Denver, CO — A very personal, and very powerful, opening night at the Democratic National Convention was capped by the most-endearing Michelle Obama. But while all the media focuses on Michelle’s great speech and the inspirational appearance of Senator Ted Kennedy, the common thread through the 6-hour session was Barack Obama’s work as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago.
Michelle and Obama’s sister, Maya Soetero-Ng, both talked about Obama passing on Wall Street to organize on the streets of Chicago. While not featured on the cable networks, we also heard from Obama’s organizing boss and mentor, Jerry Kellman . A host of Illinois politicians provided an inside view into Obama as both a community organizer and a State Senator.
The focus on Obama as community organizer validates the work of thousands of people working to improve their communities, block by block. It also provides the foundation for the essence of the Obama campaign — change. When speakers at the podium say that Barack Obama will deliver the change we need, I think that they understand that this change is made possible by an organized grassroots movement. It is this movement, now well-groomed by the Obama campaign, that got Barack Obama here. It is this movement that will take Obama to the White House . And it is this movement that will hold Obama and other elected accountable to the communities they serve.
Barack Obama delivers his big acceptance speech on Thursday night. I’ll be watching at Mile High, but for those of you in San Francisco, you can get some of the same flavor by watching with San Francisco Democrats…
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A funny thing happened on the way to the Democratic National Convention this morning. Since my flight was too early to take BART, I called SuperShuttle. The van pulled up at 6:45, and who’s sitting there– Clinton Delegate David Serrano-Sewell. David and I, along with Obama Delegate London Breed and Markos Moulitsas , were on the same flight into Denver.
David has made some news in the past weeks as a vocal Hillary supporter. He helped spearhead an effort to force a roll-call vote on the Convention floor. Fox News, clearly looking to instigate a fight in Denver, booked Serrano-Sewell on Neil Cavuto .
Joking around with David over coffee, I told him I had signed up to be an Obama Delegate to keep people like him from stealing the nomination!
Despite secret Clinton Delegate meetings that are already underway, it ain’t going to happen. Even Serrano-Sewell seems to have a soft spot for Obama. His whole family is Obama supporters and his mother is here in Denver, an Obama Delegate.
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Walking around downtown I ran into a group of Republicans with McCain and “NOBAMA” signs. In the group of about 30, there was one African-American. I couldn’t help myself, so I congratulated them.
During last Thursday’s hearing on the black depopulation of San Francisco, I jokingly said that nobody in San Francisco was racist, but Leslie Fulbright’s solid article on the subject brought the racists out of the woodwork. Although many of the comments have been removed for content, there’s still quite a selection of racist comments to choose from. The SF Gate online “community” is a backwater cesspool….
oldschool1388/9/2008 7:42:27 PM
Why do black folks always seem to have it so bad, & how many special programs and study groups will it take for the black community to “catch up” ? I don’t know if that is the right phrase. At the risk of sounding racist, I would dare to say, why is everyone always looking at an external reason as to why the black population does not thrive like every other ethnic group. Perhaps if the emphasis of these “programs” were responsibilty and character development, this would be a non-issue. In other words, stop blaming everyone else, this isnt the 60s or 70s and this isnt Jim Crow south, this is one the mose liberal places in the world. Figure it out. Nation of Islam? What the hell do they have to do with a positive black community. Just another quasi-terrorist organization to blame all black woes on whites…..and Jews too! Didn’t Farrakhan call for a race ware against whites? And they give these poeple credibilty, like inviting the well tanned Klan without the robes. Look deeper people.
andyman_sf8/9/2008 7:48:20 PM
Lived in SF most of my life. Been robbed 3 – 4 times by a gang of blacks. I won’t shed a tear if they can’t afford to live here and continue to rob me. If blacks really want to stay here they really must WANT to help themselves. Frankly this article is probably written by another white person in a comfy office trying to make themselves feel better. Get over it. I can’t say all blacks are bad, but what I can say from experience is the city can do without them.
tk2x8/9/2008 7:50:11 PM
And why should I care? I assimilated into the City and made sure I was educated and gainfully employed so I can afford it. If blacks don’t want to do the same… See ya!!
jcpardell8/9/2008 7:57:11 PM
I guess not taking education seriously, hanging out with gangmembers, paying more attention to partying than schoolbooks, spending more money on hip-hop gear, etc., has nothing to do with it.
sfgangbangers8/9/2008 7:58:15 PM
When I drive down Cesar Chavez (Army) St., right by the projects I see dozens of Latino laborers looking for work. I’ve never seen any African American there looking for work…
jevonprice8/9/2008 8:01:08 PM
That’s good for me, better pickings of what’s left and less competition
frisbeedude8/9/2008 8:17:51 PM
If you want more out of life, WORK HARDER!!!
Dantrez8/9/2008 8:20:12 PM
If this is a “black” problem, let black people fix it. Step up and show some accountability. Stop looking to others to fix your dam problems. I don’t care if whitey set the whole system up. We all know that he did. It’s still your challenge as a man or woman to make a better way for your family, and get off the public teet.We are at a point where blacks are being lapped economically by every immigrant group of the last 100 years, and they have no one but themselves to blame, even if whitey does make an attractive target.
ohreally8/9/2008 8:26:44 PM
Congratulations to SF. Why couldn’t Oakland be so lucky? Who is murdering whom? Who is once again on a robbery spree holding up restaurants? Right.
eastoak8/9/2008 8:29:33 PM
not a word in this article about blacks sharing the larger part of the blame for their plight. ask the japanese, chinese, vietnamese, jews, caribbeans, africans, latin americans and all of the other immigrant groups how hard it is to make it in this country if you are WILLING TO WORK. i wish the scum of the black community would leave the whole of the bay area so blacks who want to live as productive members of society can get on with their lives.
chewchewtrain8/9/2008 8:30:30 PM
WISE WORDS: Bill Cosby has stated Black issues very well, but has the Black community, like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, gathered around his observations?…… Blacks complain about crime but when cops show up nobody steps forward as a witness….. From separate sources, I’ve been told Black youth feel it’s “too White” to get good grades in school…… Inner city Black communities are rotting from the inside out.
imperialist19608/9/2008 8:36:29 PM
Black culture leaving SF? Fortunately, we still have Oakland, Richmond, and other bastions of black culture to fall back on locally, so rap lyrics about “the life” won’t suffer too much, I think. Light Rail in, standard of living up, property values up. If you own a house you sell and cash out. If you don’t own, rents go up and the expense of living in SF begins to resemble the rest of the 49 square miles and it starts to look like a bad deal and tougher to do. Vibrant gentrified neighborhood, or the place I got shot at 10 years ago when riding my motorcycle? I’ll take the no-gunfire option, please.
AmericanMark8/9/2008 8:42:37 PM
The ones who “don’t care about black kids getting shot” are the other black kids and black adults who decide not to help the police identify the shooters; who decide not to help the “black kids getting shot”.
dupay278/9/2008 8:51:42 PM
hopefully it’s only the criminally-minded, thugged out blacks that are fleeing. i think san franciscans of all races wouldn’t mind that.
felix941098/9/2008 8:58:32 PM
How about black people going to school, getting education and working hard like the rest of us to live in San Francisco? Why does any race for that matter have to depend upon the government for subsidized housing and all the benefits that come with not making enough money. You can not expect gorgeous condos with ocean views etc. and be sitting aroun doing nothing all day and blame the city for the same. If you can’t make enough to live in the city than either find a good job or move out. This applies to any race as there are enough opportunities here.
ofey8/9/2008 9:29:20 PM
BORING, WHO CARES, GOOD RIDDANCE.
AmericanMark8/9/2008 9:48:37 PM
The first posters comment was removed. There was nothing offensive about it and race wasn’t mentioned. However all the article did was basically say “blacks = good, whites = bad to blacks”. The article is one of the most racist articles I’ve seen in a long time. And she got paid to write it. In comparison, the poster was decent. What is the problem?
bobsicle8/9/2008 9:51:18 PM
lklein — “To those blaming african americans for not coming forward regarding crime I ask this: If you and/or your family firmly believed that coming forward would result in your family being threatened or killed, or your property vandalized, would you do it?” But it’s other blacks who are doing the threatening, killing, and vandalizing, so it’s still a black problem. Why don’t blacks hold their neighbors accountable? Why don’t they point fingers when 13-year-olds sprout tummies and become baby mammas? Why don’t blacks tell their kids they can’t wear gangsta pants? Why don’t blacks read to their two-year-olds? That Deacon the other day in the news said little black kids’ eyes lit up when given a box of crayons. A box of crayons cost $1. Why don’t blacks buy their kids boxes of crayons and encourage their creativity? Why are blacks such gawdawful parents? Black matriarchs used to keep tight reins on their families. Now grandma is smoking crack with her daughter while the baby cries.
dr8kangas8/9/2008 9:53:37 PM
Blacks don’t come forward & finger black criminals living next door because they are not willing to stop crime. I have no problem dropping a dime on a black or white criminal. I know a dozen people I have had arrested, who will probably try to kill me, if they see me, because I sent them to prison. But they know I carry a gun legally. This is a class war & I am on the front lines. Take no prisoners.
nativeguy19648/9/2008 10:00:05 PM
does this mean it will finally be a lot quieter in my neighborhood at night?
bobsicle8/9/2008 10:00:14 PM
LStaley — “Do people on both sides of the racial divide even want and search for a solutions?” There’s no need to search for a solution. We already know what the solution is: to the girls, stop having babies by no particular father when you’re 13 and 14; to they guys, pull your pants up and speak proper English; to both, go to schoo, go to college, and make something of your damn lives. That’s the solution, but it’s like horses and water. Our colleges and universities are basically free, but you can’t make the horse drink if it doesn’t want to.
joker558/9/2008 10:15:28 PM
Yep, it is time to level Hunters Point Western Addition and Sunnydale. I am tired of having no go zones in my city. Replace it with nice middle class housing and watch the area prosper. Look at Filmore now. Nice place to go hang out, eat, listen to music. Tired of crime, tired of filth. Tired of subsidizing people who do not care to lift themselves. Don’t care who moves in, color is not important. Any middle class folks are welcome. Hurray for gentrification, lets get rid of all pockets of poverty and decay in SF
Aaron Peskin busted CW Nevius, so what does good old CW do? He bumbles around while throwing Dufty under the bus. How’s that feel, Bevan?
Here’s the up-to-date email thread…
From: Aaron Peskin
To: cwnevius@sfchronicle.com
Cc: Bevan Dufty; acooper@sfchronicle.com
Sent: Saturday, August 9, 2008 12:32:15 AM
Subject: Zoo piece
Chuck,
Not that I give a shit, but I never spoke to Bevan yesterday about the zoo
hearing. The words you quote were never uttered to me. Please tell me, did
you make this up or if not how did you come up with this?
Aaron
From: Nevius, CW
Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2008 11:53:00
To: Aaron Peskin
Subject: Re: Zoo piece
Huh. Right from bevan’s mouth. Don’t think it says you said anything though does it? Did Bevan not come into your office?
From: Aaron Peskin
To: Nevius, CW
CC: Bevan Dufty, Cooper, Audrey
Sent: Sat Aug 09 12:47:25 2008
Subject: Re: Zoo piece
Your piece states, “…Dufty told Peskin”. I am merely, telling you as a
matter of fact that I had no conversation with Bevan about this. If he came
to my office I was not there. At any rate, he did not speak with me or
utter the words to me that you quote him as stating to me. Pure and simple.
If you checked with me I would have told you that no such conversation
between Bevan and I occurred or has occurred since. For what it’s worth…
Aaron
From: Nevius, CW
Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2008 13:00:16 -0700
To: Aaron Peskin
Subject: Re: Zoo piece
Well that’s not good at all. Makes me look like a doof. And yeah I mis read
what you said the first time. But shoulda called. It just seemed so cut and
dried I didn’t think of it. I am learning these lessons one mistake at a
time. In other news did you think the column was fair? Don’t imagine Chris
will think so but I did send him a heads up.
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Now in the category of yet another bald-face lie from CW…
Amanda Wong, a junior at Lowell High, waited two hours for her chance at the podium during the public comment period, but was so frustrated when Daly first cut her time to one minute, then got up and left when she started to speak, that she burst into tears.
When I first read this, I didn’t know what CW was talking about, so I reviewed the hearing to find the testimony of this Amanda Wong. Sure enough, 3:17 into the Committee meeting, Wong testified and choked up. This was the moment CW was waiting for — I mean Chris Daly made a girl cry!
But thanks to SFGTV, we have a full view of the Board Chambers before and after Wong spoke, and I wasn’t in the room. Three hours and sixteen minutes into the Committee meeting, as a zoo representative began to speak, I went to the restroom. I was back in my seat about 2 minutes later during the comments of the speaker after Wong.
So, I did not get up and leave when Wong started to speak. That’s a lie. But the truth isn’t so damaging.
As for the main reason why I limited public comment on the zoo to one minute (other than the first hearing on the matter provided 3 minutes per speaker and a 3-hour hearing and it’s not uncommon to limit public comment at subsequent hearings), I was trying to accommodate a 1:30 special order hearing on the black depopulation of San Francisco. And somehow, the Chronicle nailed that one.
“He was just drilling Carl Friedman,” Dufty told Peskin. “If this doesn’t get better, Chris is going to have a problem getting a quorum this afternoon.”
But this appeared in my inbox early this morning…
From: Aaron Peskin
To: cwnevius@sfchronicle.com
Cc: Bevan Dufty; acooper@sfchronicle.com
Sent: Saturday, August 9, 2008 12:32:15 AM
Subject: Zoo piece
Chuck,
Not that I give a shit, but I never spoke to Bevan yesterday about the zoo
hearing. The words you quote were never uttered to me. Please tell me, did
you make this up or if not how did you come up with this?
Aaron
”