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Youth Radio City Hall Bureau: Reporter's Notebook
"When Dellums finally took the stage, he gave a charismatic and hopeful
speech..."
By Bianca Butler
On Monday, January 8, Mayor Ron Dellums was inagurated at Oakland's Paramount Theater in front of over 2,000 attendees. Youth Radio's Bianca Butler covered the event with reporters Sophia Chakos-Leiby and Anyi Howell. Bianca shares her reflections on the day's events, as she reports from the Youth Radio city hall burearu moments after the inaguration.
I was glad to witness thousands of people of all ages ushering in the
honorable Ron Dellums as Oakland's newly appointed mayor at the Paramount
Theater in Downtown, Oakland. There were masses of Black Americans in
attendance that seemed thrilled to have a distinguished man originally from
West Oakland return to his hometown to revitalize the city.
The inauguration had a presence of young Black men who came to voice their concerns about important issues affecting the youth such as violence, safety, and the lack
of youth programs and organizations. I felt as though the citizens of
Oakland were proud to finally have a genuine man of character and vision to
reclaim their city and lead them to prosperity and dignity.
While I was scoping the scene for interviewees, I noticed in the area
designated for media coverage there were only a few women (including Youth
Radio's Nishat Kurwa, Sophia Chakos-Leiby and I) and all rest men.
Nishat Kurwa, another lady, and I were the only women of color covering the event
with a group of men. It was impressive to observe women taking charge and a
male dominated arena.
The inauguration began with a rendition of the star spangled banner and the
swearing in of the newly elected officials into city council. Several
citizens of Oakland stood in line to voice their concerns to the mayor and
the members of the city council.
There were moments when the crowd went into
an uproar screaming. Before Dellums took the stage, Dr. Maya Angelou
congratulated her old friend via teleconference. She mentioned how Dellums was always active in local politics even during the sixties when she was briefly living in Bay Area.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee made a special visit from Washington D.C. to introduce her colleague Mayor Dellums. She listed
his countless political accomplishments and endeavors, especially his
advocacy to dismantle the apartheid in South Africa.
When Dellums finally took the stage, he gave a charismatic and hopeful
speech acknowledging that he would need the help and support of the
community to make needed changes.
He voiced his progressive anti-war
sentiments and how the Bay Area continues to be a step ahead the rest of the
nation politically. He mentioned his dedication to his wife and family and
how he didn't was his career to compromise his marriage. The citizens of
Oakland seemed optimistic that Mayor Dellums will deliver his promises
within his four year term to make Oakland a safe and thriving city.
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