2
The San Diego Monitor
Working Spaces
Howard University co-work space
The Rise of Black-Owned Co-Work Spaces On February 1, 1960, four students marched to 134 South Elm Street in Greensboro, North Carolina, through the doors of F.W. Woolworth restaurant, and sat at the open counter to order lunch. But they were hungry in the wrong place.
There would be no lunch served to these young black students in the whites-only restaurant that day. For black people in the early 20th century, whites-only sanctioned spaces like theaters, bathrooms, and stores were off limits. Violation of state-sanctioned discrimination resulted in physical violence, arrests, or worse. Today, over 50 years since Congress passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act outlawing segregation, access to safe spaces for black people remains a barrier amid growing gentrification of historically black neighborhoods in urban cities and the ongoing practice of white people calling the police on black patrons at Starbucks or barbecuing in a public park. Enter the black-owned co-working space. At least 56 of these spaces have popped up in urban communities around the country over the last decade with a particular focus on inclusive innovation, community building, and safety for black patrons. Cont. on pg.4
3
The San Diego Monitor
Second Black and First Afro-Latino to Lead CA Department of Education By Manny Otiko | California Black Media
Assemblymember Tony Thurmond (D-Richmond) pulled off a hard-fought victory defeating CEO of Green Dot Public Schools Marshall Tuck in the race for Superintendent of Public Instruction. The results were officially certified by the Secretary of State’s Office on Friday, Dec. 14. According to a press release from Thurmond’s campaign, he overcame an 86,000-vote deficit on Election Day to win. “I want to thank the voters of California for electing me to serve the 6 million students of California, I intend to be a champion of public schools and a Superintendent for all California students,” said Thurmond in a press release. “I ran for superintendent of Public Instruction to deliver to all Californians the promise that public education delivered to me – that all students, no matter their background and no matter their challenges, can succeed with a great public education.” Thurmond, who is the second African-American and first Afro-Latino to hold the position, describes his heritage in an Op-ed in Latino Edge Magazine explaining his background as “one of blended cultures and traditions.” His mother’s parents were born in Colombia and Jamaica and raised their seven children in Panama. Thurmond’s grandparents on his father’s side were the descendants of African slaves who were brought to America and settled in Mississippi and Detroit, Michigan.
Challenges Lie Ahead Thurmond, a former social worker, has a background working in public education having served on a school board before being elected to the State Assembly. In a previous interview with California Black Media he said that one of his goals is to increase the number of minority teachers and reduce the number of students of color who are suspended or diagnosed with behavior disorders. In his quest, Thurmond can look to the work of Wilson Riles, the first African-American elected as state superintendent in 1970. It was a shock victory that was deemed impossible at the time. Wiles, who started his educational journey in a one-room school in Louisiana, served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II before becoming an educator. He served three terms as superintendent and was the first African-American elected to a statewide office in California. The Wilson C. Riles Middle School in Roseville is named after him. Dr. Shirley Thornton, a retired educator and a member of The Center for Excellence, got to know Wiles when she worked in San Francisco. She described him as a “warm educator” and a “sensitive man.” “He cared about kids who were marginalized,” said Thornton. She said Wiles’ biggest success was with the Title I program and making sure all children received a decent education. “He kept education at the forefront of the state,” said Thornton. Different Year, Same Problems Thornton said that many of the problems that California faced in the pre-Wiles era is still present. Many children are still marginalized by the public education system and are not getting a decent education, she said. Dr. Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Education Trust—West interim coexecutive director, said the state still suffers from unequal funding in the education field. In a recent press release, she said, “We cannot continue to be complacent with a system that provides more counselors, more computer science courses, and more A-G courses for affluent schools than schools in lower-income communities - to name just a few of the injustices impacting California students.” Vernon M. Billy, CEO and executive director of the California School Boards Association, said in an interview with CBM earlier this year that the real problem is making sure students who need the most help get the right support. In an EdSource editorial published in January, Billy took issue with the California School Dashboard, a tool that was designed to produce a report card on schools. Continued pg.7
4
The San Diego Monitor
That’s a small fraction of the over 4,000 co-working spaces that exist in some form across the country, supporting over 500,000 freelancers, startup companies, consultants, and emerging founders. According to experts at the Global Coworking Unconference Conference (GCUC), memberships at coworking spaces will double to well over a million, with physical coworking environments reaching over 6,000 nationwide by 2022.
Aaron Saunders started a co-working office at Howard University.
The 56 black-owned spaces emerged adjacent to this growth trend, providing more than conference rooms, Wi-Fi, and limitless coffee: they are built to give black people a safe
space to find themselves in the work of innovation where they have largely been excluded. Data from a 2016 study by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation revealed that native-born African Americans comprise of just half a percent of US-born innovators—despite being over 13 percent of the overall population. Aaron Saunders, a computer scientist and owner of a mobile app development business, opened the Inclusive Innovation Incubator in 2017. Housed at Howard University in Washington, DC, the 8,000 square-foot incubator space is one of the first to open on the campus of a black college in the country. At $200 per month, entrepreneurs get a desk and access to special events, as well as a variety of classes on coding, app development, or growing a startup—most of which are taught by other technologists of color. “[Entrepreneurs know] that when they come into this space the instructor is going to look like them, “says Saunders. “This helps when [previously] they didn’t have a safe space to work through the challenges of taking their firm to the next level.” “That’s where we come in and own that effort, “ Saunders said. “Having a space that is black-owned and supported by and attended mostly by people of color, it is a good thing.
5
The San Diego Monitor
2019 Editor’s Pick San Diego’s Thought Expansionist by Cheryl Morrow I thought about my 2018 community experiences a while back in October, and what I found was a common thread in my list of those I encountered. It was the New edge to their conversation. It was searching for a new way to do or be something. I find that refreshing. I find it brave. So here is to the brave ones; those Afropreneurs as I like to call them, who seek out the expansive route, explores new angles on old things. I like to tell my readers when meeting them, “You’re as old as your conversation, nothing ages you more than old talk. Kheperah Ray and Cameron Flowers of Floreo Tech, formally known as DevJam Labs; are some of the most expansive thinkers I have met in a while. Their goal is to make apps and hardware development easier and obtainable. Their conversation is not about tech for the sake of tech but about expanding the way we engage with it. The Rev. Shane Harris is no stranger to controversy. He and I have had many conversations and the one thing I take away from them is that his goal is to control the direction of the narrative and not just the narrative itself. The expansion is in the mouth of the beholder, it’s in the way you chose to speak about an issue. I call Lawanna Richmond the mother of Afrofuturism is San Diego. Her vision is one that is about self and group self. In the many conversations, we have had, she brings a fresh simple touch that delivers clarity to our community understanding. When it comes to a conversationalist, Jimmy Lovett (to the left), is not from earth. He is one of the most expansive thinkers in San Diego. His goal during our talks is profound in that he takes a more critical and sound reasoning approach to our community issues that need examining, he’s not afraid to be uncomfortable.
It’s not about game changers
It’s not about change agents
It’s not about mover or shaker…
It’s about Expansion
Another warrior of expansion. Angela Trinidad as many know her, speaks the truth and if it’s got to be said, well she’s there to say. Our conversations have been ones of strategy, in a way that brings many media spins to a halt, but Angela has a knack for micronizing the big pill swallow moments into learning, expansive and compassionate experiences.
6
The San Diego Monitor
Michelle Obama Named ‘Most Admired Woman’ In Annual Gallup Survey
SDPD and the City Attorney Breached Ethics Rules and Attorney-Client Privilege in Aggressive Leak Hunt
The annual survey, conducted Dec. 3-12 this year, asks Americans to name the man and the woman living anywhere in the world they most admire. The question is open-ended so participants can write in whomever they choose. About 15 percent of survey participants named Michelle Obama this year. Media mogul Oprah Winfrey came in second with 5 percent of the votes. Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, a former secretary of state and a former first lady, tied for third place with current first lady Melania Trump. They each received 4 percent. Winning most admired man this year was Michelle Obama’s husband, former President Barack Obama. The 44th president has won the title for 11 consecutive years, garnering 19 percent of the votes this year. President Donald Trump came in second with 13 percent of the votes. Former President George W. Bush and Pope Francis tied for third, with each receiving 1 percent. Read More
The issue began after Voice of San Diego reported that the police report on the alleged sexual assault revealed that the suspect confessed to officers that he raped his classmate. “I put my thing in his butt,” he allegedly said. “I don’t know why I did it.” Despite the suspect’s admission and statements from two witnesses, a sex crimes detective dropped the case for lack of evidence. The victim’s mother said she wasn’t told that her son had been raped until a year later. After Voice of San Diego’s story published, SDPD’s internal affairs snapped into action. It opened an investigation into how the report became public. Investigators soon identified a prime suspect, a homicide detective named Dana Hoover, who four years earlier sued the city, alleging employment-related harassment and retaliation. “The Voice of San Diego article prompted an investigation by the Department’s internal affairs unit seeking to determine if and how the media obtained a confidential police investigative report,” the appellate court ruling says.
www.sdmonitornews.com
“Suspicion focused on Hoover, and investigators scheduled an interview with her to determine whether she was the source of the leak.” Read More www.sdmonitornews.com
7
The San Diego Monitor
“In order to uphold California’s tradition of innovation and our responsibility to the state’s 6.2 million public school students, we must do better. That begins with refining the California School Dashboard to increase its focus on equity. Prioritizing equity would mean being upfront about how many schools need assistance and making equity more prominent on the dashboard display — possibly by placing the names of student groups on the top level of the dashboard or by creating an equity rating for each indicator,” said Billy. Another issue facing Thurmond is trying to effect change at more than 1,000 school districts in California where each district has its own superintendent. Thornton also worries about how much independence Thurmond shows as SPI, since is supported by the powerful California Teacher Association. A Sacramento Bee report shows CTA spent about $16 million to help support Thurmond’s campaign. According to education experts, Thurmond will face several other complex issues as the state’s chief education officer. Thurmond also says he wants to set up a pilot program to recruit more minority teachers, at a time during a statewide teaching shortage, and many school districts continue to struggle with recruiting teachers of color.
2018 WAS THE YEAR OF THE SCOOTER. WHAT HAPPENS NOW? Left: Scooter companies like Lime, Bird, Spin, Scoot, and Skip exploded onto the transportation scene this year. Now they have to figure out how to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
IF YOU SAY you saw this coming, I don’t believe you. In 2018, electric scootershare stole the mobility show. They arrived unannounced in cities. They provoked fierce council meetings and protests. They launched debates about who owns sidewalks, anyway, and what role regulators
play in bossing around big business. They sucked up VC dollars, mountains of them, as upstarts crowed about the revenue generated per scoot. They got damaged and fixed, they launched their own new gig economy jobs. Read More www.sdmonitornews.com