March 2009
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Vol 4, Issue 3
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In the Black
Newsletter
SPECIAL REPORT
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| Greetings! |
After the
historical election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the
United States and Ashley Swearengin as mayor of Fresno along with the economic
down turn, business as we know it has changed. Even as our nation and city turn
a new page, the stakeholders of Fresno's African-American business community
realize that the function and purpose of a black chamber becomes more
imperative in maintaining a healthy business climate. After several years of discontent,
a group of former members of the San Joaquin Valley Black Chamber of Commerce started
the Central California Chamber of Commerce in 2007.
The status
of two chambers has created an upheaval within the community- corporate
partners are uncertain whom to support, government is tittering between both,
and the black community is unclear as to which to best serves its interest.
After a 120-day
evaluation and assessment process that incorporating reviewing Chamber programs
and systems, interviews and surveys, The
Transparency, Accountability
& Capacity Report: Assessment of Fresno Black Chambers of Commerce presents observations
and recommendations about how to best move forward.
As always, I welcome your comments and I have extended the offer to publish a written response from their of the chambers.
Tate Hill
Editor
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Making Community Connections
Your partner for community engagement & mutli-cultural marketing
tatehill@att.net
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In Fresno County, on average, 2.5 jobs are created through every black-owned business
Source: 2002 Economic Census Estimated Annual Black Purchase Power in Fresno County?
$618 Million
Source: The
Transparency Accountability
Capacity Report: Assessment of Fresno Black Chambers of Commerce (2009). |
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Year 2008 in Review
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1. Election of President Barack Obama
This is a no-brainer. The then Senator
Barack Obama stages the biggest upset in the history of US politics marked by
February's Super Tuesday win. With victories that carried from state to state,
Obama won the bid for the Democratic ticket as the first African-American after
four others tried (Chisolm, Jackson, Sharpton, Mosley-Braum) unsuccessfully.
After raising some $700 million, more than any candidate in the world for an election from untraditional means and unlikely contributors, he defeated
Senator John McCain on November 5, 2008 for the US presidency. The night of his
victory, millions around the world, hundreds of thousands in Chicago, and
small groups of friends and family huddled around their televisions, as they celebrated what many
hoped but never dreamt that they would see--the first African-American elected
as the president of the United Stated.
2. Frank H. Ball Controversy
In 2008, In the Black reported on the community's
concern about possible changes at the neighborhood staple, the Frank H. Ball
Park and Recreational Center. The City of Fresno Parks & Recreations
Department (PARCS) had plans in partner with the Police Department to  use the
center to host PAL (Police Activities League) programs including turning the
basketball gym in a boxing gym. As members of the community and past visitors
heard about the plans, they poured out for two community meetings to voice their
concerns. Rev. Floyd Harris facilitated the conversations between Assistant
City Manager Bruce Rudd, PARCS Manager Randy Cooper and members of the
community. Rudd apologized on behalf of the City, stating that they would look
for an alternative location and they would welcome any recommendations on how to
improve the center's conditions based on the concerns the community mentioned.
3. Hinton Community Center
Hinton... Hinton ... Hinton. This center has been under a cloud of
controversy since 2006. Members of the community engaged Councilmember Cynthia
Sterling about concerns of access, the fee schedule, and programs after long
time manager, Johnny Nellum left. At the request of residents, the management
of the center was returned to the community through the ailing Hinton Center
Board. As reported in Fall 2008, the Hinton Center nonprofit and
board ha d been dysfunctional for more than 17 years. After renovations to the
center, it has remained closed most of the time. Again, Council member Sterling
was approached to step in between the board, the community and the City. In a
bold move, Sterling motioned in the June Budget sessions that the City de-fund
the Hinton Center ($4500/mo.) due to a lack of access and services. By the end
of 2008, the City was still negotiating with the Board to re-institute services
and re-opening the center back to the public.
4. Jeremiah Wright
While pastors can be known to buck the
social trends, Rev. Jeremiah Wright became a part of a the national political
and social landscape after his words from a message 'damming America'. Were these
words taken out of content? Was he saying something others haven't said? Or was
the controversy primarily because he had been the pastor and spiritual advisor
to presidential candidate Barack Obama? In the end, Obama was forced to
distance himself from Wright after comments at the National Press Club in
Washington DC. Many, like right-winged radio jock Rush Limbaugh, thought Wright
would be the sticking point that would turn white voters against Obama. Wright
said he would come after and hold Obama to the same standard as he would any
other president. We will see what happens in the years to come.
5. Darling International & Cottonwood Creek: Solidarity to Fight for
Environmental Justice
A broad coalition of community members and
organizations coalesced to oppose two of southwest Fresno's worse odor problems
sitting side by side-- Darling International and Cottonwood Creek. While the concern with Darling
International-a national company that does meat rendering for a number of regional
farms and agricultural operations- has several decades of bad history, the
newest battle started in 2007 when it sought permits to double its'
capacity to 1.5 millions pounds of raw carcasses a day. The campaign was
initialed when Mary Curry, Tate Hill and Keith Kelley approached the San
Joaquin Valley Air Quality Control District Board and then connected a larger group of residents through the Concerned Citizen of West Fresno to the City and the Darling. After much
cooperation with Councilmember Sterling and the Planning Department, Darling
backed off their permit request. The immediate victory prepared the community
when Cottonwood Creek sought to regain its site permit to operation an odorous
milk processing plant adjacent to Darling.
6. Cynthia Sterling Recall
 While some were fighting to get into
office, other were fighting to stay there. In 2008, embattled Councilmember
Cynthia Sterling had to contend with several recall efforts. The Committee for
Fair Representation led by Rev. Floyd Harris, filed the petition in July 2008
and after several attempts, processed the paperwork in November to start
collecting the necessary 4000 signature or 20% of the registered voters in the
district within four months. This is nearly an impossible task as less than
3300 votes were cast in 2006 for Sterling's election. The group has cites
that Sterling sat idling aside in the homeless sweeps and a lack of leadership
on issues ranging from Running Horse and more recently the Hinton and Frank H
Ball community centers as the cause for the recall. The whole recall
process raised some questions as she prepared take role as the first woman and
African-American City Council President.
7. Powers returned to West Fresno Unified School
Board
Five years after the state of California
took over the district in 2003 in the mist of criminal investigation, board
battles and questions about its financial solvency, the district is making
significant progress. In November, the community elected three to the board
that resumed some of the academic and operational responsibilities. In September,
it was announced that the District it had one of the best state Academic
Performance Index improvements (60 points), which garnished them the award of
a $17,000 new computer lab by G-TECH.
8. Edison HS football player grade change scandal
When first reported that a student
athlete's grade had been changed from a 'F' to an ''A", Edison Football coach, Tim McDonald threaten
to resign. Longtime math teacher, Jeff Powell cited that a start football
player's grade had been changed to an A though he missed 75 days of the class.
The accusations that someone other than the teacher had changed the grade raised
a fire storm of questions and a cloud around the top ranked football team. The
community and reporters questioned the quality of education at Edison, teacher-administration
ethics, and the message the District and the adults are sending to students
about academics & athletes. After
months of investigations by the District and the local teacher union, both are
blaming each other with no one taking responsibility.
9. CSU Fresno Associated Student President
disgraced
Mackee Mason, the first African-American
ASI President at CSU Fresno was forced to resign amongst allegations that he
used funds from student fees to buy alcohol for underage students. Mason elected during the Spring 2008 semester was accused of
buying the drinks during a student leadership retreat in July of that year in
Orange County. In his resignation letter, he stated he did no wrong but that
the circumstances have cause him to divert his attention away from what
mattered most-- his education.
10. Trial of Bishop Charles Dickerson
Since 2006, Bishop Charles Dickerson fought criminal charges of sex ual molestation of two stepdaughters in Fresno and one young man in Seattle, WA. Dickerson is the California bishop for the
Full Gospel Baptist denomination under the famed preacher, Bishop Paul Morton.
The girls later recanted their stories but the District Attorney's Office
decided to continue with the case. In January 2008, a jury found the southwest
Fresno pastor of Pearly Grove Full Gospel Baptist Church not guilty on all
counts.
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Where is the black perspective in the local media? RADIO!
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 Join Valley Black Talk every Monday on KFCF, 88.1 FM from 8-10 PM for thought provoking dialogue, intriguing questions and passionate perspective on national and local events and issues affecting the black community.
For archived shows or more information about the program, go to www.vbtradio.org
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Food for Thought:
We must be educated, activated and engaged
Stephanie Robinson
co-author of Accountable: Making America as Good as its Promise
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| In the Black, a publication of the Urban Knowledge Blog
Disclaimer: This is an editorial publication. The comments above are solely of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views or ideologies of any organization or person outside of Urban Knowledge Blog or In the Black. If there is a numerical or factual error, please inform us and we will publicly rectify it via email. Comments received may be republished for the betterment of other readers, unless you indicate otherwise. Thank You. |
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