>> welcome to the first -- let me take my mask off. so you guys can see who we're talking about. my name is aaron. i'm the executive director of the northern california martin luther king, jr. community foundation and we're elated to inaugurate with our partners the san francisco human rights commission. and the university of san francisco.

hope will spur a continuation year over year to launch our annual holiday celebrations. as we come to you tonight, there are several urgent issues and urgent matters that we as a community and as a country are faced with and need to come to grips with. 1965, in march of 1965, dr. king came to selma, alabama, to lead a march. that march was to bring light to the plight of the african-american citizen in the southern states. the major issue with that plight had to do with voting rights. jim crow laws in the south, as many of you know, curtailed the ability of black folk to be able

to participate meaningfully in society writ large in the united states. so they created their own community behind the veil so to speak, to create a vibrancy that was able to bring out a personality and a personality such as martin luther king, jr. to be able to highlight the ills and the plight of this nation. and so on that journey in selma, dr. king began to negotiate with the white house and with congress to pass the 1965 voting rights act. there was in the congress and white house to do so. the marches were ensued. many of you know that the late john lewis as beaten brutally,

josa williams and diane nash, beaten brutally, many were beaten brutally, just for seeking the right to vote. on march 21, after the protection of the united states marshalls took a five-day journey, 54 miles down from selma to montgomery to preach or to preach to the nation all 27,000 or so, to bring light to this issue of voting rights. in august, 1965, the voting rights act was passed. fast forward three days later on march 28 -- three days after dr. king had led that march, dr. king stood in the pulpit of san francisco's grace cathedral as part of their installation service of that new cathedral

and stated that this issue, the issue of racism, was the negroes burden "and america's shame". after the voting rights act was passed, 50 years later, 2013 shelby county versus holder stripped from that voting rights act the provisions that safeguarded the voting safety of african-americans in the south. fast forward to today and we're finding a new assault, a more insidious assault on voting rights in our nation. so we're calling on all of this as we're here this evening and look out through this weekend to call a friend and to call their senators and to call their friend's friends and all of us

to get out and push our congress and our senate to enact the voting right legislation that is before them. the freedom to vote act and the john lewis advancement act. voting advancement act. we want to make sure that those are passed. that's why our theme this year is toward justice. dr. king's -- one of dr. king's favorite sayings, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. it is that bending that is the hard work that we of goodwill must do. we must bend that arc toward justice. and i believe tonight, as you enjoy this inspirational program, my hope is that you

will be edfied and empowered to bend that arc toward justice. thank you so much. [applause] >> please welcome to the stage, nationally renowned recording artist d1. >> thank you so much for having me, san francisco. looks good! my name is d1. i'm going to get straight to it you all. the motto i live by is three up. i need everybody to throw three fingers in the sky right now. these three right here. i'm from new orleans, louisiana and what i like to say when i throw them up is be real, be righteous, be relevant. that's the motto for everything in life. let's go, man. yeah, yeah, mic, check, one two.

i'm so thankful. throw your threes up. in the middle, throw our threes up. come on. when you see the threes up. you know what they represent. be real, be righteous, be relevant. what? everybody, when you see the threes up, you know what they represent. what you say? come on. be real, be righteous -- up top. [ ♪♪♪ ]

♪ i could been rich, but that's another story] and bring my father honor ♪ ♪ they call me jeffrey dahmer. ♪ i mean your content sucks ♪ ♪ i can't cosign that ♪ ♪ look at these mean mugs ♪ ♪ every time i come around ♪ ♪ everybody got these mean mugs] you know how long it's been since i seen love net ♪ 10% of the people live the life they dreamed of ♪ sfloet i don't focus on the not ♪ ♪ i just focus on the top, san francisco. ♪ let's go be real, be righteous, be relevant ♪

♪ what you say ♪ ♪ what you say ♪ ♪ dee 1 ♪ ♪ i didn't just get in the rap game to be another artist. i did not get in the rap game to be another rapper. i got in the rap game because i know that god has a plan for my life. and even if i didn't have it all figured out, i know if i use my gift to make god proud and help people, i would end up where i'm supposed to be. this is called i'm no god. for the hook, i need everybody to say, i know god got a plan for me, but i don't know what it is, i'm just out here trying to handle my biz. let's go. check.

[ ♪♪♪ ] ♪ never know how long we got here ♪ ♪ that's why i'm in the rush snoetd ♪ people think they untouchable ♪ ♪ until they get touched. ♪ ♪ every day i be hustling ♪ ♪ i ain't trying to play the victim ♪ ♪ i never ask the question ♪ ♪ could you pray for me ♪ ♪ i know god got a plan for me ♪ ♪ but i don't know what it is ♪

♪ i'm just trying to handle my biz ♪ ♪ san francisco! and you and you! ♪ i know god got a plan for me ♪ ♪ i know god got a plan for me ♪ ♪ come on, sing it loud! ♪ i know god got a plan for me ♪ yeah ♪ i know god got a plan for me ♪ ♪ too many people in my city found dead lately ♪ ♪ and my girl been leaving me on read lately ♪ ♪ i ain't even tripping ♪ ♪ i told you, i showed you, loved you, support you ♪ ♪ but you can't be trusted ♪ ♪ cut you off like i don't know what ♪ ♪ delivering that music that my family felt ♪ ♪ flow so hot it makes the

butter on your pancakes melt ♪ ♪ i see people be complaining about the hand they dealt ♪ ♪ only getting one life and i know i'm too blessed ♪ ♪ i keep my 3's up ♪ ♪ i know god got a plan for me ♪ ♪ but i don't know what it is ♪ ♪ i see you! ♪ i know god got a plan for me ♪ i really mean that you all. ♪ and you and you and you ♪ ♪ i know god got a plan for me ♪ ♪ i know god got a plan for me ♪ ♪ yeah what's up ♪ [ ♪♪♪ ] ♪ i'm a strong black man ♪

♪ i ain't got it all figured out, but god got a plan ♪ ♪ yeah, yeah ♪ i appreciate you all, man. thank you all so much. yeah. you all make sure you all streaming all these songs. this next song is off my upcoming album that drops an february 10. it's called finding balance. you can preorder it on itunes. i'm asking you all to do that because as an independent artist it means we make a statement on the chart, with god-fearing music. this is called finding balance. preorder that and it drops on february 10. before i was a rapper, i was a

teacher. i had to take a chance. ♪ see if it's meant to be ♪ ♪ i took a chance on me ♪ ♪ i did not compromise ♪ ♪ i used to want to be the president in 4th grade ♪ ♪ till my teacher said i wasn't smart enough that was wild ♪ ♪ from that day forward ♪ ♪ i no longer was dreaming big. ♪ i graduated college then i had a revelation ♪ ♪ my best friend got you areded ♪ ♪ can't live with hesitation ♪ ♪ i chose a path most people didn't approve of ♪ ♪ i stopped chasing security ♪ ♪ started chasing love ♪ ♪ nobody's entrepreneur in my family ♪ ♪ so when i quit my job to rap they didn't understand me ♪ ♪ this ain't just a hustle ♪

♪ this is part of my purpose ♪ ♪ if i'm too scared to chase my own dreams then life is worthless ♪ ♪ i'm the underdog but my god keeps me strong ♪ ♪ taking a chance on me ♪ >> you all make noise for the band right quick. ♪ taking a chance on me ♪ ♪ i've got bleed these dreams ♪ ♪ even if it means i lose everything ♪ ♪ i had a job and a side hustle finding balance ♪ ♪ one paid me money the other helped me nurture my talents ♪ ♪ i used to sleep three hours a night that ain't healthy ♪ ♪ i made $40,000 a year that ain't wealthy ♪ ♪ through these lyrics inspiration i'm providing ♪

♪ i made a promise to the students that i used to teach ♪ ♪ i'm going to be successful without xreemzing my beliefs ♪ ♪ just to prove that it's possible so you can see ♪ ♪ what happens when you put your talents in g.o.d. ♪ show people a better way ♪ ♪ i'm going to beat the odds with my hustle and my faith ♪ ♪ taking a chance on me ♪ ♪ born to be wild and free ♪ ♪ see if it's meant to be ♪ ♪ i took a chance on me and it worked. ♪ even if it means i lose everything ♪ finding balance, album, february 10, preorder it right now. you heard me. love. this next song for the ladies. at the end of the day, we don't need to be making songs about

women if it's calling out their name and disrespecting them. we're going to show you love, that's when we make music about you. personally, the working women in here, i don't think the world is ready for you. so this song, let's go. we're going to say i don't think they ready for you. ♪ i know you got a mama ♪ ♪ i know you got a grandma ♪ ♪ i know you got a wife ♪ ♪ this for all the women ♪ ♪ you snap and go crazy you going to be doing jail time ♪ ♪ people throwing shade, but you

don't forget ♪ ♪ nobody was around ♪ ♪ don't forget to treat yourself ♪ ♪ wear your crown ♪ ♪ every day look yourself in the mirror and know your worth ♪ ♪ you in church and it feel like the pastor talking to you ♪ ♪ world are trying to pull you down, but god pulling you through ♪ ♪ to all the ladies, all the queens. everybody put your hands up. and let me hear you sing. let me hear you sing. i don't think they ready for you ♪ what you say ♪ ♪ i don't think they ready for you ♪ ♪ what you say ♪ ♪ you got a head on your shoulders ♪ ♪ believe you don't care behind your baby ♪ ♪ be working double shifts all day behind your baby ♪

♪ you pray behind your baby ♪ ♪ two parents in one ♪ ♪ you made a way ♪ ♪ do the mvp ♪ ♪ you my wce seven days out of the week ♪ ♪ but you ain't weak, you deep ♪ ♪ they might not know it now ♪ ♪ but soon as your kids get older ♪ ♪ they'll appreciate the weight you carry on your shoulders ♪ ♪ yeah, you the one i wrote it for ♪ ♪ you deserve a standing o ♪ ♪ okay, okay, all the ladies in the house ♪ everybody let me hear you say, let me hear you say. i don't think they ready for you. what you say? i don't think they ready for you. break it down. break it down. [ ♪♪♪ ]

i hope you all enjoying this as much as i am. i hope you all enjoying this as much as i am. my name is dee 1. on streaming platform, that is dee 1. but on social media, it's dee 1 music. so make sure you all following, you heard me? this is my instagram and youtube. dee, the number 1, music. i only got a minute or so before i get out of here. so, look, i'm going to freestyle. i'm going to freestyle off the top of the dome ♪ i'm going to take this last minute ♪ ♪ i'm from new orleans but now i'm in atlanta, that's 404 snoetd ♪ i'm cool, i don't blink you

see ♪ ♪ because i got my homey uncle steak with me ♪ ♪ people see i work so hard and they be really ♪ ♪ i going to do it until the devil try to kill me ♪ ♪ i ain't scared of nobody ♪ ♪ this is the story of a one-man army ♪ ♪ i don't care what comes against me ♪ ♪ nobody can harm me ♪ ♪ this is a story of a one-man army ♪ ♪ yeah. i love you all. i really love you all. martin luther king, jr., we love you, too, brother. it's because of you, that we get to do what we do. we're going to keep your legacy alive, man. san francisco! i'm out! i love you all. thank you so much.

>> give it up for dee-1. come on, guys, one more time, dee-1. welcome to the stage, ms. cheryl davis. >> wow. all right. hello, hello. thank you, all, for being here. i enjoy listening to dee-1 and the idea and notion of like i'm going to be chanting that all night, be real, be righteous be relevant. i have to tell you, i know some of you have had heard this before. i was a kindergarten teacher and dee was the middle schoolteacher. and every time i hear dee-1 talk it reminds me of one of my poe pems and it says, the first line says i love a lot of things like my cousin comes to visit and you know he's from the south.

because every word he says just kind of slides out of his mouth. i like the way he whistles and the way he walks, but i love the way he talks. i love the way dee-1 talks. i love the way he raps, speaks and provides encouraging words. as we are here tonight, thank you, all, watching online, those who are here in the audience and took the risk and joined us tonight in person. dee, you came to this space station, we talk about social justice, conscientious rappers, you know, you didn't talk about it tonight, but your students and the impact and this idea of justice. and fighting for this work. what is that for you? what caused you towards -- what is calling you towards justice? >> well, my spirit never seems at peace when i'm allowing people to be messed over or taken advantage of or when the

underprivileged are not given a fair opportunity at winning in life. my spirit isn't at peace. my spirit isn't at peace if i'm using my god-given gifts to spread negativity and hatred. anything other than spreading love, knowledge and empowering people, doesn't feel right to me. you know that nothing in the world beats that inner peace feeling. that comes from knowing that i'm taking the road less traveled. i'm in the entertainment industry where social justice and activism is seen as something they want to push to the fringes. and i want to push it to the mainstream because as long as i'm on this earth, there is people worth fighting for. >> as you talk about justice, you talk about social justice, but you've also been advocating for financial justice, financial literacy and making sure folks

understand from student loan debt to investments in terms of taking care of your community. i know you've been giving money out in your community. >> i have. i have. being from louisiana, you know, we're a hot bed for hurricanes, so we just got hit by hurricane ida in late august of 2021. so many thousands of louisiana residents were impacted, including my own family. my parents are still displaced. they lost their house. my sister was displaced. my grandpa, i had to move him in with me. with that said, i'm blessed that i have a fan base around this whole country that trusts my heart when it comes to doing work to help the people. so we started the mission vision. that's the name of my company. with the funds we were able to raise, we were able to take a bunch of families around new orleans and sponsor them for the

holiday season. and literally, pulling up to people's jobs, houses, church, no matter where they were and people who were directly impacted, we were able to bless them financially. there is no better feeling. i'm always trying to find more ways to give back and be impactful. i can't do it by myself. people help water these seeds and bring them to fruition. >> so say a little bit about the financial justice in terms of student loan debt. are you still doing work with sally mae? >> i put out a song in 2016 called sally mae bank. i'm a proud college graduate and i did take out student loans. i didn't know what i was doing and i had to learn the hard way. yeah. you all feel me, yeah. that being said, when i signed a

record deal and i got a big lump sum for money for the first time in my life, thankfully, i had shared all my desire to fit in and be cool and have a whole bunch of material possessions and name brands define me. being financially literate and debt-free defines me. so i paid all my student loans back. i did the song, sally mae and we've gone around the country and given out thousands of dollars this college scholarships so students don't have to take out as many loans. you hear me? we've been giving out fish and teaching them how to fish. i'm coming to the schools and doing the assembly. they say, dee-1, this is the most lit assembly we ever had. he performed for us and at the end of the day was able to bless students with scholarships, so

that's amazing and i'm humbled by that. >> thank you, all, so much. finding balance, the album, february 10. go on itunes and preorder it. we going to make a statement. peace and love. >> please welcome to the stage national recording artist the soul singer, accompanied by house band mark phillips and top of the mark. [ ♪♪♪ ]

♪ and you can find the fighter ♪ ♪ ♪ we going to work it out ♪ ♪ and move mountains ♪ ♪ we going to work it out ♪ ♪ and move mountains ♪ ♪ i'll rise up ♪ ♪ i'll rise like the day ♪ i'll rise up ♪ ♪ i'll rise unafraid ♪ ♪ i'll rise up ♪ ♪ and i'll do it a thousand times again ♪ ♪ ♪ i'll rise up ♪ ♪ high like the waves ♪ ♪ i'll rise up ♪ ♪ in spite of the ache ♪ ♪ i'll rise up ♪

♪ and i'll do it a thousand times again ♪ ♪ for you ♪ ♪ you ♪ ♪ you ♪ ♪ you ♪ ♪ it feels like it's getting hard to breathe ♪ ♪ i know you feel like dying ♪ ♪ but i promise we'll take the world to its feet ♪ ♪ and move mountains ♪

♪ i'll rise up ♪ ♪ i'll rise like the day ♪ ♪ ♪ in spite of the ache ♪ ♪ i'll rise up and do it a thousand times again ♪ ♪ for you ♪ ♪ all we need ♪ ♪ all we need is hope ♪ ♪ for that we have each other ♪

♪ and for that we have each other ♪ ♪ and we will rise ♪ ♪ we will rise ♪ ♪ we'll rise ♪ ♪ i'll rise up ♪ ♪ i'll rise like the day ♪ ♪ i'll rise up ♪ i'll rise unafraid ♪ ♪ i'll rise up ♪ ♪ and i'll do it a thousand times again ♪ ♪ and we will rise up ♪ ♪ high like the wind ♪ ♪ rise up in spite of the ache ♪ ♪ we'll rise up and we'll do it a thousand times again ♪

♪ for you ♪ ♪ for you ♪ ♪ for you ♪ ♪ i will rise up ♪ ♪ you will rise up ♪ ♪ we will rise ♪ ♪ we'll rise up ♪ ♪ high like the day ♪ ♪ we'll rise up ♪ ♪ unafraid ♪ ♪ we'll rise up and we'll do it a thousand times again ♪ ♪ for you ♪

♪ you ♪ ♪ you ♪ >> thank you so much. [applause] they call me the soul sanger. so if you're looking for me anywhere, just type in the soul sanger. i'm going to do another cover song i hope inspires and moves you. [ ♪♪♪ ]

am i in denial ♪ [ ♪♪♪ ] [ ♪♪♪ ]

♪ all i want to do is take the chains off ♪ ♪ all i want to do is be free ♪ ♪ all i wanna do is be free ♪ ♪ you tell me why ♪ ♪ every time i step outside ♪ ♪ i see my people down ♪ ♪ oh, ♪ ♪ i'm letting you know ♪ ♪ there ain't no gun out there

that can kill my soul ♪ ♪ oh, no ♪ ♪ all i want to do is take the chains off ♪ ♪ all i want to do is take break the chains off ♪ ♪ all i want to do be free ♪ ♪ all i want to do is be free ♪ ♪ all i want to do is break the chains off ♪ ♪ all i want to do is break the chains off ♪ ♪ all i want to do is be free ♪ ♪ all i want to do is be free ♪

[ ♪♪♪ ]

♪ all i want to do is be free ♪ ♪ all i want to do is take the chains off ♪ ♪ all i want to do is break them

off ♪ ♪ all we want to do is be free ♪ ♪ all we want to do is be free ♪ ♪ free ♪ ♪ all we want to do is be free ♪ ♪ be free ♪ [applause] thank you. >> one more time for the soul

sanger! and please, give a round of applause for our house band, marcus phillips and top of the mark. [applause] and now, a virtual performance from hope briggs. [ ♪♪♪ ] [ ♪♪♪ ]

[ ♪♪♪ ] [ ♪♪♪ ]

[ ♪♪♪ ] ♪ let it shine ♪ [ ♪♪♪ ]

[ ♪♪♪ ]

♪ we are not afraid ♪ [ ♪♪♪ ]

♪ the truth shall make us free ♪ ♪ the truth small make us free ♪ [ ♪♪♪ ] ♪ we shall all be free ♪ [ ♪♪♪ ]

[ ♪♪♪ ] ♪ we shall overcome some day ♪ ♪ some day ♪ >> please welcome to the stage, derek brown. >> thank you, thank you, so much. derek brown. senior director of the leo t. mccarthy center at the great university of san francisco and it an honor and privilege to be here today. to all the crowds that are here

right now, you all look fantastic. thank you so much for coming out, as well as everyone online tuning in. thank you so much for coming out. i hope you are all enjoying the show. i know i am. it has been a great honor to partner with some extraordinary organizations. like m.l.k. nor cow right here in san francisco, with m.l.k. with aaron and all the incredible work he's doing as well as dr. cheryl davis with the san francisco human rights commission. and myself, as i said before, i'm with the leo t. mccarthy center and for us, we're really focused on service learning, being in service to others and really preparing students for a successful life in public service. so that being said, as we honor m.l.k. day, i want to encourage you all -- i'm sure everyone is going to be doing this, it's a day of service, a week in the

service, but i want to encourage you all to continue with your service throughout the year. continue to be in service with others. that's pretty much the work we do with the students. i'm about to take my seat now. but i want to say thank you so much for coming out. enjoy the rest of the show and look forward to seeing you next time. thank you. >> to continue our towards freedom, please welcome to the stage i am rebel. >> how you all doing tonight? good? everybody having a good night? my name is i am rebel and my music is special to me because i write not only about me, but the people who are marginalized and the people who are not normal, but everyday people struggling to get it together. so this music is for you. i hope you love it. i hope you're encouraged.

and let's have some fun tonight. [ ♪♪♪ ] dproet ♪ i am here to guide you forward ♪ ♪ because the pain you feel is burning ♪ ♪ let's pick up the pieces for

you ♪ ♪ so you can carry on ♪ ♪ i'll help you face all your fears ♪ ♪ because the pain you feel is the burden ♪ [ ♪♪♪ ]

♪ i know what you're going through ♪ ♪ i am outcast too ♪ ♪ you can overcome the hatred and abuse ♪ ♪ it's not your fault ♪ ♪ because the pain you feel is burning ♪ ♪ pick up the pieces so you can carry on -- >> this is my favorite part -- ♪ you will make it out of this ♪ ♪ i know from my own

experience ♪ ♪ not the time to throw in the towel ♪ ♪ you're almost there ♪ ♪ [ ♪♪♪ ] [ ♪♪♪ ]

[ ♪♪♪ ] thank you, guys, so much. woo. my name is "i am rebel". you can fall all of my music -- i did drop a album last year, woo hoo, my first one. you can find it on all digital outlets. my name is i am rebel on all social media.

this next hope, i wrote it in a dark place. and in those dark places there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. so this is talking about that dark place, but it's talking about coming out of it as well, so i hope you get it. [ ♪♪♪ ] ♪ i'm sick and tired ♪ ♪ of being here ♪ this pain, these scars ♪ ♪

[ ♪♪♪ ] [ ♪♪♪ ] ♪ people don't change ♪

♪ why must i hope there is something inside of me that won't let me go ♪ ♪ oh ♪ ♪ [ ♪♪♪ ] ♪ don't let go ♪ ♪ i am trying my best ♪

♪ i'm trying my best ♪ [ ♪♪♪ ] [ ♪♪♪ ]

♪ life is never easy ♪ ♪ why is it never easy for me ♪ [ ♪♪♪ ] my name is i am rebel, thank you, guys, so much. have a good night! >> i am rebel. what an amazing journey toward freedom we are on tonight. now for a virtual performance, welcome bishop yvette flunder. moving from acceptance to advocacy. or from monument to movement.

today we commemorate the life, ministry and power of the reverend dr. martin luther king. he wrote from a birmingham jail. i want to share from a passage of scripture. acts. about two young men also who were in prison wrongfully. their prison experience taught us. midnight, the fallen silent, praying and seeing him. the other prisoners were listening. suddenly there was an earthquake and the prison was shaken to its foundation. and all the doors flew open and the chains of every prisoner fell off.

the prison was shaken to its foundation and all the doors flew open. and the chains of every prisoner fell off. i want to talk a minute about earthquakes. i'm from san francisco where earthquakes are a way of life. we're conscious of them and we build our buildings with them in mind. because we know what happens when we don't. our history tells us no matter how fabulous and magnificent we build our a buildings and monuments, because they are, in fact, structures on a living earth, they can be utterly destroyed in seconds by a seismic event. even our monuments have had to respect our movement or risk being destroyed. i remember in the san francisco

unified school district, when we were taught to get under our desks or stand in the doorway to protect ourselves, because monuments in an earthquake can be dangerous. our monument has to be retrofitted in san francisco. built to mimic living, moving things. they have to move, sway with the living earth movement. if they can't flex, they will crack, crumble and come down. and some of the new buildings have rollers. some of them have these devices that look a little bit like bicycle pumps that are really, really big and they bounce. these things built into the

foundations. just to survive. and even then some of them will fail because the earth is a living thing. one must know there is a difference between a monument and a movement. history is filled with monuments. i like to call them big formidable institutions. ideologies that divide, separate, diminish and destroy. often in the name of an angry and punitive god. thank god for shaking the reformations. reformations that reformed and re-inform. i'm grateful for earthquakes of change that shift political concepts and ideas. change that came along and brought an end to many monuments, many ideas, many

positions that simply would not die on their own. some folks thought that a big fine old respected institution, a big fine old respected document, a big fine old respected way of life with outdated exclusionary clauses in its rules would be strong enough to hold back a movement, no matter how big and how structured. the justice shaking will bring every miserable monument down. why? because monuments are not built with movement in mind. monuments are not built with the wind as change in mind. it's movement that freed the slaves. movement that got women to vote. movements that brought justice

to workers. and a movement that brought and is bringing equal rights to the same gender-loving community, trans-community, gender nonconforming community and all of us who were exiled. acceptance is good. there are those who accept, but there is little or no action in acceptance. people can do acceptance personally and privately. but movement requires action. advocacy is movement and often movement with risk. putting one's self in harm's way, putting one's neck out, risks assassination, taking the heat, getting in the fray, taking a public position, joining the movement, acting up, acting out. but we are not moving from a

weak place, for the divine is able to do exceedingly abundantly all we can think. according to the power that is in us, all things are possible. all things. you see, god and good is about movement. much like a growing stream. water doesn't freeze when it's moving. monuments fall. therefore, movement every time. we see god and good is not privately owned by a party, by a president, not owned by one race or another race. god and good is not owned by the rich. god and good is not owned by those who live way out in neighborhoods where the housing insecure and the food insecure are not only not welcome, but

are abused. you see, god is not a privately owned stagnate pond, but a fresh flowing river filled with truth and extravagant welcome. i say to my beloved, no matter what may be, the perfect storm that we are in now, in politics, in our environment, in our relationship to other nations, no matter what this day may bring, sickness, illness, frustration, anger. no matter how people are saying they will never see a bright day. there will be no sun. i want to say something to you today. stay in the movement. stay in the movement. continue to do your justice work. go up in the attic, get your signs and your birkenstocks down

again. let's march, let's walk, let's declare that not only shall we move, but we shall prevail. why? because we are a movement that refuses to be a monument and we're in the midst of a love movement that will redefine the definition of our neighbor. god bless you as we commemorate dr. martin luther king, who was taken to us in the middle of bringing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly before god. today we celebrate a movement warrior. god bless you. >> thank you for that message, bishop. now, please welcome to the stage, gospel recording artist,.

the first song is about watching god work. do i have believers that believe that? this song says watch god work. [ ♪♪♪ ] ♪ like the time i opened the sea, the god says, watch me ♪ ♪ like david and the giants, what a victory ♪ ♪ just like that, watch me ♪

♪ stay right where you are, god says ♪ ♪ i will do great things ♪ ♪ watch me ♪ ♪ because i'm still able to do more than you can ask or think ♪ ♪ my child, watch me ♪ ♪ just watch me ♪ ♪ god said i heard you when you ♪ i still have the power to fix anything ♪ ♪ just watch me ♪

♪ i'm the god of every miracle ♪ ♪ bigger than anything you've ever seen ♪ ♪ all you have to do is ♪ ♪ watch me, yeah ♪ ♪ god says, i'm not through blessing all of you ♪ ♪ just wait and see ♪ ♪ i've got great things for you ♪ ♪ i'm going to come through ♪

♪ all you have to do is bring your problems to me ♪ ♪ and let me handle them ♪ ♪ god said watch me ♪ ♪ watch me ♪ ♪ i'll fix anything ♪ ♪ i can change anything ♪ ♪ i can make everything better when you step back and ♪ ♪ watch me work ♪ ♪ as only i can do ♪ ♪ do the impossible ♪ ♪ ♪ a big 'ole blessing is on the way ♪ ♪ give me your worries and take my peace ♪ ♪ give me your pain and i will give you my joy ♪ ♪ give me your brokenness and let me make you whole ♪

♪ looking up ♪ ♪ watch me work ♪ ♪ all you got to do is ♪ ♪ watch, watch, watch ♪ ♪ because god -- he's the one that's fighting for you ♪ ♪ cast every ♪ ♪ care you have ♪ ♪ he'll do it ♪ ♪ he'll change it ♪ ♪ he'll work it out ♪ ♪ he's not through ♪ ♪ he's not through blessing you ♪ ♪ there's still a victory ♪ ♪ watch him work ♪ ♪ god says work is what i'm doing ♪ ♪ watch me ♪

god has big things for us. i'm ready for him. come on, 2022. this next song says, in the midst of waiting for watching god, do big things in our lives. we have to be grateful for what he's already done. anybody grateful for what he's already done? yes. we're alive, breathing, even in the midst of this pandemic. we still can find some happy, at least i can. i'm thankful i'm not on a ventilator tonight, i'm not in a house enjoying this. i'm in the presence of you all. and i'm able to do all this on my own without any assistance. it's a blessing to breathe on your own, walk on your own. the things we call the small things are now very big things. that we, you know -- we don't take any longer for granted. so this is another song that says we're grateful.

even if you're in the midst of the trial, god will see to it that you come out all right. [ ♪♪♪ ] [ ♪♪♪ ] ♪ that's not the life way is always going to be ♪ ♪ but we have to have

♪ so that we learn to appreciate the good times ♪ ♪ god wants us to be grateful ♪ [ ♪♪♪ ] ♪ he feels them just like you ♪

♪ but he cannot afford to let you feel ♪ ♪ that you learn to appreciate ♪ be grateful ♪ ♪ make sure that you're always grateful ♪ ♪ you have to be grateful ♪ ♪ be grateful ♪ ♪ someone else would love to stand in your shoes ♪

♪ just be grateful, be grateful ♪ ♪ you're going to come out all right ♪ ♪ many are the afflictions of the righteous ♪ ♪ but god promised that he would bring us out of them all ♪ ♪ you got to be grateful ♪ ♪ ♪ through the life's heartaches ♪ ♪ and all of the pain ♪ ♪ be grateful ♪ ♪ he has a plan for it all ♪ ♪ he never, ever leave you ♪ ♪ he'll never forsake you, yeah ♪ ♪ all things work together ♪

♪ for your good and my good, our good ♪ ♪ don't panic, don't have anxiety ♪ ♪ god promised that he'll always come through for you and me ♪ ♪ be, be, be, be ♪ ♪ you got to find a way to be grateful ♪ ♪ oh ♪ ♪ yeah ♪ ♪ we may not have everything that we want, but god sees to it that we have ♪ ♪ everything that we need ♪ ♪ it will be all right ♪

[ ♪♪♪ ] it's going to be all right. struggles are temporary. god is eternal. this last song, just says -- i'm an optimist. the best is yet to come. yes, we have suffered loss, but i still feel that god has some great things on the way that will blow our socks off, blow our minds. this song just says, you ain't seen nothing yet. he's not finished pouring out. just us moving forward in society. i think he still has great things for even that. so we want to just encourage you that the best is yet to come.

keep holding on. keep looking up. you can clap with me if you want. ♪ hold on, hold, on ♪ ♪ you say ♪ ♪ hold on, hold on, hold on ♪ ♪ hold on my brother don't give up ♪ ♪ hold on my sister just keep looking up ♪ ♪ there is a master plan in store for you ♪ ♪ if you can make it through ♪ ♪ god's going to really blow your mind ♪ ♪ he's going to make it work ♪ ♪ for all of the struggles

you've been through ♪ ♪ the blessings are going to double just for you ♪ ♪ all the best is yet to come ♪ ♪ hold on my brother, don't give up ♪ ♪ don't give up ♪ ♪ hold on my sister, just look up ♪ ♪ because there is a master plan ♪ ♪ in store for you ♪ ♪ if you can make -- make it through ♪ ♪ god is going to make it worth all of your time ♪ ♪ for all of your struggle you get through ♪ ♪ the blessings they double and triple just for you ♪ ♪ the best is yet to come ♪

♪ yes, it is ♪ ♪ the best is yet to come ♪ ♪ yeah ♪ ♪ today is the first day of the best days of our lives ♪ woo! ♪ today is the first day of the best days of your life ♪ ♪ today is the first day of the best days of your life ♪ ♪ the best ♪ ♪ yeah ♪ ♪ the best is yet to come ♪ ♪ the best ♪ we believe the best is yet to come ♪ ♪ today is the first day of the best days of our lives ♪

♪ today is the first day of the best days of our lives ♪ today is the first day of the best day of your life. yeah, the best is yet to come. the best is yet to come. [music playing] you guys ain't seen nothing yet. god is just getting started. but he's not through blessing you. he's not through blessing you! you ain't seen nothing, you

ain't seen nothing yet. you ain't seen nothing. you ain't seen nothing yet. you ain't seen nothing. you ain't seen nothing yet. you ain't seen nothing. you ain't seen nothing yet. you ain't seen nothing. you ain't seen nothing yet. you ain't seen nothing. you ain't seen nothing yet. you ain't seen nothing. you ain't seen nothing yet. you ain't seen nothing. you ain't seen nothing -- i'm

lena byrd miles, god bless you. thank you so much. [music playing] [music playing] >> one more time, for lena byrd miles! what a fantastic journey we've been on tonight. now, please welcome back to the stage to close us out tonight, mrs. cheryl davis. [applause]

>> can you just give another round of applause for all of the folks who shared with us tonight. [applause] oh, man, i am as the old folks used to say when i was in church, i am so full of bright. what an incredible evening. what gratitude i have for everyone who made it all happen. special thanks to the stage crew and the staff here at the theater. give it up for them. i really just want to recognize because we made the decision to still kind of try to be live for the performers, even though we wanted to limit how many people were coming in. so i just want to give it up to the theater for opening up their doors and still letting us be safe with each other. for bringing this event to life in the midst of a challenging time. give it up to the folks that are

helping us from s.f. gov tv. broadcasting live stream and making it all look great. we have heard amazing stories and voices through song and just the idea and notion of freedom. and freedom and moving towards justice, but the role of music in that. please, if you get the opportunity, re-share the link to this so folks can hear what we were able to witness in person tonight. so, again, give it up for s.f. gov to make it possible to share this. gratitude to the staff members at the m.l.k. north cal foundation, aaron and his team. thank you to derek brown. i want to give a special shoutout to the folks at the human rights commission. every time we come up with an idea, the team steps up to make it happen.

give them a hand for their support. i want to give special thanks to those live streaming this on facebook. everybody has been hitting us online and saying, whose voice is that? give it up for josh. this is a term i hadn't heard. apparently it's called the voice of god, like in performance world. so when you don't see the person, but you hear them from the back, so josh has been the voice of god tonight. thank you, josh. i want to thank sarah and william. she was not able to be here, but i want to give her a huge shoutout, because when we had the vision of doing this, sara was ready, willing and able to bring together the amazing talent tonight. give a round of applause. i want to give another shoutout to marcus phillips and top of the mark for being here tonight.

awesome job. maria and debbie. give it up for debbie who has been leading and touching hands with everyone. give her a round of applause. on behalf of aaron, derek, thank you to all who joined us, whether here in the theater or virtually online from home. thank you for joining us in this journey towards justice and freedom and to remember and respect and celebrate the legacy of dr. king. so, thank you all again for being with us. and, please, if you have time, go back and look at this again, because it is beautiful. thank you and good night. [ ♪♪♪ ] [applause]

>> there is a lot of unique

characteristics about visitation valley. it is a unique part of the city. >> we are off in a corner of the city against the san francisco county line 101 on one side. vis station valley is still one of the last blue color neighborhoods in san francisco. a lot of working class families out here. it is unusual. not a lot of apartment buildings. a lot of single family homes. >> great business corridor. so much traffic coming through here and stopping off to grab coffee or sandwich or pick up food before going home. >> a lot of customers are from the neighborhood. they are painters or mechanics. they are like blue color workers, a lot of them. >> the community is lovely. multi-racial and hopefully we can look out for each other. >> there is a variety of businesses on the block.

you think of buffalo kitchen, chinese food, pork buns, sandwich. library, bank of america with a parking lot. the market where you can grab anything. amazing food choices, nail salons. basically everything you need is here. >> a lot of these businesses up and down leland are family owned. people running them are family. when you come here and you have an uncle and nephew and go across the street and have the guy and his dad. lisa and her daughter in the dog parlor and pam. it is very cool. >> is small businesses make the neighborhood unique. >> new businesses coming. in mission blue, gourmet chocolate manufacturing. the corridor has changed and is continuing to change.

we hope to see more businesses coming in the near future. >> this is what is needed. first, stay home. unless it is absoluteliness scary. social distancing is the most important step right now to limit spread of virus. cancel all nonessential gather everythings. >> when the pandemic litly land avenue suffered like other corridors. a few nail salons couldn't operate. they shut down. restaurants that had to adapt to more of a take out model. they haven't totally brought back indoor seating. >> it is heartbreaking to see the businesses that have closed down and shut because of the pandemic.

>> when the pandemic first hit it got really slow. we had to change our hours. we never had to close, which is a blessing. thank god. we stayed open the whole time. >> we were kind of nervous and anxious to see what was going to come next hoping we will not have to close down. >> during covid we would go outside and look on both sides of the street. it looked like old western town. nobody on the street. no cars. >> it was a hard eight or nine months. when they opened up half the people couldn't afford a haircut. >> during that time we kept saying the coffee shop was the living room of the valley. people would come to make sure they were okay. >> we checked on each other and patronized each other. i would get a cup of coffee, shirt, they would get a haircut. >> this is a generous and kind

community. people would be like i am getting the toffee for the guy behind me and some days it went on and on. it was amazing to watch. we saw a perfect picture of community. we are all in this together. >> since we began to reopen one year later, we will emerge stronger. we will emerge better as a city because we are still here and we stand in solidarity with one another. >> when we opened up august 1st. i will not say it was all good. we are still struggling due to covid. it affected a lot of people. >> we are still in the pandemic right now. things are opening up a little bit. it is great to have space to come together. i did a three painting series of

visitation valley and the businesses on leland. it felt good to drop off the paintings and hung them. >> my business is picking up. the city is opening up. we have mask requirements. i check temperatures. i ask for vaccination card and/or recent test. the older folks they want to feel safe here. >> i feel like there is a sense of unity happening. >> what got us through the pandemic was our customers. their dogs needed groomed, we have to cut their nails so they don't over grow. >> this is only going to push us forward. i sense a spirit of community and just belief in one another. >> we are trying to see if we can help all small businesses around here. there is a cannabis club lounge next to the dog parlor to bring foot traffic. my business is not going to work

if the business across the street is not getting help. >> in hit us hard. i see a bright future to get the storefronts full. >> once people come here i think they really like it. >> if you are from san francisco visit visitation valley to see how this side of the city is the same but different.

sustainability mission, even though the bikes are very minimal energy use. it still matters where the energy comes from and also part of the mission in sustainability is how we run everything, run our business. so having the lights come on with clean energy is important to us as well. we heard about cleanpowersf and learned they had commercial rates and signed up for that. it was super easy to sign up. our bookkeeper signed up online,

it was like 15 minutes. nothing has changed, except now we have cleaner energy. it's an easy way to align your environmental proclivities and goals around climate change and it's so easy that it's hard to not want to do it, and it doesn't really add anything to the bill. >> my background is in engineering. i am a civil engineer by training. my career has really been around government service. when the opportunity came up to serve the city of san francisco, that was just an opportunity i really needed to explore. [♪♪♪] [♪♪♪]

i think it was in junior high and really started to do well in math but i faced some really interesting challenges. many young ladies were not in math and i was the only one in some of these classes. it was tough, it was difficult to succeed when a teacher didn't have confidence in you, but i was determined and i realized that engineering really is what i was interested in. as i moved into college and took engineering, preengineering classes, once again i hit some of those same stereotypes that women are not in this field. that just challenged me more. because i was enjoying it, i was determined to be successful. now i took that drive that i have and a couple it with public service. often we are the unsung heroes of technology in the city

whether it is delivering network services internally, or for our broadband services to low income housing. >> free wi-fi for all of the residents here so that folks have access to do job searches, housing searches, or anything else that anyone else could do in our great city. >> we are putting the plant in the ground to make all of the city services available to our residents. it is difficult work, but it is also very exciting and rewarding our team is exceptional. they are very talented engineers and analysts who work to deliver the data and the services and the technology every day. >> i love working with linda because she is fun. you can tell her anything under the sun and she will listen and give you solutions or advice. she is very generous and thoughtful and remembers all the special days that you are celebrating.

>> i have seen recent employee safety and cyber security. it is always a top priority. i am always feeling proud working with her. >> what is interesting about my work and my family is my experience is not unique, but it is different. i am a single parent. so having a career that is demanding and also having a child to raise has been a challenge. i think for parents that are working and trying to balance a career that takes a lot of time, we may have some interruptions. if there is an emergency or that sort of thing then you have to be able to still take care of your family and then also do your service to your job. that is probably my take away and a lot of lessons learned. a lot of parents have the concern of how to do the balance i like to think i did a good job

for me, watching my son go through school and now enter the job market, and he is in the medical field and starting his career, he was always an intern. one of the things that we try to do here and one of my takeaways from raising him is how important internships are. and here in the department of technology, we pride ourselves on our interns. we have 20 to 25 each year. they do a terrific job contributing to our outside plant five or work or our network engineering or our finance team. this last time they took to programming our reception robot, pepper, and they added videos to it and all of these sort of things. it was fun to see their creativity and their innovation come out.

>> amazing. >> intriguing. >> the way i unwind is with my photography and taking pictures around the city. when i drive around california, i enjoy taking a lot of landscapes. the weather here changes very often, so you get a beautiful sunset or you get a big bunch of clouds. especially along the waterfront. it is spectacular. i just took some photos of big server and had a wonderful time, not only with the water photos, but also the rocks and the bushes and the landscapes. they are phenomenal. [♪♪♪] my advice to young ladies and women who would like to move into stem fields is to really look at why you are there. if you are -- if you are a problem solver, if you like to analyse information, if you like to discover new things, if you like to come up with alternatives and invent new

practice, it is such a fabulous opportunity. whether it is computer science or engineering or biology or medicine, oh, my goodness, there are so many opportunities. if you have that kind of mindset i have enjoyed working in san francisco so much because of the diversity. the diversity of the people, of this city, of the values, of the talent that is here in the city. it is stimulating and motivating and inspiring and i cannot imagine working anywhere else but in sannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn