The Advocate

The African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council and The Berkeley Bay Area Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., in partnership with The Alameda County Tobacco Control Coalition, is hosting a community discussion on how menthol negatively affects the Black community in Alameda County. Save the date When: Wednesday, September 1, 2021 Time: 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. (PST) Register at : shorturl.at/nBPQ4 Presentations by: Dr. Phillip Gardiner, AATCLC Carol McGruder, AATCLC Dr. Valerie Yerger, AATCLC/Delta Sigma Theta Please come learn about and support this critical public health issue. Yours Truly will also be there giving a brief speech on behalf of San Leandro's Temple Beth Sholom! For more information, contact rachel.gratz-lazarus@acgov.org and/or visit Tobacco Free Alameda County .

( Tree of Hope, by Ashvin Harrison ) "Hope locates itself in the premises that we don’t know what will happen and that in the spaciousness of uncertainty is room to act. When you recognize uncertainty, you recognize that you may be able to influence the outcomes — you alone or you in concert with a few dozen or several million others. Hope is an embrace of the unknown and unknowable, an alternative to the certainty of both optimists and pessimists. Optimists think it will all be fine without our involvement; pessimists take the opposite position; both excuse themselves from acting. It’s the belief that what we do matters even though how and when it may matter, who and what it may impact, are not things we can know beforehand. We may not, in fact, know them afterward either, but they matter all the same, and history is full of people whose influence was most powerful after they were gone." — Rebecca Solnit Take note and take care.

(Cyrus restoring the vessels of the temple, by Gustave Dor é) The Cyrus Cylinder is the archaeological evidence supporting ancient Jewish history of our people's return to Israel in 539 BCE following the destruction of the Neo-Babylonian Empire by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire. From this event came the terms Shivat Tzion and aliyah . Take note and take care.

I've come to realize that I end up repeating myself a lot when engaging with other people in my work. The hard part is that the topic that most frequently rears itself repeatedly is about my background. How dare I. Who am I. What do I know. What gives me the right. At this point, I'm just tired and bored of having to bare my soul every single time someone with a chip on their shoulder wants to try throwing it at my face. Like with most things in my life, I've chosen to write it down somewhere that people can read at their leisure and convenience. And, also, where I can finally get a little leisure and convenience. So, if you have questions about me then here are some answers. I do mean some. Not all. There will always be things I refuse to share except with my loved ones. Now... prepare for a Very Long Post! *** As a legal advocate, community organizer, civil servant, and experienced public administrator, I believe I possess a unique combination of education, experience, an...

( Art by Ruth Schreiber ) Lo Bashamayim Hi : Not in Heaven , made famous by the Talmudic story of The Oven of Akhnai. (This story teaches far more than just this lesson, so definitely give it a read!) The phrase and story help to reflect the Jewish view of mitzvot, the feasibility of following halakha, and the importance of every generation to work to understand Torah. In short, it explains the justification of our authority, not God's, to create a Judaism that is meaningful for us here and now as it was for our ancestors in the past. NB: for any term you don't understand, Google is your friend! But I'm happy to answer more in the comments. Take note and take care.

(Credit Amber Hughson, @conflicttransformation) What does it mean? I'm one of many community advocates and organizers here in San Leandro and I put his post together to help address a lot of questions, confusion, and even frustration, fear, or anger that people may have regarding the recent push to reimagine public safety and defund the SLPD. To start with, let's be clear: SLPD hasn't been defunded. They still have the same $42 million budget, a 60% increase over the last ten years. They still receive 50%+ of the city’s payroll. They still cost approximately 1/3rd of our entire budget. They still account for upwards of 2/3rds of our overtime costs. They still receive the newest equipment, the highest starting salaries, and the most deference from elected officials. But what's been the return on our investment? Source: SLPD Crime Stats Crime rates, YTD 2020 to 2021: violent crime down 9%, property crime down 25%, overall crime down 23%. Crime rates, YOY 2019-20 to 2020-2...

(Art by  Zdzislaw Beksinski) "Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed – in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with...

( Credit: Alex Levin ) Are Jews indigenous or nah? Honestly, this is a complicated question that divides even Jewish people! However, I like the answer given by Mahrinah von Schlegel, an indigenous advocate belonging to the Tewa people of the Northern Rio Grande Pueblos who is also a Sephardic Jew: "Judaism is a land-based agricultural religion. We have had a spiritual and stewardship relationship with the land of Israel since the beginning of our collective memory. Land relationships and stewardship is a critical foundation for any tribe's indigeneity." You can read more about her views at this Newsweek article . Take note and take care.

Kavanah : the Hebrew word for direction, intention, or purpose. In its simplest meaning, it refers to concentrating the mind in the performance of a task, ensuring that it doesn’t devolve into rote, mechanical action. It is most commonly associated with concentration and intention in Jewish prayer, but the concept of kavanah applies to all mitzvot. Abraham Joshua Heschel, in his classic work God in Search of Man, explains that performing a mitzvah without proper kavanah is inadequate because while it might have a positive effect on the world, it leaves the doer of the mitzvah unaffected. The purpose of Jewish practice, he writes, is transformation of the soul. “A moral deed unwittingly done may be relevant to the world because of the aid it renders unto others. Yet a deed without devotion, for all its effects on the lives of others, will leave the life of the doer unaffected. The true goal for man is to be what he does.” NB: for any term you don't understand, Google is your friend!...

Art by @ines_ixierda San Leandro sits on the unceded land of the Lisjan Ohlone people. They have lived here for thousands of years before even recorded history as far as we have been able to discern. The Sogorea Te’ Land Trust is an urban Indigenous women-led land trust based in the San Francisco Bay Area that facilitates the rematriation of their land, with a particular emphasis on the Ohlone people.  Because of the destruction wrought on them by the Spanish, Catholic missionaries, American settlers, as well as other colonizers, the Ohlone are not part of a federally recognized band. However, they do descend from the federally recognized Verona band of Alameda County. Currently, they are holding a fundraising event this month as part of the larger land back movement to return Indigenous land to Indigenous people. Here is what they have to say: “To do Indigenous-led work in one the most expensive “real estate markets” in the world, Indigenous people have to be able to live here....

A while ago I started posting this topic on my other social media accounts to cultivate a healthier and more sustainable social media praxis. But I never thought to share them on here! Well, to correct that oversight, here are all the posts since I started in order from the very first to the most recent. NB: for anything you're curious about, Google is your friend! But I'm happy to answer more in the comments. *** "So yeah, dreams are important. And I think there are more dreamers today than ever before in the history of anything…but…they're so afraid, so many of them. Afraid to lose all their 'manageable misery.' It's all just so…so…pathetic. Pathetic…and selfish. Are you seriously telling me…that you would deny the world an exquisite painting just because the cardboard firm from down the street is hiring? That you'd stay out of politics because your mates would think you a twat? That the greatest secrets of quantum physics would go forever unearthed…b...