San Diego County continues to break COVID case records

Speaker 1: (00:01)

A check on COVID cases and healthcare workers.

Speaker 2: (00:03)

We know that it's definitely Aron. That's driving this surge and a lot of gatherings on new year's probably did not

Speaker 1: (00:10)

Help. I'm Jade Henman with Maureen Kavanaugh. This is KPBS midday edition. What is the economic outlook for San Diego county?

Speaker 3: (00:28)

And so if you add all that up, my estimate is that we've had more than 4 million people then who have left the, the labor, uh, labor market

Speaker 1: (00:35)

And a special on the history of the rainbow sign black cultural center in Berkeley county, California. That's ahead on midday edition. Last weekend, San Diego county hit a record with nearly 50,000 new COVID cases from Friday through Sunday, while the surge continues, hospitals around the county are experiencing staff shortages. As the virus spreads among healthcare workers in response, the California department of public health issued new guidance for healthcare workers who test positive for the virus lowering the a required isolation time. Before returning back to work, the president of the California nursing association told NBC seven, the new guidance could make things worse,

Speaker 4: (01:33)

Putting COVID positive, you know, workers back into the workforce just leads to more. Cross-contamination not only for our patients, but for our coworkers as well. And then we're gonna have an even worst situation on our hands.

Speaker 1: (01:46)

Joining me now to discuss the recent surge and how hospitals around the county are being affected is KPBS health reporter, Matt Hoffman, Matt. Welcome.

Speaker 2: (01:54)

Hey Jade, how you doing? Great to be here?

Speaker 1: (01:56)

So this is a new record for the county. What do you think is causing this surge? We've got this highly contagious ALN variant, but we also just came of

Speaker 2: (02:04)

Holidays. Well, we know that it's definitely Aron. That's driving this surge and a lot of gatherings on new year's probably did not help. We heard, uh, state officials, local health officials asking people not to gather. And if they do to do things like open up windows and open up doors for ventilation, um, it's really unclear how many people did that, but we saw a ton of people flocking out to testing sites, not only over the Christmas holiday, but also over the new year's holiday. And now we're seeing more people going back to those testing sites after they had exposures. Um, but we know that Aron is driving this and we know that state officials have been testing the wastewater data across the state. Um, and they say that Aron has been found in most regions of California. Um, and they say that is consistent with the CDC data that reports that about 95% of all these new cases are OCN. So we know that OCN is definitely driving the surge and likely gatherings, uh, stemming from the holidays are most

Speaker 1: (02:57)

Of these cases from people who are UN vaccinated or are we seeing positive cases among both the vaccinated and UN vaccinated population?

Speaker 2: (03:05)

The most cases definitely are coming from the unvaccinated, you know, just in San Diego county, the county sort of reports that, you know, the case rate for not fully vaccinated residents is about three times higher than those for fully vaccinated residents. Now, um, I'm sure, you know, people who are listening, um, they've talked to people that have, uh, you know, been fully vaccinated, even been boosted and, and they've, they've still caught the virus. We are seeing a lot of breakthrough cases, but a lot of the breakthrough cases, health officials, um, you know, wanna stress, uh, are usually people who are asymptomatic or people who maybe just seems like they have a cold. Um, and a lot of these people that are ending up in the hospital, um, majority of them are UN vaccinated. So officials are saying, Hey, look, this is sort of preventable. So go out there and get vaccinated. Our

Speaker 1: (03:45)

Hospitalizations also still on the rise

Speaker 2: (03:48)

Hospitalizations are on the rise and they've been rising, you know, pretty much since Thanksgiving. And if you look at the graph, there's a sharp line going up. Um, right now we're sitting at about in San Diego county, just over a thousand in people in the hospital with COVID 19. Now, if you look back to this time a year ago, that sounds like a lot. Uh, we had about 1700, 1800 in the hospital during this, uh, last winter surge that we had last year. And that was in vaccines. We're just starting to roll out. And officials are, you know, sort of crediting vaccines for keeping people out of the hospital. Now we know with OCN, I say, if you're UN vaccinated, it's gonna find you. Um, and it could send you to the hospital. Another thing health officials are closely monitoring is the number of ICU positive patients.

Speaker 2: (04:29)

Um, and we know that right now in San Diego, we have about 166. Um, and if you remember back, you know, when there were some of those stay at home orders and everything, um, they were really stressing, you know, ICU bed availability, the people, you know, who are the worst off because of this virus. Um, we're at 166 now. Um, and during the peak last year we had about 450 people who were hospitalized in the ICU with COVID. So those numbers are a lot down, you know, hospitalizations are up, but ICUs, you know, not as high as hospitalizations, we

Speaker 1: (04:58)

Know a lot of hospitals are short staffed right now. What's being done to relieve that

Speaker 2: (05:03)

Issue. Yeah. We're hearing from a lot of local health systems that, um, you know, sort of during this time, you know, back in the early pandemic, people would say, you know, I'm hearing all these cases being reported, but I don't know anybody who's sick. Well, I bet a lot of people listening now, you know, whether it be themselves who may have been exposed, they probably know somebody, uh, close relative or, or family member that's been. Um, and that same thing extends to the healthcare systems, especially when these people are working directly with these patients. Um, and we know how transmisible Ahn can be. So a lot of staff are catching Ahn and they're having to call out to prevent exposure. Um, and we've seen, you know, some institutions, hundreds of employees, uh, going out on unscheduled leave, um, in the hospital systems, they've sort of been preparing for this, but basically what that could mean is cutting back on other elective surgeries, um, basically planning, uh, they say to ration care.

Speaker 1: (05:49)

And as you know, the state is now weighing out in order to cancel elective surgeries with the shortage of specialized healthcare workers, as COVID cases, surge has San Diego, uh, been affected by this at all.

Speaker 2: (06:01)

Yeah, definitely. You know, they've been looking at rationing care for a while and we know that, you know, during the last winter surge, there was a lot of stuff that was put off. Um, and we're seeing that again, but I don't think it's happening in large numbers. Now, if the state does decide to pass this order, that's being reported that says no elective of, uh, surgeries, then that would obviously cancel, uh, all elective surgeries in the state. I would make a lot of people unhappy. Uh, but the hospitals are saying, Hey, look, we just need some breathing room here. Um, also worth noting too. Um, when we talk about, you know, how are health facilities dealing with the people, um, that are coming down with the virus, uh, the state issued some new guidance that you touched on there. And the intro that was a little bit controversial, uh, basically saying, you know, healthcare providers who test positive and are asymptomatic, they can return to work immediately without isolation and without testing. Um, and that's where you're seeing the pushback from the union saying, Hey, wait, if somebody's positive, um, and they're going back into work, aren't they just gonna infect more people? Well, we've heard from hospitals saying, you know, planning for the worst means having workers go in who are sick, you know,

Speaker 1: (07:01)

How are local businesses and schools being affected by this surge

Speaker 2: (07:04)

Schools are definitely being affected a lot. We're seeing a lot of kids that are having to call out, um, because they have COVID. Um, and it's something that's not just affecting schools, it's affecting local businesses. Um, you know, I'm sure if even if you drive around town, if you're looking to order, so businesses have had to close, you know, whether it just be for a few days or even a week, uh, to sort of catch back up as employees are calling off because they have . Now we know that there's an indoor mask mandate for businesses. You know, it's not necessarily being as strictly followed as it was before, but I think a lot of business owners are sort of wary and wondering, um, if restrictions are gonna come back, you know, we, uh, when we had the color coded tier system, red, orange purple, uh, whatever it was that limited indoor dining capacity, uh, stopped indoor dining altogether made it outdoor only. So, uh, business owners are definitely on edge right now.

Speaker 1: (07:51)

A and do you think the surge is going to continue over the next few weeks? You know,

Speaker 2: (07:54)

When we were talking to healthcare officials, they were saying, you know, some of the hospitals that their own visual modeling, uh, showed the peak of this, you know, hospitalization increase in the case increase, um, happening, you know, around January 20th or so somewhere around there. So, um, if that still rings true, then we're not out of the woods yet. You know, we have another week or two, uh, as, as we go on the incline, but we should be coming down here at some point. Um, you know, keeping a, some of the tests that the county were reporting, those record cases, uh, were for some backlog tests, but they say even with the backlog tests, that we're still hitting records, what can

Speaker 1: (08:28)

People do to protect themselves during this time?

Speaker 2: (08:31)

You know, we heard from the county public health officer, Dr. Wilma Wooten, you know, that we're in the middle of this unprecedented surge, where we're seeing so many cases, also something to note to who Jade, all the cases that we're seeing, you know, 22,000 cases reported on one day. That's only people that go out to testing sites and that actually get that PCR test. So, you know, if you're following the guidance where you have a rapid test, you take it at home, it's positive, you have symptoms, you stay at home, you write it out. You're never gonna go in and get, uh, an official PCR test. You'll never be counted. So there's likely thousands of more people that have COVID that are just not going in and being counted because they're doing rapid tests. Um, and the guidance has not changed. Um, they're asking people, you know, please, if you're not vaccinated, go out there and get vaccinated. And we know, you know, that immunity wanes from these vaccines. So if you got vaccinated, um, they're asking you to go out there and get boosted because your level of protection is just not very high. Uh, if you don't have that booster, I've been

Speaker 5: (09:24)

Speaking with KPBS health reporter, Matt Hoffman, Matt, thank you very much for

Speaker 2: (09:28)

Joining us. Thanks Jade.

Speaker 5: (09:39)

The O Macron variant is also having an economic fallout, creating another speed bump on the road to us, economic recovery from thousands of canceled airline flights to shortened restaurant hours, employees, sick or quarantined because of O crown have increased staffing shortages. The latest national jobs data was gathered before the OCN surge, but it too is sending mixed messages about the state of the nation's economy. December job growth came in much lower than expected, but unemployment is down to almost record levels. Meanwhile, the great resignation seems to be he continuing as rates of resignations, continue at peak levels. Joining us for an update on how San Diego is doing is professor a gin economist at the university of San Diego, professor gin. Welcome to

Speaker 3: (10:29)

The program. Thank you. Thanks for having me

Speaker 5: (10:32)

Now, what do these recent reports tell us about the state of the,

Speaker 3: (10:37)

Well, I think it shows that, uh, the labor market right now is pretty tight. The economy's doing pretty well, but, uh, what we've seen then is, uh, slower growth in terms of employment now. And I think that the cause for that is not that employers are not wanting to hire people, but it's just simply the, the fact that they're just not enough workers now to go around. So that is a better situation than if employers were just not wanting to hire people. Now,

Speaker 5: (11:04)

How can job numbers be lower than expected? Yet unemployment is way

Speaker 3: (11:09)

Down. So what's happened is that a lot of people have left the workforce. For example, retirements are up, it was projected that over the time period of the pandemic, that about 1.5 million people were gonna retire. It turned out that 3.6 million people retired instead. So that's more than 2 million extra people retiring. So they have left the job market. On top of that, we've lost about another million people at COVID. Uh, some people have died, some workers have died as a result of COVID. And then we have a large number of people who are in, uh, what it called the, the, the COVID long pollers. They have the disease and side effects and they're basically disabled. And so they're gonna be out of the, out of the workforce. And then finally, uh, we also have, uh, a lot of women who have left the workforce due to childcare issues. And so if you add all that up, my estimate is that we've had more than 4 million people then who have left the, the labor, uh, labor market, therefore that reduces the, the size of the labor force, which accounts then for the decline and the unemployment rate, while at the same time, job growth is, uh, slow

Speaker 5: (12:12)

This entire picture, economic picture brighter here in San Diego than other parts of the country.

Speaker 3: (12:19)

I think we have a mixed, uh, situation here in, in San Diego. We have a lot of industries that were strong, that were resilient. For example, research and development was able to keep on going despite the pandemic cuz people could work remotely. But then on the other hand, we, we have a big, uh, leisure in hospitality industry that was, that was hit hard, uh, by the pandemic. So restaurants, hotels were hurt by the fact that people were not eating out or traveling, uh, for, for business purposes. And so, because that is such an important part of the local economy, uh, San day was suffered then in, in that particular sector and that's sectors also having the, uh, the most difficulty in terms of people quitting their, their jobs as well. The highest quit rate is in the restaurant and hospitality industries, almost 7% of people in that industry nationwide quit their jobs in November. But all those people leading the, the, the labor market that I talked about earlier, just created openings all through the labor market. And so that gave people the opportunity then to leave their jobs for better, better opportunities. How

Speaker 5: (13:23)

Do you expect the OCN surge will affect our economy?

Speaker 3: (13:26)

That's, that's a big unknown at this point. I don't think that we're going to have the closing down of the economy like we had in March and April of, of, uh, 2020. So I think, uh, this may, that may slow things. People will be more cautious, but I don't think that it's gonna have the big impact that the pandemic had at, at, at its beginning.

Speaker 5: (13:46)

Now, governor Newsom presented his new budget proposal yesterday, and apparently California is still a wash in surplus funds. Where is this money coming from?

Speaker 3: (13:57)

Well, I think, uh, we, we've got a couple of things going on here. Uh, number one is that, uh, you know, the stock market's doing pretty well. And so, uh, I think a lot of people had, uh, made some, made a lot of capital gains. A lot of people in the high tech industries for example, were able to keep working throughout the pandemic. So they're continuing to earn money and, and pay, uh, pay income taxes. And then finally on top of that, people have been spending money during the pandemic. In 2020, people had to stay home. They couldn't go out, they couldn't travel. And so as a result of that, they ended up saving money. What economists are calling a COVID piggy bank? Uh, it's been estimated that 1.6 trillion was saved, uh, nationwide during the pandemic. And so now that people can do do stuff, they're gonna go out and spend some of that money. And that's earning, uh, the, the state, uh, some sales tax revenue.

Speaker 5: (14:47)

What stood out for you in the governor's proposals that could benefit San Diego's economy?

Speaker 3: (14:54)

I think, uh, the emphasis on housing and dealing with the homelessness is, uh, one of the bigger aspects in as far as the, uh, budget is concerned. Uh, we have a serious housing problem in California in terms of affordability. It's just really expensive to live here. Housing price did not go down, uh, during the pandemic. And, uh, it costs a lot then to buy a house and, and even to rent. So a lot of people are, are in tough spots then in terms of what they have to spend on housing. And so I think, uh, the proposals then to boost construction of housing then will help and also think, uh, you know, we have a serious homelessness problem. And so I, the proposals then to deal with homelessness are gonna be significant,

Speaker 5: (15:35)

You know, as you referred to, uh, there were reports that came out at the end of the year about overall individual income in San Diego rising last year, despite the pandemic, yet there seems to be a popular notion that the economy is not doing well. Why do you think there's this disconnect?

Speaker 3: (15:54)

Yeah, that's, that's an interesting question. Uh, you know, I, I think, um, unfortunately that there's just these days that there are just a lot of misinformation going on, uh, spread by, by the internet. Uh, and, and as a result of that, uh, people think the situation's actually worse than it is. You know, I saw the, for example, how the media portrayed the jobs report on Friday, and it was just almost universally negative. Whereas, you know, my view is that, uh, the unemployment rate is thinking below 4% was just a positive development. And, and again, that, that slow job growth is the result of, you know, people leaving the, the labor force voluntarily. And so as a result of that, uh, that's not a, as of not as big of a negative as, uh, it might otherwise may be.

Speaker 5: (16:40)

Do you think the pandemic has caused permanent changes in San Diego's economy?

Speaker 3: (16:45)

I think it has caused some permanent changes. Uh, for example, I, I think the popularity of outdoor eating has made that some thing that that is going to continue then in the future, uh, both the public and the, the restaurant, people like that. And, and, uh, you know, we have the weather in San Diego then to, to carry that on. But I think, uh, this big retirement wave that we saw is gonna have lasting impacts at least, uh, for, for several more years down the line. I think the labor market's gonna continue to be tight and, and wages will be continued to rise then for, for the next few years. And then, uh, that will allow, you know, more of this job switching, uh, the great resignation people quitting their jobs then, and moving on then to, to better opportunities.

Speaker 5: (17:29)

I've been speaking with professor Allin economist at the university of San Diego and, and Ellen, thank you so much.

Speaker 3: (17:35)

Thank you.

Speaker 5: (17:47)

This is KPBS midday edition. I'm Maureen Kavanaugh with Jade Henman on the latest episode of the California report magazine host, Sasha Coka, and K U E D political correspondent, Marisa Lagos explore the rich history of the rainbow sign, a groundbreaking center in Berkeley for black culture, politics and art. They begin by describing the unassuming appearance of the former community center, which now sits in stark contrast to the sight and sounds it once housed.

Speaker 6: (18:19)

It's this stucco one story building, and it's got an Adobe tiled roof and curved windows. And mostly what you can hear these days at the corner of Martin Luther king to you in your way. And Derby street in Berkeley is traffic. But if you had stood here 50 years ago, you might have heard some very different sounds drifting out the doors of this building.

Speaker 7: (18:45)

What is Africa to me? One, three centuries removed from the lands. My father's love the spicy Grove cinnamon tree. What is Africa to me?

Speaker 8: (19:10)

He is so impact.

Speaker 6: (19:13)

This place was a California cultural landmark that hosted dozens of high profile artists and thought leaders. People like Maya Angelou, Nina Simone, and influential folk, musician odea, but it lasted for just a few short years. I'm Sasha Coca and the California report magazine. And today I'm, co-hosting the show with my colleague Marisa Lagos. Who's a political correspondent for K Q E D, where we produce the California report. Hey there, Marisa, Hey, Sasha,

Speaker 9: (19:42)

Very excited to be here. You know, you and I have been teaming up on some episodes of this show, looking at race, identity and history here in California. And today we're gonna visit the rainbow sign.

Speaker 10: (19:55)

Rainbow sign is a unique club in Berkeley, which is geared to the role of the black and American cultural

Speaker 11: (20:00)

Society. This is a small intimate club. You could walk up and ask a question of Maya Angelou or James Baldwin sat Mahal there into Saki Changa people like, um, Cleveland bellows, Raymond Holbert all had exhibitions there.

Speaker 12: (20:16)

Alice Walker, who went on to win the Pulitzer prize for the color. Purple did a reading at rainbow sign. Nina Simone performed at rainbow sign. When I was seven years old. Oh,

Speaker 8: (20:27)

To be

Speaker 6: (20:30)

Black, you might recognize eyes. One of those voices as vice president Kamala Harris, she wrote about growing up in Berkeley and going to the rainbow sign as a kid in her 2019 autobiography. The truths we hold here, she is reading from the audio book,

Speaker 12: (20:48)

Families with children who are especially welcome at rainbow sign, an approach that reflected both the values and the vision of the women at its helm,

Speaker 9: (20:57)

Kamala Harris' election made us start thinking about the rich history of this cultural center. It's a place most Californians haven't even heard about.

Speaker 6: (21:05)

Yeah, and the rainbow sign has incredible legacy. There are so many famous people who performed and visited there, and it cultivated so many artists and leaders, but it was also a place where people could experience joy. It wasn't just about black pain and the suffering of folks of color, but it was really about celebration. And

Speaker 9: (21:26)

More than 40 years, that's all still relevant. As we continue to reckon with our country's shameful racism and think more about the need for people of color, to have safe spaces. We also know that the conversations happening now were built on years of previous work, we're talking political, cultural, artistic. So we wanted to take our audience back to an other era full of upheaval

Speaker 6: (21:51)

To the 1960s and seventies in the bay area. And remember, this was at the height of the Vietnam war, the free speech movement, black nationalism and Berkeley was right at the center of so many of those social movements.

Speaker 11: (22:05)

So we are at the corner of Martin Luther king, Jr. And Derby street in front of what was rainbow sign, a black cultural arts club between 1971 and 1977.

Speaker 9: (22:17)

Today's a mental health center run by the city of Berkeley. And last year it was being renovated. And we were able to take a tour before it was open to the public with someone whose memories of the place run deep.

Speaker 11: (22:29)

My name is ode Paula and my parents, Henry and Maryanne. Paula started at rainbow sign in the seventies.

Speaker 6: (22:35)

Ette hadn't been in the building for more than 40 years since she was a

Speaker 11: (22:39)

Teenager, it was painted. It was very warm, the yellows and the gold. So when you walked in, it felt very much like you were walking into somebody's living room.

Speaker 9: (22:50)

This is a big place. Much of the inside has now been rebuilt into cubicles and office spaces. But the main concert hall is still there. It has a church like feel to it, echoy wood floors, tall ceiling beams, hand painted with a delicate floral pattern. It's beautiful.

Speaker 11: (23:07)

There was an energy, um, in heat, there was that feeling of movement, right? There was action. Things were happening. It, it wasn't stagnant at all.

Speaker 9: (23:17)

While some of the performers who came through there were already established the Nina Simone and Josephine bakers. Others were at the very start of their careers with only a whisper of their greatness to come

Speaker 6: (23:28)

Like blue singer to Hodge Mahal. Here he is performing, leaving Trump. It's a song from his very first album released back in 1968. I went

Speaker 8: (23:39)

Upstairs to pack my leaving. I ain't seen no blues whiskey, man.

Speaker 6: (23:47)

The rainbow sign also occupied a hugely important political space, both for the actual political organizing that happened there. And for the fact that it staunchly celebrated blackness and black potential, but it was only around for six years in the 1970s, which means a lot of its history has been lost to time. That's

Speaker 9: (24:10)

Right. We had trouble finding performances recorded at the rainbow sign, but there has been an effort in recent years to preserve what archives did survive while both Maryanne Paula and Henry poll passed away more than 20 years ago, their daughter Ette kept and boxes of archives. They'd actually been buried in storage for years until 2017. When a couple of students in an undergraduate seminar at UC Berkeley began researching the rainbow sign and they ended up creating a digital archive with a debt's blessing.

Speaker 11: (24:39)

Rainbow sign needs to not just disappear into the mists of time.

Speaker 6: (24:45)

Odet

Speaker 9: (24:46)

Is particularly proud of her mother Maryanne poll who forged a path as a black female concert promoter before that was even an established job.

Speaker 11: (24:55)

This is a black woman in the forties and fifties and sixties doing things nobody else had ever

Speaker 6: (24:59)

Done. Her dad, Henry poll had a day job as an engineer, but the pollers were also really big folk music. And they spent a lot of time going to see live shows enough time that they started helping put up flyers for concerts and running ticket booths and getting to know the musicians as friends. Now, back then, these concerts usually featured a bunch of folk artists on the bill, but in 1958, the manager for the folk singer odea asked the poll. If they'd like to put together a solo show, that experience helped inspire the couple to launch Mary Ann, Paula presents, and as concert promoters, they helped bring new names to the bay area, including Bob Dylan, after turning him down several times because they didn't know who he was.

Speaker 13: (25:45)

Oh, and the gates.

Speaker 6: (25:51)

This is Bob Dylan, performing gates of Eden at one of Maryanne poll's shows in San Francisco. Odea went on to record dozens of hits after appearing in Maryanne poll's concerts. Martin Luther king called her the queen of American folk music. Here is singing hit or miss recorded in 1917.

Speaker 8: (26:14)

Just like giving you gotta be, you hit or miss

Speaker 6: (26:20)

The poll's daughter OTET who was named in part after odea recalls her parents booking a veritable who's who of 1960s folk and rock music.

Speaker 11: (26:30)

Judy Collins, Joan Baez, uh, Mimi Farina, the Clancy brothers and Tommy make. She even did the modern jazz quartet. Peter Paul and Mary, the weavers Frank Zappa and the mothers of invention.

Speaker 6: (26:48)

By the way, that's Zappa's 1970 recording of trave booky.

Speaker 9: (26:54)

Odet says her parents' success. Didn't just lie in their ability to recognize talent. She describes a cozy, intimate relationship between these artists and her parents and their broader group of friends. She says many of them would end up crashing at her family's house. After most

Speaker 11: (27:08)

Of the concerts, there was a party. And at my parents' house, they're very, very social. I'm a kid. So I'd go upstairs and go to bed. And people were singing, you know, and performing downstairs. And that's just normal is to fall asleep to odea or Pete secret. Somebody singing downstairs.

Speaker 9: (27:26)

Everything about the rainbow sign was intentional starting with its name. Here's vice president Kamala Harris. Again,

Speaker 12: (27:33)

Its name was inspired by a verse from the black spiritual Mary don't. You weak

Speaker 14: (27:38)

God gave Noah the rainbow sign no more, but fire. Next time,

Speaker 12: (27:46)

The lyric God gave Noah the rainbow sign. No more water. The fire next time was printed on the membership brochure. James Baldwin of course had memorably used this same verse for his book. The fire next time Baldwin was a close friend of polars and a regular guest at the club.

Speaker 6: (28:05)

Even before the rainbow sign got started, James Baldwin had already spent time in the bay area, including back in 1964. When he toured the city on camera for a film called take this hammer, it was actually produced by K Q E D the station where today we produced the California report.

Speaker 9: (28:22)

It was a time of huge change here. The second wave of the great migration had brought about 300,000 people, largely black southerners to the bay area between just 1940 and 1970. And by the sixties, San Francisco was demolishing its thriving jazz district. The historically black Fillmore neighborhood under the guise of urban renewal. And this

Speaker 15: (28:43)

Is part of how redevelop also, what do you mean? You say redeveloping, meaning you mean removal of Negros? Yes, that's. That's what I thought you meant.

Speaker 6: (28:53)

Baldwin called out the racism that he saw. He said it was overt in the south, but in San Francisco where everyone is so liberal and so civilized and so literate, it's all a under the rug

Speaker 9: (29:06)

And Baldwin brings this unflinching assessment of American racism to the documentary, but it also shows his optimism. He speaks with young black men about their challenges and

Speaker 15: (29:16)

Struggles. We're gonna be a Negro president in this country. We're never be a Negro president in this country. Why do you say that good jobs? How we gonna be your president, God, but I want you to think about this. There will be a Nero president of this country, but it will not be the country that we, that we are sitting in. Now, what if you say to yourself, there never will be a Negro president of this country. And what you're doing is agreeing with white people who say you are inferior. It's not important, really. You know, whether or not it's Negro president. I mean, in that way, what's important is that you should realize that you can become, you can become the president. There's nothing anybody anybody can do. You can do.

Speaker 6: (30:05)

Of course, we did end up finally having a black president about 50 years later. And now we have the first black and south Asian vice president

Speaker 9: (30:13)

Kamala Harris. And she says she learned lessons at the rainbow sign that helped her go on to break barriers. It

Speaker 12: (30:20)

Was where I learned that artistic expression, ambition and intelligence were cool. It was where I came to understand that there is no better way to feed someone's brain than by bringing together food, poetry, politics, music, dance, and art

Speaker 6: (30:41)

KA writes about dancing at home to versions of the Nina Simone song, young, gifted, and black, and about seeing Nina Simone perform at the rainbow sign. When she was just seven years old,

Speaker 5: (30:53)

You've been listening to a piece on the history of the rainbow sign in Berkeley, California. It will continue after a short break. This is KPBS midday edition. I'm Maureen Kavanaugh with Jade Henman. We continue a piece from the California report magazine about the rich history of the rainbow black cultural center in Berkeley host, Sasha Coka and reporter Marisa Lagos begin by explaining singer Nina Simone's involvement in the storied community center and what it meant for black culture. In the 1970s,

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Nina Simone hung out at the rainbow sign as did Berkeley's first black mayor Warren Widener. And in 1975, Maryanne, Paula invited both the singer and the mayor there for a special ceremony. So he could proclaim Nina Simone day in Berkeley.

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The press conference will be held at 10:00 AM rainbow sign on Friday, the 31st you'll be presented with a proclamation from the city of Berkeley presented to you by the mayor of Berkeley Warren whitener. Well, I

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Warn whitener mayor, the city of Berkeley to hereby proclaim Friday, March 31st, 1972 as Nina Simone day in appreciation of the great dignity bearing and uniqueness of miss Simone and a recognition of her exceptional contribution to the rainbow sign, the black cultural center of the city of Berkeley

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Nina. When mayor Widener honored Nina Simone at the rainbow sign, local TV station, KPIX covered the event. I can

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Only say that I am stunned and I'm pleased. And I'm, that's it. Thank you very much from ages three. Um, know that song by heart, young gifted in black.

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So the legacy of rainbow sign is that there was more going on in the world and in the world of people of color than most people know about period. And earlier, if you look at history, you would think nothing happened unless you were European and that's simply not accurate.

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The crux of the rainbow sign ode poll says was not black nationalism. It was about building a multiracial space rooted in celebrating black culture.

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Rainbow sign does not exclude non-black people. You know, either from membership or from

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Attendant Odets, mom, Maryanne poll died in 1999, but in a 1974 interview, she talks this approach of being black centered, but inclusive.

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But we do specify that it's a black area, which I explained by saying, we set the table and anyone can eat at it. But we do set the table

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Sculpture and graphic artists. Elizabeth Catlett showed at the rainbow sign in 1972, that was covered by KPIX as well. Artists

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Generally project themselves towards galleries and buyers or collectors. But I want to talk about the relationship of the artists to the community, especially the black artists to the black community

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And the exhibits in performances and shows. Weren't just for adults, the Ray rainbow sign, welcomed kids,

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Right? Kamala Harris and her family spent many evenings

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There. My mother Maya and I went to the rainbow sign. Often everyone in the neighborhood knew us as Shamala and the girls. We were a unit, a team. And when we'd show up at the rainbow sign, we were always greeted with big smiles and warm hugs.

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That was part of Maryanne Paula's vision. She wanted to let artists interact with and inspire young people, not just perform and move on to the next concert hall. We wanna put these heroes together with the children. Maryanne poll told the Berkeley Gazette back in 1975, she went on to say, no kid who wants to be a painter can say no to if a kid doesn't like to read, put him together with a poet

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And Kamala Harris remembers high school kids meeting and interacting directly with guest speakers and performers in an intimate space. Kids

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Like me who spent time at rainbow sign were exposed to dozens of extraordinary men and women who showed us what we could become.

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The rainbow sign was also a home for political organizing guests ran the gamut from black nationalists to more moderate political leaders, including Huey Newton, Winnie Mandela, and Shirley Chisholm, the black Congresswoman who launched a historic run for president.

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Those of you who have been neglected left out, ignored, forgotten, or shunned the side for whatever reason, give me your help at this hour, join me in an effort to reshape our society and regain control of our destiny. As we go down the Chisholm trail for 1970,

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And it was where a group of women founded the powerful black women organized for political action or WPA. It's a group that still exists today and has helped foster generations of black female leaders, including Kamala Harris. The

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Woman who's led bapa for four decades as president. Her name is Desi woods Jones. She says she and the other original members of her group didn't have big expectations. When they first called a meeting at the rainbow sign back in 1971, see

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How many women we can get that would be interested in, in politics being engaged in politics, not necessarily running, but just being involved. And we expected about 40, 45 people to show up. And, um, and we opened the doors and, you know, looked around and I think there must have been pretty close to a couple of hundred, uh, women that showed up. And we were, of course, just astounded

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That enthusiastic response spoke to the energy and excitement among black women who were tired of just doing the grunt work behind the scenes. You know, we

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Would do all the fundraising. We would walk the precincts, we would go in office and do the mailers.

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They wanted to have a seat at the two table themselves.

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And yet when it came to the public policy and really, uh, people making the decisions, even among our strong black men supporters, women were sort of dismissed. And so we kind of didn't, you know, that didn't set too well for some strong black women. She

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Says the energy in the room at the, at first meeting was palpable. And while the political organizing group outlived the rainbow sign, it was no coincidence. Des woods Jones says that the group got its

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Start there. It was the right place at the right time for just to grow out of it just ended up being kind of the gathering place. I mean, you would go in the rainbow at any given day or time and not know who you may run into. Odea may be there performing. And, uh, people just sort of like, like going there. Plus the food was good.

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The food breaking bread together, it was a central part of the rainbow sign. And it was memorable enough for the vice president to recall her favorite dishes, decades

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Later, some othered, chicken meatballs and gravy, candied Yas, cornbread, peach

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Cobbler. OTET poller says some people came to the rainbow sign just for the food.

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Excellent, excellent food. My mom was a stunning cook. So the food here was very, very good a menu

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From around 1975 details. A lot of the choices that you could pick from, from entrees for $3, a piece liver with onions,

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Smothered steak fried chicken,

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Complete with two side dishes, buttered

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Corn, Lima beans, mashed potatoes, pickled beets, and onions,

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And a super salad. There was also a dessert menu, Blackberry

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Cobbler, apple cobbler, bread pudding, sweet potato pie.

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There was something about pies. Yes

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And like most things at the rainbow sign, the restaurant's purpose went well beyond the obvious. Yes, it served as a gathering place to eat, but it was also a stepping stone for young people hired to work there. And they included men who had been recently paroled from San Quentin prison. Some actually went on to successful careers in hospitality,

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But in the end, this special place was never financially stable within a year of its opening. The rainbow sign was already struggling to survive at the center's one year anniversary in 1972 Maryanne poll talked with a reporter from crown four about the financial challenges, but

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The rainbow sign faces a deep crisis, which must be resolved immediately as executive director of Mary Anne polls, planes

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as deep as it can get, we have to control our home. That is our physical building. And we have until May 1st and to raise $75,000,

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The rainbow sign hung on another five years, but it did shut its doors for good. In 1977, after the pollers were unable to raise enough money to the building, which

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By the way, is actually located on the corner of the two streets marking the literal red line in Berkeley. At that time, people of color could not get loans to buy homes to the north and to the east of the rainbow sign.

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So it was right on the red line. It was segregated. My parents owned a house on Ella street because they weren't allowed to buy a house above MLK.

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That's a long time Berkeley sculptor and mixed media artist, Mildred Howard, and she used to hang out at the rainbow sign when she was a young woman,

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Mildred's mother Mabel Howard, everyone called her mama. Howard was a legendary community activist in Berkeley, perhaps best known for her fight over a commuter train line. Officials wanted to build Bart tracks that would've run through the black part of town and physically separated from the white neighborhoods. Mama Howard sued and won forcing officials to put the train tracks underground, where they still are

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Today. When we talked with Mildred Howard, she remembered her moms deep work to lift up black voices and power.

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I, I can remember people coming to our house and saying, who should we vote for? And my mom sitting down and talking with them about it. And most major black politicians in this area would come to her. And if she supported them, the whole neighborhood supported them

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Decades. After the rainbow sign was forced to close because the building was too expensive. Mildred Howard herself was pushed out of her longtime, Berkeley home. You do

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And put the, these things. This is the old, these are the old family photos, more photos. Yeah. I was notified by my landlord that my rent would go up 50%. And as an artist, I can't afford 50% increase in rent

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In this film from the K Q E D series, truly California filmmakers followed Mildred Howard and her grandson as she was being evicted back in 2018.

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I, I mean, it's just a myth where you think you have a secure place to stay. It's a myth. I probably should not have drank the Koolaid eight. I think it was part of the American dream that I thought that I was a part of

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In 1970, when the rainbow signed first open, black residents made up about a quarter of Berkeley's population by 2020, just 8% of city residents were black.

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Those statistics are pretty chilling. A lot of people moved to outlying suburbs and others like Mildred moved to Oakland.

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That's where we talked to her in her new live workspace. Mildred's still mourning what she lost, being forced to leave

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Berkeley. And now when you go to south Berkeley, it's all white. I could name everyone who lived with a and like two or three blocks, but the neighborhood is now on white. And I can't afford to buy a house there.

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Mildred Howard says the white liberal talk about black lives matter. Isn't enough when black people can't afford to stay. And when I hear her say that it really echoes what James Baldwin said about the bay area back in 1964.

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What do you mean? You say redevelop, meaning you mean removal of Nick rose? Yes, that's.

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That's what I thought you meant. It's a lie. Berkeley is thought to be this open liberal place when in fact it is not,

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But Mildred still makes meaningful our art to tell these stories, like even as she was dealing with her own displacement, she launched a photo project, capturing the voices of young black men and women in Berkeley.

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And I brought together nine African American youth talk about issues of today. And each one was paid a stipend because I believe in young people, because I want them to know that what they have to say is valuable.

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And she's got those photos hanging on the walls of her live workspace in Oakland. Each of the young people, she photographed is silhouette in shadow.

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Next to a

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Quote out of it came these wonderful quotes by each of these young people, I've always felt powerful because no one told me otherwise. I love that quote.

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It's the same philosophy that Maryanne Paula spent six years C at the rainbow sign. The idea that young black people need the space to craft stories, to celebrate black beauty and value. Even if the world isn't always ready for it.

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That was Sasha, Coca and Marisa Lagos for the California report magazine.

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I.