brown. to those who organize today's events, thank you for recognizing the power in bringing and imam, a rabbi rabbi, and a bishop together. if a rabbi, a priest, antony mom walked into a bar. [laughter] >> the bartender will say, what is this, a joke? we are not a joke. together we are a prayer. this moment will not make the front section of any country because apparently what sells papers is discord. but we are a reminder that each of our faith his commands us to provide for the most vulnerable. in that vein, i join with all of you in one of the incalculable losses of public defender, jeff adachi, who is one of the greatest partners in the religious work of providing quality defence for all of god's children.

what was endemic racism, anti-semitism, islamophobia, and homophobia, not to mention hatred against homeless people, we need more of this. and so standing side-by-side with this imam, and bishop justice, and together with a reverent brown, i offered these blessings of the jewish tradition. may god bless and protect all of those catholic charities in the historic bayview, and at access point to who care for our most vulnerable. may god's light shine on and through everyone who will utilize the services of this access points. may they feel loved, cared for, and valued. may god's light some -- shine on us all. when we look to our left and to

our right, may we see the face of god, even in those with whom we may disagree, and especially in the faces of those who suffer amen. >> good morning. >> first, i want to thank god for his opportunity. you have to be present, and to witness what the rabbi just commented on and a reference to people of all traditions coming together for a common purpose. and that purpose is to recognize the essence and the work of those who do what needs to be done to reach out to those who need help the most.

in the bible, it says that we read that jesus was asked a question, and the question i asked is, teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? and jesus said, you shall love the lord, your god, with all your heart, with all your souls, and with all your mind. this is the great and first commandment, and the second is like it. you shall love your neighbor as yourself. and the islamic tradition, it is reported that mohammed the prophet said, none of you will believe until you love for your brother, what you love for yourself. he also said, none of you will get into heaven unless he or she is a believer, and none of you will become a believer unless you practice loving each other.

and he gave some advice and it was a simple advice of give the greeting to greeting of peace. so to my brothers and sisters who are of the christian space of the tradition, we say peace be with you. to our jewish brothers, of the jewish tradition, we say shalom. and to those who are muslim, we say salaam. we thank you all for this prayer. the god of all creation has given a scripture in the form ever available books, the torah, and other sacred texts for reading that which is true and established to express an advance the life of all citizens that support creation and help us to manage our responsibility

as the custodians of the earth, we are thankful to you and your mercy, and ever trusting you in the evidence and ever aware of your love and presence, oh, god, you are the creator of all things that exist that have existed and will exist. you are without physical form or shame to be seen, but whose presence permeates the heavens and the earth, you have given the order for establishment and maintain the order with your mercy, which is the first rule you wrote for yourself to be extended to all that you did create, especially to all of the human family. we are eternally grateful to you, and we come forward with words to acknowledge our love, our trust and dependence for you in our lives. we praise and glorify you in your majesty, for you alone are to be worshipped. what you are the merciful

benefactor and the merciful redeemer, and the master of the date where all matters in truth and justice will be restored, when the scales will be balanced and wait with regards to the rise in rome, good and evil, and the merits of what has been earned will be determined as awards or punishment. we thank you for the life you have given us, and we ask that you help us to make the world that we live in today world his that is better for all. we sincerely ask that you favour us with the means and the human well to help create better conditions for all who may suffer from any injustice of any kind, and let our good efforts be continually born with each conceding generation. as we ourselves stand on the shoulders of those who preceded us. it is there contributions and their sacrifices, and as we stand together in the face of time, that are troubled and disturbed here, this great

republic of the united states. you will guide us all on the path that leads us to you and that your favourable sustainer, especially our youth, the ones who will come behind us to inherit back what we have produced, and what we have left as a legacy. we pray that we will become better as we go forward, we ask that you continue to allow those who serve the needs of others of agencies and organizations that provide aid and resources to the weak and the poor, the aged and the infirm, the motherless and the fatherless, we ask you make their work easy and not a burden to them, and griff them success in it. we accept the charge we have taken a people of faith, and ask that you make us better servants today than we were yesterday as we work to serve the needs of those and the greater good for all men, amen.

>> thank you. now i have the pleasure and the honor of presenting you, the honorable mayor, london breed. [applause] >> thank you. good morning, bayview's hunter's point. it is such an incredible honor to be here today to not only celebrate this amazing access points and the work that it continues to do to provide support to families who are struggling with homelessness, but it is so great to be here to celebrate black history month in the city and county of san francisco. and i know that the reason why i

am able to be the first african-american woman to serve as mayor of san francisco, because i too stand on the shoulders of so many incredible people. many leaders from the bayview's hunter's point community, a place that has a rich history, a rich tradition of african-american who have basically made their home here, whether it is working in the shipyards like my grandfather did, and the work that folks did to build this city, and the advocacy that went into building this city and making sure that our voices were heard, the folks in this community played a critical role to my success, so i would say thank you, with that success comes an incredible responsibility. it becomes an incredible responsibility to make sure that even though i serve as the first african-american women and the second african-american mayor, i have to make sure, along with so

many of you here today that i am not the last. we have work to do to change some of the things we know exist in san francisco. yes, we celebrate black history month, and we celebrate some amazing accomplishments like the bayview opera house, which is a landmark where incredible world-renowned actors like danny glover, got his start, yes, world-renowned, mr. glover. [cheers and applause] >> you are famous and you are a native sun of this city. we celebrate those things. we celebrate so many amazing accomplishments, but we know that our population is less than 6% in san francisco. we also know that this access point serves almost 50% of the families that they have served that our african-american families who are struggling and need help and support. and thank goodness that we have an amazing community willing to

wrap their arms around these families so we can ensure their success. the work of the access point that serves families in san francisco have helped almost 1600 families, 1600 families who were struggling with homelessness. [applause] >> they have been able to help all of the hundred and 60 of those families transition into permanent housing. let me tell you, it is not easy, and an expensive place like san francisco, a big part of what i am doing is pushing to build more housing, and this community helps to make sure that a couple of years back, remembered that, when we got neighborhood preference legislation passed so 40% of all the new units developed in the bayview hunter's point community go to the residents who lived here first. [applause] and that is why it wasn't easy. but we have to build more, and

we have to build more faster. we have to make sure that the next generation, they are prepared for the opportunities that are provided. when i was growing up in public housing in the western addition, i never knew what was possible. i didn't know what was going on downtown in the financial district with all of these incredible opportunities. but because i had an opportunity to participate in programs and things that existed in the western addition, because of leaders like reverend amos brown, i was able to be given an opportunity, a school in the bayview hunter's point named after gloria davis. are you familiar with that school. that was one of my mentors. i didn't even know that women, and she decided she would take me under her wing. she was going to help support me with my applications for school, may applications to get into colleges and scholarships, she helped me with my essays and everything, and i didn't know who this woman was.

i was introduced to her by a lady named laura luster. we have to get back to some basics here in the community if we are going to ensure the success of the next generation. those families who are being helped by the access point, they need our support. they need our encouragement. they need our love and commitment to ensure that we get every last family into permanent supportive housing. [applause] but here is the good news and why we are here to celebrate

because again, we know prevention is the key in trying to provide people with the supports that they need to not and up homeless in the first place is so critical, but once they end up in that place, then it is our responsibility to our coordinated entry system, our access point, to try and figure out a solution to get them on the path to permanent housing. and in fact, we set out a goal to end family homelessness in san francisco, and to make sure that no families unsheltered, and we have an option for them when they ask. and every single night, we have at least 30 shelter beds for families that are empty, and that is progress. there was a time two years ago where families were turned away and were left to sleep out in the cold in the streets in our city, and that is not happening today. that is progress. we know there is still more work to do, and we are going to get the job done. i need your support, the 300 million-dollar affordable housing bonds that is going on the ballot in november, i need your support to build affordable housing as of right now so we stopped with the people who are saying no, you can't build in my community, yes to housing in every community, especially 100% affordable housing. we have got to get the job done.

those families and the people struggling in this community are counting on a to make the hard decisions, and do what's necessary, by any means necessary, to get the progress that we deserve in the bayview hunter's point community. [applause] >> yes, there is much to celebrate, and i'm excited and honored to be here with each and every one of you, but, yes, we still have work to do. so let's continue to work together to get the job done, and make our program even more successful so that there is never a time in the city and county of san francisco where one family, one child is suffering from homelessness. we can do better, and we will do better. thank you all so much for having me here today. [applause]

>> the honorable dr. reverend amos brown. [applause] >> good morning. >> good morning. >> two moving spirits behind. this is an incredible enterprise to the members of the board of catholic charities, reverend

clergy, madame mayor, to my good friend, brother danny glover. and all you fellow san franciscans. it was on july the 4th, 2010, the day of celebrating the declaration of independence. i lost my independence in terms of my mobility to a stroke. but thank god god spared my brain and my mouth.

[cheers and applause] >> i am privileged to be here today to say to you that the profit, isaiah, under some very much apropos words, in the 61st chapter, the prophet spoke these words. the spirit of the lord is upon me, because the lord, god has anointed me to preach good tidings. he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. to proclaim the year of the lord

, and the day of the vengeance of our god to conquer all that mourn, and this third verse is the one that i really find instructive for us today. to give unto them that mourn in silence, to give unto them buildings for ashes, building for ashes. it was during world war ii, according to a writer, william golding, that a plane carrying some british choirboys, and and

that novel, that golden rope, unfortunately, when the plane crashed, only the choirboys survived. the pilot was killed. many of you know that that incident was transformed into a novel. it was entitled "lord of the flies." you also maybe saw the movie. in that movie, these pristine area date, scholars, well behaved, british white boys, the

longer they stayed on that island by themselves, the boys of discipline access to resources, they involved to becoming savages. and the last piece of meat that they were able to come by was that wild. the longer they stayed on the island, they began to destroy each other. unfortunately, a man emerged at 1600, number 45. they tried to warn us in 1920,

that it is -- if the american public did not use its head for more than -- if the people of the land where to get their heart's desire, and a downright run would adorn the white house as president. that process has come true. it was a bad image of black folk they asked us, what do you have to lose because what he said about black people he would not have said it if he had read

"lord of the flies." when he was in school and not being up to mischief. the point in "lord of the flies" is a wherever you take away from people, opportunity, they would evolve and become their worst angels. god knows, we must make a statement that black people in san francisco can be, will be all god intended them to be if we would just give us the opportunity to have access to education, to have access to healthcare, to have access to celebrate our culture, to have access to our good quality schools, we can do it. [applause] >> we say thank god for catholic charities. they are demonstrating at black

black history celebrations, that people have skills, black people have knowledge, and if we all would look at that history, those of us who are of the christian tradition, you will discover the first organized expression of christianity was not in europe, it was not in latin america, not in the united states of america, for the first organized expression of christianity was the coptic church in egypt and ethiopia, where are egypt and ethiopia? we all came from africa. it is the greatest challenges that they have there. our first home was in africa. they found sister lucy, that fossil. sorry about that, men.

and consequently it says we left home. since we left home, and moved around this trusted earth, wherever we stopped on the bank of the river, we lost our manners, and failed to behave and to respect people, we have created different cultures wherever we stopped on the beach , on the banks of the river, but in san francisco, we have come to our senses, and we are turning beauty into ashes. we are giving ashes into beauty. by given people a home where they can be comfortable, where they can take care of their families, where they can read to, where they can celebrate that they are god's children, and when god made to blocks -- black folks and homeless folks, god did not make any mistakes.

so let's celebrate the day that we have turned those ashes of disappointment, those ashes of denial of opportunity into beauty, and here in bayview hunter's point, we are seeing a new day, a new opportunity for those who have been underserved. thank you for coming. [applause] thank you. [applause] here is a postscript. when i was recovering from that stroke, i was reading a book of san francisco from the 18

nineties to have to 1940s, and i read in that book that there was a man named peter burnett. he didn't like black people. he made sure, and she stated, that up in oregon, if a black face was found in germantown, they would be beaten every six months until they left town. when i discovered that, and also that peter burnett was the first governor of california, i called willie brown, i said willie, have you ever heard of peter barnett -- burnett? >> he said no, amos, but let me tell you from a hospital bed, i

said that rascal did not like black folks. and i said, so he didn't change his mind about black folks and about native americans and chinese? we were going to change the name of that school and from my sickbed, i made phone calls, and in 2011, the board of education voted unanimously to change the name of burnett schools to the early childhood education school. [applause] and one more thing that we have in this town, there is a burnett street over there not far from

juvenile hall, and madame mayor, we need to get together and change the name of that street, because their hat -- it has to be understood that any person who is a racist, any person who is a chauvinist should not be honored, but we should all see every human being has been of infinite worth and dignity. we should make sure that every is treated fairly, and when we come back, will be changed the name of these nationalists, the names of these racists, the day will come, as i always say, we will be able to say, i am black and i am proud. i am brown and i am sound, i am yellow and i am mellow. i'm white and i am all right.

i am red, but i ain't dead. i am a woman, and i'm wise. [indiscernible] >> i am straight and i am sensible. that is what america ought to be about and it can be that when we give everybody access for opportunity in the united states of america. god bless you, keep on. [cheers and applause] keep on turning ashes into building, and making sure that we become a beautiful city for all of god's children. we say i am somebody. thank you very much. [cheers and applause] >> and now i give you our friend, this world citizen humanitarian, philanthropist,

and servant of the human family, the one and only danny glover. [cheers and applause] >> i want to thank the catholic charities, the bayview access point. thank you for participating in this anniversary and the celebration of the work while those who are in need of service, the work has been done,

and those who act as agents for that work that is being done is a very, very important thing that we must do with this time. when i was asked, i did not realize that i was going to follow first our honorable mayor , london breed. i did not, i said well, but to follow the reverend amos brown, the esteemed referent amos brown , is quite a lot and all inspiring. i think we find our ways of finding context that we are in the role that we play as citizens, ordinary citizens.

[indiscernible] >> it comes from ordinary citizens making choices, working on behalf of not simply their own interest, but the interest of the community itself. and here i have, right in front of me today, the pleasure and honor to be in front of ordinary citizens, beyond race, but ordinary people who believe that the city can be a better place, a place that it is spiritually endowed to be this city. i remember my mother telling me, my mother, carry glover, telling me this story about coming here. my dad, my mother and father met

in new york. [indiscernible] >> it is the pattern of matriculation from rural georgia , where her path began. to my father coming from the midwest from kansas city, meeting there and falling in love, and marrying in new york. my dad was in the army of the state of new york, and came down to new york city with a friend of his and met this tall, absolutely stunning young woman, and married her and decided that wherever the train was going,

you have to be on that train. [laughter] >> he was stationed first in los angeles, restationed in los angeles, and then stationed in san francisco. once the war ended, my dad said to my mother, carry, i have a job waiting for me in detroit, let's go back to detroit. and my mother said, and was apropos, and you know who made decisions in the family, you better find a job here, we aren't going anywhere. [laughter] >> my dad always would say that it was the best decision that he had to have made. i said living here, and going to hunter's .1 and number 2 on the hill, yes, yes, yes.

somebody may have gone to that school, the buildings are still there. the omega boy's club have their offices there. i graduated from daniel webster elementary school in potrero hill. we lived in the housing project until we were able, by the grace of god, by our own passion, we ended up buying a home, my mother, when i was 11 years old on central and hades in the western edition. they all crawled into that two bedroom, and one sunroom home,

and grew up there. we had a home that we cherished, and embraced that home. it was never big enough, but it was big enough with love, and the attention -- attention to keep it and to sustain it, and to work hard, the overtime, all of us contributed. i had a paper route up along the university of san francisco for five years, and that set us a standard to stay in that home. my parents, both postal employees, working overtime. those who had parents work in the coastal -- postal service know that was an entrée space for parents who came here with hope and ideas, and all those things were part of what i remember. i lived 12 blocks from where i

grew up. i remember when i bought my first -- my first home, i was working out here for the model cities program. i bought my first home, do you remember? i left to pursue another life, that some of you may know of. >> but i remember the extraordinary and courageous people that i work with. i call it a period of organic democracy. all those who worked and women i remember that worked out of here. used to always be willing to stick their hand right in my face to say, we need this, we

need that. these are the lessons that i learned from here, and the lessons around being real citizens. we know the crisis of housing. it is nothing we are going to end easily. we know the crisis of housing and it is more than just a political, it is a moral decision, it is a political decision as well. we know, from our experience of what happened in the western edition, when i went to those meetings in 1966, i was a student at the western edition community organization. as we listened to -- you remember all of those men and women. programs came out of this so

people could invest in low income housing. i came up as part of what citizens took in the western edition. what being on the preface of being removed from that. we know that they fall for that. they fall for jobs, not only to have a say in what happens, but for jobs as well. those are the lessons that we have to learn too, that we have to fight on relentlessly in terms of serving those who are most vulnerable. the health right now, within a few blocks from me. use it should be a place where we play basketball when we were young -- longer. he became a shelter, the church

became a shelter for homeless families at one point in time. these are the realities that not only san francisco lived, but every metropolitan area that you can go to. that you live in. when i moved onto the street, there was a family who worked with a post office. there is a family down the street who worked with the post office. working people, there was another family across the street those people are gone. they could not replicate were duplicate the opportunity that they had had when they were capable. they could not duplicate or replicate the opportunity that my parents had to buy that home, have that home and a secured home of just three rooms for seven people, three bedrooms, once -- one was a sun porch.

we have to talk about that. what is our relationship, and this is the question that we will have beyond just the housing, there are other issues, what are our relationships to what is justly what is our relationship? i was simply doing a film called "the last black man in san francisco. and i forgot about the fact that some of those houses, right in the western edition belong to japanese families before they were interned in 1943. we don't know. we have to understand that history. so what happened, as it happened in los angeles, it as it happened in other urban areas on the west coast, those people who inhabited those houses where others. is our relationship only temporary? when we are not needed, then we are disposed of.

we are abandoned. is that situation, not just only with african-americans as we see as noted, the 6% of the population of african-americans, but all people, the people who are poor, the people who are disadvantaged, those people where the white and asian, the black, they are dispensable. there is the kind of insensibility that happens, there's a kind of way in which we have to figure out how do we live and make this place for all of us? not just the onto the market, but the mission, when i worked in the mission. there was a vibrant community of men and women, the language, the common language that wanted them together. whether you're from el salvador or central america, mexico, it was a key, there was a strength to that. i remember all this people coming out there and seeing that and being part of the mission and being part of the mission cultural center and all of those things.

you are embodying people in who they are, their own identity, their own history, and their own possibilities of a future as well. this is what we need to talk about. [applause] >> i want to applaud our mayor for the work that she has done in leading this. we all know that everyone has to stand by her. we have to demand she does more as well. all of us, we need to do that she does more that means we do more. do you know what i'm saying? what -- what i want to thank you in coming out here as always. one of the locations that i got to film on was right on the corner of to loom and third. it was right across the street

from my first office when i worked at model sitting there citizens december of 1971. and what is amazing as i remembered those moments, but what i remembered most about that moment was the courage, the passion, the struggle of men and women in this community when i worked in it, and i will always remember that. i have learned so much from that process, and hopefully, hopefully i will let it shine somewhere else in the world and in the city and in this country. [applause]

>> good morning, folks. thank you all for coming out. we will move right along. my name is. brown and i am the division director for housing, immigration and services for the catholic charity. this is one of the programs that i am part of and i can be more proud of that i would like to quickly introduce the staff from the access point. >> let's see. i don't know where lady is at, no -- naomi is here. at this point in time, i would like to introduce you to one of our families who has come through the access point. if they want to come forward,

they can tell us a story. tonya, this is the other error. who wants to talk? [indiscernible] >> i actually just got out. it is really unbelievable. [indiscernible] [applause] [indiscernible] [applause] >> montemayor, willie brown, mrl

appreciate you being here. there are no speakers -- there were some speakers along the way. thank you, very much. what do i need to relinquish. do we need a microphone, or are we good to go? [♪] >> good afternoon. it is our great pleasure to be here today when we have representatives from two -- [indiscernible] the sacred heart gospel choir is now 45 years old. many of you follow sacred heart church pick that church -- [indiscernible]

>> we're also joined by members from the choir from st. paul church which is down at the end of third street by jamestown. as long -- [indiscernible] there are three catholic churches that maintained the african-american musical tradition. don crawford is the director. [♪] [singing]

[singing] [singing] [singing]

[singing] [singing] [singing]

[singing]

[singing] [applause]