the other groups, you also have to do a lot when you design your intersections. that is where the most accidents happen and where the people feel the most unsafe. we're focusing very much on the intersections, how to design those. >> the towns in the netherlands have the highest rate of bicycle use. also, in denmark. ithey have all the facilities ad priorities for bicycles. it turns out that these towns have a lot higher bicycle use than elsewhere. it pays to have good bicycle facilities. >> yes, i have another question.

this is more on the cost and maintenance. one thing that plagues american cities is the maintenance budget for maintaining public streets and public right of ways. we know very well that you have very high taxes and you have very high parking fees. could you talk about who and how you maintain your infrastructure and the streets? is that just a given, you decide to build something and somebody maintains it, or is there an agreement with another department to maintain it? >> the authorities in amsterdam, the infrastructure and transport department and municipalities, they financed it, they planned it, they build it, construct it,

and they maintain it. i think that is the logical route. and is paid by the community's -- and is paid by the communit ies, and also from the state department. [inaudible] >> in the netherlands, if a road is really bad they will fix it.

>> ok, there is a question in the back. >> our director of public works was in the back. he has a real problem here. maintenance is a huge bill. we do not have the wherewithal to maintain what we have. putting in new facilities increases the cost. then when you bring in different types of facilities -- >> we see a lot of the european- style traffic patterns with intricate paving stones and beautiful designs and then we

get the response, we do not have the maintenance budget, we cannot maintain these. how do you get around that so you could say this is the actual cost? >> it is an integrated part of running the business. it is the responsibility of the mrs. pawlenty -- it is the responsibility of the municipality and it is the responsibility of the taxpayers. if we build a new highway, we know how much it costs, but we also know how much it costs yearly to maintain it. it is one and the same. it is part of the bill. >> doesn't anybody here in san francisco care about the cost? all about the streets, the pavement is quite bad. i think it seems to be quite a

port town. the same in boston. everywhere, the pavement, the maintenance of the roads are a lot worse than anywhere in europe. >> on that note, any other questions? >> hi, i work for the san francisco board of supervisors. a year or two ago, there is talk about changing the traffic laws so that cyclists would treat it red lights like stop signs and treat stop signs like yield signs. it was wondering about any changes in law? >> it has been suggested recently that cyclist conditions should be improved. one was that cyclists should be

able to ride on a red light. that was a discussion. i do not think that we will get that in denmark, because you have to change the legislation opinion that cyclists, they already have the rights they need. they have the same rights as cars, and that is enough. we don't have this for cars. >> we also have european regulation on that. i should do the picture of the 1-way roads. the cost that it brought with it. underneath the existing sign, you had to make another sign on the other part of the road. the also had to indicate you are a car driver on a one-way road

but you may have cyclists on the other side. we said, let's pass the message that it is like that, with or without the extra sign, but we could not because it was prohibited by european regulations. we do have some constraints there. >> in the netherlands, you have a separate bicycle path where you cannot turn right without having to encounter other bikes going straight ahead or going left. in a lot of cases, they have traffic lights and they say underneath, cyclists to the right may pass at the red light. in the netherlands, it is quite common that cyclists who are turning right may do so at a red traffic light. >> ok, we are a little after

1:00. before you leave, i would really like to thank the mpc and the german marshall fund. >> if anybody is interested in the presentation, there are some real interesting slides. we will be posting them on our website. if you want to leave your business card, we will make sure that we keep you on the list to receive e-mail notification about that. he did leave that on the table, or hand them to lizzie, who is right there by the pillar, or hand them to me. we will make sure that you get notification of that. >> thank you all very much. thank you, peter, thank you, neil. thank you all for coming.

>> ♪ lift every voice and sing 'til earth and heaven ring ring with a harmony of liberty let our rejoicing rise ♪ our ancestors are to be honored as the roots of the treat, and the greatness and health of the tree depends on the death and

health of its routes. when we do not honor our ancestors, we become like trees without roots. there is an unbroken continuing between the realm of the living in the realm of the dead in african culture -- an unbroken continuum. the spirit pervades the everyday world of the living. in a community such as this one, we begin by honoring the ancestors, and we pour libations to honor them, and that is what rashid is going to do. we pur water -- pour water, the primary ancestral offering, the source of life in the universe. it is associated with the womb of creation and with the fountain of life.

in the spirit of honoring the ancestors, we say, praises to the ancestors of this land, the keepers of this land. praise be. praises to the ancestors of the middle passage. praises be. praises to all of those whose courage, strength, determination, perseverance, blessings, grace, blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifices have uplifted us, our community, our people. i want you to take a moment and out loud and with passion and with gratitude, call up the name of those whose shoulders you stand upon. praises be. praises be. praises be. praises be. praises be.

praises be. praises be. we call -- praises be. we call upon you all to join us in this commemoration of the past and join us in the celebration of the youth leaders of yesterday and today and those of tomorrow. we ask you to participate as we ourselves become more energized and inspired to follow their example and to take action, to be healers, peacemakers, social justice activists. we call upon you, great ones, to ask that you give us your blessing. bless all of us, and especially, bless our youth. bless their bodies, their spirits, their minds. we call upon you, ancestors, to ask for your guidance for all of us and especially our youth.

especially our youth. guide their feet, their heads, their hearts. be to their left, they're right, above, below, in back of them. we ask that all of those who are present today be more inspired, more informed, and more hopeful and more blessed and more ready to take action when they came. >> i want to thank sonya davis, one of our peacemakers in the community. a healer, civil rights attorney, and she has been a member of the restorative justice for youth program in oakland. linda. [applause] >> good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the koret auditorium of the san francisco public

library. i'm a member of the african- american interest committee here at the library. it is our hope that you will be profoundly moved and inspired by what you hear and see today. social justice is concerned with equal justice, not just in the court, but in all aspects of society. this concept demands that people have equal rights and opportunity. everyone, from the poorest person on the margins of society to the wealthiest, deserves an even playing field. every race, every color, every culture. what happened in 1955 is not unlike what is exploding out of the headlines today. it was a young person's death that started the uprising in tunisia. it is young people on the front lines in egypt. slowly but surely, the young people in sudan are following

suit and rising up against an oppressive government. it was a young girl who stood still when she was ordered to give up her seat to a white woman, violently taken from the bus, pushed into a police car, ridiculed on her way to the station, and shot inside a jail cell until she was bailed out hours later -- shut inside a jail cell until she was bailed out hours later. hers is a powerful story, along with that of a man who was racially profiled and accused of a crime he did not commit. i would like to invite ronald, who garner's several proclamations from various officials, and we would like to present them to ms. claudia -- to ms. claudette colvin. we want to thank him for his efforts in securing these proclamations. if ms. colvin would come up as

well. >> it is an honor to be asked to make these presentations. the elected officials represented here are trailblazers themselves. many of them have been the first in their community to hold office. for example, ed lee, the first chinese-american to be appointed mayor in san francisco, is represented in this group. so is our congresswoman, nancy pelosi, the first woman ever to become speaker of the house in the history of the united states. [applause] tom amiano, who has been a historic figure and trailblazer, coming from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered community. [applause] also, our newest elected official, supervisor cohen,

with her election last november at age 32, is the youngest african-american ever to be elected to the board of supervisors. [applause] she is now san francisco's highest-ranking elected official who is african-american, one of three women on the 11-member body, and the only african- american on that 11-member body. let me read -- since we are short on time -- the letter from the united states senator, dianne feinstein. it reads, "dear mrs. colvin, it is a pleasure for me to join your friends, family, and colleagues in recognizing you for all the work you have done in the fight for civil rights. thank you for dedicating your life to the cause of equality. you have given so much to this country. when you refuse to give up your bus seat on march 2, 1955, it

ignited a spark within montgomery, alabama, that helped begin the process of change. the landmark united states supreme court case that eventually ended segregation on all buses within this country could not have been achieved without your valiant efforts that began with your testimony against the montgomery public transportation system. i commend you for your passion, courage, and dedication. very few people could have demonstrated the level of conviction you showed at the young age of 15. young people today view you as a role model and as an important figure in the history of the civil rights movement. as united states senator representing the people of california, i commend your outstanding service to this country. i wish you good health and happiness in the years to come. sincerely yours, diane feinstein, united states senator -- dianne feinstein,

united states senator." [applause] >> i don't know what to say. i'm so overwhelmed. it really feels good to get some recognition from the politicians and top politicians. i'm glad that i lived to see this day. [applause] and i want to thank all who have made this day possible, including all the people at the library that put this event together. thank you very much. [applause] >> now, i would like to

introduce the driving force behind this program, and award- winning, internationally known storyteller, recording artist, and educator. she is a truth teller and an artist for social change. she has made it her life's work to tell history through the words of its off forgotten witnesses. zero two one-women shows -- she wrote two one-women shows. she told the true story of the 1955-1956 montgomery bus boycott through the eyes of four women. please help me welcome her. >> i guess you are wondering why i'm standing here. [inaudible]

my teachers have been teaching me a lot about standing up for what is right. it was a week right after negro history week. i like negro history week a lot because we learn about people who make a difference. that is what i want to do. teh white -- the white section was empty, and the colored section was full, so i sat in the middle, the seat on the left, the last one in the middle. i was not thinking about anything in particular. i had a chocolate candy bar, and i was looking out the window. an older girl sat next to me. i continued looking out the window. more people got on the bus, and

some more color and some were white, and soon, no more seats were available. colored folks started getting up, and white folks started taking their seats. i just stared straight ahead. "make light on your feet." other people got up, but i told myself that i would just stay seated. folks started staring at me. you know why -- you know, white folks. [laughter] "she knows where she belongs." open " i hope she is not one of them troublemakers --"i hope she is not one of the troublemakers." me? a troublemaker? just because of how i was born?

my daddy that -- got a cowboy hat and cowboy boots. board rogers was coming to town -- roy rogers was coming to town. it was for white kids only. why? they think we are troublemakers? i do not want to make trouble. troublemaker. just because of how we are born, we have to be troublemakers. that is when i looked and saw ms. hamilton getting on the bus.

wait, let me get back on -- wait, driver, please, let me get back on. ms. hamilton, she sat right next to me. "you need to get out so i can drive on -- get up so i can drive on." [inaudible] i want to stay black and die a natural death. [laughter] segregation is killing black people. that big fight, brown versus the board of education so all the black kids can get an education.

[inaudible] the books have pages missing, and they all have things written inside of them. at the main library, we have a demonstration going on. [inaudible] how come we cannot use that facility? they cannot even get a good job and fair pay. men, they come up missing. rape -- they do not want to talk about that, but if it is a white woman, it is on the news, on the radio, on television. i do not want to die like that. so i'm going to stay black and die. if i could do one thing --

>> i told you, you need to move on. do i need to get the police?" >> sir, i picked -- "sir, i paid my fare. it is my constitutional right." the driver gets off the bus. police officers come. they are at the back door. "i had trouble with this girl before." "the two of you need to get up. you know it is against the law." open " i paid my fair -- "i paid my fare.