Happy Friday! Katie Kim here, bringing you this week's top Race and Culture stories. In honor of Black History Month, I sat down with 10 people in Sacramento to hear about their culture and what it means to be Black to them. Hear what they had to say HERE.
Why is Black History Month celebrated in February?
The roots of Black History Month can be traced back to Sep. 9, 1915. Carter G. Woodson co-founded the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. (ASALH) and worked with the group to promote, research, preserve, interpret and disseminate information about Black life, history and culture to the global community. Before Woodson, there was little to no accurate written history about the experiences of Black people in America.
With the group, Woodson launched Negro History Week, now referred to as Black History Week, to commemorate and celebrate the contributions to the U.S. made by people of African descent. By the mid-1960s, communities started to encourage Black History Week to be extended into a monthlong celebration. Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in Feb. 1976.
Dive deeper into the origins of Black History Month HERE.
The history of the Black Panther Party in Sacramento
The Black Panther Party was a revolutionary organization founded by young political activists Huey P. Newtown and Bobby Seale, who met as students at Merritt College in Oakland in 1961. Originally named The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, the group was founded on Oct. 15, 1966 to protect Black people and their communities from police brutality and oppression.
The Black Panther Party came into the national spotlight on May 2, 1967. Seale led a group of armed Black Panthers into the California State Capitol to protest against The Mulford Act, which prohibited carrying a loaded firearm in public or in a vehicle.
In 1968, Charles Brunson founded the Sacramento chapter of The Black Panthers. He opened the office on 35th Street near McClatchy Park in Oak Park. The Panthers started community programs, such as free breakfasts for school children, had a community newspaper, and even started a Liberation School to teach children Black history. But the office was destroyed on Father's Day in 1969 when law enforcement raided the building.
Today, a nonprofit called Neighbor Program is carrying on the legacy and tradition of African resistance. The Shakur Center hosts community services offered through the program, such as a free health and wellness clinic, a free legal clinic, and community education classes among others (Read more)
The Women of the Black Panther Party
A majority of the Black Panthers were women. They created many of the community-run assistance programs that still exist today, including food co-ops and health clinics.
In Oakland, there's a home dedicated to showing the many moments and stories in Black Panther Party history that have largely been untold. Jilchristina Vest is the founder of the West Oakland Mural Project, an organization and museum she runs from the first floor of her home. When Vest bought her home in West Oakland, it was falling apart. With the help of her community, the same people who started the Black Panther Party in the 1960s, she was able to create a home and a tribute to the women of the Black Panther Party. You can learn more about the museum, as well as the photographer who took the historic photos HERE.
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Other #BHM stories you may have missed...
In education news...
Rock Creek Elementary School in Auburn is set to close by the end of the school year. The Auburn Union School District (AUSD) Board of Trustees made the decision to close the school in a 3-2 vote last month. The reason? Lack of funding, according to school officials.
Of the 276 students at the school, 75% identify as Hispanic and Latino. Claudia Sanchez, a concerned parent, is fighting to keep the school open. She told ABC10 many of the students don't speak English, so it would be challenging for them to adjust to new teachers and build new relationships. Rock Creek students would be sent to the three remaining AUSD schools.
We continued to follow the story. We attended an Auburn school board meeting, where parents and students raised their concerns about the school closing during the public comment period.
Get to know us!
Community-driven storytelling isn't possible without the dedication of all of our ABC10 journalists and staff. That's why in every newsletter, I will introduce different members of our team so you know the amazing faces and names behind our content. Let's meet Mike!
Hello, my name is Mike Bunnell. I'm a producer for ABC10's special projects unit, and have been a part of the Race and Culture team since it launched. The thing I like the most about what I do is having the chance to meet people and do things that I wouldn't have if I'd chosen another career.
I consider myself fortunate to have worked for companies that let me spend time in different parts of the world, like Europe and the Middle East, and across the U.S. I've been privileged to collaborate with, and live vicariously through storytellers from almost every continent. No two places or stories were exactly the same culturally speaking, but the people involved pretty much all had the same hopes and worries.
Those experiences, and everyone I got to know, have helped me keep things in perspective in my own life. It's taught me to listen more and appreciate everything we all have to offer each other, no matter where we’re from.
When I'm not at work, I like to drum, read, and spend time with my family.
What's a Race and Culture story you want to see on your local news? Send your suggestions and feedback to raceandculture@abc10.com.
