by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the original in Noozhawk by clicking here)
Eight months ago the Black Lives Matter movement took on heightened relevance with the May death of George Floyd under the hands of Minneapolis police. I joined local protests that followed, beginning at De La Guerra Plaza, where now-retiring Santa Barbara Police Chief Lori Luhnow was invited to speak.
The peaceful protest and the chief’s warm speech attested to the decent relationship between the local police force and the Black community.
But somehow it all feels insufficient in light of the national events that have followed. As former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill observed during the takeover of the Capitol building by Trump supporters on Jan. 6, “Can you imagine if these rioters had been Black?”
Matt Kettmann wrote eloquently on the Black history of Santa Barbara in the Independent back in 2011. Early Black Santa Barbara citizens included self-freed slave Jerry Forney, who petitioned in 1881 to bring Black laborers from his native South Carolina and later ran for mayor.
Two generations later, a 10-year-old William (“Bill”) Simms witnessed Ku Klux Klan cross burnings at the corner of Voluntario and Gutierrez streets. “You didn’t see any Blacks on State Street,” he later recalled.
In 1926, just two years after Simms witnessed the KKK cross burnings, Black civic planners and political leaders posed with Pearl Chase outside her home. One of the projects that emerged from the Black community’s leadership was the delivery of surplus government food on the Eastside. Organized by Herman and Valencia Nelson, the project later morphed into the Foodbank of Santa Barbara.
In reading Kettmann’s account, I was struck by a quote from Christine Simms lamenting the dwindling Black population: “The Black community now probably has less of a presence than it did 50 years ago,” she said in 2011. She worried that younger generations wouldn’t learn about the integral role of Black Americans in Santa Barbara history.
Simms correctly predicted Santa Barbara’s population shrinkage. The proportion of the Black community was 1.5% according to the 2000 census and 1.3% in 2010: a 15% drop. The 2020 census is not yet available. Perhaps economic pressure underlies these figures, but do we even know? How can the white population educate itself on the issues that face our Black neighbors?
Now as I read this over, I believe my query has a White Privilege framing. This question may more accurately convey the problem we face: How can we educate ourselves on the issues that face all Santa Barbarans because we lack Black diversity?
Fortunately, we have an opportunity to learn in local events and programs planned around Martin Luther King Day. These events include speakers, service days, church and faith services, films, and more.
An essay contest features a theme based on an MLK quote that is spot on for now: “The ultimate measure of a [person] is not where [they] stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where [they] stand in times of challenge and controversy.”
An event I’ll be attending is A Follow-up Conversation to the UCSB Arts & Lectures Race to Justice event featuring Ta-Nehisi Coates. The Jan. 14 online program will be presented by Coffee With a Black Guy (CWABG) and sponsored by Hospice, Pacifica Graduate Institute Alumni Association, and the Santa Barbara Foundation.
Santa Barbaran James Joyce III is the founder and chief visionary officer of CWABG, an innovative organization, which now has a strong national presence.
I’m thinking differently about MLK day this year. The holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. is a recognition of the contributions of Black Americans throughout our history. It also highlights the many advantages of diversity and multiculturalism for all of us.
What are we lacking because we haven’t been able to attract or hold onto generations of Black Santa Barbarans?
Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist
Karen Telleen-Lawton is an eco-writer, sharing information and insights about economics and ecology, finances and the environment. Having recently retired from financial planning and advising, she spends more time exploring the outdoors — and reading and writing about it. The opinions expressed are her own.