Mending America Back Together

By Sydney Williams

The Biden-Harris administration has been hard at work, taking swift action to restore hope and heal America. Here’s a round-up of the latest initiatives by the White House and how it impacts our communities.

On Inauguration Day, President Biden took his first presidential action, proclaiming the day to be a National Day of Unity. With this, Biden invited all citizens, regardless of party affiliation, to come together in writing history in the next stage of our democracy, calling for a decent and dignified legacy centered around love, healing, and goodness. This National Day of Unity set the stage for this presidential term, creating space for the American Rescue Plan. 

The Biden-Harris administration’s first day in office was packed tight with upward changes, including the announcement of the American Rescue Plan. Consisting of three main objectives, the plan is set to alter the course of the pandemic, rebuild the economy, and make true investments in racial justice. California Governor Gavin Newsom expressed his full support for the bold agenda on Jan 19th, as he referred to the American Rescue Plan as a welcomed roadmap for how the federal government can reinvest in helping individuals, families, and communities in perilous times. 

By initiating a national vaccination program and effectively containing COVID-19, we move towards safely reopening schools. By delivering immediate relief and supporting families struggling to stay afloat in the wake of COVID-19, we have the opportunity to make an institutional and structural change towards racial and social justice for all. 

Communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by the job crisis. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 10 million Americans are out of work. With 1 in 3 households -- and half of Black and Latino households -- struggling to cover regular expenses like rent and groceries, something had to be done to mitigate the economic strain brought on by high unemployment rates. In December 2020, 1 in 10 Black workers and 1 in 11 Latino workers were unemployed. The American Rescue Plan, if passed by Congress, will give a $1,400 check to each working family member to help them to pay their bills. Even with individuals who are still employed, many have faced reduced hours to work.

The Biden-Harris administration is the first in history to have a multi-racial woman elected as Vice President and wielding real power and influence over the America agenda. It comes as no surprise that their recent cabinet appointments have emerged to become the most diverse cabinet in U.S. history. With this strategic placement, people of color will have the platform to represent diverse communities and focus on urgent needs like never before. Increased federal aid, dismantling systematic inequality, and finally reflecting a real diversity of political perspectives, which is something that former President George Washington had cited as a goal when establishing the cabinet in 1791, are within reach now in this new political era. 

Our nation is plagued with persisting systemic racial inequality, and it is now being addressed with priority by the White House. Similarly, climate change has moved up for action. Another major move on Inauguration Day 2021 was rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement. Under Biden-Harris, the United States reclaimed its position as a leader in addressing climate change and fighting for a healthier future for the planet. With just three weeks of Biden-Harris in office, climate awareness and racial equality will rest in the shadows no longer. 

If you want to get involved with White House initiatives and track President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ work on setting a new agenda for America, click here. You can also sign up to stay connected and receive update emails from the White House by entering your email at the bottom of that page.

Caring for Community in San Francisco

By Kim Christensen

After years of community activism and leadership, Uzuri Pease-Greene is blossoming into a new role as a social entrepreneur. As Executive Director of the nonprofit Community Awareness Resources Entity, Pease-Greene is building a base of supporters and drawing financial resources to uplift residents in Potrero public housing and other southeast San Francisco neighborhoods. Whether it be advocating for easy access to COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, or delivering food to seniors, families and unhoused people during the pandemic, her skills, voice and energy have been put to work for the community in a critical time.  

Uzuri Pease-Greene at the Daniel Webster Elementary School mural. Photo by Tumay Aslay.

Never one to shy away from a microphone or resist speaking truth to power, Uzuri Pease-Greene is about words and deeds. A frequent public speaker at national affordable housing conferences, San Francisco City Hall and neighborhood group meetings, she has found her talents and life purpose in community leadership and advocacy. “I am just honored to be able to continue doing this work right now,” said Pease-Greene, when asked how she is doing during the pandemic.

Community Awareness Resources Entity (C.A.R.E.), the nonprofit that she leads, was founded in 2015 by her husband Donald Greene and other leaders in the Potrero Terrace and Annex public housing neighborhood with the goal of creating a safer and more supportive community for the young kids coming up. With gentrification of Potrero Hill and southeast San Francisco being a constant concern for the diverse communities in this area, C.A.R.E. also works to increase the visibility, viability and voice of folks who have lived in this part of the city for generations. At the same time, they reach out and welcome new residents to become active participants in a variety of projects to feed, fund, uplift and strengthen the neighborhood. 

Prior to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, C.A.R.E. was focused on hosting its popular community events like the free Thanksgiving Feast and Summer BBQ Cook-off, which drew neighbors from across the hill, a crew of volunteers, and often a few luminaries from the San Francisco Mayor’s office and City Hall. Post-COVID-19 the organization has had to pivot to delivering food boxes and packaged meals to those in need, as well as focus on making sure the city is providing equity and access to Potrero public housing residents for COVID-19 tests, PPE masks and face shields, cleaning products, and vaccines as they become available. Just as important is the emotional support work that C.A.R.E. does in the community, reaching out to people to talk when they are feeling isolated and lonely. They have also hosted support groups for smoking cessation and sober living. This work is deeply personal. Uzuri Pease-Greene has been through many difficult challenges herself in life, which makes her an approachable, empathetic and authentic leader in her community. 

Uzuri Pease-Greene, Executive Director of C.A.R.E., inspiring women of San Francisco. Photo by Tumay Aslay.

Before joining up to lead C.A.R.E., Pease-Greene was a full-time Community Outreach Coordinator with Bridge Housing, the award-winning affordable housing builder that has been actively engaged in a years-long effort to build strong communities, mentor local leadership, and avoid displacement of long-time residents while redeveloping many of the public housing complexes in San Francisco. Bolstered by her newfound skills in community organizing and visibility as a rising leader, Pease-Greene ran for San Francisco County Supervisor to represent District 10 in 2018, after hearing many of her friends say, “You should run for office!” 

She applied and was accepted to the competitive Emerge California candidate training program, which has trained many dynamic women to run for office, including San Francisco Mayor London Breed. While Pease-Greene did not win the campaign for supervisor, she feels like the overall process was a big win for her career and community. She was an important voice for the people at the debates, facing off in friendly competition with her rivals on stage, deftly deploying a little humor, and offering her unique grassroots ‘let’s get real’ perspective and experience to policy discussions. 

Uzuri Pease-Greene by Tumay Aslay

Being a candidate raised her profile in the neighborhood and across town at City Hall, garnering a spotlight and media coverage that helped bring attention to the needs of her community. Uzuri Pease-Greene is now seen as a go-to spokesperson for the neighborhood and is frequently contacted by reporters to get her thoughts and quotes for stories about local community issues and social justice and equity initiatives. Her success as a leader is due to her hard work and her courage to stand up, speak out, and make change happen. An impressive legacy already, but it looks like she is just getting warmed up and has big ambitions for 2021 and beyond.

Learn more about the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization,  C.A.R.E. (Community Awareness Resources Entity).

The Creative Mind of an Advertising Legend

By Mitzi Manzano

Advertising executive, Carol H. Williams, leads the longest-running independent multicultural marketing shop in the country, as its CEO and Chief Creative Officer. Photo by Mitzi Manzano.

To make an ad memorable, it sometimes takes a catchy jingle that you can’t shake off your head, humor, or an iconic character. But for many Fortune 500 brands, it took a special woman with a fiercely creative mind to turn brands into household names.

Carol H. Williams began breaking the glass ceiling almost 44 years ago as a pioneer in the male-dominated field of advertising. Her career began at the famed Leo Burnett Company in Chicago. While there, she spearheaded some of her most famous campaigns that have been known to turn brands into overnight and lasting successes. The Secret antiperspirant ad - strong enough for a man, but made for a woman - contributed to it becoming one of P&G’s greatest success stories. Similarly, her Pillsbury Frosting Paper Knife campaign and the “Say Hello to Poppin’ Fresh Dough!” ads turned them into one of the most trusted brands in every home across the nation.

Photo: courtesy of Carol H. Williams

There was no shortcut to this fascinating success story as Ms. Williams worked her way up, becoming the very first female and first African-American Creative Director and Vice President at Leo Burnett. She has been honored with multiple awards in the advertising field, including several CLIO awards which recognizes innovation and creative excellence in advertising, design and communication. The Ad Age Vanguard awardee is also the first African-American creative inductee into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame and continues to be recognized as a pioneer in her field.

Blazing trails and breaking glass ceilings for all women in Advertising. Photo by Mitzi Manzano.

She started her own agency, Carol H. Williams Advertising, a 100% minority-owned and woman-owned advertising agency, now with offices in Oakland, Chicago and New York, the country’s hubs for advertising. The agency specializes in multicultural and African-American focused integrated campaigns. Some of their clients have included General Motors, Wells Fargo, the U.S. Army and most recently, the U.S. Census.

To be as successful in a career, one would assume it to be a lifelong passion. But Ms. Williams wasn’t always drawn to the advertising world. “Medicine was my first love. Advertising was a little pivot,” she shared. “I love the athleticism of the mind.” And that continues to shine throughout her highly-decorated creative career.

Today, Ms. Williams continues to be an inspiration to many people, even beyond her field of advertising. She has been heralded as a living legend as the accolades keep piling on. To add to the long list of achievements, Carol H. Williams was named Woman of the Year for the State of California and most recently, received a Matrix Award for the Association for Women in Communication. Not bad for a girl who grew up in the South Side of Chicago.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mitzi Manzano is a luxury brand makeup artist, having worked with Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, and Dior. Her work has been published in magazines. Mitzi is also an avid foodie and produces the weekly show Kulinarya Live with the Filipino Food Movement.

Black, Bold and Beautiful

By Polina Smith

Ashley Tolliver, CEO of NUDExLASH

It’s been said that darker women of color have long been ignored by makeup brands. In recent years, beauty brands have begun to broaden their shade ranges but it’s certainly taking others some time to catch on. More broadly-distributed brands like Fenty and Huda Beauty were cheered on for releasing between 30-50 different shades of foundation. While others idle by, the beauty community has not been known to hold back on their disappointment and lack of enthusiasm on social media. Eventually, some makeup lines came through with “you asked, we listened” responses, offering more options for consumers with darker skin tones. 

Well, one Oakland makeup artist and entrepreneur, Ashely Tolliver saw this racial disparity. Specifically, she identified a gap in clean and luxurious products available to her and the greater persons of color community and that became the genesis of her company, NUDExLASH.

Ash writes, “Being a pro makeup artist for the last 8 years and co-creating alongside the big brands we all love and admire, I felt there was a void concerning clean beauty products that were also luxurious and had variety for all. I chose to step away from artistry and single handedly pick and create an elegant, clean beauty brand for all. My passion for women empowerment mixed with beauty has brought us here together! I really hope you enjoy this line as much as I do!”

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Student Allies for Black Lives Matter

By Sydney Williams

Skyline High School senior, Jessica Ramos has been sending seismic shockwaves throughout her Oakland community, leading the stand against police brutality and education inequality. At seventeen, she is the elected Student Director of Oakland Unified School District, a member of All City Council and a rising racial justice activist. Jessica brings together diverse communities to celebrate life and effect positive change that Oakland wants to see. 

Student activist, Jessica Ramos. Photo by Agitate Photography

How do you create space to have your voice heard in this unprecedented time? 

I have always been passionate about being active in my community and have connections to organizations who share my passion. I focused my recent activism on the idea of creating conversations.  But even still, this has been a unique time. With the stay-at-home order, technology allows us to stay connected through online forums, in the Bay Area and around the world.  We need to be having conversations that we sometimes don’t want to have, talk to people who disagree with us. Having these vulnerable conversations is the best way to break down misconceptions and grow perspective on racial and social justice issues. 

Some need clarity on the relationship between systematic oppression and protest. How would you explain the relationship between the peaceful march you led on June 10th and police brutality?

There is totally a misconception that protest = violence, but this is just not true. Peaceful protest is sometimes overshadowed by violent riots, but they truly are very different. The peaceful march we led was a celebration of life. While we have technology to connect online, many of us felt the need to gather in person. In my psychology classes, I learned that people cannot fully grieve online/virtually. With the extreme violence that people of color have been experiencing for hundreds of years, we needed to create a sense of togetherness. People brought candles, masked up, let their tears out and hearts open. We needed to show our local government what this community does when we are hurt. We come together. 

Peaceful protest in Oakland on June 10, 2020. Photo by Jessica Ramos

You organized the march to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s house on June 10, 2020. Tell us about this experience.

I had organized High School meet-ups in the past, but this was my first time organizing something for the larger community and of this magnitude. It was actually my best friend, Dwayne Davis and I who first came up with the idea to lead the march to Mayor Libby Schaaf’s house. We were sitting in the car listening to the radio when we heard news of LA activists marching to their Mayor’s house, which we fact-checked on Twitter and verified. It was then that we thought to ourselves, “we are doing this” here in Oakland. In the weeks leading up to the march, I was in close contact with the community, spreading the word and informing business owners in the Fruitvale district of our upcoming event. 

On June 10th, over 1,000 people gathered to march for the youth and against police brutality. To see young voices expressing their passion alongside their greater community, was inspiring.  It was a very special occasion because we also got to share the news that OUSD’s campaign to remove police from schools had passed its first reading. Mayor Libby Shaaf, herself had said that the peaceful candle-lit protest, commemorating the lives of those lost to police brutality was both beautiful and moving.

What inspired your passion and activism in education?

My passion was originally sparked by an experience I had in 7th grade. I had attended Oakland public school my whole life, until my mom had to leave town for a month. During this time, I went to school in San Ramon where I lived with family. I noticed a huge difference between Oakland and San Ramon schools right away. The quality of education was seriously different. I thought to myself, there must be a way to get involved and make education more equal. I had also had a friend recently pass away and that further motivated me to make a change in my community. I feel that everyone should have the educational resources that they need to excel, regardless of where they live. 

Since then, I would say that it is my classmates that inspire me everyday. Oakland students, especially, have a sort of camaraderie that stems from our shared challenges. They keep me pushing forward.

Squad photo by Jessica Ramos

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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