Jacquie Taliaferro
11/11/11
The San Francisco NAACP Annual Gala was held last week honoring the Legacy of the 1961 Freedom Riders, Danny Glover, and The Tuskegee Airmen. Carol Ruth Silver and Claude Albert Liggins received the SF NAACP Freedom Riders' Legacy Award. Actor, producer and humanitarian Danny Glover and Cheryl Dawson, MA, M. Div received the San Francisco NAACP Philanthropist/Activist Award. Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, founded February 22, 1852 and First African Methodist Episcopal Church,
founded August 1, 1852 were given the San Francisco NAACP Founders'
Award. The Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. William "Bill" Campbell San Francisco
Bay Area Chapter was honored with the San Francisco NAACP Presidential
Medal of Freedom Award.
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Honoree Danny Glover has candid moment with Jacquie Taliaferro, SF
NAACP Communications Chair, Former San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown
Jr. and
Dr. Annette Shelton, 3rd Vice President, SF NAACP.
Photo by Carla Thomas Post Newspaper Group
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Civil Rights Activist and political leader, Dr. Leslie B. McLemore was the keynote speaker hailing from Jackson, Mississippi. He and Reverend Dr. Amos Brown,
SFNAACP President, who is also from Mississippi, have been fighting
together for justice for over 60 years. Both Dr. McLemore and Dr. Brown
spoke about the importance of mentorships and the value of picking a
group or a person to start mentoring. Dr. McLemore said, "There are some
very rich and powerful folks in this room. It is time for you to chose a
young person and start mentoring them." Reverend Brown talked about renaming Burnett Child Development Center to Leola M. Havard.
Ms. Havard, who is now retired from the San
Francisco Unified School District, was at the Gala with some current
school district staff. Reverend Brown did some research and found out
Peter Burnett, California's first governor, tried to pass laws keeping
Blacks from entering our state. I wonder how many Black kids that
graduated from the school located in the Hunters' Point Bay View area
are aware of Reverend Brown's findings? When receiving his award, Danny Glover gave homage to his personal heritage recognizing his parents Jimmy and Carrie Glover
who were life-long members of the NAACP. Giving his observations of
recent movements, Glover said the Occupy Wall Street Movement is a
"genuine" revolutionary movement by the people. Danny is truly a global
ambassador for peace and humanity. The
representatives of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc. Chapter were mostly the
sons of the airmen, although one actual pilot was in attendance. All of
the original pilots still living are in their eighties and nineties.
Their legacy is still vibrant as there is the Tuskegee Airmen and Young
Aviators Group, which is headed by David Cunningham, who was in
attendance as well.
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LucasFilm's "Red Tails" salutes Tuskegee Airmen. Coming to a theater near you in January 20, 2012. A must see!
Click image for highlights.
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George Lucas was on hand for the screening of his "Red Tails." Photo by former SF Chronicle Reporter Shelah Moody.
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I
was at a private screening of "Red Tails" held at LucasFilm just two days before the
NAACP Gala. As the film is coming out January 20, 2012,
we must work to ensure that the film's $35 million dollar advertising
budget includes Black owned media companies to do showcases that benefit
Black communities it plays in.
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Jackie Wright & Method Man,
one of the stars of "Red Tails" at private screening at the LucasFilm
Presidio Campus. Photo by former SF Chronicle Reporter Shelah Moody.
"Red Tails" other stars include:Terrence Howard, Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Cuba Gooding Jr. NeYo, Andre Royo, Bryan Cranston,Tristan Wilds. Kudos to Michael D of VIPLineup for filling the house with Bay Area VIP luminaries: Tuskegee
Airmen, Mayor Willie L Brown, Jr., Dr. Brenda Wade, Nicholas Bearde,
Dana King, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre's General Manager Shirley Howard
Johnson, Artistic Director Steven Anthony Jones and on and on and
on...Great Energy & Presence---The former Army base was a great
launch site for "Red Tails" honoring our beloved "Tuskegee Airmen" who
have been annually honored by SF National Coalition of 100 Black Women for years (upcoming Golden Girls Hats & Gloves Tea-March 3, 2012).
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The
recent September 2011 Report from Nielsen that was done in Association
with the National Newspaper Association indicates the Black media and
Black consumerism should not be ignored. The
value and great need for Black media companies were underscored at the
San Francisco NAACP Freedom Fund Gala as not one corporate media
organization was present to report what took place. The positive news
of the San Francisco Bay Area Black community at the Gala both history
and current news were ignored. To the many
people of various cultures and ethnic backgrounds, who were not aware
of the Gala, it is as if it never happened. Some media observers have
indicated that when it comes to representation of people of color, we
have reverted back to the media editorial conditions of the late
sixties. Yes, it's time to change for the better once again. 11/11/11 we salute our veterans. "Thank you all for your part in protecting America." As a sidebar, I'd like to say "Happy Birthday, Dad" who would have been 100 years old today. Also, let's not forget today's Reverend Jesse Jackson's birthday as he celebrates his 70th in Los Angeles. ### SF NAACP GALA PHOTOS BY AUINTARD HENDERSON COMING SOON. |
