communications – Page 12 – GLIDE – San Francisco: serving the people of the Tenderloin and San Francisco since 1963

GLIDE Staff and Volunteers at the Annual Spring Egg Hunt

“We’re using the church as Easter egg grounds,” said GLIDE President & CEO Dr. Gina Fromer who spoke with ABC7 news. “We’ve got eggs and candy secretly hidden everywhere. Kids are having a ball running though the pews.”

Glide Memorial Church’s annual Spring Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 30th served 65 families from the Tenderloin.

Tenderloin resident Rebecca with her seven-year-old son, Andy

Dozens of volunteers were on hand to ensure that families, including those from GLIDE housing and the Janice Mirikitani Family Youth and Childcare Center, had a safe space to celebrate. “We come to GLIDE because they have a lot of services that can help us,” said Rebecca, who has been bringing seven-year-old Andy to the Egg Hunt for three years. “We never will miss the Easter Egg Hunt.”

The event was supposed to be held at Boeddeker Park, but rain had left the park too muddy for the event. Volunteers from Glide Memorial Church hid hundreds of eggs and candy around the sanctuary, ensuring that families in the Tenderloin would have a dry place to celebrate. “Glide stepped in as it usually does and saved the day,” Dr. Gina told ABC7.

Additional crafts and activities were held in Freedom Hall. Children also received books and lunches they could take home. One of the highlights of the event was a “Love Train” dance led by Dr. Gina.

Standing Room Only Easter Celebrations at Glide Memorial Church

Minister Marvin K. White opened the Easter Sunday Celebrations by recognizing the diversity of people, faiths and cultures present at the standing room-only gathering: “Welcome to Glide Memorial Church everybody! Happy Transgender Day of visibility! Happy Maya Angelou’s Birthday! Happy National Poetry Month, coming up in April! And Happy Easter everyone!”

Glide Memorial Church held three Easter services on Sunday, March 31st. The 7 am Sunrise service, which was famously a favorite of Maya Angelou and Oprah, focused on community support, prayers and songs. Camryn Crump, who is an Executive Assistant at Glide Memorial Church office, shared his talents with the congregation and sang his first solo at the early morning Celebration.

Minister Marvin K White’s message focused on storytelling, hope and the lessons he learned about feeding others from his mother and grandmother. In the 9 and 11 am Celebrations, Minister Marvin shared poems by Maya Angelou that were curated to support those journeying through grief, addiction and other struggles. “Because I know if there’s going to be a resurrection. If people are going to come back to life, it’s going to happen here at Glide Memorial Church because that’s all we want to see happen,” said Glide Pastor Marvin K. White told ABC7 news.

Inspiration percolated throughout the church pews. “We’ve seen churches take a big blow since the pandemic,” said church volunteer Blake Riggs. “The community was hurting and as we’ve come back from that, this is a resurrection of the church and the resurrection of Glide.”

Center for Social Justice Policy Associate Shiba Bandeeba participating in a breakout session at the FAACTS 2024 SF Food Action Summit

GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice (CSJ) is a proud member of the Food and Agriculture Action Coalition Towards Sovereignty (FAACTS). FAACTS includes 30 local organizations that are working to ensure access to quality, nutritious and culturally inclusive food here in San Francisco.

GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice and the Meals Program successfully advocated as part of the FAACTS in 2022 and 2023 to preserve and expand funding for food programs in San Francisco.

In 2022, we successfully prevented the cut of $30 million from neighborhood-based food programs, including GLIDE’s Zero Waste Food Pantry, which provided healthy groceries to low-income families.

In 2023, GLIDE and FAACTS successfully advocated for $41 Million in San Francisco’s budget for food programs across the city. We gathered in rallies, delivered postcards, met with City officials, and gave public comment to ensure that this funding was included in the final budget.

On March 3 and 4, 2024, FAACTS hosted the SF Food Action Summit to collectively envision a better food system in San Francisco and mobilize towards making that vision a reality.

GLIDE’s CSJ Policy Associate Shiba Bandeeba and Policy Manager Eleana Binder spent two days alongside other summit participants building relationships, learning together, and strategically planning ways we can uplift federal, state and local resources to create a good food system here in the Bay Area.

Our guest speakers included Victoria Benson (Founder of Justice Alchemy), Aomboon Deasy (K&J Orchards), Raj Patel (award winning author and James Beard Foundation Leadership awardee), and Senator Scott Wiener. Panelists ranged from Black and other farmers of color, chefs, nutritionists, farmer’s market vendors and community advocates.

My favorite part of the summit was probably the amazing, fresh and organic food we were served during this uplifting community gathering. As someone in the Black community, food access is not a norm; many of our neighborhoods are food deserts with many residents facing food insecurity.

The breakout session I enjoyed the most was a conversation about The Right to Food, a national movement recognizing hunger as a market failure and identifying hunger as a political choice. It is pivotal that our communities have a right to define our own food and agriculture systems; food security should be recognized as a public good.

Much appreciation to Booker T. Washington Community Service Center, API Council, Farming Hope, local BIPOC farmers, small business owners and other stakeholders who are on the frontlines of addressing food insecurity and sustainability each day.

GLIDE is honored to serve our community members in the Tenderloin and across San Francisco, and we are energized to continue our advocacy efforts alongside these partners.

Shiba Bandeeba, M.Ed
CSJ Policy Associate

CSJ Senior Director Naeemah Charles (L) with Dr. Lilia Abron, PhD, and first African-American woman in the nation to receive a doctorate in chemical engineering

Earlier this year, I joined the GLIDE community as the new Senior Director of The Center for Social Justice. It has been a transformational experience to begin my work at GLIDE by participating in the Alabama Pilgrimage.

The Alabama Pilgrimage takes us to important sites of the Civil Rights movement, allowing us to learn from history as we work for a more just world.

The Alabama Pilgrimage changed my life. I grew up with a father who instilled in me the teachings of Marcus Garvey, Hewie Newton, and Malcolm X.

However, there is a special energy and understanding that only comes with being physically in the spaces where history was made. One space that shook me to my core was our walk over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. A place where Martin Luther King Jr. and so many other Black civil rights leaders sacrificed their bodies to advance the movement for social justice in America.

When we were walking and singing a Black spiritual along the bridge, a stranger joined us in song and added his own music. In that moment it served as a reminder that the work continues and that we are not alone. That there are people all around fighting for social justice and that our ancestors are always walking with us. A powerful moment that makes me emotional as I continue to reflect and process the trip.

As a Black woman who has dedicated her life to social justice, I know there is a spirit and power greater than all of us that is set on creating a just world. It was this energy that brought me together with one of the pilgrimage’s participants, Dr. Lilia Abron, PhD and first African-American woman in the nation to receive her doctorate in chemical engineering.

Black women have often been the silent and invisible infrastructure of so much of American history. I was moved when I learned about the Mothers of Gynecology: Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey; three Black teenagers who were enslaved and experimented under excruciating conditions and without their consent. So much of what we know about gynecology and women’s health is because of these three Black girls.

As I move forward and begin my journey as the new Senior Director of the Center of Social Justice, I am grounded in the essential nature of our work. To ensure that those most impacted have a voice, to uplift the community to advocate for themselves so a movement cannot die due to a single person.

The work can seem daunting but as Martin Luther King so brilliantly stated, “the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards Justice.”

Naeemah Charles
GLIDE Senior Director of The Center for Social Justice

(From L to R: GLIDE Chief Communications and Public Affairs Officer Karl Robillard, Naeemah Charles, GLIDE Senior Director of The Center for Social Justice (CSJ), GLIDE President & CEO Dr. Gina Fromer, Assemblymember Matt Haney, GLIDE Senior Director of Public Affairs, Francesca Delgado-Jones, and GLIDE CSJ Policy Manager Eleana Binder.)

A small but mighty team at GLIDE wrapped up an exciting trip to Sacramento this week. We met with key legislative partners to advance our social justice policy agenda and share progress on our #GlideForward strategic plan.

At the highest level, GLIDE’s mission is to break cycles of poverty and marginalization by fighting systemic injustice, creating pathways out of poverty, and transforming lives. We saw this trip as a way to translate this ideal into concrete steps to improve lives for some of the most vulnerable people in our State.

Led by our president and CEO, Dr. Gina Fromer, we convened a group of leaders from our Center for Social Justice and Public Affairs teams to get the message out about GLIDE’s love agenda. Together, we walked the halls of the Capital to share the work we do with leaders from across the State on behalf of the people of the Tenderloin and San Francisco.

During the visit, we discussed a number of different bills passing through the State legislature that focus on nutrition services for seniors, transitional housing for LGBTQ+ youth, and a new bill that would allow marginally housed students the right to live in their cars on campuses.

We met with Assemblymember Matt Haney as well as staff from the Office of Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, Assembly Budget Chair Jesse Gabriel and Assembly Members Mike Gipson, Tasha Boerner, and Mia Bonta.

GLIDE President & CEO Dr. Gina Fromer meets with Edwin Borbon, Legislative Director for Assemblymember Tasha Boerner

We also shared GLIDE’s key strategic priorities for the next year. These include the opening of our Women’s Center and mental health hub; modernizing our facilities; expanding our mobile services; envisioning a future where we house GLIDE clients; deepening our work to address substance use disorder; and formalizing a workforce development program to prevent recidivism.

With the words of our Co-Founder Cecil Williams echoing in our hearts, “It’s always about the people,” we made the case that the voices of the most marginalized have a place in the halls of the Capital.

We left inspired by the people we met and eager to work together towards a more just and equitable world.

#GLIDEForward

GLIDE staff meets with a member of California Assemblyman Rob Bonta’s team.

Cutting the ribbon (From L to R) with San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Joaquin Torres (wearing red tie), GLIDE Board members Del Seymour and Mary Glide, Violence Intervention Programs Manager Saundra Haggerty, GLIDE President & CEO Dr. Gina Fromer, Board Member Crickette Brown Glad (in blue), Co-Executive Director of Black Women Revolt Pamela Tate-Roger, and Women’s Center staff member Terrie Kendrix.

Our hearts were filled with joy as we celebrated the official launch of GLIDE’s new Women’s Center on International Women’s Day! Check out the story on KTVU here.

“Jan’s legacy is here and now,” said our President and CEO, Dr. Gina Fromer. “Janice Mirikitani had a vision and we are bringing it full circle. Our new Women’s Center will serve as a dedicated resource and safety net for women who are experiencing hardship and putting them on the road to recovery, and we’re going to love up on you like GLIDE does.”

The Women’s Center services include case management, domestic violence counseling, outreach, food, clothing, housing assistance, and referrals to other community resources. These services support underserved women in their journey toward stability. The Women’s Center hosts drop-in hours and regular updates so please check back frequently.

Inside GLIDE’s new Women’s Center

GLIDE is also thrilled to announce an expansion of mental health services with the unveiling of the new Women’s Center.

“We have a dire shortage of mental health services across the Tenderloin and GLIDE will help women, in particular, struggling with their own mental health needs,” said Tami Minix, GLIDE’s new Senior Director of Clinical Services & Programs.

GLIDE’s Violence Intervention Programs and Women’s Center Manager Saundra Haggerty, was instrumental in the launch of the new Women’s Center. Saundra acknowledged, “We’re recognizing Janice’s efforts in securing women’s rights and ensuring they are accounted for. If you have friends who need support, let them know they have a place to come.”

Women’s Center staff member Terrie Kendrix (in front wearing dark green), along with clients, Teresa Lindsay (in purple jacket), DeAna Pearson (corner left in front) and visiting guest Rebecca Jackson, Program Director of Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice of Cameo House (to Pearson’s right).

Saundra added that since its soft-launch in January, the Women’s Center has already served more than 100 clients to date and found housing for at least four women. GLIDE is committed to providing a safe and supportive community for women to heal and thrive.

To all the women, we see you, hear you, and meet you where you are!

Members of GLIDE CSJ, the Coalition, and the Police Commission celebrating after the second vote in February 2024.

GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice (CSJ) in partnership with the Coalition to End Biased Stops worked tirelessly for two and a half years to pass DGO 9.07.

This policy limits racially biased pretext stops, consent searches, and improves traffic stop data reporting requirements by SFPD. In January 2023, the San Francisco Police Commission passed DGO 9.07, with a final vote on February 21, 2024.

This policy mandates the San Francisco Police Department to train its officers within 90 days before implementation.

It aims to decrease the systemic harms towards communities of color endured during racially biased traffic stops. A traffic stop is one way officers can investigate a driver or passenger(s) based on a preconceived hunch that a person is engaged in criminal activity, partaking in explicit or implicit bias.

Pretext stops do little to reduce crime and play an outsized role in maintaining the status quo, “driving while Black” in the United States. These pretextual stops do not improve public safety, instead, they create more distrust between law enforcement officers and BIPOC community members.

San Francisco mirrors the state and nation in over-policing communities of color via pretext stops. Even when controlling for location, time of day, and other factors, law enforcement officers stop and search Black people at higher rates than white people. Law enforcement officers use visible cues to determine the likelihood of criminality, which causes a disparate focus on young men of color.

Despite the disproportionate number of Black drivers and drivers of color being stopped and searched, the likelihood of the police finding contraband or weapons is lower for drivers of color than white drivers.

Members of GLIDE CSJ, the Coalition, and the Police Commission celebrating after the first vote in January 2023.

Over the two and half years of organizing, CSJ and the Coalition to End Pretext Stops gathered community support and gained the support of over 100 organizations.

They organized press conferences, collaborated with elected and appointed officials, held listening sessions, wrote letters of support, and took part in police commission hearings to give public comment on DGO 9.07.

On the day of the first vote, January 11, 2023, CSJ and the Coalition hosted an hour-long press conference at City Hall, featuring members of the Board of Supervisors, victims of racial profiling by SFPD, and coalition representatives.

The passage of this policy was a communal effort in the fight for racial justice. CSJ and the Coalition need to keep on fighting in the next phase, ensuring the swift implementation of the policy and sharing information with the community so that they are aware of their rights.

#PursuingProgress

This past February, a group of 50 people organized by GLIDE traveled 2,230 miles from San Francisco to the rolling hills of northern and central Alabama. The group included a team of doctors, nurses, and leaders at UCSF; formerly incarcerated men from GLIDE’s Men in Progress (MIP) program; and a diverse group of community leaders from across San Francisco.

The Alabama Pilgrimage, a transformative journey organized by GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice, is an immersive learning program aimed at uncovering the truth about American history.

Our journey began in Birmingham, AL at the 16th Street Baptist Church, the site of the tragic 1963 bombing that killed four young Black girls. From Birmingham we headed south to the heart of the black belt, a swath of central, southern Alabama known for the region’s rich, black soil. In the rural countryside of Lowndes County, we met with leaders from the Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program whose work is focused on environmental racism for Black families (many who lack modern sewage infrastructure).

MIP participants Jamien Aaron Johnson (L) and Deshawn Dupre Brown (R) on the Edmund Pettus Bridge

Continuing our pilgrimage, we arrived in Selma, traversing across the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge – a solemn reminder of the struggles endured during the Civil Rights Movement. Our path led us eastward to Tuskegee University, a beacon of excellence among Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Finally, our journey culminated in Montgomery, the epicenter of the modern Civil Rights movement where we visited the extraordinarily powerful Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

Through firsthand experiences, the pilgrimage sheds light on disparities in health and criminal justice outcomes while challenging prevailing narratives surrounding oppression, crime, and punishment. This five-day trip, now in its fifth iteration since 2018, stands at the forefront of GLIDE’s mission to confront systemic racism and injustice in America.

The journey is an intense and unvarnished look at America’s troubled history of racial discrimination. The aim of the trip is to become proximate to the lives of people who have experienced generational trauma and identify a process of reconciliation.

Raise Up statue at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice

One of the brilliant community leaders we met at the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth, and Reconciliation, Mama Callie, offered a direct look into this work. As the sun set over the Alabama river – where 200 years ago thousands of enslaved people were transported up and down the river – the group listened spellbound as she shared her tragic yet inspiring lived experience with medical racism, gun violence, and incarceration.

Mama Callie’s story begins on the day she heard her son was shot and lay dying in a hospital bed. As she rushed to the hospital to be with him, overwhelmed by fear and grief, she was told by the hospital staff to “quit her carrying on” before she could see him. In a moment all too familiar for many Black Americans, she was forced to detach from her emotions, stifle her grief, and conform to a social system that targets people who look like her.

Mama Callie

Several months later, Mama Callie found herself facing the man accused of killing her son in a courtroom. During his trial, she pleaded with the Judge to forgive him and consider leniency in his sentencing. She explained she did this out of a deeply felt personal faith in the power of redemption and forgiveness.

Years later, a familiar man approached her in a chance encounter on the street. It was the man who killed her son. He hugged her and thanked her profusely for her ability to see his humanity despite the tragic circumstances, sparing him a senseless life of incarceration.

Mama Callie’s story was one of many deeply moving tributes we heard in Alabama. This journey exposed the deep seated wounds of generational trauma and systemic racism that continue to haunt people of color, even into death, as Mama Callie repeated several times.

A stop at the Booker T. Washington sculpture at Tuskegee University

The Pilgrimage illustrates a direct connection between the generational trauma of slavery and the disproportionate rate of mass incarceration and health disparities Black Americans continue to face in our country today.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll share stories of incredible personal transformation from the participants on this trip and changes we commit to at GLIDE and with our partner organizations towards the goal of full reconciliation to atone for our troubled past. We will also debut a five minute documentary on this experience called #PursuingProgress later this spring.

We invite you to join us on this journey as we share these truths with you towards GLIDE’s goal of a more just, equal, and loving world.

Francesca now serves as GLIDE’s Senior Director of Public Affairs and Communications. In 2021, she joined GLIDE in the Executive Office as board liaison and managed special, cross-departmental projects lead.

Currently, Francesca leads efforts to advance and lift GLIDE’s voice and mission by advancing key strategic organizational priorities for GLIDE and strengthening relationships with elected officials, members of the media, and community leaders.

Prior to GLIDE, Francesca was an education systems project manager at WestEd, a nationwide education non-profit, where she ensured consistent alignment of team projects, designed and conducted research projects, facilitated community engagement sessions, and contributed to strategic planning processes.

In 2015, Francesca received her Master’s in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley. During this time she worked with the local HOPE SF initiative and interned for the Obama Administration’s anti-poverty Promise Zones initiative at the U.S. Dept of Housing and Urban Development.

Prior to graduate school, Francesca was a Probation Officer supervising high-risk, adult offenders in Seattle, WA. When Francesca is not at GLIDE, she is keeping her two young children busy with her husband and two dogs.

Author: communications

Standing Room Only Easter Celebrations at Glide Memorial Church

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