Onward! Part Two
By MAS HASHIMOTO
The Edmund Pettus Bridge that crosses the Alabama River leading into Selma, Alabama was named after a Confederate general and U.S. Senator. It was famously crossed in the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. which culminated in Bloody Sunday, when police attacked the marchers with horses, billy clubs and tear gas. On to May 25, with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the struggle for equal justice continues to be fought, and while some gains have been achieved in the past, this revolutionary “Black Lives Matter” movement against police brutality moves onward with support from European, Asian, African, Middle Eastern, Latin American and other countries. BLM has taken us to a new turn. It has expanded to become a world-wide movement against police brutality and racism.
Webster-Merriam Dictionary agreed to change its definition of racism at the request of Kennedy Mitchum, a young black woman and a recent graduate of Drake University in Iowa. In an email she sent June 11 to the dictionary website, she suggested that the definition should include a reference to systemic oppression and that it needed to reflect broader issues of racial inequality in society.
The decision comes amid international anti-racism protests after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd died after a white police officer held a knee on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. And before Floyd, there were Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rem'mie Fells, Riah Milton, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, Oluwatoyin Salau, Elijah McClain, and countless other black lives lost to police brutality and racial violence.
Ms. Mitchum emailed Merriam-Webster to point out that racism is "both prejudice combined with social and institutional power. It is a system of advantage based on skin color." She had encountered people pointing to the dictionary to prove that they were not racist because of the way they felt towards people of color.
Here is Merriam-Webster's current definition of racism: A belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.
a) The systemic oppression of a racial group to the social, economic and political advantage of another.
b) A political or social system founded on racism and designed to execute its
principles.
One must add systemic racism. Developed by the highly respected sociologist Joe Feagin, PhD Harvard 1966, systemic racism is a popular way of explaining, within the social sciences and humanities, the significance of race and racism both historically and in today's world. Feagin describes the concept and the realities attached to it in his well-researched book, “Racist America: Roots, Current Realities, and Future Reparations.” Feagin uses historical evidence and demographic statistics to create a theory that asserts that the United States was founded in racism since the United States Constitution classified black people as the property of whites. Feagin illustrates that the legal recognition of racialized slavery is a cornerstone of a racist social system in which resources and rights were and are, unjustly given to white people, and unjustly denied to people of color. He speaks against racial, ethnic, moral, class, and gender inequality for he knows how it harms people of color.
The term, institutional racism, first came about in 1967 when it was used by Stokely Carmichael and Charles V. Hamilton in their book, “Black Power:” It is racism on a grand scale that is ongoing and present in political, economic, social, fraternal, religious organizations and groups, firms, corporations, and various institutions and foundations. Some even have non-profit legal status!
When it was said to me, “Go back to your country!" referring to Japan, I would say, “Go back to Africa for we are all out of Africa! There’s only one race, and that’s the human race.”
Then, of course, there are examples of “polite” racism. After a presentation on our wartime incarceration, an elderly, white male came to me and said, “Well, the internment was necessary for your safety.” I would reply, “Yes, from people like you?” Another remarked that he was not a racist and not prejudiced. He had “preferences.” He preferred white people over people of color.
And, there’s “subconscious” racism, where one doesn’t realize one harbored racist views. In Dallas, Texas in 1963, my car needed an oil change and lubrication. At the time, gasoline was 25 cents a gallon, and one didn’t have to get out of the car. Four teenagers would pump the gas, clean your windshield, check the oil and tire pressure. When I saw four black teens at the station, I drove off, believing white teens would service my car better than black teens.
As I drove out, I realized I was a racist! I was shocked and disappointed in myself. My mother didn’t raise me to be a racist. I had to change. I immediately drove back, and the black kids did a wonderful job. I had to pee, so I went to the restrooms where I had a choice. Choice? There were three restrooms: one marked “Men,” another “Women,” and another “Colored.” Colored men and women used the same one. I went into the “Colored” restroom. My car was serviced beautifully for the kids saw me go into the “Colored” restroom. The white cashier threw my change on the floor as I didn’t have a credit card in those days.
How did I become a racist when I didn’t know any blacks? Movies! Hollywood movies portrayed blacks as inferior, as sub-human and superior pets. “Gone With The Wind” has been nixed recently for its portrayal of blacks. Brilliant, talented blacks had to play dumb-down roles. Hispanic were portrayed as dirty, lazy, “mañana.” Working besides Hispanics in the fields, I learned how honorable they are. Lives of native Americans were expendable with “the only good Indian is a dead Indian” in Hollywood. And Asians were portrayed mostly as gangsters, with the exception of Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, and Noriyuki “Pat” Morita (Mr. Miyagi).
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Message from Your Allied Rapid Response Network
By YARR
There has been a lot of serious discussions about whether or not Donald Trump is going to accept the results of the upcoming election, and whether organizations loyal to him, like the U.S. Justice Department, or the Proud Boys, might actively disrupt the election process.
It's not what we're all accustomed to hearing about during presidential elections, and it's certainly anxiety-provoking for a lot of us. The good news is that there's a lot we can do to counter any effort to
subvert the election.
To help support the election process, YARR is reaching out to the Santa Cruz community to make sure that everyone knows that our responders who are trained in legal observation and de-escalation, will be available if there are any cases of voter intimidation at polling places in the county. Please be sure to spread the message and the hotline number, 831-239-4289, among your circles.
Editor: YARR is a local group who has trained community members who can be dispatched when ICE or "other repressive forces" become active in our community. They are also involved in Community Education and Training, Advocate Services, Relationship Building and Public Policy Support. Go to the YARR website to sign up, learn more or contact them.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Watsonville Film Festival’s Fiesta Virtual de Día de Muertos 2020
FILMS: Watch anytime between Oct. 28 to Nov. 1. The festival will present a collection of short films focusing on the spirit of celebration. Two locally-made films "Macaria" and "Common Ground," and an award-winning gem from Mexico, "Music for the Ultimate Dream," will be shown as well as a documentary, "Artbound: Day of the Dead." There will also be some wildly entertaining animated films to round out the program.
DAY OF THE DEAD SPECIAL PROGRAM: Nov. 1, 6:00 – 8:30pm
A celebration with music and dance featuring artists from Watsonville, including a special dance performance by Esperanza del Valle, songs by local musicians, and short videos made by local filmmakers featuring the intimate process of creating "ofrendas," Spanish for "altars for loved ones."
LIVE EVENTS: Join in each day at 6pm
Oct. 28 : Live Calaca painting class with Gilroy-based artist Nacho Moya.
Oct. 29 : Day of the Dead Poetry featuring internationally renowned poet Lucha Corpi, local author and poet, Adela Najarro, and Los Escritores del Nuevo Sol / Writers of the New Sun from Sacramento. Event hosted by Adela Najarro and Shirley Flores-Munoz, Cabrillo College instructors and Pajaro Valley Arts.
Oct. 30: Mi Casa Es Tu Casa Panel - Conversations about the annual Day of the Dead Exhibition will be presented by Pajaro Valley Arts. Also, the short film “Common Ground” will be shown which documents the multicultural ways of honoring ancestors and the dearly departed. Guests include Carmina Eliason, and artists Lucien Kubo and Judy Stabile.
Oct 31: Panel with Esperanza del Valle - Celebrating their 40th Anniversary, Director Janet Johns and dancers presents their own original choreo-drama “Macaria” and reflect on their own trajectories of celebrating dance and culture in Watsonville.
TUTORIALS / WORKSHOPS: Watch anytime starting Oct. 28
Artists from Arts Council Santa Cruz County’s Mariposa Arts will demonstrate how to make paper flowers and mini-skeleton piñatas, do face painting for the occasion and write "calaveritas," short Day of the Dead poems in Spanish.
ART ACTIVITY AND COLORING BOOK: A 28-page bilingual book published by the Watsonville Film Festival, with support from Pajaro Valley Arts, is available as a fundraiser. It features original artwork by ten local artists: Trinidad Castro, Kathleen Crocetti, Paul De Worken, Juan Fuentes, Ome Garcia, Rosa Hernández, Nessa Ledesma, Cindy Nalleli Rodríguez, Augie WK & Gerardo Zambrano. People can obtain a copy of this beautiful book as well as gift one to a farmworker family, while supporting the Watsonville Film Festival! Details at watsonvillefilmfest.org/amigos
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: WFF is inviting the community to take pictures of their home ofrendas, their Day of the Dead face paint, their Calaca, Catrina or Catrin outfits and send them to the WFF Team by October 26. They will be shared during the November 1st special event for all to enjoy. Please email them to joanne@watsonvillefilmfest.org
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Dear Engaged Community
By SHEILA CARRILLO
I just signed this petition created by the Democratic Socialists of America Alternative Emergency Response Group. It calls for removing police from non-threatening emergency response calls which make up the vast majority of 911calls.
These are the opening paragraphs to the petition and reading further will reveal how this model can serve us here in Santa Cruz County. I encourage you to read, sign, and spread the word. Every name that is added builds momentum around the campaign and makes it more likely for us to get the change we want to see.
We, the undersigned, are requesting a 24/7 alternative emergency response program be established countywide in Santa Cruz. This program will consist of mobile crisis response vans staffed by a medical professional and a crisis counselor, dispatched through 911, modeled after the Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (CAHOOTS) program operating in Springfield and Eugene, Oregon. Established in 1989 in Eugene, Oregon, CAHOOTS serves as a community-based public safety system providing first response to nonviolent crises.
CAHOOTS mobilizes two-person teams--a medic (a nurse, paramedic, or EMT) and a crisis counselor trained and experienced in the mental health field--to respond to non-violent mental health and social service-related crisis calls, including those related to houselessness, substance abuse, suicide prevention, and interpersonal conflicts. CAHOOTS teams are unarmed and provide services such as crisis de-escalation, medical evaluation and non-emergency treatment, conflict mediation, welfare checks, and transportation to other services, all at no cost to clients. CAHOOTS has also partnered with a local food bank to serve as a mobile pantry.
Click here to sign this petition.
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"A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything."
Malcolm X
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Sarah's County Covid-19 Report
By SARAH RINGLER
The Santa Cruz County Health Department regularly releases data on the current status of Covid-19 in the county. As of Oct. 22, there were 2,753 cases that tested positive, a 5% increase from Oct. 15. Twenty-five people have died, a 9% increase from last Thursday.
We are still in the Red Tier which allows personal care services, restaurants, places of worship, movie theaters, fitness centers, and museums to open indoors with modifications that protect the health and safety of staff and the public. For more information on the tiers, go here.
Data remains stable. The county's Effective Reproductive Number continues to slowly decline. Numbers above one shows the spread of the virus is increasing. Below one means the spread is decreasing. See chart below.
To get tested without a doctor’s request, call 1-888-634-1123 or go online at https://lhi.care/covidtesting. The testing clinic is at at Ramsay Park in Watsonville. Other testing sites that may have restricted access can be found here.
To visit the website for the Santa Cruz County Health Department:
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Known cases tested positive by age/% of population:
19 and under - 17%/25%
20-34 - 31%/22%
35-44 - 16%/12%
45-64 - 26%/27%
65 or older - 10%/15%
Tested positive by ethnicity/% of population:
Multi-Race - 1%/3%
White - 18%/58%
Latinx - 63%/34%
Black - .5%/1%
Asian - 2%/4%
Other - 3%/.4%
Unknown - 14%
Tested positive by gender/% of population:
Female - 53%/50%
Male - 47%/50%
Other - 0%
Unknown - 0%
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Weekly increases in positive tests:
June 12-19 - 7%
June 19-26 - 23%
June 26 to July 3 - 22%
July 3-9 - 23%
July 9-16 - 40%
July 16-23 - 20%
July 23-30 - 27%
July 30-Aug. 6 - 13%
Aug. 6-13- 12%
Aug.14-20 - 16%
Aug.20-28 - 10%
Aug. 28-Sept. 3 - 10%
Sept. 3-10 - 6%
Sept. 10-17- 8%
Sept. 17-24 - 7%
Sept. 25- Oct.1 - 5%
Oct. 1 - 9 - 4%
Oct. 9-15 - 4%
Oct. 15-22 - 5%
Tested positive by region/% of population:
Mid-county - 18%/12%
North county - 17%/60%
South county - 63%/29%
Under investigation - 3%
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YOUR STORY OR ART HERE: Please submit a story that you think would be of interest to the people of Santa Cruz County. Try and keep the word count to around 400. Also, there should be suggested actions if possible. Submit to coluyaki@gmail.com
If you are enjoying the Serf City Times, forward it on to others. We need readers, artists, photographers and writers.
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Welcome to Serf City Times. Over time, our county has grown more stratified and divided with many people feeling left out. Housing affordability, racism and low wages are the most obvious factors. However, many groups and individuals in Santa Cruz County work tirelessly to make our county a better place for everyone. These people work on the environment, housing, economic justice, criminal justice, disability rights, immigrant rights, racial justice, transportation, workers’ rights, education reform, gender issues, equity issues, electoral politics and more. Often, one group doesn’t know what another is doing. The Serf City Times is dedicated to serving as a clearinghouse for those issues by letting you know what is going on, what actions you can take and how you can support these groups.This is a self-funded enterprise and all work is volunteer.
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