Speakers gathered over Zoom at the “State of Black Berkeley” event on Feb. 20.
The annual gathering of activists at the “State of Black Berkeley” on Saturday looked different in 2021 than in past years. Attendees greeted each other over Zoom and asked questions or sent compliments in the chatbox, rather than raising hands or applauding in person. Still, with rousing music and a dance break to intersperse impassioned speeches and calls to action, the spirit of the event was unchanged.
The 17 speakers covered a wide range of topics, like how to build community as Berkeley’s Black population continues to shrink; education equity and student support at Berkeley High; police reform and mental health services; equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine; celebrating and protecting Black history and culture, including the statue of a local Black legislator which was vandalized this year; and reparations for the economic losses caused by systemic racism.
Still from the Abby Ginzburg documentary ‘Waging Change.’
Watch a documentary about restaurant workers; join a conversation about Black Berkeley; learn about global botanical art; explore California’s wilderness; and read a story about rainbows.
WAGING CHANGE The situation for restaurant workers has become dire because of the pandemic, but there have been unfair working conditions in the industry for a long time.
Waging Change, a documentary by Abby Ginzberg, profiles restaurant workers who are trying to feed themselves and their families off tips. It covers the movement to end the federal tipped wage minimum at $2.13 and shines a light on the effects of the #MeToo movement to end sexual harassment in the industry. The film features Saru Jayaraman, who is the president of One Fair Wage and director of the Food Labor Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. Watch the film and learn how to get involved to support restaurant workers. Broadcast on KQED 9 on
Berkeley finally embracing housing in a bid to rebuild a historically Black neighborhood
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Althea Rankins, 71, leaves after shopping at a Walgreens store that could undergo redevelopment as part of the city s rezoning plan on Adeline Street in Berkeley, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020.Sarahbeth Maney / Special to The Chronicle
The Berkeley City Council was about to vote on rezoning the Adeline Street corridor this month when the members did something unheard of in the city’s famously anti-development politics: They moved to add an extra floor of height to what builders could construct.
Instead of six floors on the southern end of Shattuck Avenue, developers willing to make 50% of units affordable could build seven stories. And instead of five stories along Adeline Street, they could put up six-story residential buildings if they met the same affordable threshold.