“A Park Grows in Richmond,” Feature, 6/10
More, Please
This is a great story FOR OUR TIMES and the only disappointment was
that I could have kept on reading more!! It’s been a long time since my
eyes didn’t glaze over trying to slog through yet another East Bay
Express feature story. Please, more on this story and more from
this writer!
Blake Coffey, Oakland
“Audacity and Hope,” Culture Spy, 6/10
Our Legacy Is Strong
The editors of this newspaper may think it’s OK to allow a writer
who failed to come up with an original/creative/independent thought to
produce an article filled with misinformation, slogans, stereotypes,
and political buttons, but it’s not.
For starters, the Berkeley Juneteenth Festival committee was founded
by RD Bonds, a well-respected businessman in the south Berkeley
community who in the 1970s owned, among other businesses, a book store
located directly across the street from old Merritt College on Martin
Luther King Jr. Way (formerly Grove St.), which sold black books and
newspapers, including Black Panther newspapers. RD Bonds, a community
activist, believed in giving back to the community and improving the
image of the black community by promoting the black experience in a
positive light. The celebration of Juneteenth in Berkeley was an idea
which RD thought filled this need. RD left a strong legacy of community
service, and since his death in 1995 countless volunteers have stepped
up to keep the momentum of the Berkeley Juneteenth Festival going. The
assumption that the Berkeley Juneteenth committee is clueless and
careless about what the city wants from us is far from the truth. Year
after year, we have risen to the challenge of dwindling resources,
gentrification, neighborhood rifts, and a changing political climate.
Yet another hurdle that had to be overcome was changing the day of the
event from Father’s Day. The Berkeley Juneteenth Festival is a
much-needed and wanted event that is a staple for the black community
and well-attended by the entire community. We are proud of our
following and equally proud of the fact that attendance over the years
has been continuous, steady, and strong.
What the writer calls “cracker jack bands” is a cornerstone of our
belief that the BJF should be used as a vehicle to showcase
up-and-coming acts, and provide them with the opportunity to show the
community what they got. However, we are proud of the fact that in
prior years, local talents, like John Handy, Faye Carol, and Pharoah
Sanders have graced our stage.For future reference, a writer who
incorrectly reports the date of an event she’s writing about weakens
her own credibility.
Delores Cooper Edwards, Berkeley
“The New War on Gay Marriage,” Full Disclosure, 6/10
Don’t Ignore the Future
In your June 10 edition, Robert Gammon wrote, “To most gays and
lesbians, the polygamy argument is an offensive canard.” Instead of
taking offense, they ought to reply thoughtfully.
Many same-sex-marriage proponents have no wish for polygamy. But
they are part of a movement, and that movement has no consensus on
monogamy. For example, Jay Newberry writes, “Marriage does not have to
be a monogamous relationship. What’s monogamy got to do with marriage?”
(SF Bay Guardian, July 2, 2008; Newberry clearly supports same-sex
marriage.) Proponents of same-sex marriage can’t expect the polygamy
argument to go away until they make solid replies. Part of a solid
reply is explaining why views like Newberry’s will not prevail.
Also, Ted Boutros thinks that worries about polygamy are
illegitimate because his clients aren’t claiming polygamy as a right.
That’s ignoring the future, which might well include other clients
making claims that cite same-sex marriage in support of polygamy.
Similarly, Boutros notes that no court has called polygamy a right. Has
the absence of precedent prevented people from asserting rights, and
later finding courts that will agree with them?
Carl Anderson, Oakland
Another Form of Bigotry
Why do supporters of same-sex marriage get apoplectic whenever
someone brings up plural marriage? (“To most gays and lesbians, the
polygamy argument is an offensive canard designed to demonize
them….”) How am I demonizing or harming anyone by marrying whomever I
choose? If we believe in marriage equality, then it includes those who
wish to enter into plural marriage. Those who oppose plural marriage
are just as bigoted as those who oppose same-sex marriage.
Mark Johnson, Berkeley
Correction
In our July 1 restaurant review of the Mayflower in Berkeley, the
food item depicted in the picture was the “veggie mango chicken,” not
the “veggie fish.”
