Daily Archives: December 2, 2013

This season we have lost two pillars of our San Francisco Bay Area community, Samuel Fredericks and Upesi Mtambuzi. Cedar Walton, pianist, also made his transition this year, along with Donald Duck Bailey, drummer, both men beautiful human beings. Upesi, Samuel, Cedar and Donald all brightened our world. Their unique hues and shapes and sounds will be missed ... that last live jam.

To the extent that it is possible, we have been following the legislative hearings and we are hopeful – cautiously optimistic – that something meaningful and permanent will result from them. We are mindful that this time the legislative hearings are being held as a result of struggle and sacrifice. There is still so much work to do and freedom to win and we look forward to the struggle ahead with you all. Until we win or don’t lose.

Our focus this month is to look at ways that we as men, in particular fathers, can actively encourage and support children who are not necessarily a part of our immediate families. Children in our society are far too often undervalued, minimized and rendered nearly invisible. What can you do? Refuse to be passive and actively seek to uplift the spirits of young people around you.

On Monday, Nov. 25, President Barack Obama visited the Betty Ann Ong Chinese Recreation Center in San Francisco to talk about his Common Sense Immigration Bill slowly making its way through the United States Congress. Immigration is always topical in a country where most of us are immigrants even in the visible absence of its First Peoples.