>> if i could have your attention. thank you. the look around the room, it is wonderful to see your faces. it is really a pleasure to see wisdom, strength, bravery and leadership. all of the great attributes for the year of the tiger. [applause] >> thank you for being here. on behalf of the heritage foundation, thank you so much for coming to this afternoon's lunar celebration. i am the board chair of the

foundation. the foundation's mission is to promote awareness of the asian pacific cultural heritage and great opportunities for community collaboration. the main event is a celebration of the apa heritage month in may. you will learn more about that later this afternoon. this seven's event will not be possible without all committee members and volunteers. we also are thank full to the reception sponsor amazon. let's give them all a warm round of applause. thank you so much. [applause] now to start our program i have the great pleasure to introduce san francisco's city administrator carmen chu. i really don't have to say more than that, right?

carmen chu. how much more do i need to say? i have a list. a career in public service. mayor's office of public policy finance. elected to serve as district 4 supervisor for two terms. following which she was elected to serve as city assessor. last february carmen was appointed by may or london breed to be the san francisco city administrator overseeing 25 city agendas. please welcome carmen chu. [applause] >> good evening everybody. i am carmen chu, san francisco city administrator. as you can tell from the buzz of conversation the happy faces that we have here that we are so excited to be back in person to celebrate the lunar new year.

[applause] on behalf of the city and county, on behalf of mayor london breed, board of supervisors and elected officials and department heads today we want to wish all of you a very, very happy year of the tiger. (applause). cheers. come on. [cheers and applause.] i want to give a shout out and thank you to jj and claudine who have worked tirelessly to organize this event to make sure we start the year of the tiger off right. claudine, please come on up. yes, you. [applause] here is the certificate of honor on behalf of the san francisco city administrator's office. thank you.

[applause] >> i saw on your script it was five more minutes. co-chairs, please join me. we need to welcome former mayor. thank you for being here. let's start with celebrating lunar new year. trying to connect everybody with this celebration. this is february 7th. it is a prize if you can explain why we chose that day and what is special about this date february 7th. anyone? what? i can't hear you. it is right.

commissioner louie. in the lunar calendar, the seventh day of the new year as long as everybody's birthday. happy birthday everyone. [applause] lunar new year is about gathering of families. we have all done that. looking around the room a number of you are not asian pacific americans. today you are because we appreciate you being here to celebrate with us. in the last year or year and a half in the asian communities we have been encouraging each other to speak up, stand up because of anti-asian hate at the san francisco human rights commission. we also have talked a lot about standing together. we shouldn't stand together and

support each other, connect this event today. not only as we kickoff the whole year of cultural celebrations in the city, but we want all of you to have an opportunity to connect a number of you just told me earlier this afternoon this was the first time you were in city hall in two years. isn't that great? i want to thank you mayor for allowing us to do this. this afternoon is about celebrating families, celebrating communities by first communities coming together. we are thinking this is part of every year in may we have the celebration of asian pacific heritage month. we were thinking what is our theme this year. anti-asian hate, standing together. what we need is to continue to create opportunities for more

community bonding. i think what we need is keep on having those opportunities that we can meet each other, learn a lot more about each other and be friends. it is true. if you know somebody, we are all different. we all come from different places. we get to spend some time together. get to know each other. that can how we appreciate differences. the celebration of apa heritage month in may we are going to be talking about community bonds. that is what we are about. that is what this afternoon is about. i want to thank all of you for taking time to be here. i want be to specifically thank former mayor willie brown for being here. he hasn't missed too many

occasions in our community. [applause]. we are a small organization but very, very blessed with a large community that consists of representatives of from over 10 to 12 different ethnic groups. at the head of it we have very, very fortunate to have three co-chairs working together. thomas lee and everyone bringing a lot. [applause]. to make it all work. this is by invitation only. the reason we invited you because we appreciate you and we want to thank you. unfortunately so many have done so much we cannot introduce every one of you. we have special acknowledgments

to make. when i say your name, please stand. the president of the board of supervisors. supervisor walton for district 10. district 1 connie chan. district three peskin representing chinatown. district four gordon mar. district five preston filmore. >> haney soma. melgar. district eight mandelman representing castro. district nine ronen thenition.

district 11 supervisor safai. >> thank you. in paddition to the board of supervisors we would like to welcome the city-wide elected officials. no particular order. city attorney david chu. [indiscernable] district attorney, public defender har. board member lee and city college trustee allen wong. thank you all for joining us this afternoon. >> last but not least i would like to acknowledge the members of the heritage foundation board. different directors today. the foundation is a small nonprofit with individuals from diverse backgrounds. jj laura.

[indiscernable] steve wilson. irene riley. [indiscernable] scott adams. in the audience are members of the apa heritage celebration committee. in the interest of time we cannot introduce all of you. please note we are so very much appreciative of your participation and service on the committee. thank you so much. [applause] >> really we appreciate the support of the city's family. at this time i would like to

introduce our mayor. i don't know how many of you were at chinatown when we kicked off a week ago. lunar new year is a new beginning, reset for communities, and we are so proud of being in the city where it is one of the safest cities in the country. the mayor has taken tough measures to make sure we are safe and healthy. mayor london breed. [applause]. >> mayor breed: thank you. let me say i can't believe that we are all able to get together again like this. it is absolutely amazing. claudine, the people who work in city hall and our elected officials come to the event

because we love coming to the event. not just because the food is so amazing. i don't know if we have food this year. i remember the days on the board of supervisors. this was a good meal after a long day's work. we are here to support the apa heritage foundation for all of the work they continue to do. not just during lunar new year but year around. to really highlight the importance of the api community in san francisco. one of the things claudine mentioned that is really impactful to me is, sadly, when we started to experience a lot of the hate and the deviciveness and the attacks on the community. the heritage foundation started to build bridges with a number of cross cultural events. they have embedded the work around cross-cultural relationships in their

programming year around. i want to thank claudine for leadership and work and advocacy of bringing our communities together to understand one another, to learn about one another's culture and uplift and appreciate one another. i remember when i was in high school. we always had all kinds of assemblies about the taiwan or chinese or black community just to understand and see just our cultures on full display sparked interest and discussion and understanding. it also sparked togetherness. today we are joined by some of our asian countries. council generals. i want you all to stand when i announce the council general from korea, japan, philippines, indonesia, singapore, mongolia

and vietnam. .applause. and china. building relationships with not just the communities in san francisco but all over the world is very important to us. we are grateful for the partnership with the various council generals who continue to work with us every day. today as we unveil this new stand. it is not about a collector's item. will say to our postmaster general in almost every instance they are so beautiful and fascinating you can't help but want to collect them. we know it is about signifying a new day, new opportunity, every lunar new year is about an opportunity for us to reset and

to come together and to just really appreciate life as we know it, especially after dealing with a very challenging time during this global pandemic. we are grateful to celebrate the year of the tiger, which signifies courage and strength. i know as a tiger myself where i get it from. [laughter] but the truth is i couldn't wait until we got to the year of the tiger. i couldn't wait to this year where we could see all that it will entail, the various events, lunches, performances, gatherings, parade in person for the first time in over two years. [applause]. i want to thank each and every one of you for coming to the

celebration, helping to uplift our community. all of the things you have done that have been seen and unseen to have an impact. by just being here today it demonstrates your commitment and support for the api community in san francisco and this stamp is really another incredible thing that we are able to really show and support and as a matter of fact in honor of lunar new year, maybe we can start writing physical letters and using stamps to mail them other than just mailing bills with those stamps. with that i want to thank you all for coming and looking forward to seeing this incredible stamp. we will hear from our postmaster general before we move to the unveiling so we can get on with the festivities. thank you all so much. [applause]

>> thank you, mayor breed. before we go into that i want to acknowledge our reception sponsor amazon. i would like to invite sally to say happy new year to everyone. >> thank you. you know what they say never stand before a party when there is stamp unveiling. based on what we learn tonight. thank you for coming to my birthday celebration. it is all of our birthdays. thank you for the apa heritage foundation for including amazon and inviting us to sponsor this event. over the last two years amazon is investing in san francisco. looking around the room so many partners we have worked with and to be inspired by. thank you for that. i am told the water tiger is a

symbol of courage and action. i want to let you know as amazon continues to invest in the city we will serve the needs of the community and celebration. thank you for being here tonight. thank you for allowing amazon to be part of it. thank you. >> every year we have been unveiling stamps in san francisco since 1992. i was reminded by my good friends this is the 13th anniversary of the historic announcement of the issue of set of stamps honoring chinese and asian-american cultural heritage in december of 1992. this year's unveiling has special meaning. we hope next year that the national birthday of issue will

be in san francisco. it is 30 years of history. something we are proud of. it is a very tiny stamp. a stamp is an instrument of communication. it represents so many more people to learn about the lunar calendar, what it means, whether they agree or don't agree, what to do on a particular day. there is a lot of history on the lunar calendar. we are happy to have the second postmaster with us today. the acting postmaster of san francisco starting in postal service as letter carrier. over the years he has been operational managers and customer service. after that the postmaster of oakland. now we are happy to have you as the acting postmaster of san francisco. we are having stamp sales

outside. after the event feel free to go and if you haven't purchased your stamps, please do to so. let's welcome the acting postmaster. [applause]. good evening, everyone. thank you for the kind introduction. i am postmaster of san francisco. i am happy to be here on behalf of the post office for the year of the tiger stamp. i would like to thank our speakers, mayor breed, commissioner chang. board president walton and customers and leaders for joining us today. i want to take this opportunity to thank the national organization oca and several local organizations for continued support.

in china the tradition of celebrating new year's began thousands of years ago. the crops and livestock the villages were on the night before the new year. in some versions of the story the brave old man decided to put up red paper around the village and fireworks. frightened by the loud noise and red peeper left without eating the crops. i love this. it symbolizes the human experience and fighting spirit in protecting and caring for our families. since that time the lunar year evolved and the customs are loved throughout the world. the celebration is squarely within the cultural traditions. time to prepare for a fresh start while honoring the past.

families come together for delicious food an occasion for good luck and prosperity. this year more than 1.5 billion people around the world mark the beginning of the year of the tiger. strong, gave, confident and well liked. we could all benefit from the tiger's qualities in the year ahead. let's work together across the globe with confidence better days lie ahead. to the stamp. year of the tiger is created by chu after the director. the lunar year stamp. you will agree the result of the coloration and design that captures the beauty and strength of the tiger and fresh. the design is comtemporarily

take and. [indiscernable] lion or dragon dances performed during the new year parades. it is symbolic meanings of blue, orange and gray. the tiger's head purple to reflect the chinese zodiac. this is from the third series of new years. 1993-2004 and 2020 to present. this event is for celebrating the 30th anniversary announcement of the stamps honoring the chinese asian contribution to this country. announcement was first made at the national convention in august of 1992. former and vailing of year of

the rooster in the same year. add to your collection or mail your new year's greetings. it is our hope it brings you pros pair be, peace, -- prosperity, peace, good luck and much joy. the mayor will join me in unveiling the stamp. (applause). [ music ]

>> i am so happy. african-americans in the military from the revolutionary war to the present, even though they have not had the basic civil rights in america. they don't know their history. in the military the most sacrifice as anyone in this country to be willing to lay down your blood and fight. i believe that all african-americans have served because they love this country and the hope that the citizens. .

>> shop and dine the 49 challenges residents to do they're shopping with the 49ers of san francisco by supporting the services within the feigned we help san francisco remain unique and successful and rib rant where will you shop the shop and dine the 49 i'm e jonl i provide sweets square feet potpie and peach cobbler and i started my business this is my baby i started out of high home and he would back for friends and coworkers they'll tell you hoa you need to open up a shop at the time he move forward book to the bayview and i thinks the t

line was up i need have a shop on third street i live in bayview and i wanted to have my shop here in bayview a quality dessert shot shop in my neighborhood in any business is different everybody is in small banishes there are homemade recess pesz and ingredients from scratch we shop local because we have someone that is here in your city or your neighborhood that is provide you with is service with quality ingredients and quality products and need to be know that person the person behind the products it is not like okay. who

>> good afternoon. on behalf of the san francisco african american historical and cultural society, our sponsors, and our presenting partners, welcome to the society's 2021 black history month kickoff program. i am al williams, president of the society's board of directors. the society was founded in 1955 and merged with the association of the study of african american life, better nonas

asaal. from the beginning, the society has always centered its always black history month activities around the themes established by asaala. this year's black history month theme is the black family, representation, identity, and diversity. today's program and other society programs throughout the month of february will address this theme. we hope you will enjoy and be inspired by it. as is our custom and tradition, we'll begin with an invocation, which will be given by pastor kirk davis, who's affiliated with kiros fellowship. it will be followed by the singing of the negro national anthem. >> hello, everyone.

this is amazing, this is a great time. i'm thankful for being a part of this. my name is pastor kirk davis. i am a part of kiros fellowship in bayview-hunters point, and i want to say thank you for allowing me to be a part of this. let me start by saying one of my monikers, things that i say all the time, is life is a beautiful mess. come on, somebody say it with me. that life can be the most beautiful thing in the world, and sometimes maybe the most messiest, that life sometimes brings us the hard stuff. and some of us have been through hard things in the past year, and i just want to say that i am praying, we are praying, and we love you, and we are with you. so with that being said, we want to celebrate this

beautiful, beautiful black history month with you. and so my job tonight is -- or this afternoon or this evening is to pray to just get us started on the right foot. so come with me, pray with me. i know some of you might have different belief systems, different ways of thinking about god. i grew up in baptist church. just walk with me through this part, and i ask that you would pray with me. with that being said, heavenly father, most gracious god, we give you thanks, and we honor you, for you alone are worthy to be praised. god, we thank you. as we begin to celebrate this black history month, we remember our faithful ancestors. we hold fast to the fact that

you were with them through it all. you have gone before us, and you have gone with us. we thank you for those beautiful ancestors who built the pir -- pyramids and colleges and universities. god, we ask you that you would be a part of our celebration, that you would find yourself even in this weird place during covid, whether you would just be with us. whether it's on zoom, whether it's on youtube, whatever way we're receiving it, you be with us. we thank you for those who

survive middle passage. we thank you for those who fought for our freedoms. we thank you for those who found their way into this land and fought. we thank you for that the turners, for the harriet tubmans, the frederick douglasses, and our martin luther king, jr. we honor you, o god, for their service, their sacrifice, and just who they've been. so we promise you that their suffering and their labor was not in vain. we thank you for this opportunity to celebrate today. faithful god, we come to you calling for life, racial justice, healing, and

transformation. god, we stand in solidarity with the victims who fell victim to violence the last few years, we will remember to say a few names because there are so, so many. one name that we won't forget is trayvon martin, breonna taylor, michael brown, stephen clark, ahmad arbury, and lamar woods. we ask that you would dismantle systems and structures that continue to hold black people from experiencing abundant life, the life that you want for us. we commit ourselves, o god, in

this new season of celebration and remembrance for the struggle for justice, for peace. we vow to stay in the fight until oppression and discrimination are no more. we ask for the healing for the many who are in hospital beds today because of covid. we pray for the families of the many who have lost their lives due to this virus. i ask that you would comfort us today, be with us today. we call for your justice, your equity, your quality, your love, your peace, o god, so we can bring our full selves to the table.

jesus, our savior, our holy ancestor, we pray for you. thank you, and god bless. [♪♪♪] ["lift every voice and sing"]

>> we will now have greetings from the mayor of the city and county of san francisco, the honorable london nicolle breed, and from the president of the san francisco board of supervisors, the honorable shamann walton. >> the hon. london breed: good afternoon. as we kick off black history month, i'm reminded how throughout the course of history, we have come together to celebrate every step forward, every obstacle we have overcome. this month, i'm thinking about that history, about how not so long ago, in city hall, where we traditionally hold the ceremony, a black woman reporter was prohibited from

entering our hallowed board chambers. i'm thinking about selma, where last year, people walked across the edmund pettis bridge. i'm thinking of the white house, where a little over a decade ago, millions celebrated the first black president, barack obama, making his home in a place that was first built by slaves. this is our history. it's who we are. every time we step forward, we are reminded of all that we have overcome. and while during this month, it is so important that we honor our past, we can never take our eyes off the future, and for that future, i have real hope. i have hope because of the resilience that exists in our

heart. the culture and joy we share even during our most difficult times. whether during the challenges caused by this devastating pandemic or the painful but righteous cause for racial justice after the murder of george floyd, i have confidence that we will rise more resilient than ever. that is based on the investments that we are making: $130 million diverted from the san francisco police department to invest in communities. across the country, the hope is built on the new leadership in this country, with our first black female vice president, kamala harris, who along with president biden, in the first few weeks after the inauguration, has shown us what it is to put racial justice first. out of the fire of this moment,

we will rise to a better and brighter tomorrow. thank you all so much for joining us today. now it gives me great pleasure to introduce someone who has been fighting for san francisco for decades. we are grateful for all the work she has done to move our country forward with a focus on equity and justice for all. please join me in welcoming speaker nancy pelosi. >> thank you, mayor london breed, for that wonderful introduction, and for all that you do for all the people of san francisco every day. it is an honor to send greetings for black history month. since 1955, the society has been a leading voice in celebrating theinnumerable and

contributions of san francisco's black community whose wonderful contributions have strengthened our city and our nation. we take pride in celebrating our own bay area history maker, kamala harris, the first female black vice president in history. despite our challenges, we have been inspired by the countless young black leaders, activists, and dedicated leaders in san francisco and everywhere who have marched, mobilized, and are making a difference to demand action, advance justice, and build a brighter future by all. guided by the resill jensen and persistence -- resilience and persistence, we continue to

fight for bay area families, showing the hardest hit that they have the resources to build back better. this black history month let us reflect on the challenges of this past year as we lift up the beautiful legacy and bright future of the black community in san francisco and in every community. let us also draw faith and inspiration from the closing words of amanda gorman's inaugural poem: there is light ever we choose to see it. thank you for the honor of representing you in washington, and on behalf of the united states congress, thank you, san francisco african american

historical and cultural society for preserving our city's cherished history as you educate and inspire future generations. thank you. >> president walton: first of all, i just want to say i'm excited to celebrate another black history month with the african historical and cultural society here in san francisco. as you know, we always have a big celebration in san francisco city hall to talk about all the contributions of black people all over the united states and in san francisco. i just wanted to say happy black history month and i'm excited for all we're going to be able to accomplish in 2021. as you know, mayor breed and i set aside $120 million over the next two years for the black community. we're also making sure that our

working group for reparations is complete over the next few months. they will direct where resources are going to go and making sure we get resources into the black communities in san francisco. we have work to do here in making sure that there's equity in the san francisco black community, and i am excited to do it. once we get through the pandemic and can come back together, i'm going to make sure that we all have a celebration worthy of us black folks here in the city. thank you again to the african american history and cultural society here in san francisco. >> thank you, mayor breed, and supervisor walton. next, the third baptist church singers will share with us their rendition of "this little light of mine."

["this little light of mine"]

>> it is now my honor and privilege to introduce today's keynote speaker, charles m. "chuck" collins, esquire.

he is truly a renaissance man. he is currently the president emeritus of the ymca of san francisco and advisor to the c.e.o. he was himself c.e.o. from 2004 to 2020. as you may know, the ymca of san francisco is a nonprofit organization. it has a $100 million annual budget. during mr. collins' tenure as president and c.e.o., the ymca grew to 2400 employees and over 2,000 volunteers. they served at that time over 183,000 children and adults. from 1983 to 2002, mr. collins

was president and chairman of w.d.g. vincers. w.d.g. was engaged in real estate development. significant development projects included the four seasons hotel and condos. mr. collins practiced law and was a former deputy secretary of the business, transportation, and housing agency for the state of california. he serves on a number of boards and commissions, including the san francisco art commission. in his spare time, he's authored the african americans: a celebration, and was the author of a day in the life of africa. with that, i give you charles

s. collins, esquire. >> good day. i'm charles collins, and i'm a citizen of san francisco. good day and thanks to all, but a special thanks to mayor london breed for her gifted leadership of this great city and for her courage in fulfilling the oath of office to support, protect, and defend our community through these challenges and uncharted times. may god bless our mayor and harbor her in the arms of our lord and keep her safe as she keeps us all safe from the enemies, foreign and domestic. and again, special thanks to al williams and to the board and the leadership of the african american historical and cultural society, who have organized this celebration of black history month as well as the african american art and culture complex whose leaders are melanie green and meloria

green and their talented staff board and community stakeholders. as a part of the cultural centers of the san francisco arts commission, the african american arts and cultural complex provides leadership along with other sister and brother neighborhood centers, the american indian, the asian pacific islander, bayview opera house, the mission, queer, and somarts to form an interlink network to help strengthen the ecology of our san francisco through the arts. as an arts commissioner, i want to thank mayor breed for the opportunity to serve the city in this capacity. i also want to thank and congratulate supervisor shamann walton in his history-making election as the first african american male to serve as the president of the san francisco

board of supervisors. i'm a native son of san francisco. i was born here in the fillmore district in 1947 into a family of immigrants. my parents were here, along with thousands of other african americans, in the early 1940s, to support our world war ii efforts to win the war and to create a just and lasting piece against fascism in europe and in asia that threatened world order. we lived for many years on pine street, and my father was office was just a few blocks away on sutter and divisadero streets. my father taught in the university of san francisco school of dentistry and to train others deployed for the war. my parents came here in the

great migration. people that came from the south and who worked in the machinery of the war to build ships, munitions, and all the things necessary to win the road. we lived with the impacts of japanese americans being placed into concentration camps during the war and who returned home to a changing neighborhood. redevelopment would be harsh to the japanese and black communities of the western addition. redevelopment broke the ties and bonds that so much were needed to hold the community together, but together, we held. and years later, and after careers that i had in law and government and real estate development, i spent the next two decades of my life working for the ymca of san francisco as the president and chief executive officer. over these years, we built the y into a social enterprise,

addressing deep and systemic community needs, with the vision that all children, all children should be given agency to reach their highest potential by strengthening the foundations of communities and neighborhoods with social responsibility. i owe a deep debt of gratitude to the y for allowing me to work side by side and shoulder to shoulder with so many people in this great city in our region, our nation, and around the world. this story of migration recalls prior centuries when millions of african slaves were brought to the new world from africa and the caribbean to work to rebuild this land, our country. it was this labor, whether as

slaves or as free, that built upon this land the foundations upon which we stand today. and it is our duty to continue to build upon and strengthen these investments by our forebearers by honoring their sacrifices and commitments to our own work as a measure of our devotion to their labor to this country. black history month is all about celebrating and honoring our past while dedicating ourselves to the work and commitment of the future. it is about examining the past with an eye toward the future. it is about raising the histories of our people and all of those who have labored through this journey to here, to now, where we take this stand. the stand that we must take is standing at the threshold of what many people call the third

founding of our country. it's an experiment in what it means to say for liberty and justice for all. if the first founding of the united states began on july 4, 1776 with the declaration of independence from british rule, the seeds were then sown to hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal,en dowed by their creator certain inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. remember, these words were written by thomas jefferson. it is often said that this is one of the best known phrases

in the human language: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. but when did those words first arrive? when did thomas jefferson first utter these words at the founding of american democracy, that all men are created equal? well, let me refer to you, and let me pause for you to take a pen out and write this down. a 27-year-old thomas jefferson first inscribed this term in a case that he argued, howell versus maryland, a child of an interracial union. decided in april 1770, jefferson argued that under the laws of nature, all men are born free, and that everyone comes into this world with a right for his own person.

samuel howell was the child of a racially mixed union, and he fought his case for freedom against netherland, the holder of his indentured servitude. samuel howell's case was lost, but the words live on. this certainly seems to contradict the facts that jefferson was a slave holder himself, and in it, it reveals the inherent challenge in what we are struggling for, that all men with created equal. and what would that mean over the course of american history? that very person, that very samuel howell, was my great great great great grand uncle many generations ago in my family history. samuel howell is one of the

great examples of those who challenged what it meant to be human and free in america. this is my family, a black family, who have fought since the beginning of this country for the full measure of human freedom and self-determination. the second founding of america is well documented by eric froner in his deep analysis how the united states wrestled with the inherent flaw in our founders' idea of who would be granted freedom and personhood under our constitution. it would take the victory of the civil war and the passage and the ratification of the 13, 14, and 15 amendments as well as the first civil rights act of 1866 that defined citizenship and affirmed that all citizens are protected under the law, and to enlarge who is protected under the framework of the constitution

of the united states of america. this has been coined the second founding because it widened the scope of constitutional and legal protections of citizenship to include former slaves and indentured servitudes. this has been coined the second founding of the united states because it widened the scope of constitutional and legal protections of citizenship to include all former slaves and indentured servants. many now observe that we, in this moment, may be at the dawn of the third founding of the united states. this third founding is what president obama calls the promise, the potential, and the hope that america can fulfill and expand its dream that all

are created equal and can live with justice and equity in all sectors of our society. perhaps this is what we're beginning to witness in these uncharted times. just as in 1770, with samuel howell, or in 1776, with the declaration of independence, or in the 1860s with the civil war and the ensuing three constitutional amendments, and the expansions they provided, then under the 19 amendment with women a few years later, that now, on their very own, stand as persons and citizens of the united states. and our very own kamala d. harris, today, is the vice president of the united states of america. and isn't this testimony toward the long arc towards justice as we reflect on black people in

america. black people and black families have been at the very core and very heart of experiments and the heart of democracy and justice. this third founding could be the next journey to fully recognize and acknowledge our contributions to the foundations of this country from slavery to the white house. it has been on the shoulders of black people and black families that this nation was founded and has grown and that now faces itself and the world as a beacon of freedom and liberty, and black history month celebrates the path with a eye now and into the future. fundamental values that we brought here from african with our ancestry, the dignity of elders and a collective definition of personhood: i am because we are.

there is no me and i without us and me, and centuries of slavery and marginalization have not and will not erase their fundamental and social family values. 240 years ago, samuel howell and his attorney stood before the court, arguing his freedom, and today, in the united states, we are seeing that the past is yielding to the truth of the american promise and the ideal that all humans are created and are entitled to dignity before the law of this country, and that all of the rights, duties, and privileges are pertaining thereto are a part of being a person and a citizen of the united states.

in holding that these truths are self-evident, we cannot just stand by and assume that they will hold against the attempts to underminor country. the third founding is not promised. it must be fought for and earned so that the true measure of this promise is accomplished by digging deeply to ensuring that these values and principles are sown deeply into the soils of this country and into every neighborhood and into every household, family, and child. freedom and democracy and justice are not yet true entitlements. they must be fought for and protected by each generation as we continue to unfold as a nation. the very existence of us as black and african americans has

been both a threat to and a promise of freedom, liberty, justice, and democracy. as we celebrate black history month here in san francisco, let us reflect on how we have challenged this country while simultaneously contributed to the very things that make this great city and country even greater. and as we face what lies ahead, we must speak truth into what is before us: black and brown people, bipoc, all of us have been disproportionately impacted by the four corners of the now. the social determinants of health, education, economic security, and physical security and safety have long impacted our communities. the history of slavery and lynching and economic marginalization, and legal discrimination by governments

at all levels have often shuttered opportunity in our communities. we pray for the lives that have been lost to the covid pandemic in just one year; that we see the devastation that has been wrought by this virus in upsetting the health, education, and economic security of our communities. we have been through a year of knees on the necks of black men, suffocating their lives, and of police storming into the home of a totally innocent young woman, whose killing was emblematic of that that is wrong in policing and civil rights. these events further reveal systemic racism endemic through our history and our country.

we have seen the previous president of the united states constantly lying to the country yes calling for violent insurrection against we the people. we have witnessed unparalleled economic insecurity because of a lack of coordinated response by the federal government that have left the states, counties, and municipalities to cope with the pandemic almost on their own. we cannot ignore the impacts of climate change, as we saw last summer on the day the sun never was seen, as unbreathable smoke from raging fires fell to the earth and into our lungs. so much of this brokenness in our country was revealed last year, yet these events turned despair into determination and

hope into action as our determination for a more perfect union was revealed through this country, and especially in georgia, where the victory for democracy was planted in the red clay of the south. out of all of this lies perhaps the road map of the future perhaps a better future by recommitting to our deep founding principles regardless of the darkened skies. we must pledge our allegiance to freedom and dignity. we must take the oath to support and defend the highest ideals of humanity. we must promise that equity be instilled in everything, like the blood in our bodies. we must take sacred vows to speak truth against lies, and to challenge all threats to a just and inclusive society with

our actions, with our work, and with our good old san francisco values. as mayor breed has often said, we are the core and the home of the resistance. we resist the thought that america is a failed state and cannot uphold its core values. we resist the hypocrisy and the false narratives and the clear and imminent danger that they pose to civil society. and at the dawn of black history month in san francisco, let us promise that our creative and innovative nature built upon our past and our resistance to falsehoods will usher in the true measure of justice in our times. i want to thank president

breed, supervisor shamann walton, al williams, and all who have invested in this celebration. it is my pleasure to share with you my thoughts as we look forward with deepest commitment to honor those in our past who have fought so hard to give us this great moment in history and the potential third founding of our land. one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. may god bless you, and thank you again. >> chuck, thank you so much for those inspiring, informative, and thought provoking remarks. you've certainly given us a lot to reflect on in the days and

months ahead. it's now my pleasure to introduce one of my colleagues on the society's board of directors who also serves as our executive director and has curated many of the society's exhibits over the years, dr. bill hoskins. dr. hoskins will provide information about the other events the society will be hosting during this black history month. bill? >> greetings, and again, welcome to the 2021 black history month kickoff event. i not only want to welcome you again to the black history 2021 kickoff at city hall, but i would also like to encourage all of you who are not a member to become a member of the african american historical and cultural society. the society is a membership driven 501-c-3 tax free organization.

it is the oldest of its kind west of the mississippi, founded in 1955. the society is committed to collecting, preserving, and presenting accounts of african american contributions via full history and culture to the city of san francisco and beyond. without your support, we will not be able to continue to meet our commitments to you, to our committee, or to our city. membership is open to all who support this mission. this opening event for black history month will be followed by events scheduled throughout the month of february. special events are scheduled for february 12, 19, and 20. a virtual exhibit featuring bay area artists addressing black

history month theme for 21, the black family, is also being done. the opening day for the exhibit will be shared at a later time. the following event will be designed to highlight the upcoming special zoom programs. february 12, a family history presentation featuring ginger smiley and lois garrett. february 16, [inaudible] work stop, featuring ginger smily, and february 26, a public affairs forum featuring al williams. these short clip presentations will be followed with closing comments from president al

williams. in my closing, i would like to thank miss hilda williams for her amazing artwork, and thank you for your time. >> family stories is about relationships. geneaology is about collecting facts about relationships. it gives us facts about our ancestry, who we come from a generation ago, 200 years ago, 400 years ago, and so on. african americans now more than ever can uncover answers to these questions and more. join the society as we uncover the larger black family february 20 at 11:00. the family offers a rich

tapestry for understanding the african american past and present. the black family knows no single location, having spread across nations and continents. its genetic ancestry shows its many journeys. the black family provides identity in all its representations. understanding one's family history enriches our collective understanding of ourselves. join us on friday, february 11, at 6:00 p.m., as we collect our family history. how to collect it, and how to tell your own story. >> thank you, bill. as i mentioned, bill is our resident curator. he is working on a virtual exhibit that will open in april. that exhibit will feature the

work of hilda robinson and several other local artists. paintings by ms. robinson that you will see shortly will be included in that exhibit. thanks also to board members ginger smiley and louis garrett, sr. for sharing their family histories. later this year, board member larissa williams will be working to produce a film on this year's theme. last, but not least, we'd like to thank our sponsors and partners without whose support this program and the work we do would not be possible. we hope you've enjoyed today's program. we look forward to seeing you at the family history program on february 12, the geneaology

program on february 26. until then, wash your hands frequently, maintain social distance, and, of course, wear a mask.

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.

order. this is the february 9, 2022 budget and finance committee meeting. i am matt haney, chair of the budget and finance committee, joined by committee members safai and mar. our clerk is mr. brent and i want to thank sfgovtv for broadcasting the meeting. >> the minutes will reflect that committee members participated in this remote meeting through video conference. the board recognizes that public access to city services is essential and invites public participation in the following ways. public comment will be available on each item on the agenda. we're streaming the call-in number across the