Thank you for listening to the Listening Project Podcast.  We appreciate you, our community, and our allies for listening along.  Please see the links below for resources mentioned in the episode. 

Buying Power of Shipyard Workers, MacDonald Ave., 1943

The Activist dedicates this issue to Black History Month, in tribute to the profound and myriad ways Black people have shaped American successes, culture, and economic life. In this recognition, which can hardly capture the sheer breadth of Black history in the United States, we also want to note the urgent and ongoing need for Black liberation and amends in a country that exists, as it is, on the labor and lives of Black Americans.

By Aleta Toure' and Chris Lodgson

The California Reparations Task Force members and Reparations supporters on Tuesday, March 1st, from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm will be having a community meeting.  The organizations: CJEC, Parable of the Sower Intentional Community Cooperative, Richmond Progressive Alliance, Bay Area BAP (Black Alliance for Peace), The National Black Liberation Movement Network (NBLMN), AfroSocialist, and a host of other organizations are together hosting this hybrid event (both in-person and online) community meeting at the Rich City Gallery, 1500C Macdonald Avenue, Richmond, CA. which will be held next door to the Rich City Rides Cooperative Bike Shop.  This Richmond Reparations Listening Session is to make sure Richmond residents are a part of this historic effort called AB 3121. A free registration link will be available soon, but please find updates at https://linktr.ee/RichmondReparations, and the Facebook page: https://fb.me/e/WYLL3weU.

As described by California's Attorney General's office, "The institution of slavery is inextricably woven into the establishment, history, and prosperity of the United States. Constitutionally and statutorily sanctioned from 1619 to 1865, slavery deprived more than four million Africans and their descendants of life, liberty, citizenship, cultural heritage, and economic opportunity. Following the abolition of slavery, government entities at the federal, state, and local levels continued to perpetuate, condone, and often profit from practices that brutalized African Americans and excluded them from meaningful participation in society. This legacy of slavery and racial discrimination has resulted in debilitating economic, educational, and health hardships that are uniquely experienced by African Americans."

By Kyndelle Johnson

Unidentified Earl Lewis Junior High School students during a trip to Boston Redevelopment Authority Washington Park site office, 105 Crawford Street, by Joseph Runci (1965)

There will be a teach-in taking place online, via Zoom on February 28th, 2022 at 6pm. Richmond LAND presents Black LAND, Power, and Futures will feature local historical experts and community leaders. There will be opportunities for in-depth discussion. 

Since 2000, the Black population in our city has decreased nearly 40%. The amount of rich wisdom, history, cultural strength, and diversity has plummeted with the mass displacement of our community members. This phenomenon is not happening without a great deal of historical disinvestment and exclusion as context. Our organization’s goal is to build power toward community-controlled development in Richmond. To understand how we can best protect our Black neighbors, and build sustainable and empowering housing for our community, we must be grounded in our city’s history.

By Jovanka Beckles

Art obtained from the official San Francisco Bay View Newspaper Facebook Page.

The Bayview continues to be a beacon of light in the media blackout of relevant Black issues that are largely ignored by mainstream media. As we celebrate Black history month in February—fully aware that every day is a Black history day and always has been in this country—The Activist acknowledges one of the oldest and longest running radical Black newspapers.

By Dani Zacky

The Listening Project Team has been hard at work over the last month.  As always, our main objective has been to listen to our community and those most harmed by the climate crisis and impacts of Chevron in Richmond.

Richmond’s Reimagining Public Safety Community Task Force (Task Force) held a Community Conversation on Community Crisis Response on Dec. 15, 2021. The video can be found here.

By Diana Wear and Daniel Barth

Streets Team leader Tshombe Perkins, with Buddy Bennett, Cyntha Simpson, and  Deborah Young cleaning along S Collins in Parchester Village, by Maurice Tierney

Our unhoused neighbors don’t have sturdy structures to protect them from the elements and the colder-than-usual climate has been hard. The city and its local organizations are pressed to address this crisis. In our county, 2 of 5 unhoused people are Black/African American, four times the county’s black population. In Richmond, African Americans are 54% of the homeless population.

By Amy Spencer

Wisdom Lap, by Tiffany Conway

Art of the African Diaspora, in partnership with Richmond Art Center (RAC), supports artists of African descent in the Bay Area through representation, professional development, and building a creative community.

I knew Mike Parker when I was a student at the University of Chicago in the early 1960s. Mike was a brilliant advocate for workers and unions then, and he remained so for the rest of his life.  Mike fought tirelessly for human solidarity and a more just and humane world.  His life's work and dedication should serve as an example for all of us.
         -Bernie Sanders