About Price And Associates
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Attorney Pamela Y. Price founded Price And Associates in June 1991 with a vision to establish a minority- and woman-owned litigation Firm in Oakland, California. In the 20 years since its inception, the Firm has evolved into a premier civil rights practice with a wealth of experience in federal court litigation.
For more information, visit our website at www.pypesq.com.
To submit a Potential Client Questionnaire, go to Contact Us.
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January 26, 2012
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
of the
San Francisco Bay Area
25th Annual
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Awards Luncheon
Keynote Speaker:
The Hon. Goodwin Liu
Associate Justice,
Supreme Court of California
Westin St. Francis
335 Powell Street
San Francisco
11:00 a.m. Reception
11:45 a.m. Luncheon and Program
For more information:
www.lccr.com/mlk2012
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February 9, 2012
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Freedom Center
Lecture Series
with Dr. Bob Zellner
and Jack O'Dell
Oakland Marriott
7:00 p.m.
For more information
click here:
mlklectureseries
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- Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Welcome!!!
"With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood."
As we enter the new year with optimism, we celebrate the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His life and legacy inspire our daily work and continuing quest for justice - his profound words and insights continue to guide us. He gave his life for our future, before he died and as he died. He and his amazing wife, Coretta Scott King, stood tall and fearless in their commitment to the struggle for all humanity. They gave and gave and gave. It is that spirit of generous compassion that endeared them to the entire world through their lives and even beyond their deaths.
It is fitting that Dr. King is the only American who was not a President to have a memorial on the Capital Mall. The National Memorial is designed to evoke the memory and spiritual presence of Dr. King. It honors not only a great man, but the values that empowered his leadership, including courage and truth, unconditional love and forgiveness, justice and equality, reconciliation and peace. His vision of America is captured in his message of hope and the possibility for a future anchored in dignity, mutual respect and justice for all. Thank God for the Stone of Hope!!
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When is the "At Last" in "Free at Last"?
"For years now I have heard the word 'Wait!'... This 'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never.' We must come to see...that 'justice too long delayed is justice denied.'"
These words careen across the canyon of the years between now and 1963, when Dr. King wrote them to eight white Southern ministers, who had implored him to stand down from confrontation, because justice would come, but in due time. We reflect on what Dr. King means to our community today, and we try to go beyond imagining how his words still resonate for us, but how he would respond to the actual circumstances of our city, and of minorities, and the poor, and the uneducated, in our community, Oakland 2012. He might acknowledge the many gains made for women, for African-Americans, for other minorities, in education, job opportunities, and civil rights.
 Yet he might also decry the obvious reality that time has passed by neighborhoods in our city; that Market Street in West Oakland has not fulfilled the promise of its name; that International Boulevard is as much a passageway to danger as it is a conduit of commerce. Many years have passed, since the promising heights of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), but education in most American neighborhoods remains "separate but equal." Many years have passed, since the "in due time" achievement of the Civil Rights Act (1964), which finally made the Constitution whole by codifying in law protections for minorities and women, protections which are inherent in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution (1868) but which were overlooked by so many for so long.
Dr. King might stroll down Piedmont Avenue, and he might enjoy the sunset over the bay from the Oakland hills. He might witness the affluent society blighted by the more than 100 blocks of violence gone untended by the citizens of our city. He might recall his words from 1963:
"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability.... We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right."
 As disheartened as he might be by the perennial injustices visited upon the poor and minority members of our community, he would be inspired by the collaboration of so many across race and economic lines to fight for justice. He would reach out to organizations and individuals who see the common humanity in each of us and the common destiny of all of us. He would remind us that:
"I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities.... Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
 And then he might walk up Broadway from the water, join his peaceful left hand with Occupy Oakland, and his just right hand with the next great American human rights leader, perhaps a young African-American woman in her sophomore year at McClymonds High School, fearless as he was the night before his death, taking new steps for our generation to seize its time here to build a beloved community.
*All quotes of Dr. King from "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963; images are of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial, Washington, DC. |
James Brown Party!
James Brown was back in town on Friday night, December 30, 2011, to help Price And Associates celebrate the nearly new year with family, friends and clients. The town was El Cerrito, and the music was nonstop, attendees properly getting their funk on by dancing into the wee hours of the morning. We had a great time, and thank all who attended and helped make it such a festive occasion!
Special thanks to Trevel Adanandus for putting the party together, and to Mark Canepa, whose lovely art gallery, adorned with his own beautiful works as well as works of other artists, was the venue for the annual affair.
Hold the date: December 28, 2012!
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Deborah Claibiorne, Cheryl Davis, Pamela, and Irene Carter
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Patrick and Uta Goggins
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 | | Attorneys Marquis and Pamela Owens |
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Coaches "Mama Lisa" and Alphonzo Jackson
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 | | Attieno Davis, Pamela, Lena Sunday, and Pat Jameson-Amwele |
 | | Dancing the night away! |
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Mendez v. Westminster: Foundation for
Brown v. Board of Education
One of the little known but most important cases in the history of racial desegregation was a case from southern California, Mendez v. Westminster. The Plaintiffs were Mexican American children who were segregated in Orange County primary schools. The NAACP filed an amicus brief in the case with one of the first articulations of the Brown v. Board of Education theory that school segregation violated the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause. The Plaintiffs prevailed both in the District Court and the 9th Circuit. In 2011, Sylvia Mendez, the named Plaintiff and the daughter of the couple who led the community, was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama.
The list of counsel in the Mendez 9th Circuit opinion is a who's who of civil rights attorneys of all races, ethnicities and genders. It included Thurgood Marshall, Robert L. Carter, and Loren Miller. Attorney Carter, later Judge Carter, was known within the civil rights legal community as a scholar and excellent writer who framed many of the issues included in briefs and arguments by other attorneys. Attorney Miller, later Judge Miller, practiced in Los Angeles beginning in the 1940's and was the premiere attorney in the city attacking racial covenants in housing that prevented African Americans from buying property. Among the many outstanding lawyers writing briefs were Pauli Murray for the American Jewish Congress and Saburo Kido for the Japanese-American Citizens' League. Attorney Murray was a premiere Black woman attorney, and a life-long fighter for equal rights for all. Her 1950 book, "State Laws On Race And Color," was called the Bible for civil rights lawyers by Thurgood Marshall. Attorney Kido was head of the Japanese-American Citizens League during WWII, and a strong opponent of the internment of Japanese-Americans. To read the full article by Attorney Jane B. Moore, please go to JaneBMooreCarter.
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 Among those responding to the actual circumstances of inner-city Oakland, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Center, located at 333 East 8th Street, exists to teach youth about non-violence and ethical leadership. The Freedom Center grew out of the desire of elders in the community to focus on these guiding principles espoused by Dr. King, by cultivating in young people character, humility, courage, public service, and the recognition of the need for justice and human civil rights. The Freedom Center combines instruction with concrete opportunities to develop the capacity to practice principles of non-violence in the community. It recognizes the importance of engagement in the quest for justice. Interacting with youth in middle and high schools, the Freedom Center identifies young people interested in learning more, and welcomes them to out-of-school programs.  | | Rev. Dr. C.T. Vivian (second from left), the Hon. Barbara Lee, Dr. Dorothy Cotton, and youth of the Martin Luther King Jr Freedom Center. |
Karen Bohlke, the Freedom Center's Development Director, relates that for the participants to develop their skills requires sacrifice and discipline. In order to cultivate enthusiasm for being a good neighbor, parent, colleague, friend, she says, "You can exercise the muscle of thinking of others' interests." To exercise, the youth engage in reading, writing, and importantly, public speaking, which develops the voice and encourages them to "speak up, and speak out." The youth practice certain behaviors to develop empathy for others, including simple acts as learning and using peoples' names, and deeper practices such as listening with your eyes. Eric Fuller II, Media and Communications Associate at the Freedom Center, expands on an outward looking approach which recognizes the natural world and connects the young people to people and the world around them. "There is a world outside of the concrete jungle," he said, "which gives a real sense of what work needs to be done, because in nature you have to be sure everything is balanced. Everything has its place, its way; it allows you to see that in nature, which can apply to everyday life, it is a cycle that continues, and we need to have the capacity to let it unfold as it does."  | | Freedom Center youth visit with a professor in the Peace Garden at Fresno State during their educational tour on the Economic Crisis. |
The Freedom Center provides opportunities for young people to spend time in communities not their own, in regional parks, and in camping excursions in California and beyond, whereby they cultivate their inner realm as well as an appreciation of and connection to the world around them. This past summer, students went on a tour of universities, interacting with professors to understand the economic crisis. A group also traveled to Oregon and Washington states, to enjoy nature as a setting to reflect and cultivate their abilities. Among the many of us in Oakland who espouse the ideals and methods of Dr. King, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Center leads by example, demonstrating that principles of non-violence are vital, desirable, and practical in the real world. For more information, please visit www.mlkfreedomcenter.org. |
 Price And Associates
901 Clay Street Oakland, California 94607 (510) 452-0292 (510) 452-5625 (Fax) "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." -- Martin Luther King, Jr. |
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This eNewsletter is designed for general information only. The information presented in this email should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. This is Attorney Advertising. |
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