"The arc of the moral universe...bends toward justice."
PROGRAMS
Healthy Communities
Our Healthy Communities initiative promotes health, wellness, sustainability and preparedness in and among underserved communities through festivals and other direct community programs designed to bring greater access to the doorstep of those in need.
NorcalMLK is currently working with major corp's and community in the creation of the next major farmers' market in San Francisco.
The MLK Shoreline Farmers' Market is designed as a diversified farmer's market offering agricultural and non-agricultural goods for sale, along with valuable activities, such as weekly entertainment, cooking demonstrations, health services, sustainability and children's programs. In addition, the market will make it easy for all to shop by accepting multiple forms of payment.
The diversified structure is designed to appeal to wide demographic in the southeast community of San Francisco and the needs of low and moderate income residents.
Partners with NorcalMLK represent leaders in their respective spaces, many of whom have been long-time partners with us.
Stay tuned for more information on the marketplace!
Learning Communities
The Learning Communities initiative envisions an environment where all can learn and deserve an opportunity to succeed. Through the literary, visual and media arts, we help to increase the joy of learning and the vital requirement of literacy in the functioning of daily life.
We are very pleased to be partnering with the City of San Francisco in an exciting new pilot program, Project Pull Plus!
Project Pull Plus! is a summer internship program aimed at providing high achieving, underrepresented 1st- and 2nd-year, San Francisco college students internships in private sector high-tech, biotech, engineering, health care, finance and communications companies, while also delivering leadership and service skills through weekly training with civic leaders each Friday.
The summer of 2014 will begin the Project Pull Plus! pilot program. Designed as an eight-week summer program to cultivate the skills of high-achieving, underrepresented college students, the programs mission is to Establish an integrated program to help prepare 1st- and 2nd-year college students for future success that delivers paid, private sector STEM work opportunities; identifies and prepares new, diverse talent pools for emerging, high-wage STEM jobs; and
builds leadership skills for better civic and policy engagement.
The Liberation Film Festival (LFF) is dedicated to bringing short-format cinema and human interest documentaries to the public through innovative programs designed to engage new and diverse audiences. The LFF three programs include The Annual Liberation Film Festival, The Undiscovered Gems broadcast series and The Evening of Undiscovered Gems events.
The annual Liberation Film Festival is a two-day screening festival each year during the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend. Screenings in San Jose and San Francisco highlight award-winning short-format cinema and documentaries. Screenings in San Francisco's Yerba Buena museum district and San Jose's City center provide for a maximum exposure. Northern California hosts some of the world's finest film festivals, and the LFF is the areas only free film festival dedicated to short-format cinema and human interest documentaries.
The Undiscovered Gems broadcast series -- A weekly one-hour television, online, and podcast series that brings to the viewer little-known features and documentaries in short format. The format provides for the airing of up to three features per segment, with the flexibility to run interviews and live chats with screen-writers, directors, producers and actors in an interactive environment. The syndicated pilot series is currently in production planning to begin airing on public-television, online and via podcast in the winter of 2012, with full programming scheduled for the spring of 2013.
LFF's Evening of Undiscovered Gems is a quarterly upscale presentation that blends avant-garde features, boutique wines and rising culinary stars into a cultured and elegant experience at some of Northern California's treasured locations. Each event highlights an exceptional five-course visual, vintage and culinary union -- bringing a rising chef's assortment of tapas-portioned specialties together with novel boutique wine offerings, wrapped around an array of avant-garde short features. Heightening the experience are food and wine pairing ideas by host chefs and renowned sommeliers and film-maker and author interviews in an elegant and stimulating social setting.
Celebrating Communities
The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday celebrations in San Francisco bring thousands of celebrants together annually to honor the legacy of Dr. King every third Monday in January at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Gardens.
During this year's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday, the Northern California Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Foundation honored the life and legacy of the great civil rights leader at the region's largest MLK celebration in the heart of downtown San Francisco. With the 2011 theme, "Sustaining the Dream -- Through Community and Service," event attendees at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Yerba Buena Gardens enjoyed a full day of activities which included literary and health festivals, a celebratory parade, an interfaith service, interviews with noted leaders, a special presentation dedicated to the legacy of Dr. King, which included performances by the Marcus Shelby Orchestra, Abhinaya Dance Company, the 100 voice Dream Youth Choir, and a host of others, and free activities at local museums.
The celebration's major sponsors were San Francisco's Grants for the Arts and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, with the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the Golden Gate Transit and Ferry as the event's major transportation partners.
The day began with the opening of the Mind, Body and Soul health festival, where free health screening services, preparedness programs, and an environmentally-friendly full makeover station for teens provided attendees with valuable services and information. Bringing together the region's top health providers, focused on health, wellness, empowerment and sustainability as markers of just and vibrant communities, event partner, the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter, provided fun disaster preparedness games and activities, and conducted an hourly raffle drawing for emergency survival kits, which was a big hit! A Health and Safety station providing basic CPR demonstrations led by instructor volunteers was also a huge success with over 100 attendees learning basic life saving skills. In addition, the American Red Cross Blood Services team also paid tribute through a major community blood drive, where nearly 30 successful blood donations were collected, and youth volunteers joined the crowd of thousands to pay tribute to King during the celebratory parade.
In partnership with Marcus Books, the nation's oldest African American bookstores, the Foundation inaugurated the San Francisco Literary and Children's Reading Festival with a book fair and conversations with leading personalities. A special interview, hosted by television personality, Janice Edwards, and book signing by Ms. Belva Davis, the first African American television reporter on the west coast, highlighted the festival, along with a Sustaining the Dream conversation with past San Francisco supervisor, the Rev. Dr. Amos Brown. In addition, Harold Brooks, CEO of the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter, hosted a conversation with author and actor, Brandon Hughes.
The annual freedom march and parade followed. Thousands of celebrants were led from the City's Caltrain Station to AT&T Ball Park, where a commemorative ceremony honoring the 45th year of the march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, was held. Afterward, the parade proceeded to Yerba Buena for an interfaith ceremony, where the Glide Foundation's founder, Rev. Cecil Williams, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco, The Most Reverend George Niederauer, provided words of encouragement. And, the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, providing stirring words on Dr. King and peace.
The celebrants were then treated to a host of entertainment options, including an outdoor concert by jazz band, Kazemde George, free museum activities at the children's Zeum, the Museum of the African Diaspora and the Contemporary Jewish Museum.
The highlight of the day's events was the special program, King in Five Vignettes, which featured the Marcus Shelby Orchestra delivering selections from the new CD, Soul of the Movement--Meditations on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Brandon Hughes playing the role of Dr. King. Raseka Kumar, principle dancer with the Abhinaya Dance Company, provided a mesmerizing performance, while eight-year-old, contemporary dance phenom, Li'l Kida, lit up the stage with a hip-hop display. The 100-voice 2011 Dream Youth Choir gave us a reason to be encouraged about the future, and 2009 America's Got Talent finalist, Lawrence Beamen, stirred the crowd with a rousing rendition of Old Man River. In between, we were treated to encouraging words from civic and faith leaders including, Rev. Dr. Joseph Bryant, Jr., the San Francisco Labor Council's Timothy Paulson, Rev. James DeLange, Bay Area personality, Noah Griffin, and Rev. Floyd Trammell. Renel Brooks-Moon, the voice of the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants, and television personality, Janice Edwards, served as emcees, and the distinctive voice of radio personality, Leslie Stovall, served to host the production.
During this year's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday, the Northern California Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Foundation honored the life and legacy of the great civil rights leader at the region's largest MLK celebration at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Gardens. With the 2012 theme, Renewing the Dream, event attendees at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Yerba Buena Gardens enjoyed a full day of activities which included literary and health festivals, a celebratory parade, an interfaith service, a special presentation dedicated to the legacy of Dr. King, and free activities at local museums.
The 2012 celebration also saw the foundation's launch of the Liberation Film Festival and partnership with Lucasfilm. The event highlight included the screening of Double Victory, the documentary of the experience of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II and the 2012 MLK Conversation with three living Tuskegee Airmen, hosted by Barbara Rodgers.
The celebration's major sponsors were San Francisco's Grants for the Arts, Target Corporation, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, American Red Cross, Wells Fargo, Lennar, with the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the Golden Gate Transit and Ferry as the event's major transportation partners.
The day began with the opening of the Mind, Body and Soul health festival, where free health screening services, preparedness programs, and an environmentally-friendly full makeover station for teens provided attendees with valuable services and information. Bringing together the region's top health providers, focused on health, wellness, empowerment and sustainability as markers of just and vibrant communities, event partner, the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter, provided fun disaster preparedness games and activities, and conducted an hourly raffle drawing for emergency survival kits, which was a big hit! A Health and Safety station providing basic CPR demonstrations led by instructor volunteers was also a huge success with over 150 attendees learning basic life saving skills. In addition, the American Red Cross Blood Services team also paid tribute through a major community blood drive, where nearly 30 successful blood donations were collected, and youth volunteers joined the crowd of thousands to pay tribute to King during the celebratory parade.
In partnership with Marcus Books and sponsored by Target Corporation, the Foundation Children's Reading Festival was launched at the Children's Creativity Museum, with activities for kids throughout the Yerba Buena Area. It culminated in a book fair and give-away. Nearly 200 children completed the activities and received a free book from Marcus Books.
The annual freedom march and parade began the events, with thousands of celebrants led from the City's Caltrain Station to AT&T Ball Park, where a commemorative ceremony honoring the 46th year of the march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, was held. Afterward, the parade proceeded to Yerba Buena for an interfaith ceremony, sponsored by the San Francisco Interfaith Council, where faith leaders provided words of encouragement. And, the newly elected Mayor Edwin Lee provided stirring words on of community and peace.
The celebrants were then treated to an outdoor concert.
In the true spirit and legacy of Dr. King, over 150 volunteers from various community partners also came together to serve on this day as well. AmeriCorps members from across the bay area acted as transportation ambassadors, delivering free and deep discounted public transit tickets from providers such as BART, SFMTA, and the Golden Gate Ferry and Transit systems. AmeriCorps members also served as vital support during the health festival. Over 60 youth volunteers from the Asian Community Partnership also supported the day's efforts by participating as guides and ushers during the parade and events.
On January 21 well over 15,000 celebrants came together for a full day of exciting programs, festivals and activities in honor of Dr. King. Themed The Dream and 50 Years, the events celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Dr. King's famed I Have a Dream Address. What follows is a review of the day's events:
MARCH & PARADE
CalTrain Station to Yerba Buena Gardens: A 1.5 mile march that included a commemoration at Willie Mays Plaza at AT&T Park.
YBCA THEATER PROGRAMS
The Dream@50 Art Awards Ceremony: One of 10 ceremonies around the nation to award students who expressed the Dream of Dr. King through art.
Sunday Morning Experience: Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. highlighted the 2013 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration program with a conversation about the 50th anniversary year of Dr. King's famed address with television personality Janice Edwards. Soprano Hope Briggs and the St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church Ensemble provided music. Author/Actor Brandon Hughes delivered Dr. King's words. Radio personality Nikki Thomas was the emcee for the events.
Liberation Film Festival Feature Screening: The 2013 feature screening was the award-winning documentary, The Waiting Room along with an audience meet & greet with producer, Peter Nicks.
YERBA BUENA ESPLANADE STAGE
Interfaith Ceremony: The San Francisco Interfaith Council hosted the interfaith commemoration, which included past participants in marches and freedom rides during the Civil Rights movement.
Outdoor Music Festival: The Yerba Buena Gardens Festival hosted the music festival that included the Richard Howell Quintet and the Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble. Over two thousand celebrants enjoyed the music festival throughout the day.
YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS (YBCA) FORUM
Health & Wellness Festival: A record number of celebrants visited and received services in the festival held in the YBCA Forum, which included the American Red Cross, SF AIDS Foundation, SF Environment, and the United States Tennis Association.
The AIDS Foundation provided a record number of services and treatments.
The USTA signed up a record number of youth to free tennis memberships and lessons, and a special tennis serving booth was set up for youth.
The American Red Cross donated blood and received additional training and services.
YBCA GRAND LOBBY
Book Festival Events w/ Marcus Books Sponsor: Three author interviews and book-signings were sponsored by Marcus, along with a record number of books provided to children who participated in the Children's Reading Festival.
YBCA SCREENING ROOM
YBCA Liberation Film Festival Screenings/Interviews: A standing-room only crowd assembled throughout the celebration day in the Screening Room to view Liberation Film Festival screenings and author interviews.
YBCA OUTDOOR STAGE
Outdoor Music Festival: The Yerba Buena Gardens Festival hosted the music festival that included the Richard Howell Quintet and the Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble. Over two thousand celebrants enjoyed the music festival throughout the day.
2013 CHILDREN'S READING FESTIVAL
Children's Discovery Hunt: The major children's event was the discovery hunt where children were provided with free books and free passes to Children's Fairy Land in Oakland for their participation and completion of the discovery hunt activities. A record number of children participated and completed the activities.
CITY VIEW - METREON
Evening Celebration: The festival ended with an evening celebration presented by 102.9 KBLX and Wells Fargo Bank. Gourmet chefs, wineries and entertainment brought the celebrants together for the closing celebration.
FREE & DISCOUNTED TRANSPORTATION
BART: 5,000 free commemorative passes were provided and this year, over half of the designated distributions were let through our Eventbrite.com registration site.
SFMTA: 5,000 Commemorative passes, free March & Parade shuttles and commemorative T-Train Service highlighted this valuable partnership with SFMTA's MUNI service.
GOLDEN GATE FERRIES: 200 riders were able to receive round-trip passes from Larkspur Landing to San Francisco for the Celebration Events.
PENINSULA CALTRAIN: The service, sponsored by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Santa Clara Valley, brought nearly 2,000 celebrants to the events.
FREE MUSEUMS
YBCA GALLERIES, MoAD, CJM, San Francisco Museum at the Mint: These museums provided free admission (CJM free for 18 and under) for celebrants throughout the day.
VOLUNTEERISM
In the true spirit and legacy of Dr. King, over 150 volunteers from various community partners also came together to serve on this day as well. AmeriCorps members from across the bay area acted as transportation ambassadors, delivering free and deep discounted public transit tickets from providers such as BART, SFMTA, and the Golden Gate Ferry and Transit systems. AmeriCorps members also served as vital support during the health festival. Over 60 youth volunteers from the Asian Community Partnership also supported the day's efforts by participating as guides and ushers during the parade and events.
The MLK Virtual Service Corridor
The Foundation is establishing local service and information portals to assist in pointing people toward service projects in their area. Through our e-publication, Connecting Point Magazine, we showcase service stories around northern California.
The Honorable Willie B Kennedy Service Award
NorcalMLK inaugurated its signal individual civic service recognition, The Honorable Willie B Kennedy Service Award, in January 2014 in honor of our founding chairperson and one of the longest serving elected officials in the history of San Francisco.
The Drum Major Awards
With the goal of promoting increased service among the area's business community, the Foundation has created its signal service recognition, the Drum Major Award, awarding businesses that achieve recognized levels of community engagement and service.