Story Archives 2000

by Marlon Crump/PNN

"What do we want?"

"JUSTICE!"

"Who do we want it for?"

"Poor mamas struggling!"

"With?"

"When do we want it?"

"NOW!"

Outcries led by "Tiny" Lisa Gray-Garcia, single mothers advocate against court-corruption ,co-founder of POOR Magazine/POOR News Network; and myself as a re-porter/supporter and "Revolutionary Legal Scholar" at last year's Justice Fo Da Mamaz Day Rally, in front of the San Francisco Superior Courthouse.

Over a year (and many a mother’s tears later) the voices of "Silenced Mamas" continue to echo from their grieving hearts. These voices were due to their unwitting induction into a carnival courtroom, comprised of callous child custody abduction.

Their voices continue to target a certain "judge" who is in the center of that corruption: San Francisco Family Law Commissioner/Judge Marjorie A. Slabach!

"No matter what your son tells you, you are NOT to report anything to any city agencies. C.P.S (Child Protective Services) and no one!!"

Judge Marjorie Slabach's reported expletive address to single mom, Aminah Owens.

We’re not just members of the bar

Here in Familawt,

Familawt

We’re connoisseurs of the bizarre!

Best interests of the children is our watchword

We frown upon disparagement and blame

In short there is simply not, a more congenial spot

For ending your relationship than here in Fam-i-lawt

Familawt.

Familawt…

(Caricature performance of "Camelot" featuring numerous judges, including Slabach from various counties, participating in their mocking to the very law that they preside over, titled “Familawt”) home.earthlink.net/~elnunes/ camelot.htm

"It’s gotten to a point where I fear even walking into her courtroom, because she will always be biased against me." Kim stated to me.

Like so many Kim Swans, June Strohlins, (a.k.a Jewnbug) Sandra Thomsens, and possibly countless others before and/or after them, there is yet to be any swift accountability for Slabach's abuse, surrounding her atrocious judicial dictatorship regarding child dependency cases.

Despite the efforts by POOR, myself as re-porting-su-pporting Revolutionary Legal Scholar, and even with the efforts by fellow comrade/victim of Slabach, June Strohlin a.k.a Jewnbug, this "judge" continues to reign ruthlessly supreme over single moms, predominately those prone to poverty.

Is the California Commission on Judicial Performance really that oblivious, ignorant, or even the least bit concerned of Slabach's unethical judicial misconduct?

A recent inductee was Jana Farrell, a single mother of an eleven-year old son. Miss Farrell arrived in the U.S from St. Petersburg, Russia in 1994, without any knowledge of English. In spite of that, she still wanted to contribute to this country’s work force. Jana worked one year in her current career in real estate, at Pacific Union and at Coldwell Banker for nearly three years.

In her native country, Jana earned a bachelor’s degree in Economic and Management from St. Petersburg’s University of Economics and Management, graduating with high honors. Her path of finding a job began with her enrollment at Heald Business College, where she received a science degree in accounting.

After Jana's embrace of the United States as her second home, she attended Golden Gate University for a year and a half. While enrolled at Golden Gate, she took English as a second language program. Along the way, she met wonderful people teachers, and got married.

The marriage, however, became a failure, stating,
“It was due to his violent abuse towards me.” In 2006, Jana sought custody of their son in court.

"My ex-husband's lawyer would often submit an application for these types of motion hearings (ex-parte) and Judge Slabach would continuously grant these motions, sometimes even twice in one week without question. These motions also required me to appear at 8:45 a.m, and this conflicted with my work schedules." Jana explained.

Jana is one of the masses of young women who are victims of these rights-robbing motions. As I mentioned in the previous "Silenced Mamas" article, these "motions" attack a person's 5th and 14th Amendment of the U.S Constitution's Right to Due Process of law, because there is no advanced notice to the other party, from the moving side.

"I cannot agree more. As a matter of fact, those ex parte motions were leading me to a bankruptcy, loss of my job and other hardship. I'm not mentioning the toll all this will take on my son in the future." Jana explained, in response to an online petition that I personally implemented to ultimately have Judge Slabach removed from the bench.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/mothersagainstslabach?e

Consequently, Slabach is somehow allowed immunity to grant these "motions" without impunity and scrutiny. She might as well have said to Jana Farrell farewell to her parental, civil, and constitutional rights as a single mother.

Aminah Owens, single mom of two children, a daughter 15 and a son 4 ½ yrs of age has felt the wicked wrath of Slabach, just this past year. Aminah is a fulltime psychology major at San Francisco City College, and she is also a certified phlebotomist. (A trained medical lab tech that draws blood from patients)

A temporary restraining order was filed by her, due to the violence administered by the son’s father in December of 2008. Aminah says that he attacked her in front of their son, after he delivered him to her in a drunken manner, during a modified visitation court order.

When she questioned him as to why he was appearing to her in such a matter, he immediately became combative, and attacked her. Aminah called the police. On January of 2009 (this year), Aminah went before Slabach as a self-represented party and accompanied only with her aunt.

The son’s father was accompanied alongside of his family members, and his attorney. According to her, his goal was to discredit her character and remove her rights as a single mom.

“They gave false testimonies and accusations about me.” Aminah says. “My son's dad lied to her and said that I was on crack and that he witnessed a drug sale while exchanging my son at my house one day....`I have no felony convictions for drugs nor do I DO drugs...but since the dad has convinced her corrupt and demonic self to make it the subject that I drug test.

The probation dept. won't even drug test why????Cause I don't have a history of using drugs. Now they want me to take a psych-evaluation....why??/? Cause the father’s attorney has convinced her that I am crazy.” I have a Medical Assist. Certified and injection nurse card. I am an EKG tech. (a medical tech trained in electrical heart activity) and a certified phlebotomist.”

Aminah has significant accreditations, attempted to provide numerous documentations and medical reports (viewing them myself) to the court in support of her claims. Even S.F.P.D Officers were willing to testify on Aminah's behalf, but unfortunately that wasn’t enough for Slabach to render a fair just ruling. Aminah categorizes how Slabach made her feel:

.Helpless

.Abused

.Tormented

.Fearful

.Stressed

.Violated

(Among other Slabach spirit-shattering tactics)

The end result for Aminah’s case was in favor for the son’s father, and not her. Unfortunately, this was not going to be the last time she would encounter Slabach.

On April 16th, 2009 of this year, Aminah was scheduled to have a hearing regarding an Emergency Protective Order matter. Three days leading up to the hearing, an incident took place at her home where she says that her son’s father attempted to pull their son away from her, and the 4 ½ yr old sustained some bruising as a result.

Aminah felt that it was urgent to file this protective order hearing, A.S.A.P. This “hearing” was pretty bizarre, due to the fact that there was no court reporter present to document it, as a matter of public record and record the hearing.

According to Aminah, "Slabach approached me, not even in her black robe, and was wearing street attire. She nearly got nose-to-nose to me, with only the small (knee high) wooden doors separating us. She started yelling to me that no matter what your son tells you, you are NOT to report anything to any city agencies. C.P.S (Child Protective Services) and no one!!"

As Aminah looked at her in astonishment, Slabach threatened to hold her in contempt if she didn't comply; although I personally don't see how this was genuine when everything appeared to be a verbal, not an official ruling without it being a documented hearing of public knowledge.

After the alleged "ruling" Slabach subtracted her visitation days. In a report by Rally's Visitation Services (seeing it with my own eyes) Aminah's son stated in a paragraph how uncomfortable he was with his father.

Yet somehow he remains in his custody?

In a followup story regarding Kim Swan, a.k.a Queenandi, single mom, and fellow comrade of mine at POOR, Slabach criticized her for "going on protests" and "writing articles" during a modification visitation hearing late last year, that involved her, and her daughter's father.

Kim's attorney was so livid with Slabach's unethical behavior towards her, that he responded that he was going on the record that he intended to "go over her head."

"What does it mean when you hath a right to be heard, when no one wants to hear you?"

Mumia Abu-Jamal, "Jailhouse Lawyers."

"Now why dost thou cry out aloud? [is there] no king in thee? Is thy counselor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail."

Micah 4:9,10

by Staff Writer

by Chris Barrett

People are dying to make towels. 45 workers were killed last week in Narsingdi, Bangladesh in the latest catstrophe involving a garment factory. 10 children were among the dead in a fire sparked from an electrical short at the Sagar Chowdury Garment Factory in an Industrial Area near the capital of Dhaka. 900 workers were on duty making towels and the situation could have been far worse considering the state of the building. Obserevers claim that the collapsible gates of the building were locked, as they were routinely, and had to be broken down by local people and firefighters. (From a report by The Bagladesh Observer, Dhaka ,Sunday November 26,2000) No number of death has been attributed to stampede, but it is assumed that many were trampled trying to escape.

This latest and worst incident of the year comes scant months after workers rallied to protest dangerous conditions following a similar fire in August that killed 12. A one-day strike was carried out by the National Garment Workers Federation in Bangladesh on September 4th to demand better working conditions improved safety measures and compensation for the families of the dead.

Over 150 garment workers, mostly women and children, have died in fires in the last 10 years in the Dhaka region. Many of these fires take places in factories where workers live in the building that houses the factory and warehouse. The 12 that died in august had no means of escape. They were on the third floor and the only staircase was out was blocked off.

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh. If you visit the government website you will find out that the city has a history as a "Centre for fine silk and muslin". It's current standing in the garment industry is as a new player. It's economic standing as a Least Developed Country means that it must produce garments at the cheapest possible prices in order to compete with other developing countries. It competes with such third wave Asian economies as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Vietnam to undercut garment producing exports that face higher

MFA (The Multi Fibre Agreement is a set of quotas introduced by importing countries to protect their own garment industries and give them time to adapt to the racing pulse of globalisation) regulations in Indonesia and Thailand. The MFA tends to benefit retailers who search out new developing countries to exploit. Factories in Bangladesh have a competitive advantage only by being the cheapest.

Women are disproportionately represented in the garment labour forces in these LCD's. A recent research study conducted found that workers in a factory in Bangladesh earned half a percent of the sale price of Nike jackets they were sewing. The same study found that garment workers in Bangladesh could hope to earn about 3% of the hourly wage of garment workers in the U.S. The study was conducted by the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development.

Factory conditions are deplorable in Bangladesh. The three tier factories that support living areas for workers are there to mandate longer hours. They increase exposure to toxic chemicals used in the factories. Most factories have one exit and no emergency exits. The exit was locked in the latest fire and the results were tragic.

The situation seems dire considering the need women have for these jobs. The families that these women support surely benefit with better medical care, education and housing accesible with money from outside the country. The women themselves don't see these benefits as they are offset by the health hazards, debilitating working conditions and imminent deaths promised in the factories. Local efforts by garment workers need to be supported through import country efforts to hold exporters and retailers accountable. Media attention is necessary as are efforts to publicize retailer histories of the clothing they sell. The Clean Clothes Campaign at www.cleanclothes.org is a good source of information on current issues

It is difficult to find mention of these fires in U.S. news sources. The New York Times had a three line mention the following day in their ghettoized world news section. Worker attempts to generate interest, like the August protest are ignored by the mainstream media, though they are the best hope for changing working conditions in the region. Sweatshop news from the U.S is also underreported. Articles on globalisation tend to have a top to bottom bias focusing largely on a monolithic US economy with its day to day health as primary focus. Stock Prices of retailers are highly reported. Labor issues in the United States are marginalized to a large degree and tend to find only local coverage, if that. Preventable tragedies among communities of women in Bangladesh are not newsworthy aspects of the world economy.

by Connie Lu/PNN Youth in the Media

Deep within the monsoon rainforest of China, lives a
young boy named Shiao Hu, meaning little tiger, and
his parents in the midst of dense and lush trees and
vegetation entangled with webs of vines climbing up
and hanging off every branch and limb. The sweet
fragrance of exotic flowers permeate through the air,
as their aroma is released by the sweltering heat of
humidity. The sun’s powerful rays are barely able to
penetrate the thick foliage of the rainforest, making
it dark and mysterious as sounds of wild animals echo
from every direction.

Shiao Hu hears the cries of prey being captured. His
heart begins beating faster and harder against his
chest, almost dropping the wood he had gathered for
fire. When suddenly he hears a rustling from behind.
His head slowly turns in fear of it being a hungry
tiger, as his frail body paralyzes with terror.
Then from behind a tree, a small kitten leaps out in
front of Shiao Hu, who took a deep breath of relief as
the kitten greets him with a tiny "meow". The kitten
was white with orange stripes and had white paws with
tiny pink pads under each toe. She was wet, cold,
shaking, scared, and hungry. Shiao Hu named her Mimi
and took her home with him even though his parents
would be against it because they barely had enough
food to feed themselves, let alone a cat. Sure
enough, his parents firmly deny him the permission to
keep the cat. But eventually, they give in to Shiao
Hu’s persistent persuasion of having a cat to catch
the mice that infested the little amount of food they
had.

Shiao Hu took Mimi everywhere he went and nurtured
her with care, as they grew closer to each other as
friends. One day, Shiao Hu decides to buy a simple
painting brush and a small bottle of ink because he
has always wanted to try to paint, but could never
afford the supplies until he was finally able to save
up enough money. He eagerly lays out the paper and
soaks the brush in water to soften the bristles before
gently dipping the brush into the black ink.
He paints a few strokes, but to his disappointment
they turn out nothing like the beautiful bamboo leaves
he envisioned in his mind. Mimi looks on while
sitting on the table. She gently nudges Shiao Hu with
her soft forehead on his cheek to reassure and
encourage him. Then, she walks towards the bottle of
ink and dips her tail with just enough ink. Shiao Hu
is confused but observes with curiosity and amazement,
as Mimi begins to paint with smooth and steady
strokes. Mimi finishes with the last drop of ink to
complete the painting of the fish.

Then to his surprise, the fish begins to move on the
paper and come to life, as it jumps off the paper onto
the table. Shiao Hu is in utter disbelief and shock.
But at the same time, he is filled with joy as he
holds Mimi tightly in his arms because this was the
first time he didn’t have to worry about having enough
to eat.

However, people began finding out about Mimi’s
painting powers somehow, including the Emperor who
sends his soldiers out to bring Shiao Hu and Mimi to
his palace. The Emperor commands Mimi to paint gold
coins and expensive gems. She obeyed his demands, but
the painting did not come to life like the fish. The
lifeless painting infuriates the Emperor, who
wrongfully accuses Shaio Hu of fabrication. The
Emperor felt embarrassed that a mere cat brought shame
to his pride. So out of anger and vengeance, he
sentenced Shiao Hu to the death penalty.
However, Mimi proposes a deal with the Emperor. She
asks the Emperor to spare Shiao Hu and to take her
life instead. The Emperor is not satisfied and
demands once again for Mimi to bring a painting of
gold coins to life. But this time, the Emperor
threatened the lives of both Shiao Hu and his parents
if the painting failed to transform. Mimi agrees to
his terms and begins painting. When the painting is
complete, the table is covered with so many gold coins
and precious jewels that they are falling to the
ground.

The Emperor then spitefully orders for Mimi to be
sentenced to death, as he begins counting his money
with greed. But as soon as Mimi is killed, the gold
coins begin to disappear despite the Emperor’s attempt
to tenaciously hold onto them. While the Emperor was
distracted by his loss, Shiao Hu quickly escapes
without being noticed.

Shiao Hu returns home safely but is filled with grief
for his friend Mimi, who sacrificed her life for him.
He tries to find relief from the pain in his heart by
making another attempt to paint. This time, his hand
felt steady as the ink flowed onto the paper from the
brush. When he finished, there was a sweet bowl of
fruit on top of the painting he had just completed
because it had come to life!

Shiao Hu knew that Mimi was with him in his heart,
even though she wasn’t there physically. But she will
be remembered through the living paintings that
provide the daily needs of Shiao Hu and his parents.

by Dale Ray Smith and Tony Robles/PNN

The ancestral winds blow us across oceans and onto streets; the trees shed their leaves and return with the coming of the seasons. How many ancestors have the trees seen? How many times have we walked past the trees without looking, without honoring their presence? People appear and disappear, come and go in and out of our lives. I hear my father’s voice in the bamboo forests of Hawaii saying, life isn’t promised, we are all on our journey. Each person in our life serves a purpose, each with his or her unique heartbeat and way of laughing; each with a gift that is given to be given and given again in the cycle which is life.

I remember the day I met Mary Ann Smith. Her father Dale Ray saw me at the coffee shop on the corner of 6th and Market little more than a month ago. We greeted with a hug. “Hey, come outside for a minute” he said, “I want you to meet my daughter”. We walked over to the front of Jack’s Bar, that great place recently shut down due to gentrification. Mary Ann was with a group of friends in front of that closed down, boarded up bar. I could still hear the music and the lights inside Jack’s--black faces and black voices swirling with lights of all colors—men in slacks and women in thick makeup and the bathroom door with its loose hinges. Jack’s was my church and many people’s church. I know Mary Ann heard that music and felt the life of that place. Now it was boarded up and she was outside with the trees.

“This is my girl” Dale Ray said. Dale Ray hugged his daughter and said things that daddy’s say to their little girls, even when the girls aren’t little anymore. They hugged a hug that lasted a lifetime, a hug that said all the things that went unsaid through the seasons. Things like “Baby girl, I’m sorry for the times I wasn’t there but I’m here now”. Mary Ann took her father’s hand then let go. “I’m tired daddy”, she said, “I’m tired”. I watched and the trees watched as father and daughter embraced. Slowly the leaves of houselessness, gentrification, substance abuse, the death of her mother, the death of her boyfriend, foster homes, lost leases and many other things fell from the trees and onto the street. “It’s ok now”, Dale Ray says to the woman who is, was, will always be his little girl. Mary Ann looks at her daddy, the loneliness and anxiety between them melting in each other’s arms but knowing that it comes back like weeds—it’s hard, very hard to make it go away.

That was the only time I met Mary Ann Smith—poverty scholar and daughter of POOR Magazine’s author Dale Ray Smith. He informed me of Mary Ann’s death a few days ago. She passed away on January 3rd at the age of 36, a poverty scholar and native of San Francisco. “She was in and out of foster homes during my addiction”, says Dale Ray. “Her number one priority was getting back into her kid’s life. She was mother to Sharonda, Laron and Shalonte. Dale Ray’s voice cannot cover his sadness. “She was a beautiful person with a good heart. She would give you her last dime”. Mary Ann lost her mother to a car accident 5 years ago. Her sister Carmen remembers. “She drank but not heavy until her mom passed”.

I walk past Jack’s on 6th street. I see the trees dance to the voices of those whose spirits sing in the Market Street wind. Mary Ann Smith’s voice sings and is not forgotten. Her voice sings with her mother who are finally reunited singing the sweet mother-daughter song that was meant to be sung without pain as the trees dance the ancestral dance honoring their lives.

Editor’s note: POOR Magazine is asking the community to help the Smith family at this time. Contributions can be made by Contacting Tiny at (510)435-7500

by Staff Writer

I like Mike, still do. Truth be told, I didn’t buy the later albums and I only watched the Thriller video once or twice. To me, Michael was at his best when he was singing with his brothers. I loved the way Michael and Jermaine switched lead roles and the way the Jackson Five moved across our black and white TV set and living room floor. How could he move like that, such a young boy?

He seemed more than human, super-talented, in command. Of course he owed a debt to the singers that came before: James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Billy Stewart and others. Of course there’s the debt to Berry Gordy for signing him and his brothers to Motown but let’s not forget the secretary at Motown who kept bugging Mr. Gordy to give the group a shot, a listen. To me, Michael was the young kid at the forefront of the Jackson Five, wearing those cool hats and singing with a range and emotion beyond his years.

I talked to one of my coworkers, a musician. We debated which song was Michael’s best. We pondered the songs in our minds—too many to remember—too many great albums. I said, “Got to be there” and “Never can say goodbye”. He shook his head in agreement. A few minutes later he said, “What about Working Day and Night” from the “Off the Wall” album. The debate goes on, as we work day and night.

To me, “Thriller” was both Michael’s biggest success and biggest downfall. The best selling album of all time. How do you top that? He tried. The songs crossed over radio formats, songs like “Beat it”. I remember a radio DJ announcing the song, not mentioning Michael but proclaiming “That was Eddie Van Halen on guitar”.

It’s hard to stay on top. Michael did it for nearly 4 decades. To call him the king of pop is an insult. Somehow, genius doesn’t quite apply either. But for all his success, he had insecurities, fears, doubts—just like the rest of us—perhaps even more so. I like to think of Michael as a soul singer, a great soul singer. Is there more to it than that?

The media has been very disrespectful in its coverage of Michael. The media has made millions off Michael in life, and continues to thrive after his death. The drug allegations, the vilification of father Joe Jackson, his finances and the child molestation allegations have been the subject of talk shows while hosts have shown little compassion or empathy to the Jackson family. But, like millions, I sit and watch as these half-talents spew their disrespect through the clogged up cables reaching into millions of homes sponsored by companies whose products clog our arteries as well as our minds.

The man was the best in the world at his profession for nearly 40 years. Do you know anybody personally that is or was the best in the world at anything for 10 years, 10 minutes, 10 seconds? Tell me, do you?

by Staff Writer

Mamaz, Micro-Business People, Artists, Muralists, Myth-Makers, DJ's, Poets, Musicians and (Low-cost) Migration Attorneys will all be at the Mercado de Cambio/Po Sto' Community Art Market and Knowledge Exchange!

We will have art, jewelry-making,social justice wrapping paper lessons for children and adults , Po' Poets, Poverty, Race, Disability, Indigenous and Migrant Skolaz presenting all day long as well as the Amzing Akademik Skolah in Residence, Jose Cuellar, with a preview of the PeoplesKool Winter Semester offering- Please come and Support us with your PalaBraz/WORDZ, EDD/SSI checks/SALARIES and/or Trust Funds!

by Barbara Huntley-Smith

Writing the words and preparing Graphics for the Posters we would take to the protest planned for the National Association of Broadcasters to be held at the Mascone Exhibition Center, was a once in a life-time learning experience for me. Having some perception of the importance for the industry of Micro Media to remain a vital thriving source for disseminating the concerns of the voiceless; I would on September 21, 2000, experienced first-hand the reality of Poor’s “Mission Statement.” “Low income people never get heard in the mainstream media.”

With signs in hand, The Poor News Media Contingent left the office hyped for our morning of protest. We boarded the Mission Street Bus and we were off. Our Instructor and Mentor Lisa, had briefed us on the morning’s activities prior to this day, but took us through an impromptu rehearsal. As the bus raced us to our destination, anticipation rose within me. Here I was going to be part of a National event. The implications are staggering in that, until two months ago I was Anonymous. Arriving at our destination before exiting the bus, the performers from Los Cybrids, Members for the Billionaires for Bush and Gore, the people with whom we would join forces were crossing the street. Together we began the theme of the morning’s action, as the Performers took Anna’s slogan for their theme: “National Association of Brainwashing.”

The skits were effective, and all of Poor’s News crew were given access to vent their venom against the NAB. The Presence of Micro Media was outstanding. I was interviewed by two Micro Media organizations, and one of the NAB’s affiliate, the Chronicle.

At the end of the protest our Dynamic Co-Director of Poor would push the envelop. Marshaling her news crew she invaded the eminent domain of the exhibition auditorium of the NAB, our assignment, “get registered.“

As the crew marched behind our Fearless Leader we were given instructions where to obtain the registration identification. After several attempts we were there. As we waited in line, it was brought to my attention that the Poor group was being monitored. Important-looking employees were huddled together trying to determine how to eliminate us from receiving a Pass. As that scene was in progress, Anna was given an assignment to take photographs of any important scenes. One of San Francisco’s Finest would be her Subject. This imposing looking African-American Policeman got irate at having his picture taken. He then began to throw the weight of his office, while trying to intimidate Anna by calling for his supervisor. At that curtail moment, in stepped Civil Rights Attorney and Advocate Martha Bridegam to the rescue. She effectively countered the Police officer’s argument and in the end had him apologizing, and inferring that it was all a misunderstanding. While this drama was unfolding, our Dynamic Leader was embroiled in a process I will call:

“put up or shut up!”

She was forced to prove the validity of Poor Newsnetwork on Line for the NAB Brasses. It was the best piece of irony for one of our news crew, our beloved “Joe.” Very particular person about anonymity, it was his face that was printed off the Internet....Gotcha!...Gotcha! Amid all this action, it was obvious there was a stall for time. Minutes later we would learn the purpose of the stall was to enable the Keynote speaker Colin Powell to deliver his address without interruption. The perception was, since we were demonstrating, we had ulterior motives, which they have decided would be malicious. When it was announced that Mr. Powell’s speech was concluded, the secretary worked tirelessly to get us out of their sight.
One obvious observation I made inside the auditorium was, the absence of “people of color” as viable representative. What was obvious was the presence of African-Americans, manning the service posts. I wonder, could that obvious display be due to the fact that the keynote speaker was a man of color?

I walked away from the Moscone Convention Center with a new admiration for the news media with whom I am affiliated. I am more convinced than before of the need for Community News media, and the importance of it remaining a vibrant, thriving part of the lives of the voiceless.