tv Mayors Press Availability SFGTV August 25, 2021 6:15pm-7:01pm PDT
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wins where those are -- where those things are attainable. what i mean by that is, you know, every kid is not going to college. come on, let's face it. if you want to go to be a baby-sitter, a child care provider, something nontraditional, that's okay. first, you fill out that application to go to school. that's a success. that's not nothing -- you know, even if you -- if you miss a day, that's okay. we try to find that win in them and try to get him or her ready for the next phase of it, so it's all about meeting the community where they are, and what their abilities are.
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sure, we want our kids to be successful. how many successful mechanics you know? i know a lot of them. i know a lot of successful child care providers that are making great money, so it's just about meeting people where they are and finding their success based on their needs. [applause] >> thank you. honoring where they are and valuing who they are, because there's not one singular path to success, right? and i have a question, which is how can you tell what is not working. dr. lena, you mentioned lived success. i'm going to start it off by saying just because you my
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color, you're not of my mind. are we working towards the same shared vision of really working towards that community, as well. i want to ask you all because nate, you alluded to this. how do we identify when something is not working? >> i'm going to pass it onto you. >> absolutely. we'll pass it down -- nate, you seem like you're ready; i mean, you all know when you reach a peek. you know when it's time for you to move on, but that
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[inaudible] i can't be applying for a capital football grant when i'm running basketball, you know what i'm saying? it's about not being greedy and spreading the wealth so we can help everyone that's in need and i think that we've got to look at what it's all about. that's part of community, that's part of relationships. that's just part of getting to
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know that for us. >> i mean, you can say you saw me in the bathrooms of the miss miller, in the back of our shirt, and it's actually -- we're in the process of getting trademarked. it says no fuckery, and i think a lot of the problem -- [applause] >> i think a lot of the problem is there's a lot of fuckery in the game, and, you know, lou brought this, another one of your good ones is we get into negative contracts with one
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another, especially in the nonprofit game, where you don't tell on me, and i don't tell on you. i can't really call you out for not doing what you're supposed to do because you're covering for me. and at the end of the day, out comes the talk and bullshit walks. we work a lot with homeless people now. we're a workforce development agency. what i've realized over time is when people are working with poor people, there's this subconscious feeling that you ought to just be glad i'm dealing with you, you know, and
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that's part of the problem. anywhere you go, you see poor people, there's long lines, poor service, it's dirtily. you know, people don't treat people well, and i think one thing we really try to uplift in our organization, we try to make sure that we treat people just like we treat them at the w. we have to deal with them with the same courtesy as anybody else, and i think when we all start being a little kinder to one another and showing a little more compassion to one another and holding that as the standard for excellent, i think then, we all, you know, all both rise, right? [applause] >> boy, lena said the fuckery,
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and i was ready, ready to get into it. no, but one thing just came to my mind, and you mentioned it. the lack of accountability costs lives in our community, and we cannot afford to let that keep happening. people cannot keep doing their external work intentionally. -- external work internally. we talk a lot about the problems, but one thing that we've got to recognize is when we know things are working well, how do we identify that? i would say one of the things that helps me identify when something is working well is the horizontal leadership. i see when you see their leader here, and i look at other organizations in the community, and i can see that they're
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build leadership across the table, that gives me the confidence that they're going to build up the community. all of those people are going to hold the people in the rest of the community accountability, so that's what we've got to work on, passing the torch and building horizontal leadership. >> i love that, passing the torch and having that horizontal line. i think it's extremely important for japantown because we're at that pivotal time where hands need to be changed and the torch needs to be passed over. i think i want to say to our community leaders, remember when you were at that point, looking at your community mentors, saying you wanted to get involved in your community. the reason why i got involved in my community was because i
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had good mentors. my j-town people out there, take a step back, look at what you're doing, and really prepare to pass that torch because a lot of young people are ready and waiting for it, right? [applause] >> well, we are at the end of our time now. although it's at the end of our time here, we know in the great words, the marathon still continues, so this is not the end. as we exit, i just want you to quickly go down how people can get ahold of he. >> you can call me. i'm not going to give you my phone number, but you can e-mail me. >> most of you know how to get in touch with me. i know a lot of faces out
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there, and also follow s.f. wall street. we're on all the social media platforms. [applause] >> so i think our website, urbanalchemyus. we see it. >> you can reach san francisco rebels on all social media platforms for our peace park and requity. same thing. we're on all the social networks. feel free to reach out to us. we're here, ready to go. thank you. >> thank you. we hear, and we ain't going nowhere, so we are now back in the hands of director davis. thank you, all. [applause]
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>> -- the mixer after, and i think this is the time, really, in this last little portion for us to have some conversation. i know that emilia and lisa are checking the chat. the intention -- and i don't know where james caldwell is, or deanthony is, but the intention is to continue this, right? that this is today, and that we come back in a couple months,
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and we have where are we now, how have we built on this, what have we done to move this forward, and i think some of the conversation that we want to do now is to the points that damian and other folks put out there about being about it. how do we make these transformations, so when i say susana, who doesn't just talk about restorative justice, who does something about it. when tragedy came to her, and she said we could easily talk about the punishment and being punitive, how do we take this park and honor the memory of her grandmother, and so now that we're in this place, how do we talk about that? grace comes and talks about the work that she's doing in
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japantown and about that partnership and that relationship. so how are we doing more of that? as we're concluding and moving forward, my question is what should we be doing for the next round of this, right? how are we making sure that we're building on what we're talking about today? what are the models and the partnerships that we're going to talk about? one of the things that david mohamed talked about that miss felicia brought up is what should we be building on? when president walton and mayor breed wanted to have these conversations, the conversation is about what next, right? how do we not wait for the next incident of violence. let's be a little bit proactive
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to avoid the next incident of violence. so i know that we have mics here. folks are welcome to come up or just, you know, talk loudly, but what is the next thing, right? i know elgin is doing work specifically that's engaging fathers. donna talked about how it is a deterrent to have your check taken, after you get your first check, how that affects us.
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what is it that we're going to do to continue on build on this work so it's not just check the box? dr. scott? >> you mind if i wipe that? >> so this has been amazing, it's been informative and encouraging, and it's built up great hope. i've not only just enjoyed it, but i'm learning from you younger folks, and to hear, pass the torch to the younger generation, what to do in order to make this really work when the younger people move on,
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reach up, reach out, because we're here. we're here with resources, we're here with support, we are here with our prayers, we are here to help connect you to whatever we have that will cause this to work and grow, and what we do is accountability, what i heard from the mayor and so many others. you get a mentee, stick to that. don't be so proud that you cannot say, this is hard. it's bigger than me. it's going to be. that is what live -- it's bigger than them, so what is needed is some stick to it crazy glue, the ability to
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reach up, reach out, stay connected to your seniors. we're here for you. and we are here for you. we will give you -- if it's nothing but a bag of rice, you got it, but you will get what you need from us. we're on the wings, and these young people -- we don't know how to plug into this internet jack box and chatter box. i don't know what you call it or how to get on it, but if i can get onto your meetings or sit next to you, we're relational. the zoom has really created a wonderful way of communication, but come to our homes. call us or connect with us on the phone and talk to us. we can help you where you've
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been. been there, done that, seen that, everywhere but in prison, only on the other side of the bar. helping staying with young people, and that would just be a bit of what i'd say right now. [applause] >> thank you. >> thank you so much for that. so you asked what we could do, and in my humble opinion, there was a lot of organizations that worked in this nature. so many things that i've seen -- because i'm blessed. i worked at neighborhood united
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playas, so i would suggest, a lot of times when i was trying to do stuff or they was saying, we've got to do this for the funding, we've got to do that for the funding, i would suggest that these organizations collaborate with each other because that's what i heard a lot of today is working with this person, working with that organization in order to get done but we can't do it alone, and that's obvious. i've seen a lot of heavy hitters today doing a lot of great work, but a lot of us ain't doing it together because a lot of us want to be in charge, but i ain't tripping. as long as i can serve the people, that's why i'll give props to rudy and valentina, all the people, but i've been only doing this ten years. but i been collaborating and
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working hard, and that's why i've been doing all of this. for a while, people weren't trying to hear what i was saying. but if we can make it mandatory, i think that's one of the things that we can do because unfortunately, you know, i don't see many, i see these people, so working with maybe another community, another organization in another neighborhood -- that's what i do in bayview.
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you've got individuals where you've got three, four different leaders, we nate brought me out to work with the rebels before, the youth. he teamed up with us and let me speak to all of the youngsters playing ball or whatever, so working together with all the community in harm see i think would be a good thing.
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>> i want to acknowledge doctor brother renoko rashidi. he was a world traveler who travelled around the world to document history for black people, and when we brought him to san francisco, you know, to do a black history tour and speaking engagement, he wanted to come here. so spiritually, i know this is, like, a sign. this is my first time in the asian art museum, too. i also want to say happy birthday to [inaudible] gordon. his birthday is tomorrow. [applause] >> in order to pick up the torch, you've got to know who's carrying the torch. history is the best teacher
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because we can learn about the unfulfilled plans and take notes from them and carry on those plans. i heard a lot of -- you know, a little criticism about the organizations, and i want to say, you know, communication as a nation. we've got to know about each other so we won't be so critical, and we've got to streamline all these things that we're doing so that people in the inner community can know about us so we can reach them. i think to make things short [inaudible] and we could all work together on this, is the legalization of marijuana, right? because it gives us something to relate to a certain demographics that's on the
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streets. it's right -- it's, like, right there just like, you know, when prohibition came, and apathy is one of the biggest problems. but if you can pique interest, the funny thing about it, and it was some of the criticism here, is that people will walk past someone and look at them as a criminal. they were just selling marijuana, and it was legal. so that's a bridge right there to teach people business skills and to show them how to have a road to society. so with that, i just wanted to say something, honor my ancestors, drop a note or two, and i'll be at a community near you. peace.
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>> hi. my name is ashley chang, and i am the executive director of [inaudible] charity services center. i am so honored to be here today as an invitee but also seeing the first audience here. so many of you are so genuine, a leader in our community and to tell us about the work that you've done in your community. director davis, can you please make sure you share the attending list with all of us so we can get connected with all of you that's doing all the groundwork out here. you've asked one of the things that's helpful for the next step of the universal basic
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income. one of the things is we do workforce training for a lot of training, and when we talk about social justice, economic justice, these are the people who are trying very hard to get a job, to get ahead. and a lot of times, they are waiting for the program, they can no longer sustain their daily lives. if the universal basic income could be for them, that would be amazing. i see so many people drop out because they can't afford to stay in an 18-week program. me and my staff are so successful in bringing him into this 18 ---bringing them into this 18-week program, but we need to make sure that they are supported so they would no longer need this universal basic income moving forward. thank you so much. [applause]
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>> how you all doing? my name is elgin rhodes, and i started my own organization, foundations to fathers. just homeless about 1.5 years ago, and i hit that wall where i wasn't okay with life with the terms that i was living in. in the tenderloin, there's 1,000 dads down there like that, and i done seen these guys 20 years ago, they was at the top of their game, and now they're living in tents and on alcohol and opiates, and they kind of gave up, so that's my idea for the organization, is for dads to challenge, you know, their wellness and
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challenge their financial wellness at the same time and just be around other positive folks who starting businesses. what i would say would be the biggest thing that we could do is be transparent about our lives, and now that we see -- we see a lot of people that's doing good, but we don't know how you do before or we don't know how you got out of that space. and it's not easy. it's not easy coming out of homelessness. it's not easy coming out of depression, and if we could all just share with somebody else the struggles that we go through at the same time, the successes, but if it's not believable, you just pretty much -- you not be helping somebody, so that's the idea. i'm looking for people to just connect with, to connect your dads with, collect ideas with,
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whatever. it's a lot of opportunity. i just use a t.l. as a sample size of san francisco. i know depression, i know dads all-around the city that only think so high, so, you know, we've got to just set our limits a little higher and see other people doing it, so just want to share that with you all. >> thank you for that, elgin. i think i wanted to just piggyback on that because i think that's some of what lynn was saying, as well. she wanted to come out and share her story because we have so many ideas in our mind, so i really appreciate that, elgin, for that transparency. we all have some things that we're so embarrassed me that we think is a big deal, that if we just share that, it would actually help other folks. i would say over the last couple of weeks, i would say i
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need to practice self-care more, and i need to put myself out there in terms of trying to draw. i'm not a good artist, but i think cherie said to me, i think a couple of people said to me -- i said oh, you saw my drawings? don't judge me, but the practice of doing something connects you to other people and maybe they will take it on themselves. i think it goes back to what president walton said about exposure, and speaking of art, we have malik, who is an amazing artist. [applause] >> so way better than me. >> much love, much love. >> he always tells me, what do you always say? >> remain creative. all right. peace, power, and creative prosperity. i want to give big ups to
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[inaudible] -- [applause] >> we work for years together. you know, i'm a survivor. i lost a brother in hunters point. i've been in and out of jails, working with people in jail. my home was a broken home in a manner -- i would say my home was the first trap art gallery, okay? my home was kind of a position where it was very well broken, like, how we talk about the city after the 80s. i just want to say that although i work for the community, i, too, am the community, okay? so as workers, we're not just working for the community, but we, too, are the community, and i worked for several years,
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working with youth, and many of those youth are adults now. i'm still working with youth today, but i think the real aim is really if we could create the format of culture, right, and what i mean by culture is that in every part of our events, we have all of the components needed for the things in the event. so we might have everyone who can engage the people so that we're not just there to be entertained, but we're also there to be lifted up, right? so let our events be moments where we can actually lift our community up, and we're not just having a good event and then just going home and somebody get shot, right?
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so the idea is i know i've been there, watching people leak from gun shot wounds right in front of my house. i was born and raised in bayview-hunters point all over the city. but the real thing is after the 80s, we didn't have our elders in the community. we didn't have the elders at the table that said no, you're going to sit down at the table and you're going to eat with us. we've got to find ways to bring back this family experience to many of our young people. if we can create positive distractions that can outweigh all of the traumatic attractions, right, then we can actually get to do something. if you get to know the youth before they're ten, you can talk to them when they're 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, all the way up. but here's the thing.
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you know, we have a lot of our people who have been in jail for many, many years, and they've turned and they want to do the work, right? we have to introduce them back into the community in a way that allows the community to receive them in the way they need to be received. but if they're just in the community and they're suffering just like everyone else, there's more trauma compiled back on top of it. it reminds me when i saw my father come home from viet nam more. there was nothing there to help them, and many of these youth are our same youth who are dealing with ptsd. so if we're dealing with a gun ridden community, it's a war zone, and as a war zone, we have to treat many of our young men like soldiers, and that's
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how they placate themselves, to be like soldiers. we have to get them to be soldiers for themselves, soldiers for the community, and soldiers for the bayview. again, my name is malik, but our murals are the mirror of what we want for ourselves and our community. again, this is your good brother malik, and i'm going to stop right there. >> all right. cherie is going to bring us home. when you leave, grab a piece of food so we make sure that it don't go to waste when we left.
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cherie's going to wrap us up, and then we all going to eat. >> thank you so much, dr. davis. i am cherie miller, and i am the event and membership manager. but that, i am a founding member and the acting treasurer of the san francisco areri can american art and cultural district, the first cultural district legislated by law, and that work came because i am a working actor, i am a working theater director, i am a producer, and that talent was developed through queen mary l. booker in the bayview-hunters point. and i think so many people said it, how we take care of each other, how we see greater in each other than what our
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present circumstances are, and i also want to shout out dr. scott because when she said she'll give you a bag of rice, y'all, she'll give you a bag of rice because she gave me a bag of rice, and she gave me many other things. she invited me into her home and partnered with some of the youth that she's working with. we can all partner with each other and all see something in each other. and then, i want to shoutout this moment that i have been able to share today. can you please join me up -- please? i want them to see. this is my friend, and we're friends not because we need each other to do anything for each other, but because we just wanted to be together today. we wanted to share this moment
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together, and that's community. it's about being together. so how often -- somebody said they've never been together before. how many people have actually taken space in the asian art museum? the new mural that was created by the african american art and cultural district and the japanese cultural district. how can we just be together? how can we just stand together regardless of what's going on in our lives? i'm here to tell you that the work that we do today will show up tomorrow. it will, and under the leadership that we have right now, like dr. davis, our honorable mayor, london breed, president board of supervisor
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president shamann walton, this is the time to do the work. don't be afraid of going outside your boundaries, don't be afraid of going outside your neighborhood. we have an event coming up, september 25, in collaboration with queen maddie scott, healing for our nation, choose peace, stop violence. i'm inviting everyone to be a part of that at the african american art and culture complex. if you need to host something, we're using the outside, we're not using the inside, but it is a safe place for everybody. everybody. black, white, latino, asian, lgbtqia. it's for us.
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cheri@aaaocc.org. >> see, if one group comes together, we did something. susanna is friends to everyone. everyone who meets her feels like they've known her forever. so before we leave out, and i know not everyone is here, i just want to recognize and thank the team and have them come up, and if you could all give them applause later on. lisa, emilia, lizzy, jessica, rico, rico, deanthony -- come up front because usually, i forget names, and when people go on facebook and watch this again, you know that i appreciate you. sarah, jessica, come on up.
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i really do appreciate your hard work and dedication. we appreciate -- i just want to thank them. they are amazing, and they work hard, and they take all of my criticism with a smile, so thank you all so much for your work and making this happen. so you all tell. >> commissioner dejesus: -- tell deanthony he missed it. >> i just wanted to thank the asian art museum. we've been working with them making things happen. >> sfgovtv, asian art museum, and then, i want to recognize ann from alive and free. thank you for being here and posting. [inaudible]
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>> eat, drink, and let's be merry for a moment. thank you, everyone. >> shop and dine in the 49 promotes local businesses, and challenges residents to do their shopping within the 49 square miles of san francisco. by supporting local services in our neighborhood, we help san francisco remain unique, successful, and vibrant. so where will you shop and dine in the 49? >> i am the owner of this restaurant. we have been here in north beach over 100 years.
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>> welcome to the townhall on return to school. this townhall is hosted by the san francisco department of public health. this townhall will be in english. we're also hosting townhalls in spanish and cantonese this week. few housekeeping items. today's event is being recorded. today's event is being streamed live through sfgov tv on channel 78, youtube and facebook live. for audio
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