Richmond Pulse Newspaper March 2024

‘Remain Vigilant’: RPD Gives Tips to Protect Public from Robbery

BY SAMANTHA KENNEDY

After a recent trend in smashand-grab robberies at ATMs, the Richmond Police Department is arming residents with tips on how to avoid being targeted.

“This is not to be fearful but to remain vigilant,” Crime Prevention Manager Michelle Milam said at the department’s Jan. 24 Crime Prevention meeting. “We all have to be mindful, especially when getting in and out of your car or vehicle.”

Many of the robberies have been committed at banks and ATMs where the thief will often watch the person withdraw money and break into their car once the person has left.

“One of the reasons we selected the topic was to make the public aware of the concerns,” she said.

Detective Brandon Hodges said perpetrators would often conceal their identity while targeting a potential victim.

In cases where a thief uses a vehicle, for example, it often has no license plate.

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No two incidents are the same, however, and how people are targeted varies. According to Hodges, the trend is not unique to Richmond, and groups of thieves are committing robberies across the Bay Area.

Some incidents involve people being robbed after using the ATM or after being followed home.

Hodges says being aware of your surroundings — such as keeping an eye out for vehicles or people that you believe are suspicious — and hiding personal belongings are some ways to prevent a robbery.

“We definitely recommend paying attention at the ATM, getting done with business quickly, and avoiding sitting in your car after leaving or placing a purse or wallet on the seat,” Milam said.

If you have to use an ATM or bank, consider the time of day you do so. Though robberies have occurred during the day because of thieves “getting brazen,” the daylight often provides more witnesses should a crime occur.

One crime analysis technician at the police department, Sofia Ayala, said many

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Richmond Pulse is a community media project focusing on youth voices and health and community coverage in the city of Richmond, California. The project is supported by The California Endowment.

of these robberies have happened along the Macdonald Avenue corridor.

In its weekly patrol activity overview released Jan. 25, the department noted two robberies on Jan. 19 in which the victims had just visited a bank. Officers responded to victims in the 4300 block of Macdonald Avenue and around the blocks of San Pablo and Roosevelt avenues.

One victim had his purse stolen when walking to his vehicle, while the other’s window was smashed in at a red light before a purse was taken.

“Of course, patrol will try to provide additional support and presence to the areas we have seen the crimes occur,” Milam said.

Other recent weekly overviews have shown several similar robberies, though they are not representative of all calls the department responds to.

If you see a vehicle following you after withdrawing money, Hodges told community members at the meeting, you can drive to a safe public location, such as the police department.

“Maybe it’ll divert that suspect from

actually targeting you, especially when you are going home,” Hodges said.

Or, he said, you can call 911.

“I think the best partnership we can have with the community is to make sure everyone is educated and aware when using the ATM and that folks call in and report suspicious activity,” Milam said.

The department alerted the public of the robberies earlier in January in a Facebook post, advising residents to stay aware of their surroundings at ATMs and while loading items into their cars at the grocery store.

That was not the first time in recent memory that the department has had to warn the public about these types of robberies.

Last year, smash-and-grab robberies reportedly increased around February and May. The increases, which also included an uptick in robberies in the middle of May, were addressed in a crime prevention meeting.

Ayala said at the meeting that the city saw a 16% increase in robberies in 2023 as compared with 2022. •

DAVID MEZA

The Richmond Police Department provided residents with advice on how to help keep themselves from becoming the victims of robbery at a community crime prevention meeting on Jan. 24.

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Richmond Pulse is a community news project founded by New America Media, focusing on health and community coverage in the city of Richmond, California.

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Medi-Cal Expanded to All Undocumented Californians, but Income Limits Leave Many Out

BY ANA TELLEZ-WITRAGO

Esther, 49, started losing her teeth in her mid-30s. The Richmond resident didn’t have insurance and couldn’t afford to go to a dentist or doctor. Last year, however, extreme pain pushed her to get an emergency procedure in which all her remaining teeth were pulled. But now, she has insurance, which will enable her to get dentures.

“I have been in the United States for over 28 years. I have paid my taxes every year I worked,” Esther said. “I had children to take care of. It was either fixing my teeth or paying bills.”

As of Jan. 1, undocumented immigrants like Esther who live in California became eligible for Medi-Cal, provided they meet other eligibility requirements, regardless of age. (Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program, which provides public health insurance for low-income and other qualifying people.) California is now the only state to fund comprehensive health care for undocumented immigrants. A reported 700,000 people living in California will now have access under the expansion.

Previously, the state made Medi-Cal available first to undocumented children through age 18, then young adults aged 19 to 25, and then to adults 50 and over.

The move is expected to benefit many extremely low-income undocumented people. However, it still leaves many people in need of health insurance.

Esther is one of two Richmond residents the Pulse spoke with about the Medi-Cal expansion, one with no legal status and the other a DACA recipient.

Esther has already benefited from the change; the other is ineligible. Because of their immigration statuses, both asked only to be identified by first name.

With her new Medi-Cal coverage, Esther was able to get fitted for dentures and will soon pick them up. She also plans to see a doctor to find out what caused her tooth loss. Esther is grateful for the expansion of Medi-Cal that will help others like her. But she also worries about people who are still uninsured.

People like Jazmin, 40, who make above the income limits to qualify for Medi-Cal. As a DACA recipient, Jazmin is legally allowed to work in the United States. Although she is low-income, she makes too much money to qualify for MediCal. The income limit in Contra Costa County, as in most of California, is 138% of the Federal Poverty Level, or $20,121 for one person a year.

Jazmin also cannot apply for insurance through Covered California because, according to its website, “Individuals under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals are not considered lawfully present. They are not eligible to purchase a health plan through Covered California or to receive financial assistance.”

Not having health coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic cost Jazmin $40,000. In 2021, Jazmin was admitted to the hospital when she could not breathe. She tested positive for COVID-19. She has had a series of health issues since she contracted COVID. It affected her hearing and lungs. In 2023, she was admitted to the emergency room due to extreme migraines. She now has medical debt and no option but to pay it off in

monthly installments.

“I was shocked when I saw the money you need to make to qualify for MediCal,” she said. “How can anyone survive in the Bay Area or California with that?”

According to the authors of the proposed California Assembly Bill 4, collectively, millions of undocumented Californians contribute approximately $3.7 billion in state and local taxes every year. Yet, like Jazmin, they cannot access the same subsidized health care as other taxpayers in the state.

If approved by the state Legislature, AB 4 would allow DACA recipients to apply for affordable health insurance via Covered California. However, with California’s budget deficit, supporters of the bill, like senior director of Healthy Contra Costa Roxanne Carrillo Garza, expect it will need a lot of public support to help it pass.

Locally, Garza said Healthy Contra Costa is working with community members, the Contra Costa Health Department, and the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors to find a way to raise the income level limits to allow more people to qualify for Medi-Cal, following the lead of some other Bay Area counties, including San Francisco, which have higher income limits. Healthy Contra Costa plans to make a presentation on this topic before the Board of Supervisors in March.

To apply for Medi-Cal in Contra Costa County, call 1-800-709-8348 or visit the Employment and Human Services Department website at https://ehsd.org/ apply-for-services/. •

Leading Democrats Make Their Case for California Senate Seat

BY SAMANTHA KENNEDY

Editor’s note: Only two of California’s candidates for Senate will advance from the primary to the general election, meaning the March 5 results will put at least one of the people in this story out of the running. We have decided to run this story in print now in the belief that it will still provide value to our readers and voters.

Over 20 candidates are running to fill California’s U.S. Senate seat that was held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein for over 30 years before her death last year. Three of the leading Democratic candidates — Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee — joined Ethnic Media Services and California Black Media on Feb. 8 to discuss representation for Black women, the recently blocked border bill and healthcare.

Two notable names weren’t at the forum: Sen. Laphonza Butler, who was appointed to the seat after Feinstein’s death but chose not to run, and Republican candidate Steve Garvey, who was invited but did not attend.

Representing Black Women

Candidates were asked to consider how they would represent Black women in the U.S. Senate, where Butler is the only Black woman seated out of 100. Moderator Tanu Henry of California Black Media noted how loyal Black women are when voting — over 90% of those who cast ballots have voted for the

Democratic presidential candidate in the last four elections.

All three stressed the importance of representing Black women and other people of color.

Lee would be just the fourth Black woman in the Senate’s history and said her identity would not just inform her stances on racial justice but also on economic and climate justice.

“A Black woman’s perspective on every single issue is very important,” said Lee, D-Oakland. Having a Black woman’s perspective in the Senate, she said, can only strengthen California and the country.

Lee, for example, reintroduced a bill with others in January that would increase federal taxes for companies that have “huge gaps” in pay between CEOs and median worker pay to “rein in corporate greed.”

Porter, D-Irvine, said the next senator “needs to be a champion for communities of color, particularly for Black Americans.”

Black Americans are more likely to be exposed to air pollution at home and have worse health outcomes than white Americans. To address these disparities, Porter said the pharmaceutical industry and oil companies need to be held accountable for the damage they do.

Schiff, D-Burbank, said he pushed to increase diversity on the House Intelligence Committee, which was made up mostly of representatives who were white and male. If elected, Schiff said he would elevate “people of color to positions of responsibility,” such as during

Cabinet or judicial appointments. Like Lee and Porter, going after environmental injustices that disproportionately impact people of color is something Schiff says needs to be addressed.

Immigration

After California Sen. Alex Padilla called a recent border security package that included funding for Israel and Ukraine “a new version of a failed Trump-era immigration policy that will cause more chaos at the border” and voted against it, all three Senate candidates said they would have voted the same.

Schiff said he was clear in his disagreement with President Biden, who supported the agreement and urged Congress to pass it in a statement. Combining emergency foreign aid with immigration and border provisions meant Biden “could essentially be extorted” by foreign aid for domestic policies.

Negotiations for the agreement did not include any Democrats from border states, Black or Brown Congress members or a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which Schiff and Lee — who has lived in an immigrant community — said needed to be included.

The three also agreed that immigration policies in the agreement needed to be more comprehensive, such as in pathways to citizenship.

Healthcare

All three candidates showed support for single-payer healthcare that includes See Dems, pg.

Behind the Scenes: Local Filmmaker Details His First Feature-Length Movie City Council Considers

BY JOE PORRELLO

Local filmmaker Alex Zajicek’s first feature-length film, “Sorry, We’re Dead,” made its Bay Area premiere Feb. 10. at the Roxie Theater as part of the San Francisco Independent Film Festival.

The film was shot entirely locally, predominantly in the East Bay.

Visualizing familiar places gave Zajicek inspiration when writing scenes for the film. “Naturally, having grown up in the Richmond, El Sobrante, general kind of Contra Costa Country area, a lot of these locations came to mind,” he said.

The roots of “Sorry, We’re Dead” can be traced to short films Zajicek made before he was a teenager. Later, at De Anza High School, he spent lots of time drawing 2D animations before graduating in 2011.

Some of Zajicek’s animations are in “Sorry,” including stop-motion techniques. “I’m always excited to use some of these other storytelling tools in the filmmaking process,” he said.

He had never been big into watching movies himself. His friends studying film with him at the California College of the Arts could name all the actresses and actors in specific movies. “That was never me,” he said, adding that his interest in film is creatively based.

In 2016, Zajicek set out to write another short film, but it turned into roughly 30 minutes of material, forming the foundation of “Sorry, We’re Dead.”

Working full-time in the Bay Area film industry post-graduation, he learned tricks of the trade that proved pivotal in making his own feature-length movie. Zajicek asked to see the budget from a local film he was on set for to get an idea of what kind of financing was required.

“I thought, this is a very independent project; I can see they cut a lot of smart corners,” he said. “But I still think we’re hitting a level of quality I would be proud of in my own movie.”

Key money-saving tips included spending nothing on scene locations and having filming gear donated or brought on set by crew members.

“I needed ways to cut corners any way I could because it was coming out of my own wallet,” he said.

After little luck applying to grants and contests for funding, Zajicek started

saving as much as he could for the next four years in order to make the film.

“Sometimes 20% if it was a really good paycheck and I could afford it,” he said. “Sometimes zero percent when times were a little rougher.”

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, “Sorry, We’re Dead,” was initially planned to start shooting in early 2020, “which, of course, didn’t work out for us, or anybody else trying to make a movie at that time,” Zajicek said.

When the film did finally begin production, Zajicek employed costsaving methods, including begging for permission to shoot at restaurants or using former places of employment like a lecture hall.

He said essentially the only money spent was on feeding and paying the cast and crew — most were old friends or colleagues who he trusted to do good work and who were willing to work for minimum wage during the 14-day shoot.

“I called up a lot of my favorite crew members that I’ve worked with over the years,” said Zajicek, who has been in the industry for about nine years. “Make it good vibes for everybody, do a good job, and call me out if I’m doing anything wrong.”

Despite the low pay, Zajicek said some of the cast and crew told him it was the most fun they’ve ever had working on a set. He said the only real stress was from trying to meet daily deadlines of shot takes without over analyzing specific scenes.

“The film industry can be pretty

mentally taxing, so I tried not to contribute to that with my movie,” Zajicek said.

Even though he was the writer and director for “Sorry, We’re Dead,” he says he doesn’t put himself above everybody else. “I don’t even like the label of director — there’s just so much baggage with that title,” he said. “A lot of other people on set are equally important.”

With the help of his cast and crew, Zajicek completed the film after over five years.

The finished product of “Sorry, We’re Dead” revolves around an aspiring female film director who’s stuck at a dead-end job and eventually starts trying to dig herself out of a creative and emotional rut. But Zajicek says it’s much more than that.

“They tell you to have a good one-ortwo-sentence elevator pitch to describe your movie. In my opinion, that is just antithetical to a good story of any kind,” he said. “If it can be described in a sentence, then chances are it’s not very interesting.”

More important than the narrative itself is the film’s meta and self-referential elements that make it unique by breaking the mold of commonly used techniques, according to Zajicek. As an example, he said the main character — given her prowess behind the camera — makes comments about how the movie is being shot around her.

“One of the things I hoped the movie would do is make people think about all of the other movies they watch,” Zajicek

Street Maintence, Gets Virtually Invaded by Hate Group

BY SAMANTHA KENNEDY

The Richmond City Council learned on Feb. 6 that the average pavement conditions in the city are better than some neighboring cities, but it will need to increase funding just to maintain current conditions.

Current funding for street pavement maintenance is about $4 million per year, which would allow for a gradual decrease in street conditions over the next 10 years. An additional $11 million a year would be needed to maintain current conditions.

But the city has options to manage conditions and funding effectively.

Margot Yapp, president of engineering and environmental firm NCE, said it is just as important to provide maintenance to streets in good condition as it is to streets in poor condition. Doing so maintains overall conditions and can reduce required funding in the future, according to her presentation.

One funding scenario in Yapp’s presentation shows that an $11 million increase per year that would be used to address the worst roads first will begin to see deteriorating road conditions in the coming years. Deferred maintenance funding in this scenario would also exceed that from an equal distribution scenario by almost $100 million.

City staff will use the pavement management software StreetSaver to decide how to best use funding. Yapp said the software typically prioritizes streets in need of preventative maintenance, which are already in decent condition, because it looks to get the best value for their money. Streets that are in fair condition are also likely to be prioritized. Those that are unlikely to be chosen for maintenance, even if they are in the worst condition, are lowtraffic roads.

Council member Soheila Bana asked what alternative funding sources could be used to further fund street maintenance. Bana asked if grants were given any consideration and if heavy trucks, which cause more damage to roads than other vehicles, would have any tax imposed on them.

Tawfic Halaby, a deputy director of public works, said the department has a grant writer who works with them to increase outside funding. An impact fee for heavy trucks, according to City Manager Shasa Curl, is something the other public works Deputy Director Robert Armijo will be working on.

Streets that are completely reconstructed are expected to last for 20 years, according to Yapp. With proper maintenance, those streets can last even longer.

Hate Group Reemerges During Black History Month

Several Zoom callers spouted anti-Black language after the council honored former mayor Irma Anderson’s life during Black History Month.

Anderson, the first Black woman to serve as mayor in Richmond, died in January at 93. Her election to the Richmond City Council in 1993 also made her the first Black woman to serve as a council member in the city. Only three Black women have served on the council since.

“We all stand here on her shoulders,”

Alex Zajicek is from and shot his first film — “Sorry, We’re Dead” — around the Bay Area. (Photo courtesy of Alex Zajicek)

Oilers Boys Soccer Wins League Championship in Dramatic Fashion

STORY AND PHOTOS • JOE PORELLO

Facing a two-goal deficit with about 10 minutes remaining on Feb. 8, Richmond High’s sticktoitiveness stymied Albany High and carried the Oilers to a 3-2 victory decided by a penalty kick shootout to win the TCAL-Rock title in front of their home fans.

Oilers senior goalkeeper and team captain Diego Albarran said the win goes beyond the field for him and his team.

“It’s more than soccer; it’s playing for Richmond — where we live, where we grew up,” he said.

Having not earned a league finals banner in two seasons — a long hiatus for a team that has won the majority of TCAL-Rock championships since its inception 10 years ago — the Oilers got themselves off the schneid.

After shutting out the Cougars twice in January by scores of 4-0 and 2-0, the Oilers got all they could handle from Albany — who came in having won two consecutive shutouts.

With both teams feeling each other out in the opening moments of the match, neither managed a shot on goal before the Cougars put one into the net 12 minutes in.

Physical play would continue throughout, as Albany amassed countless free kicks.

The Cougars notched their second goal midway through the first half, helping them take a 2-0 lead into the break. They have been road warriors all season, only losing one game away from home.

Albany carried its energy from the first quarter into the second. Cougars players on the field and bench were very vocal, constantly giving each other verbal motivation.

While the home crowd became further invested in each ensuing play — oohing and ahhing progressively — so too did the Oilers, who ratcheted up their intensity accordingly.

As two players jockeyed roughly with one another for position before a second half free kick, a game judge told the pair: “The ball’s not even in play yet.”

Richmond had offensive possession for much of the backend but was unable to capitalize until late.

Junior Rafael Olivarez rifled one into the net from the top of the goal box with nine minutes left on a crossing pass by senior Ivan Campos that skimmed halfway across the pitch through multiple defenders.

“It’s crazy because I used to be the one looking up to the seniors and now I’m being looked up to,” Campos said, “so I’m trying to be the best influence I can for my teammates and inspire them.”

Still down one goal in extra time after the clock hit zero, Richmond got more necessary inspiration from another of their seniors. Winger Esteban Barrios reared back from about 50 feet away and lasered one between the pipes — tying the score at two apiece and sending the Richmond players, coaches, and fans into a frenzy of euphoria.

Campos highlighted his team’s connection as pivotal to evening the score with the odds against them.

“Just being together… we were all united trying to get those last two goals,” he said.

When regulation time concluded, the two sides began a 20-minute golden goal-style overtime — in which the first team to score, wins.

Oilers head coach of 24 years Rene Siles said he is happy with the way his team turned around their play.

“They are resilient,” he said. “I just wish they didn’t dig themselves a hole in the first place.”

Near the start of overtime, Albarran pressured an attacker when the ball went over his head and nearly into the net before an Oilers defender cleared it away from the goalmouth — saving the game.

Richmond would get their own chance to end things, but a rifled Oilers shot was corralled by the Cougars netminder. Neither team managed any more threatening offensive opportunities in the second half of overtime, and with the score still knotted up after over 100

minutes of play, the game would have to be decided in a best-of-three penalty kick shootout.

Tied after three rounds, sophomore center forward Erick Ramirez finally ended things with a goal in sudden death as temperatures dropped to 45 degrees.

Ramirez and other Oilers players ripped off their jerseys and threw them in the air as the final whistle blew; fans rushed the field and embraced them, jumping up and down together and cheering for such an improbable comeback.

Albarran had tears in his eyes at midfield while soaking up his team’s effort postgame.

“It’s just a brotherhood. That’s the only way I can put it. It’s not just a regular team,” he said. “We say, ‘Family on three,’ and we show it every day when we’re here, Monday through Saturday.”

The Oilers goalkeeper said he was confident in his ability on penalty kicks following three years learning as a backup before taking over as the starter.

“Those three years I was learning for this very moment,” he said.

Albarran amassed 11 shutouts in 16 games coming in, helping the Oilers to have nearly three times as many combined goals scored than surrendered.

Richmond came into the game as regular season TCAL-Rock champs by way of the standings, holding a record of 8-1-1 in league play. A loss to St. Mary’s in January was the Oilers’ first league loss since the COVID-shortened 2020 season — their only overall losing campaign in a decade.

The Cougars have been on a similar but slightly less successful path.

Albany High’s lone losing league record in the last six years also came in 2020, and the team has scored almost double the goals they have allowed this season.

The similarities seem to end when the teams go headto-head.

Going back a decade, Richmond High is 15-1-1 against the Cougars with the single loss coming seven years ago. •

The Richmond High Oilers came from behind Feb. 8 to defeat Albany High 3-2 in a shootout to win the TCAL-Rock boys' soccer title n a game that took more than 100 minutes..

The Oilers celebrate with emotion after notching a goal in penalty kicks.

Opposing players battle for an airborne ball late in the game.

The Oilers posed for a team photo after the game with their newly acquired league championship banner.

After he gave them their championship medals, Richmond High players embraced their head coach, Rene Siles.

The Oilers run out of the locker room at halftime to take the pitch.

‘The Richmond I Love Is as Misunderstood as a Rebellious Teenager’

COMMENTARY • KEISA REYNOLDS

The Richmond I love taught me about pride and purpose as I grew up learning to defend its character. Coming of age in the late ’90s/early 2000s, the city taught me how to thrive in the face of invisibility, dehumanization and systemic violence. However, this is not the narrative that outsiders learn.

“Richmond? Be careful out there,” a fellow volunteer warned me.

At our statewide orientation, my colleagues and I shared where we would spend the following year. I was offered an opportunity in Richmond that paid a higher stipend than others. Plus, I would live closer to family after living in Chicago. My bags were packed, and I soon landed at a fancy hotel where presenters shared about towns and cities in desperate need of support from volunteers like ourselves.

Hundreds of us were shipped across California to serve in nonprofit organizations and government agencies for little pay. We were meant to learn about poverty while assisting our future employers in addressing it through direct services, advocacy and policy change.

Richmond was the home of her ex-boyfriend, the fellow volunteer told me, adding that the city was violent. It didn’t have much there. She confidently mentioned these facts, then displayed mild embarrassment when I shared that it’s my hometown.

Nothing she said was new to me, but it stung that my hometown was not even seen as worthy of volunteer service. I wished I’d defended Richmond in the way it deserved. “Oh, you know how it is ,” she responded.

Like many people, she formed an opinion about a city based on anecdotes and statistics shared without root causes.

Dems...

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undocumented immigrants. And, in previous forums during their campaigns, all have continued to support Medicare for All.

Lee has a long history of supporting single-payer healthcare. She co-authored one of the first bills in California for single-payer healthcare and has cosponsored all Medicare for All legislation in the California state Legislature for over 20 years. On Feb. 8, she said undocumented workers “deserve to be treated in a humane way,” which includes having access to healthcare.

Porter said she has “never wavered” in supporting Medicare for All, according to her website, and has advocated for mental health services.

In fact, her advocacy for mental health has made its way into public safety legislation. Porter reintroduced the Mental Health Justice Act in November that would allow state, tribal and other jurisdictions to train and use mental health professionals instead of officers in mental health emergencies. Lee and Schiff cosponsored that bill.

Schiff called healthcare a human right, saying that all families should have equitable access to healthcare. Last May, Schiff introduced a bill that would prohibit discrimination based on race, religion and “other characteristics” in healthcare. Lee and 20 others cosponsored the bill.

The two candidates with the most votes at the March 5 primary will be put on the ballot for the general election in November. That winner will succeed Butler. •

I used to describe Richmond as “a small but mighty city northeast of San Francisco” or “the last stop along the BART” for those familiar with its proximity to Oakland. But the Richmond I love is a city worth mentioning in its own right.

The Richmond I love is as misunderstood as a rebellious teenager. Defiant, always ready to give in to a fight because it won’t be bullied. It’s clear that I am from Richmond when my boundaries are pushed and my patience is tested.

In this city, I learned how to be kind to my neighbors because you never know what someone has going on.

It was where I grew up with people who looked like me — an experience I did not realize was rare for many. Growing up, I thought all Black people across the country came together to celebrate Juneteenth in our respective cities. Where else would we go to run into old neighbors and third cousins, or make a new friend?

The Richmond I love is where I couldn’t walk into a grocery store or restaurant without running into

Council...

Continued from page 3 said her son Ahmad Anderson. “She’s paved the way.”

Associates from the neo-Nazi group the Goyim Defense League, who previously called in at the Oct. 3 meeting with antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ language, used anti-Black and antisemitic language this time. A member of the group took credit for the Oct. 3 event on a far-right social media site, drawing praise from other members.

These members belong to the City Council Death Squad, a group on that site of over 500 members that call into city councils across the United States with antisemitic, racist and anti-LGBTQ+ hate speech. Some cities that have fallen victim to the group, including El Cerrito, have done away with public comment by Zoom to prevent further hate speech.

The group responded by setting up a fundraiser to help members travel and participate in meetings in person.

Mayor Eduardo Martinez apologized after a speaker used the n-word and asked that speakers be cut off if they were disrespectful.

“I want everyone to know that that is not Richmond,” Martinez said. Some community members attending in person disagreed. He clarified, “Not the Richmond we want.”

Residents also spoke of the importance of the contributions made by many Black residents.

Arto Rintella spoke of Richmond’s Black history, noting that Parchester Village was one of the first neighborhoods in California that allowed Black residents to buy homes.

Richmond’s Crime Prevention Manager Michelle Milam said Anderson’s impact on the community was big. Had it not been for Anderson, Milam said, the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Richmond ferry would not be here. •

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someone saying my name or mentioning a sister of mine that I resembled. Or maybe they knew my mother or one of her siblings. Growing up, I’d hear fond memories of my grandmother from strangers.

If you don’t know by now, Black people from Richmond easily have three degrees of separation from each other.

This also means that whenever a life was taken needlessly, the news reverberated through neighborhoods and family chats. There were years that I couldn’t make small talk with someone without finding out they needed to attend another funeral. It’s in this city that we come together to mourn those we’ve lost— through gun violence and institutional negligence — and fight for a better world.

The Richmond I love embodies its values. It has always been far from perfect, and there are many ways that our children will continue to struggle. But it’s in the city that we learn the importance of community and standing up for what’s right. •

said. He says movies today are too similar, only focusing on writing a story, not incorporating filmmaking elements and finding new ways to tell stories on screen. But Zajicek acknowledged that money motivates many directors and scriptwriters to stay within the lines of typical movies to guarantee paychecks. He believes modern films do not go into the mind of their creators. Instead, they end up being corporate products that aim to appease as many people as possible.

“I’ve made a lot of weird decisions that are not generally seen as the right decisions if you’re trying to make money, but I’d rather make an interesting piece of art,” he said. “I sure hope to make some money out of it someday, but that’s not what I set out to do.”

After his film initially premiered at the ETHOS Film Awards International Film Festival in Santa Monica, Zajicek was excited for the first Bay Area screening of, “Sorry, We’re Dead” at the San Francisco Independent Film Festival.

“I’m honored to be one of the 30-odd features that were accepted and I can’t wait to show it to a more local crowd,” he said before the screening.

He hopes to get more acceptances to the hundred-plus film festivals he has sent his movie to. He also wants to talk at local schools and libraries about the filmmaking process.

During editing of, “Sorry, We’re Dead,” Zajichek wrote two more feature length films. But he says it could again take years for him to make his next movie. It all depends on funding. •

“In this city, I learned how to be kind to my neighbors because you never know what someone has going on,” writes Richmond native Keisa Reynolds, seen here reading her zine, “I Used to Be the Sun.” (Photo by Larry Drennan)

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Human Input Critical as Tech Fights Hate With Artificial Intelligence

BY JOE PORRELLO

PITTSBURGH — With hate speech growing online, tech companies are facing increasing scrutiny about their role in its spread and pressure to do something about it.

Representatives from TikTok, Meta and Microsoft, artificial intelligence experts and nonprofit leaders convened at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit. They suggested A.I. could reduce bigotry online. But panelists said not to rely on technology alone and stressed the importance of people in moderating problematic content. However, widespread layoffs have eliminated many jobs with such responsibilities.

A 2023 Anti-Defamation League survey showed that online hate rose sharply for adults and teens. USC researchers said the addictive nature of social media fuels hate speech, misinformation and desensitization. United Nations experts said there is an “urgent need” to hold social media giants accountable for curbing hate. Director of Technology and Human Rights at the World Jewish Congress Yfat Barak-Cheney said that despite challenges, popular social media companies are making progress.

“It’s an everlasting game of chasing after our next steps,” she said.

Barak-Cheney said one of the only avenues for someone facing hate is to report it, a frustrating process for many. She and other panelists are trying to create new ways for targets of hate to heal and move forward.

Valiant Richey, global head of outreach and partnerships for trust and safety at TikTok, said that in the first quarter of 2023, the site removed 90% of hateful content — 75% of which was never seen.

Dina Hussein, global head of policy development and expert partnerships for counterterrorism and dangerous organizations policy at Meta, said it tackles extremism by addressing not just hateful content but also the behaviors behind it.

She said thousands of trust and safety workers at Meta remove content supporting or representing those on its Dangerous Organizations and Individuals list.

However, companies like Meta, Amazon, Alphabet — which owns Google — and Twitter (now X) have greatly reduced their trust and safety and ethics teams. Meta announced it would cut 21,000 jobs, which CNBC reported would have "an outsized effect on the company’s trust and safety work."

Hussein said companies like hers could also address online bigotry by sharing data with each other and nonprofits, as well as using A.I. software.

“While we are evolving our tactics, the adversary is also mutating; our evolution needs to meet with that mutation in an equilibrium and hopefully advance beyond it,” Hussein said.

WCCUSD Honors Black West Contra Costans

BY SAMANTHA KENNEDY

The West Contra Costa school board approved a resolution honoring African American History Month on Feb. 7 that recognized the contributions of African Americans in West Contra Costa and encouraged commemoration of the occasion.

“African American history is American history,” board President Jamela Smith-Folds said. “It should be celebrated every single month, taught every single month. It should be honored every single month.”

The resolution recognized the work of local African American leaders, such as George D. Carroll, the first African American to serve as a council member and mayor of Richmond, and Irma Anderson, who was the first Black woman to serve as a council member and mayor of that city.

Clerk Demetrio Gonzalez-Hoy, wearing a Black History Month button, thanked the leadership of the African American board members, the superintendent and his cabinet.

District schools displayed the Pan-African flag during the month.

Community member Zelon Harrison, who co-

Senior Policy Manager Hugh Handeyside said Microsoft would use A.I. to address hate on a global scale.

“We see in A.I. an opportunity for a leap forward in our ability to predict and mitigate risk,” he said.

Handeyside said A.I. could promote fairness and trustworthiness online despite understandable concerns about it and its impact on society.

Mike Pappas, founder and CEO of Modulate — which helps online platforms defend against toxicity — said moderating content requires a careful balance between the assumption of user privacy and detecting hateful acts.

One key to getting the most out of A.I., according to Handeyside, is human oversight and review at multiple points.

However, last March, Microsoft laid off its entire A.I. ethics and society team, the Verge reported.

Human input is particularly necessary when hateful language is used in posts to educate or raise awareness, ensuring they are not removed by A.I.

“I’m a founder of an A.I. tech startup, and let me tell you very emphatically — please don’t just trust A.I. to moderate your content; it’s a bad idea,” said Pappas. “We think about A.I. as a tool to augment moderation and trust and safety teams, which frankly are all too often under-resourced.”

Even with A.I. and human oversight, perpetrators can find their way into online spaces. So looking for ways the system can be abused or bypassed is crucial, according to Handeyside.

Pappas said many online spheres don’t have clear-cut rules, often causing youth to develop toxic behavior.

“They don’t understand that it’s bad. They just

founded the Black Parent Resources Center, suggested the district create a Swahili language-school to attract Black students.

Trustee Mister Phillips liked this idea, saying he “supports an African-language school wholeheartedly.” The Mandarin language school in the district, West County Mandarin, should be used as a model, he said, due to its success.

“When we have an opportunity to do, I think we should,” Phillips said. “That’s the way we celebrate best these kinds of months.”

While commemorating African American leaders, Smith-Folds said, “take them in totality” and not just “what history has deemed digestible.”

She read an excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to illustrate her point.

“. . . the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler, not the Klu Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to order than to justice,” she read.

King’s letter was in response to criticism he and the civil rights movement faced for methods they used to combat segregation. Several white clergymen authored “A Call for Unity” that called the then-ongoing Birmingham campaign “unwise and untimely,” asking the Black community to instead “observe the principle of law and order and common sense.”

The night also brought a conversation to the board at the end of the meeting, where Smith-Folds read a statement in response to the actions of Trustee Leslie Reckler, the only white member of the board.

Smith-Folds specifically referred to Reckler’s actions during and after the Jan. 10 meeting where she was

understand it’s a new thing they can do to push the envelope,” Pappas said. “So they mess around and don’t really realize the harm they’re doing.”

Working with nonprofit community mental wellbeing resource Take This, Modulate found children’s typical timeline to online hate begins with using swear words, followed by sexual vulgarity, then violent speech and hateful language.

“The good news is, most kids don’t graduate to the next level,” Pappas told the Pulse, referring to acts of violence.

Because codes of conduct tend to be overly general and wordy, Pappas said they are often hard for adults to even understand.

“How do they actually figure out what the code of conduct is?” he asked. “They say, ‘What can I get away with?’ ”

Richey agreed.

“It’s not enough to tell people, ‘Don’t hate,’ ” he said. “We have a responsibility to help our community understand a little more what that means.”

Richey said TikTok updated its community guidelines earlier this year to be clearer about how types of hate are defined, including misgendering and slurs.

As hate evolves online, those combating it will have to keep looking for solutions.

“In this sphere, success is not a finish line; it’s a constant improvement,” said Handeyside.

Hussein noted that policy must go beyond any one site and the web to be effective.

“Just removing it from your platform doesn’t remove it from existence,” she said. •

censured. At the end of that meeting, Reckler said in her comments to stand up to bullies, seemingly directed toward, at least in part, Smith-Folds and Gonzalez-Hoy.

That censure meant Reckler could not serve on any committees or attend graduations on behalf of the board. However, Reckler’s tearful request to attend the graduation of her child at El Cerrito High School was approved at the Jan. 25 special meeting.

“White tears trump everything else,” Smith-Folds said. “. . . it brings men to their knees and it creates this shallow need for them to protect you… Black women see the misuse of your tears and feel that double standard like the windstruck nerve of a rotting tooth.”

Smith-Folds said Reckler’s retelling of events and how she characterizes other board members are “laced in microaggressions and blanketed in the bullhorn of dog whistles.” A dog whistle is coded language that is different from a word or phrase’s literal meaning. This language communicates ideas to like-minded people who would otherwise be criticized for more obvious behaviors.

Phillips said the censure, though he didn’t agree with it, was enough and that the statement by Smith-Folds should have been done in private.

“I think we need to leave that woman alone,” Phillips said.

Smith-Folds said what she did “was exactly what needs to be done” for the district to be anti-racist.

“It may have been uncomfortable,” she said. “That doesn’t mean it didn’t need to be said.”

Reckler did not respond to Smith-Folds’ comments.

JOE PORRELLO

Yfat Barak-Cheney, speaking at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit, is helping to combat extremism in her role as director of technology and human rights at the World Jewish Congress.