5 things Friday
A first for SF, how easy it is to actually rename a school, and the Thanksgiving prep you actually need to be doing. Here are your antiracism action steps for November 5.
It's Friday, and we are feeling newsy. Not as in another hot take on why the elections went the way they did (hint: running on policy you won't enact isn't gonna make people flock to the polls to support your party) but some, brighter, look-what-happens-when you-make-some-noise-news.
Here are your 5 Things.
KNOW THIS. Or in Chesa Boudin's case, look what happens when you ignore all folks trying to take you down and instead just do the thing. Boudin, San Francisco's progressive District Attorney announced earlier this week that he has filed homicide charges against former police officer Christopher Samayoa for the 2017 shooting of 42-year-old Keita O’Neil. Boudin’s decision to charge the former SFPD officer marks the first time in the city’s history that a district attorney has brought homicide charges against an officer. Read that again: THE FIRST TIME.
AND THIS. After implying they weren't really gonna budge on a name change, the board of directors at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law voted unanimously to rename the school after the NYT piece dropped (did you do your 5 Things last week???) outlining the heinous crimes of Serranus Hastings, the law school’s founder, who masterminded a Gold Rush-era slaughter of Yuki men, women and children in and around his Mendocino County horse and cattle ranch 160 years ago. About time, and gooooooo journalism!
GO TO THIS. However you slice it, the fear of Critical Race Theory (and, let's face it...simply talking and educating honestly about racism) played a part in Republican Glenn Youngkin's win in the Virginia governor race. The debate isn't going anywhere anytime soon, so we suggest taking this 90 minute op-ed training for parents who support schools offering a truly antiracist education and dismantling the whitewashed version of American history and culture that they were taught. The November 10 workshop is co-led and sponsored by SURJ, the Women’s March, Narrative Initiative, NYU Metro Center, and 22nd Century Initiative and is aimed at parents and caregivers who want to contest the right-wing narrative by voicing why they want their children to learn the truth about racism and inequality. Participants will learn how to write a compelling op-ed to influence local decision-makers and the public narrative. Sign up here!
CHECK THIS OUT. As we approach the end of year holidays, many of us will have the opportunity to engage our families and loved ones in conversations about race. The Indigenous Solidarity Network has developed a toolkit geared towards white folks to help discuss Thanksgiving with family, friends, and broader community. This toolkit offers incredible depth for understanding a wide variety of topics, including: The history of the Thanksgiving holiday; The land we all occupy; Natural resource extraction; Family history and lineage; Cultural appropriation; Christianity’s impact on Indigenous peoples; Taking action for land reparations and Indigenous sovereignty. Download the free toolkit right here!
LISTEN TO THIS. There is undoubtably no one quite like San Francisco’s Yeva Johnson, “a Black American Jewish queer Lesbian feminist pacifist Unitarian Universalist mother and musician…an emerging poet who works as a family physician by day.” Listen to her story on our latest Storied SF X Rep Co podcast.