“Tariq Nasheed: Return of the Yellow Peril”
San Francisco Women’s March 2018 ( Photo Essay)
2016 SAN FRANCISCO GAZA 5K (TO END PTSD) 10-15-2016 (A POEM)
A rainbow of humanity came together
On this damp and foggy day
With some chance of rain
To raise money to try to quell the children of Palestine mental pain
As a result of Israel’s bombs falling from the blue sky
Like droplets of rain
We’re running this one race
For one race
The human race!
-Leon Kwasi Kuntuo-Asare
HER RACE TO END PTSD (ARTICLE & INTERVIEW )
BY: Leon Kwasi Kuntuo-Asare
On Saturday, October 15, 2016, early on a foggy, San Francisco morning, hundreds of activist-athletes and good Samaritans, of all faiths and even those without, came from a rainbow of races, nationalities, sexual orientations, and gender identities converged at Lake Merced Park.
After months of donations, given by a multitude of contributors, over a hundred thousand dollars was raised to support the children affected by the crisis and blockade in Gaza.
Proceeds from the Gaza 5k walk/run went to the UNRWA’s community Mental Health Program for Palestinian children in Gaza suffering from Psychological issues and posttraumatic stress disorder, due to the prolonged crisis of 2014 and the continued Israeli blockade in the Gaza area.
At the event there were several awe-inspiring and wonderful people of various ethnic backgrounds and cultures, united for this one great progressive cause, but the one person who stood out the most to me was fellow activist-athlete and a person I call friend, Chelsea Swall, her toughness still continues to blow me completely off my feet . Chelsea is what many millennials would refer to as a sociopreneur, for those of you unfamiliar with that term, a sociopreneur, according to UrbanDictionary.com is : “An enterprising individual that starts a venture not merely for profits but for inclusion of the communities that so far have been left out of the main stream.”
Well before the age of 30, she has already earned her Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy /Counseling , worked at places like San Francisco suicide Prevention, USF Center for Child and Family Development, continues to volunteer in her community and has recently began practicing as a Marriage and Family Therapy Intern at a San Francisco private practice. What is most amazing to me is how she has turned her family’s tragedy and unimaginable personal “Pain into a Passion Fueled Purpose”, having lost two family members to suicide, she fights valiantly everyday to help people suffering with various types of psychological issues and mental Trauma. For Chelsea this is not about politics or religion ,it’s about curing a disease that according to the World Health Organization , over 350 million people are suffering from worldwide. An agonizing disease that at its worst, can lead to suicide, the World Health Organization states: Over 800 000 people die due to suicide every year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15-29-year-olds.”
I am pleased to say Chelsea and I have become good friends over time. Here is some of our conversation from the event :
Me: where are you originally from?
Chelsea : San Diego
Me: What made you come to San Francisco?
Chelsea : I came here for graduate school at San Francisco State University . I also loved the openness of alot of the people here.
Me: what age were you when you decided psychology was the path you wanted to take in life?
Chelsea: in high school I took a psychology class and volunteered at a hospice, but junior year of college is when I knew for sure, that I wanted to work in mental health.
Me: what do you want to accomplish by being here today?
Chelsea : bring awareness and raise money for a good cause.
Me: do you plan to continue to do community volunteering and activism for mental health causes?
Chelsea : yes
For those of you interested in seeing an amazing therapist in the Bay Area, use the link below to contact Chelsea Swall :
Pictures from this beautiful event:
Video of celebration after the race.
For additional information on The on the crisis in Gaza, please use link below :
For additional information on Mental health use link below :
THE UNCLE TOM OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY! ( THE KKK IN SAN FRANCISCO)
BY: LEON KWASI KUNTUO-ASARE
According to several news sources, one of the domestic white supremacist terrorists, who was involved in the bloody and violent clash between the Ku Klux Klan and protesters, in Anaheim, California last week, is not only white, rich and privileged but also Jewish.
Sources say, 51 year old, Charles Edward Donner, the man who reportedly stabbed several anti-racism protesters last week, is the son of Charles D’Honau, who is an alum of Princeton University and is a former publisher of the Japan division of Time magazine.
Charles Edward Donner, reportedly lives in a 3,500-square foot mansion, in the extremely wealthy Marina district of San Francisco, California.
Despite Donner’s family’s Jewish bloodlines, he was able to make it to the rank of an exalted cyclops of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION USE LINKS BELOW:
Revealed: Anaheim Klansman is jobless, part Jewish and lives with mom in ritzy San Francisco home
PHOTO ESSAY: MY FOGGY AFTER NOON TRIP TO THE SAN FRANCISCO ZOO!
PHOTO ESSAY: MY EARLY MORNING VISIT TO CHINATOWN IN SAN FRANCISCO!
THE SMACK OF THE SAN FRANCISCO ELLIS ACT: (POEM/ESSAY)
BY:LEON KWASI KUNTUO-ASARE
The fact is the San Francisco Ellis act is a smack in the face and wallet of residents
who love this city and have through good and bad times remained solid
Anyone who bought into the slogan and theme of the San Francisco dream
Corporate thieves and political greed have turned the San Francisco dream into the San Francisco nightmare
Full of evictions and despair for lifelong residents forced to beg like peasants!
The current tech boom in San Francisco is bringing back both the economic prosperity and social-economic devastation of the dot.com boom of the late 1990’s, as many landlords are now forcing out many longtime residents of the city by the bay.
In areas of the city like the mission district ( a predominantly Hispanic and immigrant area) and the Bayview-Hunters point district ( a area with a largest African-American population in the city ) , two regions of San Francisco with a rich ethnic history and unfortunately an economically disenfranchised past. Many low income families are being forced out of the city. According to a Newsweek article by journalist Joe Kloc, from April 15, 2014, Joe writes: “In many cities, people are pushed farther from the city center and must grapple with longer commutes, higher crime rates and a drop in services. But in San Francisco, where Silicon Valley’s tech boom has driven up evictions by 115 percent.” Leaving the newly vacant apartments available to be rented by highly paid tech company employees, who can afford the over priced rent that obviously many long time residents can’t afford, unless they take the risk and use services like Airbnb, which allows tenants to rent out parts of their apartment to complete strangers, which can help them pay their rent.
What ever politicians in San Francisco needs to keep in mind, is that every boom or bubble will burst, so eventually that same thing is going to happen to the tech boom that happened to the dot.com, sooner or later the gold rush always ends. The city by the bay may want to think twice before allowing its longtime loyal residents to be forcefully sent off from the city like inmates to Alcatraz, because they committed the crime of being economically disenfranchised!
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