tobreaner was revered as a legal scholar and humanitarian who did not hesitate to speak out on behalf of the disadvantaged and marginalized individuals. in fact, he expressed some time ago the very fundamental principle, whatever hardship poverty may cause in society generally, the judicial process must make itself available to the indigent. it must free itself of the sanctions born of financial inability. and it is that principle that is the foundation of this award. and so a memory of justice -- and i want to give a shout out to michael and the tobreaner for working so well since 2000 on collaborating on the meaning of this award. it has been an award that pays

tributes to individuals who have made extraordinary efforts to assist the most vulnerable members of our community and to strengthen the principle of equal access to justice. so today it's my honor to represent a bay area woman who exemplifies her distinguished career in the bay area for over 45 years. as the first african-american woman television reporter in the west bella davis truly embodies these principles. rising from poverty in the projects of oakland to one of the most respected news journalists of our time, she is a true inspiration to all of our communities. during her career she covered many of the most explosive stories of our era such as the berkeley student protest, the birth of the black panthers, the assassinations of mayor

mosconi and harvey. among many other stories. bella activates community awareness through her poignant reports and demonstrates her involvement by being a board member of community organizations, a labor activist and a supporter of diverse cultures and certainly of the african-american culture. through her hard work and dedication, she helped establish the san francisco's museum of acan dispra and numerous other civic projects in our area. bella davis has challenged and successfully overcome both race and gender-based discrimination in the journalism profession with courage and fortitude. she's brought untold stories of african-americans and women out into the mainstream news, giving them the attention and respect they deserve.

you are an outstanding citizen that has changed the face of television news and shed light on many of the most significant stories of our era. you have inspired all of us for decades with your grace. your dignity, your strength and your purpose. and with that, i would like to present to you this well-deserved award, the matthew o. tobreaner award for 20126789 please come on up. for 2012. please come on up. [applause]

>> and of course, i will take this wonderful opportunity to add something from the city that i get to do and that is, of course, to proclaim this to be belva davis day in san francisco. [applause] >> well, thank you so much, mayor ed lee, for those kind remarks, and most of all, thank you for taking the time to be here. i know there are many, many other bells that are ringing for your presence, so my much appreciation to you. and to this room of

distinguished attendees, to the leaders and staff of this life-changing organization, the employment law center of the legal aid society, and to all who followed the arc of history as it bends towards justice. thank you for this honor. i have been blessed with a long life of surprises and miracles. and one of them, or all of them, have been fueled by hope and the promise of america. and a america that promises liberty and justice for all. why else would a female black child, born during the really great depression of the 1930's in the deep south envision and dream a life so far from her reality? it is that promise of liberty and justice that continues to fuel impossible dreams around

the world today, and it is this promise that's kept so many of you working long past the hours for which you are being compensated for. because you are willing to sacrifice for those of us whose dreams depend upon your skills. my family migrated to california because of my uncle ezra. a man with no formal education, but one brave enough to file a lawsuit during the frightening days of the depression. he filed a lawsuit against his employer, a major manufacturer after he was injured on the job. it took years for me to understand his bravery. i'm here because a young white lawyer filed that suit on his behalf. and a mysterious louisiana judge ruled in his favor.

all seemingly impossible things for the era. but one day a check for $2,000 did arrive. and i went with my uncle and aunt to berkeley to pay for their house on ashby avenue. i saw the check. it was a miracle that he did not pay the price of being tarred and feathered as promised by the white men of monroe, louisiana. it was uncle ezra that led my immediate family on their exodus from the south. so no matter how hard i am willing to work to get into broadcasting, i was willing, it could not have happened without help. and in this case, again, someone we didn't know, the president of our country, lyndon johnson's courage to

sign and authorize the civil rights act of 1964 easing the color line in hiring, permitted me to be brave enough to go out and to apply for a job doing work i'd seen no one else do. no matter how often i recited my mann take -- my mantra, to not be afraid of the space between my dreams and reality, promising myself that if i dreamed it, i could make it happen. i could make it come true. but without the courage of those who had marched defiantly, rode buses, sat in at lunch counters and took the beatings and cruelty that went with seeking justice in those times, my dreams would not have been possible. it is a promise of america that keeps me and millions around the world dreaming, hoping, working, and pledging to not be

afraid of the unknown. that space between our dreams and our reality. because we're counting on those of you stellar scholars, powerful leaders, to continue to love liberty and the promise of america and fight for justice to help us realize our dreams. i'm so honored to receive this award named for such a distinguished chief justice of our state. i am more than flattered to even have been thought of to stand here today. for a woman who comes from my background, as i told you, a woman who did not go to college , but did not let it deter her from dreaming big dreams. i just want to affirm for you whatever the sacrifices you with talent have that can help those most in need of help, i

thank you for them. we need you. we would like to continue our dreams, too. thank you so much. [applause]

>> this is holly lee knox. there are some proud pet owners in san francisco and they have brought all their pets here to strut their stuff. >> it's an annual event that we've had. this is our 18th year. we bring in rescue groupers, vendors, supporters, lots and lots of animals. it's a proud day for us and for the animals of san francisco. >> the costume contest is really fun. people get really creative. it's a really fun event. people go all out, create costumes, buy costumes, whatever it is.

but there's some really fun ones. >> we're just celebrating the pets and just their companionship and how they are invaluable. so everybody's having fun. >> we're the city's open door shelter. that means we take in every animal that comes through our door regardless of age, condition, species, everything in the city comes through us that is in need. >> animal care control, it is such an important agency and is very understaffed, has very few resources. but we make animals don't have a home, that we get them a home and that we don't put the animals to sleep, that we're able to adopt them out.

>> we have a huge number of volunteers who come in and they will walk our dogs, socialize our animals, play with cats, play with them, bring them to adoption events today. >> i volunteer with the animal control center and i do that every week. >> we're in an organization called friends of a.c.c. with that organization, you can donate money if you don't have time. if you do have time, you can come down to the shelter and volunteer to actually have one-on-one time with the animals. if you're like me and you don't have time to give to an animal, if you actually have one of your own, you can get your fix on the weekends, come in and pet them and love them and it's great. >> this has been pet pride 2011 brought to you by san francisco animal care and control. to find out more, visit them on the web at sfgov

>> a lot a ton with the community and we say to ourselves, there is this one and this one. we all compartmentalize them, we have our own agenda. our agenda is to create great work. if you are interested in that, you are part of our community. >> hello and welcome to brava theater. >> we are trying to figure out a way to make a space where theater and presentation of live work is something that you think of the same way that you think of going to the movies. of course, it has been complex in terms of economics, as it is for everyone now. artistically, we have done over 35 projects in four seasons, from producing dance, theater, presenting music, having a full- scale education program, and

having more than 50,000 visitors in the building almost every year. a lot of our emerging artists to generate their first projects here, which is great. then we continue to try to support figuring out where those works can go. we have been blessed to have that work produced in new york, going on to the edinburgh festival, the warsaw theater festival. to me, those are great things when you can watch artists who think there is nowhere else that might be interested in you being a woman of color and telling your story and then getting excited about it. that is our biggest accomplishment. having artists have become better artists. what is. sheri coming back to brava, here you have this establish, amazing writer who has won a clue --

slew of awards. now she gets to director and work. even though she is this amazing, established writer, the truth is, she is being nurtured as a director and is being given some space to direct. >> the play is described as ceremony and -- where ceremony and theater me. in the indigenous tradition, when you turn 52, it is like the completion of an important era. the importance of the ceremony is to say, you are 52. whenever you have been caring for the first 52 years, it is time to let it go. really, here, they have given me carte blanche to do this. i think it is nice for me, in the sense of coming back 25 years later and seeing personally my own evolution as an artist and thinker.

the whole effort to put the chicano or indigenous woman's experience on center stage is, in itself, for euro-american theaters, a radical position. because of the state of theater, it is a hard roll to hold up in institution. it is a hard road. i am looking at where we are 25 years later in the bay area, looking at how hard it is for us to strive to keep our theater is going, etc. i like to think that i'm not struggling quite as hard, personally, but what i mean by that, the intention, the commitment. particularly, to produce works that would not be produced in other places, and also to really nurture women of color artists. i think that is something that has not shifted for me in those

25 years, and it is good to see that brava remains committed to that kind of work. ♪ >> when people talk about the reflection of the community, we can only go from what we have on our staff. we have a south asian managing director, south african artistic director, latino community out rich person. aside from the staff, the other people, artists that we work with being a reflection of us, yes, the community is changing, but brava has always tried to be ahead of that trend. when i came in, i tried to make it about the work that shows the eclectic mission district, as well as serving the mission. those are the types of things that i feel build one brava is

all >> i love teaching. it is such an exhilarating experience when people began to

feel their own creativity. >> this really is a place where all people can come and take a class and fill part of the community. this is very enriching as an artist. a lot of folks take these classes and take their digital imagery and turn it into negatives. >> there are not many black and white darkrooms available anymore. that is a really big draw. >> this is a signature piece. this is the bill largest darkroom in the u.s.. >> there are a lot of people that want to get into that dark room. >> i think it is the heart of this place. you feel it when you come in. >> the people who just started taking pictures, so this is

really an intersection for many generations of photographers and this is a great place to learn because if you need people from different areas and also everyone who works here is working in photography. >> we get to build the community here. this is different. first of all, this is a great location. it is in a less-populated area. >> of lot of people come here

just so that they can participate in this program. it is a great opportunity for people who have a little bit of photographic experience. the people have a lot, they can really come together and share a love and a passion. >> we offer everything from traditional black and white darkrooms to learning how to process your first roll of film. we offer classes and workshops in digital camera, digital printing. we offer classes basically in the shooting, ton the town at night, treasure island. there is a way for the programs exploring everyone who would like to spend the day on this program.

>> hello, my name is jennifer. >> my name is simone. we are going on a field trip to take pictures up the hill. >> c'mon, c'mon, c'mon. >> actually, i have been here a lot. i have never looked closely enough to see everything. now, i get to take pictures. >> we want to try to get them to be more creative with it. we let them to be free with them but at the same time, we give them a little bit of direction. >> you can focus in here. >> that was cool. >> if you see that?

>> behind the city, behind the houses, behind those hills. the see any more hills? >> these kids are wonderful. they get to explore, they get to see different things. >> we let them explore a little bit. they get their best. if their parents ever ask, we can learn -- they can say that they learned about the depth of field or the rule of thirds or that the shadows can give a good contrast. some of the things they come up with are fantastic. that is what we're trying to encourage. these kids can bring up the creativity and also the love for

photography. >> a lot of people come into my classes and they don't feel like they really are creative and through the process of working and showing them and giving them some tips and ideas. >> this is kind of the best kept secret. you should come on and take a class. we have orientations on most saturdays. this is a really wonderful location and is the real jewel to the community. >> ready to develop your photography skills? the harvey milk photo center focuses on adult classes. and saturday workshops expose youth and adults to photography classes.