at that agency. through this debate about whether or not redevelopment should exist, the san francisco redevelopment agency has been held up as a model. because of the way that it produces affordable housing in the city. because of what it has been able to do. the reason why this agency is considered better than others in the state is because of the things that mary helen rogers pushed this agency to do. as we stand here and think about the future without redevelopment agency's