today. [applause] >> thank you. i am humbled and overwhelmed, supervisor wiener, a longtime friend. i want to thank you for selecting me. black history month is a very special time for me. i still remember its significance to me. when i was 12 years old, my grandmother handed me a copy of brown v. board of vacation -- education. she said, growth and be a lawyer. she tells me -- would tell me where is your time and she would be proud of the fact that i am a lawyer. she told me to always remember that in every day when i stepped into any meeting in to any court

room, i do, i carry the tradition and the belief of my family and my people. i am proud to be an african- american. i am proud to be an african- american in san francisco when our population is dwindling. prior to have been a resident of district 81997 through 2011. i am proud to be in supervisor cohen's district. my grandma told me to surround myself with good people. i have to tell you that is what i have done and i am proud to look around this chamber and see so many friends. my very first friend who sat four doors down from me at howard rice when i used to scream down the hall at the bidd campos. and my great friend malia cohen.

thank you for entrusting me on the police commission. it is great work. i have to tell you i love being there. for all of those who worry, you can call and find out. my record is pretty damn close to being perfect. i love being on the police commission. thank you for that. i am here to serve san francisco and san franciscans. that is what i learned at home. and want to be of service. -- i want to be of service. stepping into this chamber is one of the proudest moments of my life. thank you so very much. [applause]

[applause] president chiu: next, supervisor cohen. supervisor cohen: this is the best part about this, you're able to hold about standing

members and give them a few minutes of special time and love and admiration. i speak on behalf of my colleagues. we may have been elected to serve, but it is a pleasure to serve with you. with every one of the awardees today. without further ado, it is a great privilege to be able to call to your attention an outstanding woman who is by far living history. living black history. i would like to call to the attention and to honor raquel miller. she is representing the united states and what will be the first -- who knew it, we have first we are cochrane. the first olympics to hold a women's boxing event. [applause] do't b -- don't be shy. raquel is in spokane for the

trials and she competed last night. for that reason we're excited to have her sister, tenisha. thank you for being with us today. she is here on behalf of her sister. while the trials will demonstrate that women can pack a punch, her success demonstrates the particular persistence and imagination of the women right here in our community. specifically coming from bayview. bayview hunters point. one of the most remarkable and moving aspects of her story is the energy and ferocity she attaches -- attaches to a goal. because of this she has made enormous progress in her dreams to become a world-class boxer and in a short time. it was two years ago that she signed up for boxing classes. through our very own recreational and parks

department. at the mission rec center. although she works full time as an administrative assistant she trains to tirelessly every day and finds time to teach boxing classes at the mission rec center. i think we wish her the best in her efforts and are honored to have for represent our city in the trials. i look for to hearing our progress in the trials and i look forward to the day that when she returns home to bring her fire and passion to our community. please put your hands together for ms. raquel miller. [applause] >> hello, everyone. it is an honor to be here representing my sister and she fights for her dream, or passion and to see the dedication she has committed to her goals and her dreams.

it is inspiring not only to myself but my family, our community, and the city. she is proud to be a san franciscan. when she first started out, i was their day in and day out picking her because she did not have a car at the time. i believed in her from the first when she was at 200 pounds and had to drop down to 152 start fighting. to see her represent our community and our families the way she has is amazing and overwhelming sometimes. please keep her in your prayers as she goes to make history. she is excited. we're all excited and is an honor to be here to represent her today. she wishes she could be year and she told me to tell you to keep your fingers crossed and pay for her -- prefer. she will bring home that spot in the olympic trials. -- pray for her.

[applause] [applause] president chiu: we will go for an acknowledgment from our mayor. >> thank you. the mayor would like to recognize tamika moss. if you want to come up.

[applause] yemenia's no, -- many of us know tamika as the director of the cjc. she managed a staff there and creative those programs. she has become the community planning policy director, so congratulations on that. she is working on housing policy and we wish you the best there. her routes serving the community run deep before cjc and spur. she worked at tndc in a variety of roles. we give a proclamation. february 14 was taken by mr. bennett. the mayor is proud to declare that for f-15 is prepared -- is declared -- february 15 is

declared to be tamika moss day. >> thank you so much. i am so humbled by this honor and i would like to thank mayor lee and of course the board of supervisors, it is great to see many of you. i have been at this podium many times and it is wonderful to be in this festive occasion, this day of love and support. and want to thank my friends and family who came out today to support me. i would not be able to do any of this work without them. i am so grateful for that passion and commitment i feel to social justice and economic justice and san francisco and in our region and communities. it is what drives my passion to stay committed, to keep doing this work, no matter what venue, no matter what position. it is my life amendment. i learned that from my grandmother.

-- it is my life commitment. i was raised by my grandmother. she is 84 years old and she continues to provide me with the strength and understanding that the world is a much bigger than any one individual. we may not sit idly by and not be committed and share our passion for our communities. and work hard to make this world a better place. i am very grateful today that i represent the heroes, the african-american heroes, the multi-cultural heroes that we celebrate today. thank you very much. [applause]

president chiu: our next commendation will be provided by our colleague from district 1, supervisor mar. supervisor mar: thank you and happy black history month and happy valentine's day. there has been a tremendous variety of people from everyday heroes that do extraordinary things to media personalities and strong community leaders. i am so honored to call-up noah griffin. we lost him to marin county. one of the most talented san franciscans both in media and journalism but also as a longtime political activist. especially as an artist as well. i think tony bennett was hurt -- year earlier. noah griffin is creating a hard

for san francisco. he started with the san francisco boys course that performed today. he performed with duke ellington, the shirelles, he performed in "turandot" and "la boheme". he was chosen to solo with deucalion -- duke ellington. after graduating from arbour moskal, he returned to the san francisco bay area where he lived ever since. he has had an illustrious career as a syndicated newspaper columnist, singer, songwriter, and aid to seneator -- now senator feinstein. his a tribute to cole porter took the world by storm and he regularly sells out at such

classical venues as byrd land in new york. his parents chose the rosslyn district to raise their family. he is a proud alumnus of washington high school. he was named the youth mayor when george christopher was the mayor. he spent the day as the mayor of san francisco. i will say also that he is also -- we all love "i left my heart in san francisco." it is an honor to be in your presence as well as all the other leaders. mr. griffin? >> thank you very much, supervisor mar. i am deeply humbled by this honor. i received this also on the behalf of my parents who came here in 1944 at the behest of roy wilkins. they were playing 37% to --

paying teachers much lower. my father approached a man said that serve this out and tried under the 14th amendment. my parents were barred from teaching for life from ford that. thanksgiving day, 1944, my father came out here and establish the west coast region of the naacp based in san francisco and i was fortunate enough to grow up here. i quickly learned there is no one rich in richmond. there's no sun in the sunset and no love in the haight. george christopher gave me the key to the city the last time i was honored. march 31, 1962. nearly 50 years ago. i went to school with malia cohen's father and presented her a scholarship to go to fisk university before she went off to college. part of the african-american in san francisco is blending within the community and not just being

recognized for being one part of an ethnicity. we're part of the city of san francisco. i have written a song for the giants and i have written one for after 9/11 for the san francisco police and fire department and i would like to sing this song i wrote for the golden gate bridge. it is the 75th anniversary of the golden gate bridge. we also have the the america's cup. ♪ san francisco is a story that has been told, there is more beauty to the i left to behold ♪ ♪ it is magical to people everywhere ♪ ♪ the mystical wonder, the ships passing under ♪ ♪ her golden towers reaching into the sky ♪ ♪ the bay san francisco, the

bridge golden gate ♪ ♪ a timelessness you cannot deny ♪ ♪ it is comforting to know her, the city sleeps builder -- below her ♪ ♪ its cares and troubles jianlian wind -- gently on wind. ♪ lovers hearts surrender, to dreams only lovers can find ♪ ♪ the bay san francisco, the bridge golden gate is ♪ ♪ travel home, it is not too late. ♪ the foghorns at dusk blow to

road san francisco -- throughout san francisco ♪ ♪ the hills that rise above her, the sailboats in her harbor art treasures you cannot barter or find ♪ ♪ men travel to pursue her ♪ ♪ they give their all to woo her ♪ ♪ she is buffeted and fortunes history aligned ♪ ♪ the bay, san francisco, the bridge, golden gate ♪ ♪ become weary traveler home, it is not too late ♪ ♪ the foghorns at dusk blow throughout the san francisco ♪ ♪ it is the bridge to our

tomorrows, our happiness, and sorrows ♪ ♪ is a breach of faith, dodd is it is a bridge of fate, the golden gate ♪ i would like to present a copy of this to the city of san francisco. thank you. [applause] [applause] president chiu: it is my honor to present the next commendation. one of the wonderful things

about celebrating black history month as we see the diversity of leadership and accomplishment within our african-american community here in san francisco. one thing i will tell the audience is, you are seeing this incredible this spectrum but none of us knew before today who each of us were going to be honoring. i love the fact my hon. represents another facet of diversity within our community. kimberly bryant is a biotechnology and engineering professional who spent the last decade in a series of technical leadership roles for fortune 100 companies including genentech, of dupont, and pfizer. she received her bachelor's in engineering degree from vanderbilt with a major in electrical engineering and a minor in computer science and math. you are far smarter than most of us here. i wanted to honor you for two reasons. kimberly has been active in the

neighborhood association with in my district. i want to thank you for your leadership in that area. just as importantly, we ought -- talks here about the digital divide. the fact that we have a booming technology industry and get a lot of challenges in making sure the diversity of our residents are being served and are able to get employment within this world. last year she founded an organization called black girls code to meet the needs of women under represented in technology. sheep introduced african- american and latino girls between the ages of 7 and 14 to the field of computer programming and digital technology. black girl's code launched a pilot project last year in the bayview hunters point community. it consisted of technical instruction in basic programming

concepts and a hands-on learning and coaching environment. this was recently selected from amongst 400 applicants for prestigious google rewachand science engineering award for 2012. kimberly has appeared on national television and local television shows to promote the program she has started. with that, thank you for all your doing and congratulations. >> thank you. i would like to start out by thinking supervisor -- thanking supervisor chiu. i cannot sing or you would not want to hear it. what i can do is code and teaching people how to do so. on on this day i -- on this day i am reminded of a quote by howard thurman.

a dream is a bearer of the possibility. it is the great hope. when i started black girls code in 2011, our mission was to empower young woman of color from 7 to 14 to become the masters of their technological universe. it has also been a personal journey for me as the mother of a young lady who has been very interested in technology for many years. i did not originally set down this path to become a social on to dinner or to start a nonprofit. that was not my goal when i moved to san francisco. as i looked around me, there were so many opportunities in this rich tapestry that we have the opportunity to live in. it is a passion that has driven me to focus on our young people that is -- our young people. that is the future.

it will not progress unless we focus on enriching the lives of our young people. another quote, "when you look at the world, did not look at what the world needs. look at what makes you come alive. what the world needs our people that are life." it is such a great opportunity to have the opportunity to start an organization like black girl's code and to help plant the seeds to help young people come alive. i do not know if i will create the next steve jobs or mark zuckerberg but that would be great. if i do not i want to be able to allow these young women to build a dream that they may not have imagined before. for that i am truly grateful. that [applause] cue. -- thank you. [applause]

[applause] president chiu: are district 5 supervisor, commissioner delonte will make the next presentation. -- -supervisor olague will make the next presentation. supervisor olague: i am grateful for an to the african-american community. growing up in the valley of working-class women, my parents and my father was a farmworker, i took a lot of inspiration from the sacrifices that the african- american community made for the benefit of all of us.

as someone said, we stand on the shoulders of giants. i wanted to say that it was difficult because there are so many incredible people in district 5, so i could not narrowed down to one. like supervisor kim, i am indulging myself and we will honor to people. the question i went around to different members of the community, who has not been honored that you feel should be? the two names that coming up were the owner of racella's and carmen johnson. if you honor one you have to honor the other. they send in their biographies. i will read as much of the page and a half as i can. there's a lot of really inspiring information here. the owner of racella's jazz

club was born in 1952 and raised in ethiopia. growing up, his dream was to make a mark in history and society. even though her -- his father and brothers were businessmen with his heart set on a ring to the u.s. to develop a professional career in government, he came to san francisco state university to study management. within tensions to return to ethiopia, the regime power shifted in 1974 and he decided to remain in america. winning a job with the city administration for san francisco. after 10 years of service to the city of sf, he crossed paths with destiny to become a businessman. what he called the beginning of becoming an entrepreneur on

accident. through his social circle and professional quinces, he came to realize there was a thirst for ethiopian cuisine. at the time, there were none in the area. he began looking for suitable property to begin the restaurant business only to find out the perfect property was being least as a harter store. after some research he found that it was a profitable venture for the time and location. with the time, effort, and resources necessary for an ethiopian restaurant, he decided to follow through with opening a hardware store and in 1984, the hardware store opened and was -- with that experience, and commitment to seeking resources to balance out his learning curve, he believed in himself and his dedication. this first business venture taught him some bible lessons. the first was the politics of race. -- the first business venture

taught him some valuable lessons. without personalizing his observation hit knowledge this as a really about business and diffuse conflict or resistance by hiring a man of german descent. he knew to allow his new employee to take on the role of management with the store's customers. if the second lesson was that -- the second lesson was about the store. although the store was successful when opportunity knocked for another shift in his plan to listen. a bar was across the street for lease and seized the opportunity because deborah kostroun never sees as his goal. again he was at another crossroads in his path and would be opening another business without any experience in the restaurant field, much like our hardware store. his challenges, lessons, and golden rul