CLEARLAKE >> Perhaps louder and more powerful than the West African sounds made by hands rhythmically clashing against orchestral percussion instruments were the repetition of three words: change, diversity, community.
“This is about coming together as a community to create change and do so in a diverse way,” said the local business owner and organizer Crystal Williams of Sunday’s 9th Annual Black History event as part of Black History Month. “This is more than just learning about black history.” Williams, owner of multicultural hair and barber salon Hair By Mz. C & Co., is known for coordinating multiple community events including Black History, drugs and alcohol prevention, and food giveaways for the homeless.
“A lot of people say, ‘This is a poor community, and there’s nothing to do,’” said Williams. “Well, there is a lot to be done. As business owners and individuals, we have to connect and that’s what black history means to me.”
The gathering, held in a residential community center in Clearlake, brought together people of many races. Attendees were greeted with drum circles playing in the background, a row of tables filled with steaming Southern soul food dishes, Mardi Gras-colored decorations, and a black history exhibit.
Her events, especially Black History, usually gather crowds anywhere between 75 to 200 people every year to learn about black history and culture, eat, and network. This year had all those elements, but with a stronger push for “change in the community” as speakers and attendees commented throughout the event.
Author and public speaker Randall Cole was the first to take the microphone and talk about the recurring theme. He phrased it: cutting new history.
“How do we create new history when it comes to attacking racism, discrimination, stigma, and negativity,” Cole asked the audience. “It starts with the battlefield of the mind.”
He said there are only two options one can respond with to the matter: positive or negative.
“Positivity is the most valuable tool we have today. It isn’t what happens. It’s how you respond to what happens,” Cole said. For example, he shared, when he was in jail, he heard the guards say he would never get out. “I wrote on the wall, ‘I will be free.’ Then they said I would never work for the county. Guess what; I work for the county government.”
Cole has worked for Lake County Behavioral Health as a certified drug and alcohol abuse counselor. He closed by urging the community to “change the battlefield of the mind. Change your language that is married to your behavior. Choose positivity.”
Clearlake Mayor Bruno Sabatier, who often participates in the annual event, followed with a conversation that merged a visit to the times of Booker T. Washington and Rosa Parks with what today’s community can do to continue the momentum former black leaders started. He mentioned Park’s famous stand against discrimination by refusing to take the back seat of a bus assigned for blacks only and NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand during the national anthem, stirring controversy for protesting what he deems are wrongdoings against minorities in the country.
He said:
“We shouldn’t be told it’s unpatriotic. Patriotism is not trying to change the country. Patriotism is about trying to make the country a better place. Patriotism is where change is. We’ve already put our minds and hearts into making this country a great place, and we shouldn’t stop now.”
Sabatier said one of the most impactful ways one can create change is to run for office. He said he is looking for change at the city council level, to which Sabatier said he might leave by the end of the year. “I don’t see Latinos, African Americans there. If change happens at the top, it can happen elsewhere. Look around because we have some really good people in our community,” he explained as he pointed at several people in the audience, including Williams.
With that, Williams announced that she, in fact, is going to run for city council. Also announcing her candidacy was Shanda Harry —who currently serves as Deputy County Counsel for Lake County. She said she is running for Superior Court Judge, Department 4 and is excited she is the only female running for the position. “We do need a change in the county. I would like to see a little more diversity as the only woman running.”
Some, including children, recited poems about black culture and shared their thoughts on what Black History Month meant to them. April Harris, principal researcher for the American Multicultural Research Institute brought an exhibit focusing on some of the first African Americans to step foot in California. She shared that she is currently working on genealogy research to find Lake County’s African American founders.
Black History Month celebrations extended to Tuesday with Sabatier at Woodland Community College, with a similar event that included speakers from the NAACP Chapter of Lake County, alumni, and local businesspeople and musicians.
