Archived Radio Show

February 26, 2024

Original Radio Show  ID:
WSA240226

Listen to the Show on the Mp3 Player below

Duration 57 minutes

The Guest interview begins at 20 minutes.

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Featuring

Click the Name to access the Segment below

1. Commentary by Elaine B. Holtz,  Host of Women's Spaces 

2. Guest: Kirstyne Lange, President, NAACP Sonoma County Branch

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1. Commentary by Elaine B. Holtz:  Our guest, Kirstyne Lange, chair of the Sonoma County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), will be interviewed over the telephone. We will be talking about the NAACP, its mission, goals, challenges, and the significance of Black History Month.

Congratulations to the Sonoma County Human Rights Commission. They held a special meeting on February 22 to pass the final draft of their Cease Fire In Gaza resolution and the next step is to present the draft to the BOS to initiate the Resolution. A lot of work by some dedicated people. A special shout out to the chair, Katrina Phillips what an accomplishment. I will keep you updated. There is hope, folks, as long as we insist and persist.

To honor Marian Anderson, whose birthday is on Tuesday February 27, 1897, in lieu of taking a musical break I am going to play a couple of audio files. The first piece of about 2.5 minutes is her story and how she got to sing My Country Tis of Thee in front on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC on April 9, 1939. This performance made a compelling case for the transformative power of music, and in a place typically associated with the power of words.
The second piece is Marian Anderson actually singing the song, My Country Tis of Thee.
After a denial by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) to perform at Constitution Hall, the then First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, resigned from the DAR and made it possible for Marian Anderson to become the first person to perform a solo concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Easter Sunday. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship between Marian Anderson and Eleanor Roosevelt.

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2. Our Guest, Kirstyne Lange, shares her early influences with NAACP, beginning with her joining as a 14-year-old. As an adult she has been active in the NAACP for 20 years. Kirstyne attributes her inquisitiveness to her mindset that the worse she could be told is "No." She welcomes feedback and is open to taking alternative routes.

Kirstyne remarks on Ida B. Wells who was an early member of the NAACP, founded in 1900, but left it most likely because of the sexism she encountered. She says that the NAACP was founded for it local effects. The NAACP's mission is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination. NAACP - Sonoma County Branch was co-founded by Gilbert Gray and O. Platt Williams in 1953,at which time they presented 300 memberships and received its national charter.

The first concerns were over education and housing, encouraging the hiring of Black teachers and pushing back against the red lining of neighborhoods in the county that prevented colored people from purchasing homes in those areas.

NAACP Sonoma County encourages people to submit written complaints on their website, as no voice complaints will be processed out of protocol. A committee will then determine a plan of action, reach out to the complainant, and advocate in the workplace, school or agency concerned. Free legal services regarding civil rights are then offered once NAACP does its due diligence. The recent uproar over violence in the schools has prompted NAACP to call for more support resources for school administrators and teachers, as police presence on the campuses are not enough. Often economic insecurity of families is a cause of student frustrations.

Many events were and are being offered in February in honor of
Black History Month. One was a February 4th free bus ride in honor of Rosa Parks in her desegregation action. On Tuesday, February 27, Kirstyne and Dimitra Smith, former Chair of the Commission on Human Rights, will present the findings of the History of Slavery in Sonoma County Project in partnership with Sonoma State University, with research done by undergraduate students under History Professor Amy Kittelstrom, Ph.D.. Those whose stories can be told, not just their dates of birth and death, are highlighted.

The NAACP is promoting some films with in-person screenings: Saturday March 23, 2024, AVFilm Studios screening of the Space Race at 1:00 PM and Origin at 4:30 PM, 375 Healdsburg Ave, Suite 200, Healdsburg, CA 95448. See Announcements below for other NAACP sponsored events.

-  report by Ken Norton, Co-Producer, Women's Spaces

About our Guest:  Kirstyne Lange is a native of San Diego, CA where she served on San Diego City Councils’ 4th District Youth Advisory Board (YAB) to help curb the rampant gang violence. She also served on the Mills College Intersectional Anti-Racism Team as an alumni perspective and expert in this field.

Kirstyne has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Policy from Mills College where she then served as a Mills College Board of Governor, advocating for current student programs, recent graduate programs, admissions initiatives to foster accessibility to Oakland natives, and the Alumnae of Color Committee.

Kirstyne received her master’s degree in public administration with an emphasis in Nonprofit Management from Sonoma State University and was a founding board member of the Sonoma County IOLERO – CAC, advocating for safer policing and sheriff oversight to help improve policies. She is presently the President of the Sonoma County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Guest Link:

NAACP - Sonoma County Branch:  https://naacpsantarosasonomaco.org/

Reference Link:

NAACP – Celebrating 70 Years of Civil Rights and Social Justice in Sonoma County by Danielle Garduño, Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County  Click Here for PJC article

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Our History Is Our Strength

Check out important dates to remember in Herstory at the National Women's History Alliance, where the date descriptions were sourced unless otherwise indicated.

Special thank you to the National Women’s History Alliance for making women’s history alive. Shout out to Co-Founder and Retiring Executive Director, Molly McGregor who will be on the show when we celebrate Women’s History Month in March for making the fabulous list of Women in History where I get most of the info I present in this Herstory segment.

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February 27, 1922 – U.S. Supreme Court upholds the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees women the right to vote.

February 27, 1890 (1989) – Mabel Staupers, graduate of Freedman’s Hospital of Nursing (now Howard University) in 1917, led Harlem Committee of the New York Tuberculosis and Health Association, organized health education, public lectures, free exams and dental care for school children, fought for full racial integration with the help of Frances Bolton, integrated Army and Navy nurses.

February 27, 1897 (1993) – Marian Anderson, opera singer, first African-American member of the New York Metropolitan Opera (1955). 

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Announcements

Wednesday, February 21, 2024 Peace and Justice Center issues new weekly list of events and links to community non-profit organizations: PJC website www.pjcsoco.org

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February and March 2024, Figures and Faces, Santa Rosa Arts Center, 312  South A St., Santa Rosa, CA. See poster below:

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Tuesday, February 27th, 5:00 to 11:45 PM, SoCo Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Monthly Meeting, featuring former Chair of CHR Dmitra Smith and Kirstyne Lange, President, SoCo NAACP,
on the History of Slavery in Sonoma County Project report.

•   Click Here for CHR Meeting Info.

• Click Here to see NAACP January 2024 report on this issure.

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Monday, March 4, 2024 11 AM PT # repeats 11 PM PT, the show will feature our guest Molly Murphy MacGregor on the National Women's History Alliance.  Radio KBBF 89.1 FM, North SF Bay or live streaming at https://kbbf.org/live

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Wednesday, March 6, 2024, 11 AM PT, repeat of Monday's show that will feature our guest Molly Murphy MacGregor on the National Women's History Alliance.   Radio KPCA 103.3 FM, Petaluma, CA. https://petalumacommunityaccess.org/kpca 

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Wednesday,March 6 2024 6:00 PM, The Community Advisory Council (CAC) and Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO) invites the public to participate in our Monthly meeting. The location will be at the Finley Park Community Center, 2060 W. College Avenue. Manzanita Room, Santa Rosa, CA. 95401

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Tuesday March 12 2024, 6 PM, League of Women Voters Civics Class: Democracy: It's Up to Us! The third of three FREE, virtual (Zoom) presentations in February and March at 6pm on Tuesdays. Registration is required; sign up for each class separately, click RSVP link below for class date. Guaranteed to be interesting, fun and inspiring! 

1. 2/6 Calif State Gov,  Click Here to view past event on LWV Sonoma YouTube Channel

2.  2/20 From An Idea to Law,  Click Here to view past event on LWV Sonoma YouTube Channel

3.  3/12 City and County Government,  Click Here to RSVP

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Saturday March 23, 2024, NAACP Promotion: AVFilm Studios screening of the Space Race at 1:00 PM and Origin at 4:30 PM, 375 Healdsburg Ave, Suite 200, Healdsburg, CA 95448. RSVP at https://naacpsantarosasonomaco.org/

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Music Selections

The Opening and Closing Theme song The Woman in Your Life is You is done with permission of the Composer and Singer Alix Dobkin ((August 16, 1940 – May 19, 2021) Alix Dobkin death was just announced - Thank you for all you did for Lesbians to be recognized and Women to be honored. May you rest in peace. See our Interview with Alix Dobkin on 12/1/2014 and our Memorial to Alix Dobkin on 5/24/2021

The Woman in Your Life is You by Alix Dobkin from the album Living with Lavender Jane (2010 Women's Wax Works) - www.alixdobkin.com

The Incredible Marian Anderson by Open Ears (Classical California YouTube channel Click Here for YouTube video) - "Open Ears" is a series that highlights the many artists and composers who made invaluable contributions to classical music, but music were underappreciated in their time.

My Country Tis of Thee by Marian Anderson at Lincoln Memorial in 1939,  (Robert H Jackson Center YouTube Channel - Click Here for YouTube video).

Black Lives Matter by Lovely Hoffman from the single Black Lives Matter (Released 3/27/ 2017 Lovely Hoffman)

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