As I said on Twitter, don't mean to undermine anything you're saying here. But I think that the history of state-sponsored discrimination against Chinese-Americans in California should probably be more prominent here. Not to equate it to the experience of Black people. But it's not exactly a modest amount of discrimination.
Thank you for writing such a thoughtful and nuanced piece that goes deep into how intensely local these issues are. I moved to the US as an adult and live in a majority Black city that was very segregated (Baltimore) before moving to the Bay Area, and I've learned over the years how different issues are in each local community and how many layers exist that need to be peeled back to understand the dynamics at play.
This was an excellent article Darrell. I've been waiting for this since you said that it was coming, and it did not disappoint. You're able to broach subjects and open a discourse in a way that's really lacking for us in the Bay, and this is really needed.
But this issue is a tip of an iceberg that is simply not being discussed. That there is an incredible lack of self awareness and refusal to take ownership that Black community leaders are committing. First off, there is no justifying the violence, period. There is absolutely no justification for why these attacks are happening on a nearly daily basis. And outside of the mayor and DA Jenkins, there has been zero said by people like Amos Brown. Real community leaders should recognize the incredible damage being done by these attacks, and do whatever they can to get the word out that this behavior will not be tolerated.
The Black community in SF is not massive. People know each other. People know who is committing these crimes, and they're not policing their own. Again- there's no justification here for this. It's urgent, and it needs to be done. The silence right now is deafening, and it's wrecking the community's credibility.
The Anne Hsu situation may actually be a casualty of this refusal to address the violence. Your kids are out committing vicious crimes and stats recently came out that show 63% of Black students are habitually truant. Responsible parents do not let their children habitually miss school. It's not HUD's fault. It's not a property realtor that won't sell a home to a Black family. It's theirs. Anne was doing nothing but stating the obvious.
But no community leader or pundit has even addressed the truancy issue. What they do instead is concentrate on shooting the messenger. No issue with Anne Collins, no problem whatsoever when Shamman behaves the way that he does. And ultimately, hypocrisy destroys credibility. So I'm not remotely alone in thinking that the next time Black community leaders scream racism, I'll take it with a grain of salt.
Over history, SF's Black community has indeed endured real hardship and gross discrimination. But there's little recognition done as to the massive steps that have been taken to rectify this. Nearly every city procedure and action is done with the Black community in mind. Black students are 6% of SFUSD's student body (when they show up), and yet the entire curriculum is consumed with the welfare of this group, to the point that we're willing to destroy merit-based education.
And are these steps as they're taken even making a difference? Is it really worth us adjusting behavior expectations and the curriculum in schools and scholarship offerings if 63% don't show up? Is criminal justice reform worth it if these violent attacks continue? Are the hiring preferences doing any good?
Harsh points to make, I know. But this refusal to take ownership for shortcomings is a major issue.
Thank you for having the courage to write this long needed article. Why do crimes against Blacks, especially hate crimes, not get any reporting? The press pursues a deliberate political strategy to drive a wedge between Black and Asian communities.
Thank you for writing this article. As a product of San Francisco public and private schools and San Francisco college education, I want to say we need more than luck to obtain equality. I am a generational Black San Franciscan (at one time 4 generations in this city). Most of the wealth that was accumulated by both sides of my family coming out of WWII was lost through various systematic pressures. I often think I was lucky to not get swept up into one of those systems as many of my family members or peers. Black ppl have been been pointing out the dismal education system in this city since as long as I can remember. When we talk about digital and tech literacy the access is a joke for a place that claims "the tech capital of the world."
This article is v important to actual solutions to equality and equity. And I can't believe anyone is arguing against literacy. It's the low hanging fruit. Again thank you. I vote for $$ for literacy programs.
As I said on Twitter, don't mean to undermine anything you're saying here. But I think that the history of state-sponsored discrimination against Chinese-Americans in California should probably be more prominent here. Not to equate it to the experience of Black people. But it's not exactly a modest amount of discrimination.
Thank you for writing such a thoughtful and nuanced piece that goes deep into how intensely local these issues are. I moved to the US as an adult and live in a majority Black city that was very segregated (Baltimore) before moving to the Bay Area, and I've learned over the years how different issues are in each local community and how many layers exist that need to be peeled back to understand the dynamics at play.
This was an excellent article Darrell. I've been waiting for this since you said that it was coming, and it did not disappoint. You're able to broach subjects and open a discourse in a way that's really lacking for us in the Bay, and this is really needed.
But this issue is a tip of an iceberg that is simply not being discussed. That there is an incredible lack of self awareness and refusal to take ownership that Black community leaders are committing. First off, there is no justifying the violence, period. There is absolutely no justification for why these attacks are happening on a nearly daily basis. And outside of the mayor and DA Jenkins, there has been zero said by people like Amos Brown. Real community leaders should recognize the incredible damage being done by these attacks, and do whatever they can to get the word out that this behavior will not be tolerated.
The Black community in SF is not massive. People know each other. People know who is committing these crimes, and they're not policing their own. Again- there's no justification here for this. It's urgent, and it needs to be done. The silence right now is deafening, and it's wrecking the community's credibility.
The Anne Hsu situation may actually be a casualty of this refusal to address the violence. Your kids are out committing vicious crimes and stats recently came out that show 63% of Black students are habitually truant. Responsible parents do not let their children habitually miss school. It's not HUD's fault. It's not a property realtor that won't sell a home to a Black family. It's theirs. Anne was doing nothing but stating the obvious.
But no community leader or pundit has even addressed the truancy issue. What they do instead is concentrate on shooting the messenger. No issue with Anne Collins, no problem whatsoever when Shamman behaves the way that he does. And ultimately, hypocrisy destroys credibility. So I'm not remotely alone in thinking that the next time Black community leaders scream racism, I'll take it with a grain of salt.
Over history, SF's Black community has indeed endured real hardship and gross discrimination. But there's little recognition done as to the massive steps that have been taken to rectify this. Nearly every city procedure and action is done with the Black community in mind. Black students are 6% of SFUSD's student body (when they show up), and yet the entire curriculum is consumed with the welfare of this group, to the point that we're willing to destroy merit-based education.
And are these steps as they're taken even making a difference? Is it really worth us adjusting behavior expectations and the curriculum in schools and scholarship offerings if 63% don't show up? Is criminal justice reform worth it if these violent attacks continue? Are the hiring preferences doing any good?
Harsh points to make, I know. But this refusal to take ownership for shortcomings is a major issue.
Thank you for having the courage to write this long needed article. Why do crimes against Blacks, especially hate crimes, not get any reporting? The press pursues a deliberate political strategy to drive a wedge between Black and Asian communities.
I read this when you first published it. Just wanted to say thanks for writing it and providing some broad perspective.
Thank you for writing this article. As a product of San Francisco public and private schools and San Francisco college education, I want to say we need more than luck to obtain equality. I am a generational Black San Franciscan (at one time 4 generations in this city). Most of the wealth that was accumulated by both sides of my family coming out of WWII was lost through various systematic pressures. I often think I was lucky to not get swept up into one of those systems as many of my family members or peers. Black ppl have been been pointing out the dismal education system in this city since as long as I can remember. When we talk about digital and tech literacy the access is a joke for a place that claims "the tech capital of the world."
This article is v important to actual solutions to equality and equity. And I can't believe anyone is arguing against literacy. It's the low hanging fruit. Again thank you. I vote for $$ for literacy programs.