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Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Committee

Education Speaker Series, in collaboration with PADC presents “Talking with your kids about Race” with Dr. Alison Briscoe-Smith

8/30/2016

When
Tuesday, September 13, 7:30-9pm

Where
Piedmont High School
800 Magnolia Ave.
Piedmont, CA 94611

Talking With Your Kids About Race
Issues of race, racism and discrimination are in the media almost daily, and our kids are very aware of these pressing topics. Do you wonder how to talk with your kids about these important issues in a way that increases their curiosity and opens up a conversation? The Piedmont Education Speaker Series, in collaboration with the Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Committee, welcomes Dr. Allison Briscoe-Smith, a child psychologist and professor at the Wright Institute, whose research has focused on how children understand race, and how racial socialization plays out at home and in the classroom.

About the Speaker
Dr. Allison Briscoe-Smith is a child psychologist and professor at the Wright Institute, whose research has focused on how children understand race, and how racial socialization plays out at home and in the classroom. She earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from Harvard University and a clinical psychology Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley.

Admission
Free for Series subscribers; $15 per person at the door

Subscription information:
PUSD families can subscribe to the Education Speaker Series in the Piedmont Store.
Learn more about the Piedmont Education Speaker Series here:
http://www.piedmontportal.org/education-speaker-series/

If you do not have children attending school in the Piedmont Unified School District and would like to subscribe to the Series, please contact us at educationspearkerseries@piedmont.k12.ca.us

PPD Chief Goede OpEd on Police Shootings This Summer

8/19/2016

Piedmont Police Department's Chief Goede penned a powerful editorial for the July 25 edition of the Piedmont Post. We're pleased to share it with you here.

Piedmont PD and Recent Tragic Events
Chief Rikki Goede
With the tragic and horrific events of the past two weeks, I have been asked by residents, council members, and committee members alike as to how our officers and I are doing. Inquiries have also been made regarding what our department has done to address the national issues concerning law enforcement. While I have had individual conversations and e-mail exchanges, I feel it is important to share my thoughts in an opinion piece for the benefit of others who may have the same questions and concerns.

What is happening in our society today with regard to our divisiveness around many issues, most notably race, far transcends the simple notion of a law enforcement versus people of color issue. It is a societal issue. The callous murders of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge are my and every other law enforcement officer's worst nightmare come true. I also believe they are every peaceful protester's worst nightmare come true, as well as the nightmare of every person in this nation who so passionately seeks change and wants our divisiveness to end. As I told my police department, evil seeks to divide us and turn us on each other, and we cannot let that happen.
I will tell you, we at PPD have received nothing but support from our community. People have gone out of their way to stop me and our officers on the street (in both Oakland and Piedmont) to thank us for our service and let us know they support us. We have received plants, gift cards, and letters and cards of support. It has been both heartwarming and uplifting to all of us, and we thank you. I believe it is reflective of all the good work our officers do for this community as well as how they do it, which is respectfully and professionally.
Our Department has worked hard to get better. PPD officers have been wearing body cameras since September, 2013. Every one of our officers has been through Biased Based Policing training to better understand the concepts of implicit and explicit bias. Every single officer and dispatcher has completed the week long Crisis Intervention Training to better understand and effectively deal with those individuals in personal crisis and/or suffering from mental illness. We have been, and will continue to, thread de-escalation principles throughout all of our firearms and use of force training. Our Department wholly recognizes the six pillars of policing as defined by President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing: (1) Building Trust and Legitimacy; (2) Policy and Oversight; (3) Technology and Social Media; (4) Community Policing and Crime Reduction; (5) Training and Education; (6) Officer Wellness and Safety.
Additionally, we have strengthened our relationships within our own community by partnering with the Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Committee (PADC). Last Fall, PADC members and all of our police department employees partnered on a potluck barbeque and, over a shared meal, had an opportunity to discuss candidly the issues of which we are facing. In May, PADC sponsored and participated in the police and fire departments’ annual Battle of the Badges which raised over $2,000 for Special Olympics. And, last week one of the PADC co-chairs and I met for over two hours in a very personal and cathartic meeting in which we shared our united grief and frustration over recent events. None of us have the one answer that will solve everything, but we all feel the pain of what is happening and know these conversations and relationship building are a vital part of moving forward.
The last few years have brought challenges and opportunities for law enforcement to get better. We have heeded the call to change and made many strides toward understanding and improving those areas in which we had strayed from our core values. We have embraced this need to change and taken on the responsibility to lead. Do we still have issues--yes. Do we still have improvements to be made--yes. Do we still have work to do--yes. But, we are doing the work against the backdrop of media rhetoric, false narratives that proliferate through social media, and evil acts that constantly seek to divide law enforcement and their communities and erase all our gains. And, even with all that we have accomplished here in our community, I know that at any given moment one of my officers may be involved in a use of force or a shooting incident that could put Piedmont squarely in the cross hairs of public scrutiny. But, I also believe our work will have garnered the trust and support of our community, and we will stand together and use it to get better and stronger and, hopefully, change the narrative.
As President Obama stated during the memorial for the Dallas police officers, "...so much of the tensions between police departments and minority communities that they serve is because we ask the police to do too much, and we ask too little of ourselves…” The Dallas police chief, who portrayed amazing leadership, challenged his community to do more and encouraged protesters to fill out an application and become a police officer and actually be part of the change they wish to see.
There is so much truth in both of those sentiments. We cannot continue to put this burden solely on our police officers. Across the nation and in our individual communities, we all need to come together and look outside the realities and comfort of our own bubbles and acknowledge we all do not experience things in the same way. We must also be willing to acknowledge that there is pain, ostracism, torment, anger, and even hatred felt by many in our own city and across the country. It is real and cannot be ignored. I truly believe this is a watershed moment for our country. And, my 31 years of policing experience tell me there are countless more good people in this world than evil who truly want to see the current divisiveness bridged. The question can no longer be what is law enforcement doing to solve this societal issue, it must be what are we all doing.

Join Piedmont Pride in the Fourth of July Parade!

6/21/2016

For the first time, Piedmont's 4th of July Parade will include a Gay Pride contingent, organized by Piedmont City Council Member Tim Rood. LGBT individuals, families, neighbors and friends are invited to join the delegation. We at PADC encourage Piedmonters to seize this opportunity to show their support for community diversity and inclusion, especially in light of the horrible attack and killings in Orlando earlier this month. If you would like to participate, sign up for email instructions by clicking here.

We Are Piedmont Exhibit Opens June 1 in City Hall

5/22/2016

PADC and the City of Piedmont are proud to support this exhibit exploring the diversity of people who live, work, and learn in our community. Congratulations to the team of Piedmont and Millennium High School students for producing 23 stunning portraits accompanied by written interviews

The exhibit opens to the public on June 1, 2016, in City Hall. You can preview the portraits on the website, WeArePiedmont.com. (A small, private reception for the artists, their families and other invited guests will be held May 31.)

Claire Altieri (Student Team Lead, PHS), Gigi Gleghorn (PHS), Andrew Hansen(PHS), Kathryn Savage(PHS), Mason Scoggins(MHS), Elka Sorensen(PHS), and Gillian Bailey (Project Advisor, not shown).

Kudos to the Wildwood Dad’s Club for taking responsibility.

4/6/2016

Earlier this year, during their annual Crab Feed, the Wildwood Dads’ Club showed a series of quirky, self-deprecating videos - including one depicting the community's lack of diversity - as part of the evening’s entertainment. Unfortunately, the video series ended with a bizarre clip of a black woman yelling something unintelligible. That portrait was also the only image of a black person in the series. To their credit, the club board recognizes how offensive this is, and issued a letter of apology (appended below). They have also expressed a willingness to engage the Wildwood community in thoughtful dialog on this subject going forward. PADC looks forward to working with and supporting the Wildwood Dads’ Club as we all tackle this vital topic head on.

February 12th, 2016
Re: Wildwood Dads’ Club Crab Feed, Saturday February 6th
To: Attendees, Teachers and Staff at Wildwood Elementary and Wildwood Community

We appreciate the volunteer contributions of all members of the Wildwood Dad’s Club. Our goal is to be an active and positive member of the Wildwood Community through our various fundraising efforts, such as last Saturday’s Crab Feed. We also want to hold ourselves to the highest standard of appreciating and fostering diversity in all we do as role models to our children including supporting positive portrayals of all members of our society.

We regret that we misstepped in that effort in a portion of our entertainment at the Crab Feed. We take responsibility for the entertainment and sincerely apologize for any offense we may have caused.

We have sought the input of PUSD leadership and Wildwood's Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Club representative to ensure we are taking the necessary steps to address this instance and also our practice going forward. We have also discussed this issue at our regular meeting and the Club has recommitted to ensuring the most positive and productive contributions to Wildwood Elementary School, its teachers and staff and the Wildwood community as a whole.

Should you have any questions or wish to discuss this matter directly please feel free to reach out to at pdwagener@comcast.net.

Thank you for all your support over the years.

Yours sincerely,
Peter Wagener
President
Wildwood Dads’ Club

Letter to The Piedmont Post Editor, January 27 2016

2/1/2016

Dear Editor,

Last week, the MLK Day Celebration hosted by PADC and the City of Piedmont drew more than 300 people from Piedmont, Oakland and beyond. They heard talented student performers and our city and state leaders beautifully express themselves on the challenges of continuing the civil rights work of Dr. King. We at PADC are grateful to be part of a community that creates a space every year to celebrate and reflect upon the transformative work of Dr. King, reminding us that his work – and our work – is not yet done.

Unfortunately, an incident occurred at this event that made some of our invited guest feel very unwelcome in our community. A few minutes before the OSA Chamber Choir took the stage, Choir Director Cava Menzies and her students suffered a verbal assault from two audience members. (You can read more about this here on our website.) We at PADC know that many in the Piedmont community, like us, were mortified by this poor treatment of guests at our event, but what’s worse is that it’s not the first time visitors have felt unwelcome – even unwanted - in our city.

You may have read in in this newspaper about teenage students of color stopped and questioned because a resident thinks they looked “suspicious,” and the calls to the police from those feeling threatened by a gardener’s truck parked on their street. But you may not be aware of what PADC hears all too often: an African-American resident afraid to go running at night because of how his neighbors might react, or the black family celebrating their child’s birthday in one of our parks that elicits a call to the police. There is also the sentiment – even among visitors who don’t experience such treatment - that Piedmont is intolerant of “outsiders,” especially outsiders of color. Or the feeling voiced by colleagues in Oakland that "Piedmont definitely has diversity, race, and privilege issues."

We have work to do. We need to ask ourselves questions: Who lives and works in our community and how do they experience Piedmont? What causes people visiting our city to feel unwelcome? What are the qualities that drew us to Piedmont and are they extended to all? And how exactly how do we want to be perceived in the larger community (Oakland and beyond)?

There are many ways to address these questions. Community organizations from parent clubs to houses of worship can add such discussions to their agenda. School district leadership, teachers and parents can reflect on how and whether diversity and inclusion are taught in their classrooms and in their homes. Oakland is a source of diversity and leadership in social justice; we can make a conscious effort to build broader ties between cities and host joint events. Finally, we can ask ourselves how well we know those in our own community, and reach out to our neighbors.
PADC is committed to spurring our community as a whole to discuss and reflect upon questions that the MLK incident and many others like it have raised. We hope you will join the conversation.

Kobi Eshun and Alison Feldman
Co-Presidents, Piedmont Appreciating Diversity Committee

Shameful Blight on MLK Day Celebration

1/23/2016

On Monday, January 18th, a few minutes before the OSA Chamber Choir filed onto stage to blow the roof off the Veterans Memorial Building, Cava Menzies suffered a shocking verbal assault from two audience members. She and her 32 students were packed into the catering galley area off to stage right. This area would normally have been reserved for staging, but had become makeshift overflow seating to accommodate the turnout.

First, one middle-aged white woman walked up to her to say that her students "were an embarrassment and need to learn some respect." Then a second woman jumped in saying, "you know, I'm a teacher too. You need to learn to control them. It's not that hard. Make them go outside." All this with her students and their parents watching. In Cava's own words, "It was unbelievable to experience that kind of condescension and entitlement only five minutes prior to us going on stage. I was shocked by the lack of compassion and respect for myself or my students from those particular guests."

Needless to say, this is a horrifying blight on our community. Such condescension and entitlement on a day of celebrating tolerance and humanity — the irony here is grimly poetic. And, of course, this was not just an assault on Cava, but also on the 32 students who had dedicated their day to serve our community by sharing music with us. Let us remember that these students commuted to us from East and West Oakland to participate in our event whose purpose was to promote and celebrate diversity. Is this the message we want to give our young people of color that come as visitors?

You may be tempted to downplay the racial overtones of this incident. Please don’t. What is not communicated in the summary of the encounter is tone of voice, body language, and overall demeanor of both women while speaking to Cava. Clearly, beyond just the language that was spoken, the way in which she was spoken to in front of her students was unacceptable. The specter of two privileged white women vying to put a successful black woman in her place, and to shame a talented group of student performers, most of whom are black, is blatant. The message, "You folks don’t belong inside here” is inescapable. We don’t know if these two women are racist or even if they are Piedmont residents. But the impact of their actions is undeniable. And, unfortunately, this behavior is not completely atypical in our community.

I'm sorry to hear about the distress experienced by Ms. Menzies and I hope we convey to her our sorrow at the incident and our plans to improve staging for next year's event.

I hate to hear and read things like this because it puts a lot of anger inside but unfortunately it's reality!

This is a very complex situation containing so many internal issues on both sides

Lesson learned--we need to be very conscious of the staging areas for performers

How very rude!!! ... Until more people have more experiences with people who don't look like them, I fear these incidents will continue.

Public shaming is not acceptable. No true educator should undermine the authority of another educator like that. Piedmont has a problem with its image in Oakland. Nobody will want to perform here if they are spoken to like that.

This gets to the heart of my previous request that we reexamine this event. The idea that this celebration needs to be reclaimed and realigned with Dr. King "The Man and The Work" is trending and this incident highlights why. I'm thinking service learning, a series of commonwealth-like conversations with social justice leaders

Our membership has been very vocal and thoughtful in their responses, ranging from embarrassment and outrage to questioning the organization and the focus of this annual event. We’re also reminded that, as an organization promoting diversity and inclusion, we have a responsibility to give the two aggressors the space and opportunity to reflect on the events in a constructive manner.

The logistical issues identified are obviously straightforward to address. The existential challenge to the event itself - the idea that the celebration may need to be "reclaimed and realigned ..." - also seems to be a tractable problem.

But there also emerged some questions with no obvious or straightforward answers:

Our city has a reputation for being unwelcoming to visitors. "Piedmont definitely has diversity, race, and privilege issues." Is this reputation fair? Is this how we want to be perceived?
What was going on for the two women who verbally assaulted Ms Menzies and her students? What assumptions did they make? Are they aware of the impact of their outbursts?

Cava Menzies herself asks,

Are there cultural considerations and communication norms that are essential in breaking down racial barriers in communities like Piedmont that are predominantly white?
What is our responsibility in educating our population of these needs?

PADC is committed to spurring our community as a whole to discuss and reflect upon these questions. Will you join the conversation?

MLK Day 2016 Speakers

1/10/2016

Congresswoman Barbara Lee is a forceful and progressive voice in Congress, dedicated to social and economic justice, international peace, and civil and human rights. First elected in 1998 to represent California’s then-9th Congressional District (now the 13th), the Democratic lawmaker has established a reputation for principled and independent stands, unafraid to take on the tough issues and speak her mind for her constituents, for a more just America, and for a safer world. As a social worker by profession, she has prioritized advocating for people dealing with the federal bureaucracy.

Mayor Margaret Fujioka is the first woman of color to serve on the Piedmont City Council. She was elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012 with the highest number of votes in both contested races, and in 2014 she was unanimously elected Mayor by her fellow City Council Members.

Margaret is currently an Administrative Hearing Officer with Alameda County and is a former Deputy City Attorney in Oakland.

She is a past president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area.

Margaret received a B.A. from UC Berkeley and a J.D. from UC Hastings College of Law.

Assemblyman Tony Thurmond was elected to represent California’s 15th Assembly District in November 2014.

As a community advocate, Thurmond has helped create job training and workforce housing programs that can serve as a model for state efforts at poverty reduction. Further, he recognizes that creating sustainable jobs for California youth is a successful way to reinvest in local communities.

A Fellow in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Children and Family Fellowship program, Assemblymember Thurmond is a graduate and former student body president of Temple University. Assemblymember Thurmond did his graduate work at Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, PA) where he received dual Masters Degrees in Law and Social Policy and Social Work. He lives in Richmond, California.

MLK Day 2016 Performers: OSA Chamber Choir

1/10/2016

Cava Menzies, founding faculty member at the Oakland School of Arts, will direct The OSA Chamber Choir at our 2016 MLK Day Celebration. The group will perform a selection of powerful songs, opening with Glory from the movie Selma, by Common and John Legend.

Alex Bennett • Lauren Blakely • Jazz Broughton • Isabella Calderon • Genesis Chambers • Isaiah Chambers • Charlotte Cohen • Tatianna Cordoba • Daniel Fine-Salan • Sara Fitting • Satya Hawley • Julianne Horenstein • Anais Leal • Cerica Liam • Chelsea Loftus • Mia Matsuno • Florence Faith Matteson • Arianna Mittelbuscher • Shavon Moore • Michael Mueller • Lyla Neely • Brian Nervis II • Julissa Otenbriet • Divine Pongtorn • Ella Raffael • Caretha Richardson • Nava Rosenthal • Cataleya Sazo • Amy Schaffer • Lily Stevenson • Juliana Tucciarone • Zearah Tyson • Hedda Wikstrom • Asher Witkin • Cicoia Zelie

MLK Day 2016 Performers: Westlake Jazz Band

1/10/2016

The Westlake Jazz Band, led by Piedmont resident Randy Porter, will be performing at our 2016 MLK Day Celebration. Members of Westlake's jazz ensemble and orchestra are working together to create music around this most relevant theme of social justice. The selections being played were performed last spring at Yoshi's, and we continually are able to reinforce the message that music is an obvious vehicle to learn about and to effect social change.

Leon Jones: voice, violin • Vernejah Walker: voice • Muwazu Maelianashantipuja Chisum-Misquitta: voice, tenor sax, clarinet • Daniel Martinez: trombone • Ariam Semere: guitar, viola • Peter Bawi: guitar • Jalen Chang: piano • Demi Oliva-Pacheco: bass, violin • Kennice Chen: viola • Miles Turk: drums