 And welcome. Good afternoon. My name is Linda Brooks-Burton, and I'm happy to welcome you to the 12th annual Unsung Hero Awards. We have been enjoying Bayview's own drumming sensation, Sounds from the Ground. Just to give them another hand. For winners of this award in 1998, and we are delighted that they agreed to come and perform for us this year. There's been a slight change in the program. We are going to have Robert and Moses Kin featuring Daniel Colden do their dance number at this moment, okay? So they are also playing tonight, or dancing tonight, rather, at the Cowell Theater in Fort Mason. They have an eight o'clock show. So if you could please welcome Daniel Colden. Thank you, Daniel. That was beautiful. Before I go any further, I am sure you have had a chance to read the program by now and under the Acknowledgement Sections, there has been an omission of a very important person to this year's program. Amy Holloway herself, a winner of this award in 1995, was instrumental in putting this program together before she took leave of San Francisco Public Library to move to Seattle in January. In fact, she was the one who actually put together this printed program, and she left her name off being as modest as she is. So I would like us to give her a round of applause, even though she is not with us this afternoon. I meant to mention she was the African-American librarian in the African-American Center, the main library for over five years. The Unsung Hero Awards originated at the Western Edition branch under the direction of Joan Jackson, the branch manager who retired almost two years ago. Each year during Black History Month, San Francisco Public Library honors 10 winners selected from nominations made by community members. This year's winners include individuals who make significant contributions to several neighborhoods, including the Western Edition, Bayview Hunters Point, Ocean View, and Petro Hill. These are people who give unselfishly of themselves who better their communities. We welcome the family and friends of our honorees. We want you to sit back and enjoy the program. We know you will leave here inspired by what you're about to experience. So let's get started. I would like to introduce a young woman who will be singing the Negro national anthem. She is a senior at Mercy High School who sings lead in the chorus in the school's chorus and will be starring in her school's spring production of Pajama Game. She hopes to attend Carnegie Mellon or Boston's Conservatory of Music in the fall of this year. I believe we're in for quite a treat. Please welcome Amy Rogers. The faith that the dark past has tossed on the present. Thank you. You may be seated. Thank you, Amy. I would like to introduce now to you an old friend of the Unsung Heroes program. She was a mistress of ceremony for the 1998 program and shared those duties in the 1999 program. I thought I had given her a reprieve this year since she is expecting her second child in less than a month, but she insisted on being a part of this year's program as well. And we're happy to have her. Here is motivational cheerleader, our motivational cheerleader, Veronica Dangerfield. I've missed you so much and she I was um I'm actually nine months pregnant and she says you know Veronica I mean I think that'll be too much for you to come up and you know do anything it's like and Habari Ghani. Can everybody say that with me? Habari Ghani means what's happening in Swahili. And you know that African Americans we don't have a quiet tradition. We have a verbal tradition. And with that I'd like all of you to say ashay. Wait a minute am I going deaf? I couldn't hear nothing. One more time? Ashay. Is it a beautiful day today? Do you feel like you're going to be blessed today? All right we have some wonderful recipients today and it is going to be a great program so I want you all to give me do me a little promise. I want you to keep the energy up. I want you to get all of these hardworking recipients your love like you're going to give it to me right now. Come on let's practice. I come to you bigger and better and more blessed than last year and I know that each of you come to me bigger and better. One of the things that I wanted to talk about was Amani. Does anybody know what Amani means? Amani is faith. I was a faithless woman for 10 years because I didn't think I could ever have a child again. But then one day I decided that I was going to start taking pre-native vitamins. I was going to get me an ovulation kit and I was going to start acting like a pregnant woman and voila. Bring that to you as an example of the faith that we can all have because we don't have because we're only going to get what we believe not what we deserve. So I'm asking you all from this moment on to hire expectations because I believe in you and you should believe in each other. So what I'd like you to do right now though give turn around and give your neighbor a habari gani because we cousins this is all family. All right, family reunion. Thank you so much for your attention. We have a very very special treat today because we've got the youth emcee in the program. We're talking about not not the potential of the future but the future are here. Beautiful young people. The first one I'm going to introduce is Indira Muhammad. She's an eighth grader at Rooftop Alternative School which is a very very special school in San Francisco. So we know that she's already where she is school president, secretary of the dance committee and serves as a graduation advisory committee. Indira is a beautiful girl and she also has a modeling career so when Indira comes up here you guys give her your love and support okay and we also have another very young emcee. His name is Christopher. He's 11 years old and he's a student at the Marina Middle School. He's on the soccer team track team and his favorite subject is science. Can I hear Ashe for his favorite subject? Ashe, we need our kids in science. He's also an avid reader. So I would like you, I'm going to come back up again because y'all ain't getting rid of me that fast okay? Ashe. And what I'd like you to do is give them a warm your warm attention and give them your energy because they're very young and this isn't easy for them but they're going to do a wonderful job and God bless each and every one of the recipients. We are privileged and honored to have you and every single person in here has a secret that God only knows about where they have helped somebody else where they have done something where they are unsung hero and I would like to give you my Ashe. All right so Indira come on up here dear and do your thing. See y'all in a minute. Hi my name is Indira Muhammad and I'm going to be one of the presenters today. The first unsung hero I would like to introduce is Marcus Cook who is unfortunately not here today but his sister Marquette will be accepting his award. Marcus Cook is a young man with a bright future. As a volunteer cadet tutor for the Saturday Literacy Academy sponsored by the San Francisco Unified School District and the Alliance for of Black Educators, Marcus volunteered his time every Saturday morning for three years to tutor students in reading at Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Middle School. His teacher Mrs. Virginia P. Marshall nominated him for this unsung hero award. You could see the patience and love in his face as he worked with students in grades kindergarten to fifth from various elementary schools in the area Mrs. Marshall wrote. You could see the struggle at first but ultimately improved their reading and self-esteem. If we listen to news reports it looks as if the generation of our African American boys are lost. Mrs. Marshall continued, oh if we could only clone Marcus. Marcus is now studying sports medicine at Pepperdine University. His mentorship of young children in the San Francisco African American community has earned him an unsung hero award. We're looking forward to following this bright young man as he begins his career. Marcus Cook unsung hero for 2000. And this is his sister Marquette accepting this award for him. Our next hero is Reverend Billy Ware who has lived in the Bayview community for over 30 years. He has been a volunteer chaplain for the San Francisco Sheriff's Department for 15 years and has only recently become a paid chaplain. He has also been the Associate Minister for Third Baptist Church for the last 15 years. According to his son Larry Ware, Reverend Ware has been a positive influence in the community and those who have been imprisoned. He has been counseling prisoners encouraging them to be constructive members of society. He takes many tasks, tasks for, he takes care of many tasks for the inmates and their families, assisting them with finding jobs, performing marriages, funerals, and counseling services. At San Quentin Prison Ranch, Reverend Ware ministers the men in a seminar setting four times a year. He teaches a class at San Bruno County Jail number seven every Thursday and Sunday evening and also performs religious services every Sunday. His wife Mrs. Ware is also involved in the ministry doing a service for those incarcerated in County Jail number eight on Fridays. In addition, Reverend Ware and his team of volunteers have fed the San Bruno County Jail number seven but the full course meal at Thanksgiving since 1989. He also provides food baskets for the needy year-round and all this is done with private donations. Recently, Reverend Ware has founded a nonprofit organization called Cross Roads Charitable Foundation to assist him with all the wonderful things he does for the community such as providing bikes to many boys and girls who cannot afford them. Reverend Ware is the father of five, grandfather of 15, and great-grandfather of four. Please help me welcome to the stage Reverend Billy Ware. Hello, this is the uh this my name is Reverend Billy Ware. I would rather say I'm your servant and a slave of Jesus Christ. I want to thank all who had a part of this and has made it possible throughout the years of my volunteers who have pushed me to the limit. I want to thank them all and all of my supporters who are here today. I want to thank you. Most of all I'd like to thank God and pastor, supervisor Amos Brown and Mayor Willie Brown for being my supporters and my mentor for all the things that God has enabled me to do. I want to thank my little wife sitting there, Maxine. Oh, I'm sorry my son Larry Ware. Thank you. Dr. George W. Davis has been the executive director for the Bayview Hunters Point Multipurpose Senior Service since 1978. This is the first African-American owned and operated senior citizen senior citizen center in northern California. His friend and colleague who nominated him for this award, Mr. Louis John Pierre States. Dr. Davis operates the Bayview Hunters Point senior program serving numerous seniors in areas of dietary, physical, mental and social therapy with programs programs in a quiet but effective way. Dr. Davis also developed a national advocacy organization to provide outreach and advocacy for African-American elders throughout the United States. Presently he is working on initiating and organizing support for an Asian campus project to be implemented in the Bayview Hunters Point area. Besides advocating for elders, Dr. Davis is a spiritual leader. He has been the pastor at the Metropolitan Baptist Church for the past seven years where he provides spiritual support for congregation including ministry to elders and youth. Please welcome Dr. George W. Davis. Just allow me to make one correction. I'm a associate minister at Metropolitan Baptist Church and not the pastor so I really pay homage and give respect to my pastor who is Reverend Chad Reddick but I would not be standing here before you had it not been for the seniors that I've had the privilege of serving for the past 22 years. It's through their blood, sweat and tears and the trials and tribulations that they had to overcome that I was able to be privileged to stand on their shoulders that I might serve them and do programs for them. I really want to thank Mr. Andrew John Pierre for nominating me this for this ward and I feel so precious that I'm in such good company of other nominees for they have suffered and tore through the years because it's a difficult task sometimes serving those who nobody else want to serve. Again thank you so very much. I'm sorry there was a change and I have to do my other two. Okay Alex Humphrey Sr. Alex Humphrey did not have an easy time of it growing up. He has lived in the public housing projects for most of his young life and has been selling drugs and began selling drugs sorry began selling drugs at the tender age of eight. His juvenile record includes possession of cocaine and marijuana with intent to sell as well as burglary and petty theft. As a young adult he continued to show up on the wrong side of the law adding possession of a firearm and conspiracy to his record. It was not until he became a father that he considered turning his life around. Another turning point for Alex came when he met Reverend Cecil Williams on a march to Valencia Garden Valencia Gardens the housing projects where he Alex lived at the time. I knew immediately that Alex was someone who could help bring children teenagers and adults together says Reverend Williams about Alex and this is exactly what he has been doing for the past 10 years. Alex has worked with various organizations organizations from guide memorial to the Economic Opportunity Council. He is so committed to the community that he is presently initiating his own organization to provide youth with some of the same opportunities that he was given before they end up in the criminal justice system. Alex is putting together a democratic club for residents of the San Francisco polling housing to empower disenfranchised voters in these areas. The key people that Alex points out as being important to in his transformation are Reverend Williams Cecil Williams and Ray Balbron a mentor who guided him through some rough patches but his son Alex Jr and his daughter Chardon who are driving him driving force in his life and whom he gets his strength. His children are also the ones who nominated him for nominated him for this award. Will Alex Jr and Chardon please come to the stage? I'm sorry her name is Chardonnay. Alex do you want to read the nomination that won your father this award? My dad loves me and my sisters very much and he gives us lots of love. My dad does a lot to help people in our communities but never really get paid for it. My dad always says that even though he doesn't get paid that for helping people if you can really helps on somebody in their life then you always feel like a million bucks in the end which is payment enough but I still don't understand what what he means. Even though my dad always documents his work he never really get recognition. My dad said that when he was young he did a lot of bad things but now he's older and trying to get trying to help rebuild our communities to help make life better for other people and children. My dad always volunteers at my school because he says he loves children. My dad says that if you have to love other people's children in order to love your own children my dad is our hero and we want him to be your hero too. Thank you and welcome our youngest unsung hero Mr. Alex Humphrey Sr. It's always a it's always a blessing to know that you could be a leader through example and you know I think back to what I went through in my younger years I never really had my father and I never really had my mother and I had went through so much that I remember there was a point in my life where just life got really tiring and I remember actually feeling that you know having a feeling of actually not wanting to be here anymore in my younger years and was fascinated with this thing about going out like a soldier and dying like a man but it wasn't until I seen the birth of my son that I opened up my eyes and seen life in a different way and realized then that I wanted to live like a man instead of die like one. I know that it wasn't until like 10 years ago that I had met Cecil Williams through one of the housing developments in Valencia Gardens that he provided an opportunity for me to rehabilitate my whole way of living. I know that a lot of times when you're out there committing certain acts people don't really want to take the time with you but you know I've been on my own since 15 years old that's how old I was when I had my first department and back then you didn't even qualify for a summer job unless you had a summer's permit but Cecil Williams along with his organization when they did a march through the public housing development provided that opportunity and he said man he said we have something here he said and that's when he took me up under his wing and I started working with him and his organization over at Glide so I really want to thank him for that really want to thank him for the opportunity to give me the opportunity to work with him instead of for him it was really important for me it's funny because I wrote a couple of things down on here that I didn't want to forget to mention and because all of what's happened I can't even see the words on this paper but I just want to thank my son and my daughter very much for nominating me I want to thank the committee for electing me as the group of people who for the Unsung Heroes Award today it means a lot to me and I want to thank Reverend Williams I want to thank Ray Balbron Jacqueline Keyes and Liam Backhuse who have one way or the other been very instrumental in my life I also want to thank Nathaniel Mason Jr he um he also deserves recognition for where I'm at today thanks again Mrs. Moses Curry has just turned 80 years old according to Barbara Brown who nominated her for this award Mama Curry is a pioneer in Bayview Hunters Point community she is presently retired from the Economic Opportunity Council War on Poverty program where she has worked where she worked for 35 years she worked at the EOC in many capacities from coordinator to a social worker she is still very active in her community serving as chair on one of the committees for Network for Elders she is also a board member at the community advisory board of United Council of Human Services where she has just served where she has served since it was founded 18 years ago she was recently featured in Essence Magazine highlighting her community spirit she is a member of St. James Baptist Church and she has been for over 50 years and she is considered a Mama Curry to all who know her Mama Curry is the mother of eight grandmother of 24 and great grandmother of 14 please welcome a true mother of the community Mrs. Moses Mama Curry I'm a big cry cry baby but I'm not going to cry today because I feel so good I mean it makes me feel real good for what's happening to me today I just don't know almost what to say because I feel good I feel real good and I have worked in the community a long long time and I'm still working and everybody telling me I should sit down but I can't sit down if I sit down that's when I close my eyes so I want to keep on going and I'm just proud I'm just so happy today I'm real happy and I want to thank Miss King and also my loving Bobby Brown mother Bobby Brown because she is really the card number here and she really got me to go on a lot got me going now in the community working because I can't stop because she wants me to do a lot of things and I want to do a lot of things for the community and I love the youth I really love the youth I will go down with the roof I have been down the city hall day and night working with the young people I have young people I have eight kids but one have deceased and I have those 22 grandkids and have the great grandkids and I still don't want to stop working because I'm from the community and I have worked all over San Francisco all the communities and try to do my part and I think that I'm gonna have to continue on but I thanks the Lord to let me be here today thanks sister King and sister Mother Brown and we've got a lot of things going with Mother Brown and I know I can't stop until the end so we're gonna have a lot of things and kind of point to have for everybody and that's what I like about it everybody have something that we help and I want to thank the community and also um I don't know her name what's your name Linda and I want to thank Linda because she encouraged me a lot too and my daughter used to work with her so I want to thank everybody to be on sorry I really don't know how I feel today because you know I couldn't see people appreciate me doing anything and when I got this I really appreciate it and my next reward will be heaven above and I want to thank you cousins if you're 80 years old would you like to look like that is she beautiful she's resplendent I also want you to put your hands together and give some love to Adira she did a wonderful job came up with confidence and did your thing you go girl so right now we're going to have the drummers come back up we're going to have a 10-minute intermission please nobody leave because I got some guards outside the door and we're willing to hunt you down because we have a lot more marvelous program to have and um I want you to benefit from the privilege of being here so take 10 minutes get some fresh air get some water go to little girls a boys room and come on back okay as we convene for the second half of the unsung heroes awards I just want to comment on the inspiration that we've seen you know the contributions from mother she's been doing it for 35 years can you imagine service for 35 years and she looks so wonderful and um christopher's young children nominate the young children came up and nominated their dad they asked if they can nominate their dad and and that's just amazing when the children can admire their parents what an exceptional role model can I hear an ashay in the audience ashay and now we have more talent coming up we've got the young man christopher he's 11 years old and he's gorgeous he's um he goes he's a student at marina middle school he's an athlete on soccer track and his favorite for it is science and he goes all the all over the world it could be anything he wants to be because he's an avid reader and um i just want to give um thumbs up to the san francisco public library who gave you this wonderful program today can i hear an ashay the san francisco public library you know that's all you need is a library card and you can go anywhere in the world you can become self-taught like benjamin bannaker he was um um taught to read by the quakers but he became an astronomer a civil engineer he became um a surveyor he actually put the role plans for washington dc and he taught himself san francisco public library we love you yes and now with no further do let's bring christopher on come on christopher give him some love y'all the person i will be introducing to you today named laverne hawkins a product of western edition laverne hawkins has devoted her life to the love of children currently a side manager for the young african-american achievers program a parent liaison with benjamin franklin middle school and a parent advocate with parent advocacy for you miss hawkins is dedicated to helping support parents and students it is our pleasure to welcome miss laverne hawkins thank you i want to thank god for just putting certain people in my life i have a very supportive staff at ben franklin middle school miss swartz mr greener miss smith i don't know what i do without maria chen stella lamb james mary gene breed the beacon and my six children five who have come through ben i owe a lot to education for my grandbaby i don't want her to have to go through some of the struggles that i've had to go through with my own children i think would actually help me and turn my life around as my child that's in special ed i never knew when you go into a meeting how many people went in with negative thoughts it was always our fault never the system i got with comans advocacy for children and youth and i became a parent advocacy advocate for children i now have a video out that teaches parents what i didn't know and it's me i understand a lot with children and if i can't help but one child a day or talk to one parent i've been there my life is no bitter roses but until the day i die i want to make sure that all children are treated equal that they understand and that parents don't have to stand in the background and keep their mouths closed because our closed mouth don't get there and last my sister we've been through a lot i'm still going through a lot and she's always there for me i have a brother and i love him but it can't nobody take the love that i have for me and my sister and i say to all sisters and brothers aunties cousins the best thing you can do for yourself is to love one another thank you originally from danville illinois shelly dandridge has made her mark in san francisco tirelessly devoting her time to the volunteer services currently a staff analyst with california state office of family court services miss dandridge has a long history of donating her services to work with children and adults for organizations that include the san francisco youth center and the san francisco cooperative restraining order clinic please welcome miss shelly dandridge i would like to thank the selection committee from the unsung hero program and the san francisco public library and the friends and foundation of the san francisco library i'm truly honored to receive this award um mini night when i go to clinic after a long day of being at court um it's very tiring but i really have to thank um i call him my other half but he's really my better half and that's paul silva um i want to thank him for his patience and his understanding because he has more understanding than any human being should ever have um the many times he picks me up late at night and the many times i say oh i'm gonna be ready at eight o'clock or nine o'clock or ten o'clock or eleven o'clock and he's constantly waiting outside for me sometimes for an hour and so i really want to tell him thank you i thank you and i thank you the women at the clinic thank you and i want to thank miss maggie ag who i've known for 15 years who's been like a mom to me and i want to thank dorthy scott i don't see her here but i know she's here there she is this woman is not only my best friend but she's been like my mom um she's a woman who truly inspires me to do the things that i do it's through her encouragement her compassion that i was able to finish law school that i was able to do the things that i do and when i sit on the samathao council for domestic violence i think about all the things she's helped me to do and to be here today i also want to acknowledge the national council of negro women um the organization they're also sponsoring the i want to say that they're also sponsoring the reception and they're also a sponsor of the unsung hero program but i want to acknowledge the many women i work with at the national council of negro women this is truly a wonderful wonderful organization to belong to for all the women out there and we also accept men as associate members if you don't belong to the national council of negro women i stand here today and tell you to join the organization it's a wonderful wonderful organization who not only works to help improve the quality of life for african-american women but also for the communities also i'm just so touched i can't believe it but also just not only for african-american women but also for for their families and for the community in general and i accept this award with a lot of pride but i'm going to dedicate my award to the true unhunt to the true unsung heroes who are not present here today and that's the many women who are survivors of domestic violence if you don't know i want to tell you there are more than four million women who are physically abused every year who are victims of domestic violence that means every 15 seconds a woman is being bit being beaten in this country and so i ask you as you sit here today and you honor me what i like for you to do is help me and my work as i commit to end violence in the lives of women i asked you that you volunteer either in a shelter or you volunteer to work on the crisis line or you organize with your community you can do simple things such as such as place a sticker in your window so that a woman who may be your neighbor who may be in a violent relationship will know that your house is a safe house also talk to your pastors in the community and let them know that october is domestic violence month and that there's things you can do in your community to end violence and so the work i do and this award is truly to the many survivors of domestic violence thanks a lot although although born in detroit james maybury was raised in san francisco and has been a fixture of benjamin franklin middle school for almost 20 years known to the students as the great one mr maybury a security aid has been an official unofficial manner volunteering is off hours as a tutor for graduating students and assisting young musicians for ben franklin's award-winning band please welcome mr james maybury first off i'd like to thank god for being here today and i'd like to thank him for making it possible for me to receive this award and like i said i've been in there for almost 20 years i enjoyed my work too with the kids i like helping the kids i try to say positive things to them try to be a role model to them and i'd like to thank the staff at benjamin franklin the counselors the teachers the principal the vice principal the secretaries the the custodians you know everybody if it wasn't for them i wouldn't be receiving this award here today and i would like to thank one other person maria chen for nominating me for this award god bless everybody and peace in your life christopher you did an extraordinary job let's get a nice shay out in a big round of applause what confidence he's only 10 gee whiz and now we have a very very very special treat as they say in the bible and on a child to lead them the children will you continue to lead we have javon and samone gutting gutting a i pronounced it for i pronounced it right a minute ago one is 11 years old and the other one is nine javon is a fifth grader at hosey artega elementary school where he is an excellent student he enjoys pokemon how many parents have heard of that computer basketball and dancing he plays the drums and the congo and he is a great all-around kid now samone attends hosey artega as well with her brother she's an aquarium she's carefree loving and likes people a leader in her class she loves to read work on computers and to organize things when she grows up she intends to be not only a medical doctor but a veterinarian so she's going to take care of the whole world how about that hosey can you welcome javon and samone thank you that was absolutely awesome wasn't it let's put our hands together for the parents of these children all of them god bless you in the lost and found department there's a some keys to afford unless is this what i get for being the emcee today if you're looking for your keys i have them there's also a one pearl ear rink if you're looking for it i got it and now my dear friends we're going to continue with the awards and the next award is for muscleo ferrule comings miss cleo ferrule comings the soul and spirit of sherryden elementary school one who believes that every child is her own who treats every child as her own with dignity compassion and a firm hand that is both guiding and correcting oh i should hear nasha somewhere in the audience nasha miss comings was born in alana georgia and came to california with her parents in 1940 they settled on in the om i district of san francisco she married and reproduced wealthily she had six children all six of her children are alive and well and reside in the bay area and this cutting miss comings is widowed she received her master's degree in education from san francisco state university and has worked in the san francisco's unified school district for over 40 years she worked her way up from kina garden onto the school grounds she's taught at sacred heart er taylor and the new traditional school eight years ago she was appointed the principal of sherryden miss comings is one of a kind and will take the action that the situation demands let me demonstrate the grit and determination of this very fine and unique individual have you ever watched a reckless driver wind his way through the omi not stopping at stop signs turning corners on two wheels and disregarding the merits of traffic regulations omi and omi residents just creep along in their cars hoping and praying they will not encounter such a driver today but who's the crazy band of people standing in the middle of the street in front of sherryden school directing traffic well that's miss comings and her crew sherryden school has just let out and they're making sure that no child gets hit by a car can i hear an ashay ashay mrs um clio fairings comings unfortunately cannot be here today but we do have someone who darkest who darkest thomas is going to accept the ward for her please welcome her thank you thank you um i will give this award to mrs comings i first met mrs comings about 10 years ago when i was a tutor we were tutoring this children at sherryden school and she came with the children and since that time she has been a part of my life now i work as a volunteer at sherryden and i keep the library for her believe me mrs comings is a very wonderful woman and last but not least certainly not least edna m james edna james is a mover and a shaker she was chairperson of the omi community association health committee from 1972 to 1975 she's been on various boards including the san francisco commission of unaging the san francisco comprehensive health planning council and the child abuse council she's planned and implemented excuse me innovative programs for youth including health career forums and recruitments for high school students she's worked to provide funding for transportation services for senior citizens according to agnes morten who nominated her miss james has worked very hard to help restore the economic educational and social viability of the mo omi community can i hear an ashay out there cousins ashay she is currently actively involved with the library committee for the new ocean view branch mrs james for your years of tireless effort on behalf of our community thank you for being a 2000 recipient of the unsung heroes if you'd like to come up we'd love to give it to you i'm gonna be like the other lady uh you kind of want to cry but we'll make it i'm very honored today uh to receive this award um and i would like to thank the committee and my fellow nursing person agnes morten and docus thomas and the omi community um i want to say that i was listening to a program uh from over winery and she was talking about millionaires and what it means to be a millionaire and i almost called regis myself about being a millionaire you know and i said well i may not understand the questions but then it came out that it was not about the money it was about giving it's about giving of yourself to others and even people who had the money were not happy and uh i'd just like to say that there's sometimes that you know it's it's never about the money it's about making other people's happy and particularly young people i'm the mother of five kids all of finish college um i have a son who's a doctor and one's the engineer my daughter's in law school and uh i'm very proud to work with children i've been very partial to boys because i had four boys and one girl because i think they need a lot of people have accused me of being concerned about the young men more than i was the young women but i'm very partial to boys because i had children who were in the gifted program as well as one was in special ed and i understand the young lady who talked before about speaking out for your children and understanding what it's all about uh and i'm very proud to have uh been a part of the public school system also my interest has been in the health field i remember graduating from the university california uh master's program in nursing and just talking about the health care not only of older people and as we talk about closing the gap in health care we talk about older people the leading causes of death among african-americans we talk about heart disease uh cardiovascular disease diabetes cancer there's a gap there and i'm willing to uh use all the energy that i can to look at closing that gap in health care and of course for our young people when we look at AIDS and homicide in the black community is very concerned about that because we lose a lot of young people in that area and i'm committed to that uh dr george davis i'm very humbled to be on the roll on a roll with him because uh when we opened up uh the daycare i was the first nurse there looked like sometimes we didn't almost make payroll but we were still working and making it making it a reality in the bayview community and i've been very proud to be a part of their first nurse in the bayview community i'm also part of delta sigma theta sorority which is a public service of sorority and we do give scholarships and i'm part of the chair of the social action committee and i'm glad to hear my two colleagues here uh colleen and uh crystal tonsil here to support me and we had a meeting today so i say let's just meet at the library because we have a meeting about some issues that we have to make for delta sigma theta and the omi community um i am very proud to be a part of the omi community and what we're trying to do and focus in on the health care needs as well as the education and cultural needs we did go to the mayor and say we need a new library and we got our new library and we're very happy and proud of that so mayor gave us a new library um and also we're working on ocean avenue and redevelopment of ocean avenue i know my field is in health care but i'm all across the board i remember uc say etna you're all across the board i say well you know the needs of black people is all across the board so i have to be all across the board and uh so i'm very proud of that i remember uh in when i was in the graduate program at uc uh the paper came out to interview us and i was i thought it was going to be an interview about what all i was doing in the community but what she said she's a troublemaker and she likes it so if it means trouble that i'm advocating for the african-american community i like it and thank you very much for this award for all the unsung heroes that we awarded today and for every single one of you here because i know that you're a hero and if you don't think you're a hero i believe you're a hero and i know you're a hero so you don't have to believe it just know that i know it and hopefully that's enough for you and i would like to end with a martin luther king said shortly before he was assassinated and he said this um and i feel like every single one of the unsung heroes are a part of this quote he said to say that i was a drum major for justice say that i was a drum major for peace that i was a drum major for righteousness and all of the other shallow things will not matter i won't have to leave any money behind i won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind but i just wanted to leave a committed life behind i would like to thank each of the unsung heroes for leaving a committed life behind my name is Veronica Dangerfield it has been my privilege and my honor to be with you here today ashay and i love you well this program ran in record time and i'm sure everybody got something out of it it was very inspirational for me to hear all the unsung heroes speak and accept their awards so in closing though i would like to introduce the staff the committee that i work with i did not do this on my own i had help from fellow librarians and this is toba singer from patrol hill uh dorthy cochley from ocean view the new librarian that's going to be opening okay and robert carlson from western edition i'd like to turn the mic over to toba who has a few words she'd like to say good afternoon i i want to um say that today was seen as an event that celebratory of the commitment and achievements and contributions that individuals in the african-american community make toward their community and towards the betterment of life for everyone who lives in this nation i don't think though that we can walk out of today's event without noting a setback for all of us which was the unconscionable decision in the amadou diallo case which came down just a few days ago and i think that the challenge is before the youth that are here with us today to set that right and to take the the talents and commitment and courage that they have into the streets to our president and demand that our president william jefferson clinton reversed this horrible decision which gives the green light to police brutality something that most of us in this audience have fought for the last 30 or 40 years and some of us longer so i call on all of you to leave today's meeting with that in mind thank you and dorthy would like to say a few things i'm talking to you about ocean view last year at this time i stood in front of you and said in ocean view we're building tomorrow one child at a time this year i'd like to invite you to the opening of the new ocean view branch which will be in june um and i would like to tell you that as of last week we've purchased probably one of the finest african-american film collections in san francisco and probably the west coast and for the final thing and this really is you and this is darkest who's out there and who was the former librarian at ocean view our goal was to raise a hundred and seventy five thousand dollars to furnish the ocean view branch with computers and so forth and so on that was our commitment to the mayor who put the building together and got the money for that we closed at four hundred and fifty thousand dollars to thank all of you i would just like to acknowledge a few more people i would like to thank our young in seas in dirah and christopher they did a wonderful job and our veteran emcee veronica danger field can we just give her a hand she was wonderful thank you i would also like you to acknowledge three members of our nominating committee who are here today and if you would just raise your hand that'd be fine dorthy strickland in the back there darkest thomas right next to her and hazel king who has been a winner also of this award in the past thank you ladies um i'd also like to thank my children's librarian from baby branch he's been sitting here taking pictures thank you denise for offering this is baby's children's librarian all the talent today was wonderful sounds from the ground javon and simone uh robert moses and kin we had wonderful talent and i appreciate them coming out and doing that for us and lastly i'd like to thank the national council of negro women who are uh doing sponsoring the reception that you will be enjoying really soon um they they have been doing this for the last 12 years they are an integral part of this um program and they do it unselfishly and willingly so you will be enjoying some good food when you leave this auditorium in a few minutes i'd like to call up sounds from the ground though to to kind of drum us out for our last procession oh i'm sorry robert carlson has something to say i would like to say to all of you that all of this would not be possible without the hard work of linda brooks Burton who did a coordinating for all of this and as you'd say this was quite a success once again this year um let's give a great round of applause to linda brooks Burton well thank you very much it's my pleasure um sounds from the ground one more time