January 2015

01/20/2015

Photos by Rick Canfield

As retail giants promote sales and corporate-sponsored Martin Luther King Jr., Day events kick off nationwide, community organizations and social justice groups in San Antonio want to take back King’s dream, urging elected officials and companies to put his vision of equality and basic civil rights into practice through policies that give everyone a fair shot.

Their concerns are echoed nationwide, as activists and community groups call attention to the deep-seated racial injustice the country is still grappling with, most recently amplified by the high-profile killings of unarmed black men Michael Brown and Eric Garner by white police officers.

“I think a lot of times, we have a belief but it comes to putting it into practice, that belief flies out the window,” said Oliver Hill, president of the San Antonio chapter of the NAACP, the country’s oldest black civil rights group, adding that King’s work extends beyond rights for the African American community, but also for anyone who is marginalized and without a voice.

For 25 years, San Antonio has hosted a nearly three-mile long MLK Jr. march to commemorate Dr. King’s life and legacy. For years, the city boasted that the event drew the largest crowd of any march in the country, though recently, organizers have called it one of the largest.

In 2014, city officials estimated that 150,000 to 175,000 people marched — numbers that may sound exceedingly high, but considering San Antonio’s history with civil rights activism and large minority communities, organizers aren’t surprised.

Leading up to the march, San Antonio hosts the 12-day “DreamWeek,” a series of dozens of community and cultural events around town such as lectures, summits and music shows, meant to honor the influence and legacy of the civil rights leader.

“We’ve done this for (25) years,” said Bishop David Copeland, who serves as chairman of the MLK Jr., Commission, the city-county volunteer organization that coordinates the march. “We are a community that knows how to come together at certain moments.”

Community leaders hope, though, that the high attendance is not in vain. While it’s important to celebrate King’s vision on this day every year, Hills wants to make sure companies and participants are doing it for the right reasons rather than a promotional opportunity or “just for show,” he said.

“What have they done for the community?” he reflected. “It just makes me wonder if there isn’t a way that we all collectively ask what we can do to improve conditions for people that are not well off, and then at the same time, ask each company to look within their own and ask what they are doing to ensure that people are able to move up?”

Sponsors run the gamut, from groups like the AFL-CIO and community colleges to H-E-B and Valero. Local social justice groups such as the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center and Southwest Workers Union question the heavy corporate presence at the city’s MLK Day celebrations.

Though Javier Flores with the Commission said marchers line up on a first come, first served basis, Diana Lopez with SWU and Itza Carbajal with Esperanza remember politicians and corporate sponsors leading last year’s march, a detail they see as being counterintuitive to the social justice and grassroots nature of Dr. King’s movement back in the 1950s and 1960s. These are the exact individuals and entities contributing, or not fully addressing, concentrated poverty on San Antonio’s east and west sides and gentrification, to make a few.

A 2014 study by the Martin Prosperity Institute also found that income segregation is highest in San Antonio among other major U.S. metropolitan areas, including New York, Houston and Washington D.C.

“It’s a kick in the face when it comes to really addressing those issues,” Lopez said. “The one day that they talk about honoring civil rights and the work that happened during that time just happens doing those few hours and for the rest of the year it’s being ignored.”

Copeland said the key to fully achieving King’s dream is continued community dialogue. He said the MLK Jr., Commission wants to host other events throughout the year to maintain the conversation, not just about Dr. King’s work and legacy but also about today’s systems and policies that often prioritize money and business before human needs.

“What tends to happen is that people go back to their various silos and they continue to do what is easy for them and make the assumption that just about everybody has the same as they do,” Copeland said. “There are some that come to the march on a bus, assemble and march for 2.5 miles, and get back on the bus and go to work. Whether that solves anything, I’m not sure. It would be my hope that in the future we will have a meaningful discussion about our laws.”

SAN ANTONIO – The Second Baptist Church sports complex hosted a community event Thursday night focusing on community relations with law enforcement. The event was inspired by high-profile incidents across the country as well as some in San Antonio.

“San Antonio is not immune from individuals across this community who are upset with law enforcement officials with the way they handle their jobs,” said James Myart, chief operating officer of Acquiring Leaders of Tomorrow Today, Inc., which helped organize the event. “By and large, police officers are good people, but there are some who routinely and unconstitutionally violate the law and break the civil rights and civil liberties of individuals.”

The group planned to split up into ten different committees focusing on certain issues including police abuse, racial profiling and civil rights and civil liberties.

“It’s an educational effort. It’s a effort to educate young people how to handle police stops, how to not become victims of police abuse,” said Myart.

At the conclusion of the night, each committee planned to come up with three recommendations to take to city and law enforcement leaders, who declined invitations to attend.

“I was under the impression that the San Antonio Police Department was interested in sitting down with the community. I don’t think that’s the case now,” said Myart. “I think they think, ‘We’ll let them make some noise and it’ll go away.’ But we are determined to make this work and to make our voices known.”

San Antonio street musicians R.E.A.L MusIQ are known for rapping with a positive message. They’re taking part in DreamWeek 2015 with a performance during the MLK March on Monday, January 19, and at the DW Freedom party on Tuesday, January 20.

DreamWeek will celebrate diversity through food with the inaugural Taste the Dream Gala on Saturday, January 17 at 6 p.m. inside the Institute of Texan Cultures, 801 E Cesar Chavez. The event will steer away from stuff gala-ness and instead feature food stations manned by local chefs including Johnny Hernandez (La Gloria, True Flavors, The Fruteria, El Machito); David Page (featured on Spike’s Frankenfood for his innovative Vietnamese-Nawlins po’boy); and Charassri Saeng-On of Tong’s Thai.

Other featured eateries include Sweet Yams, Ma Harper’s Creole Kitchen and Chef Don’s Catering. The evening will kick-off with an open bar followed by a free-flowing food stations. Tickets, $100, can be reserved at (210) 248-9178 or by emailing info@sagesanantonio.org.

01/10/2015

Photos by Felisia Isom

DreamWeek 2015, a 12-day summit focused on diversity and an engaging exchange of ideas, kicked off Friday, leading up to one of the nation’s largest marches in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. later this month.

“DreamWeek preparation started with like-minded individuals who felt that the city was ripe for a summit that would encourage organizations and individuals to host events to celebrate diversity, equality and tolerance,” said Shokare Nakpodia, president of DreamWeek.

The third annual DreamWeek began with an opening ceremony breakfast Friday at the Briscoe Museum, featuring Councilman Alan Warrick; Jackie Gorman, San Antonio Growth for the Eastside executive director; and author Carmen Tafolla.

It was just the first of 75 events, presented with more than 60 partners, which will take place in and near downtown through Jan. 20. The events fall under the DreamWeek umbrella of presentations and workshops on health, youth, technology, education and justice.

The summit was the result of a challenge that former Mayor Julián Castro issued to a group of agencies. He asked the groups to create ways to brand San Antonio beyond local tourist sites and spread the word about the city’s long-standing MLK march.

“In honor of what binds us together, not what makes us different,” Castro said of the reason for the summit.

Nakpodia said DreamWeek started in 2013 with more than 40 events and expanded to 60-plus in 2014. This year the number grew to 75 and next year organizers plan to offer 100.

“DreamWeek’s essence is coming to the fore,” he said. “We received overwhelming and incredible support from the community and realized that we have just scratched the surface on what the ultimate DreamWeek potential is.”

The MLK march is Jan. 19. It begins at 10 a.m. in the 3500 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and ends at Pittman-Sullivan Park, 1101 Iowa. Last year’s march drew an estimated 175,000 people.

After a succulent breakfast at the Briscoe Western Art Museum and a few inspirational talks from San Antonio’s finest and prominent Friday morning, the annual 12-day DreamWeek summit is officially underway.

Tables were full and spirits were bright as San Antonio for Growth on the Eastside Executive Director Jackie Gorman gave her opening remarks describing the purpose of DreamWeek as well as various key events during the summit.

The summit includes workshops, speaking engagements, mixers and celebrations to showcase themes in San Antonio that include city, health, environment, sports, cuisine, arts and more. All events have underlying themes to support tolerance, and exchange ideas pertaining to universal issues. DreamWeek does not seek to promote a political agenda. Rather, the idea is centered around having citizens and individuals from all walks of life and political views have a spirited but respectful debate highlighting their varying viewpoints.

Rev. Dr. Robert Jemerson of Second Baptist Church began the ceremony in prayer, and Mavis Washington sang a harrowing version of the National Anthem.

The opening ceremony also included video footage from last year featuring highlights of the summit and attendees from previous years describing the magnitude of DreamWeek, the Martin Luther King, Jr. march, and highlights of events featured on the Eastside and Southside of San Antonio. DreamWeek strives to show attendees and citizens some of the lesser known ‘hot spots’ in San Antonio by featuring many events in those areas.
Attendees at the DreamWeek opening ceremony watch highlights from previous DreamWeek summits. Photo by Jackie Calvert.

Guests of the DreamWeek 2015 opening ceremony watch highlights from previous DreamWeek summits. Photo by Jackie Calvert.

Former and inaugural poet laureate of San Antonio Carmen Tafolla summed the week up beautifully with her introduction.

“I’d like to thank (DreamVoice, LLC President) Shokare Nakpodia for this genius idea to bring together the MLK events into a DreamWeek with a universal reach for everyone in our city and everyone in our world,” she said. “This is one of the most important things that happens in our city. Sometimes we think we have made a lot of progress, sometimes it’s five steps forward, and two steps back. But we have made so much progress, and yet there is much more to be done.”

Tafolla then read a poem specifically written for DreamWeek called “When Humans Dream,” which began by describing the negativity surrounding race and specific types of people being put into categories outright, but ended with the hope that dreamers are still alive and well in our world.

District 2 City Councilmember Alan Warrick’s brief talk highlighted the hope that DreamWeek will bring a better tomorrow to San Antonio moving into 2015. Warrick picked a Dr. Martin Luther King quote to touch on the mentality and horrific events that have unfolded over the last few months – including the terrorist event in Paris.

“I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Warrick concluded his remarks to resounding applause with his own wish.

“My dream is a dream where all the neighborhoods in San Antonio look like the best neighborhoods in San Antonio. Where we don’t have to be afraid to walk our dogs, jog in the park, or have a park in our neighborhoods,” he said. “I wish and dream that we can succeed in these goals and visions.”

Nakpodia concluded the ceremony with a lighthearted, but touching presentation highlighting key events for this year’s DreamWeek.

“DreamWeek is an opportunity to get away from our comfort zone; to get away from the labeling of others. I see so much beauty in each individual,” he said.

For a full list of all the DreamWeek 2015 events, visit dreamweek.org.

*Featured/top image: Attendees break to mingle and socialize during DreamWeek 2015 opening ceremony. Photo by Jackie Calvert.

DreamWeek 2015 kicks off a 12-day summit of diversity and exchange of ideas Friday, leading up to one of the nation’s largest Martin Luther King marches.

The third annual summit begins with an opening ceremony breakfast Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Briscoe Museum. The event features remarks from Jackie Gorman, San Antonio Growth for the Eastside executive director; District 2 Councilman Alan Warrick; and author Carmen Tafolla.

It’s the first of 75 events, presented with more than 60 partners, which will take place in and near downtown through Jan. 20. The events fall under the DreamWeek umbrella of presentations and workshops featuring themes that include health, youth, technology, education and justice.

The summit was the result of a challenge former Mayor Julián Castro issued to a group of agencies. He asked the groups to create ways to brand San Antonio beyond local tourist sites and spread the word about the city’s longstanding MLK march.

DreamVoice president Shokare Nakpodia said DreamWeek was developed to promote an exchange of ideas on universal issues facing multi-cultural communities.

“DreamWeek preparation started with like-minded individuals who felt that the city was ripe for a summit that would encourage organizations and individuals to host events to celebrate diversity, equality and tolerance,” Nakpodia said.

He said DreamWeek started three years ago with more than 40 events and expanded to plus 60 in 2014. This year the number grew to 75 and next year they plan to offer 100 events.

“DreamWeek’s essence is coming to the fore,” he said. “We received overwhelming and incredible support from the community and realized that we have just scratched the surface on what the ultimate DreamWeek potential is.”

These are just some of the events scheduled for the 12-day celebration:

Jan. 9

2015 Opening Ceremony: 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Jack Guenther Pavilion at the Briscoe Western Art Museum, 210 W Market St.

San Antonio Museum of Art Dream Party: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 West Jones Ave.

Jan. 10

Please Don’t Silence Domestic Violence – Documentary Fundraiser: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Mana House, 1160 E Commerce St. $5 suggested donation.

Social Action Films, screening documentaries dealing with modern social actions: 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Carver Community Cultural Center, 226 N. Hackberry St. $5 suggested donation.

Jan. 11

Ten Talks: Think. Educate. Network. Expanding the vision of 1005 Faces Narratives from 10 local personalities about their lives, work and experiences: 4:30 p.m. at The Spire, 230 Center St.

Jan. 12

Conversations on Diversity: Round Table Topic Discussions; 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Café Commerce, 600 Soledad St.

Jan. 13

Blue Star Mixer: An Evening with Richard Hunt: Talk by sculptor Richard Hunt; 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Blue Star Complex, 116 Blue Star.

Jan. 15

Luncheon honoring The Wounded Warrior Project: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at The Spire, 230 Center St.

The Police, Our Community & The Future: 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Second Baptist Church Sports Complex, 3310 E Commerce St.

Jan. 16

Round table discussion on Martin Luther King Jr.’s: Presented by the Texas Association of African American Chambers of Commerce; noon to 2 p.m. at Café Commerce, 600 Soledad St.

Jan. 17

San Antonio Growth for the Eastside Taste the Dream Gala: 6 p.m. at the Institute of Texan Cultures, 801 E. Cesar E. Chavez Blvd.

Jan. 18

MLK Commission: Citywide Interfaith Service featuring guest speaker Rabbi Mara Nathan; 4 p.m. at Temple Beth-El, 211 Belknap Pl.

Jan. 19

MLK March: 10 a.m. at 3500 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and ends at Pittman-Sullivan Park, 1101 Iowa.

Jan. 20

DreamWeek Freedom Party: 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at The Southwest School of Art, 300 Augusta St.

vtdavis@express-news.net

Twitter: @vincentdavis

By Elaine Ayala: January 4, 2015

Shokare Nakpodia has posed the question to himself and many others: Why does San Antonio, a city with such a small African-American community, host the nation’s largest Martin Luther King Jr. march, which this year is expected to gather more than 100,000 on Jan. 19 on the city’s East Side?

Many have tried to answer that intriguing question over the years, recalling that black pastors in the 1960s worked diligently to promote the Rev. King’s call for nonviolent protest, fearing what riots, exploding all over the country, would do to race relations in San Antonio and their congregations, in particular.

Others have pointed to King’s major contributions as the reason for the massive march, noting San Antonio’s ability to quell race violence while other U.S. cities could not. But the question has persisted, especially since San Antonians of all creeds, classes and colors magically get together on MLK Day in one of the poorest, highest-crime areas of the city yet are essentially segregated the rest of the year.

“No one could tell me how the march came about,” says Nakpodia, a Nigerian who spent a lot of time in London and New York before making San Antonio home. He says the Alamo City somehow managed to resolve conflicts with far less drama than others did.

“There’s something underneath all this that San Antonio has that no one else does,” he says.

Whatever that is, it encouraged Nakpodia’s dream of DreamWeek, which begins its third year Friday. “DreamWeek was created to celebrate and recognize San Antonio for creating the largest march in the country.”

For 12 days this month, Nakpodia will lead a large coalition of groups and individuals that have signed on to expand the celebration of a federal, state and local MLK holiday from one day to 12. From Jan. 9-20, about 70 events marking King’s dream of equality, diversity and tolerance will come together in sites throughout the city.

DreamWeek has planned no single transformative event. But the underlying goal of every mixer, discussion, film screening or gala under its umbrella is to create a “cerebral SXSW,” Nakpodia says, referring to the nationally recognized music and film festival that invades Austin each spring.

People like Nakpodia dream big.

Festivities begin with a breakfast ceremony at the Briscoe Museum this Friday. It’s one of seven events that day that include the San Antonio Museum of Art’s Dream Wall event, Dream pARTy mixer and sessions on making of Native American dream catchers; the San Antonio Public Library’s kickoff at its Carver Branch; and the San Antonio Ivy Foundation’s evening with scholar, author and activist Cornel West.

Nakpodia is especially looking forward to a Jan. 15 townhall titled “The Police, Our Community and the Future” at Second Baptist Church. Bexar County District Attorney Nicholas “Nico” LaHood will speak. Nakpodia says the discussion will include police, city officials, community leaders, gang members and residents and will address racial profiling, police abuse, police internal affairs procedures and the use of excessive force.

Rather than have such discussions during conflict, Nakpodia says, “it’s best to have an annual exchange where we discuss these things.”

Former Mayor Julián Castro played a role in creating DreamWeek when he challenged several agencies to come up with new ways to brand San Antonio beyond the Alamo and River Walk and tell a national audience about the city’s MLK march. Nakpodia’s The Mighty Group was among those agencies.

2014 was the year of global protests that Nakpodia says began in his home country after Boko Haram gunmen abducted more than 200 girls. The violence prompted a hashtag #BringBackOurGirls that became known the world over. More violence lead to more hashtags, including #BlackLivesMatter, #Ferguson, #MichaelBrown, #EricGarner, #Iguala and #Ayotzinapa.

Perhaps San Antonio can start the new year with a fresh set of more hopeful hashtags, including #MLK, #DreamWeek, #equality, #diversity and #tolerance.

DreamWeek gives us hope before and beyond MLK Day, especially when Nakpodia says the best form of protest is at the polls. Tuesday’s election gives you another chance to be heard. #Vote.

eayala@express-news.net

Twitter: @ElaineAyala