SACRAMENTO EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING AGENCY DIVERSITY & INCLUSION COMMITTEE

Welcome to Weekly Spotlight #3! We cannot talk about Diversity and Inclusion without shining a light on a couple of African American Civil Rights Pioneers who changed the landscape completely. Due to the tireless work of the individuals highlighted in this issue, in addition to numerous other civil rights warriors, widespread change was ushered forward. One of many changes included making segregation illegal, which affected all races. equal) in this country was made illegal. There were many other instrumental court decisions and literary works published which brought forth the black experience, while expanding basic rights for individuals of not only African Americans, but different races and gender. Read further about this issue's presented African American Pioneers.

Page 01 BLACK HISTORY MONTH WEEKLY SPOTLIGHT!

Thurgood Marshall- Supreme Court Justice Thur good Marshall—perhaps best known as the first African American Supreme Court justice—played an instrumental role in promoting racial equality during the . As a practicing attorney, Marshall represented and won more cases before the high court than any other person. During his 24-year term as Supreme Court justice, Marshall’s passionate support for individual and civil rights guided his policies and decisions. Most historians regard him as an influential figure in shaping social policies and upholding laws to protect minorities. Marshall’s notable cases: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954): This landmark case was considered Marshall’s greatest victory as a civil-rights lawyer. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” Read more about him at: https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/thurgood- marshall Or view a quick couple minute video about : Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H599Gqto-0M

James Baldwin

Born in 1924 in New York City, broke new literary ground with the exploration of racial and social issues in his many works. He was especially known for his essays on the black experience in America. Nobody Knows My Name hit the bestsellers list, selling more than a million copies. While not a marching or sit-in style activist, Baldwin emerged as one of the leading voices in the Civil Rights Movement for his compelling work on race. “I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am also, much more than that. So are we all.”

Read his full biography: https://ecsphilly.org/james-baldwin/ BLACK HISTORY MONTH WEEKLY SPOTLIGHT!

Constance Baker Motley was the first African American Female Federal Court Constance Baker Motley- Judge and the first African American woman to argue a case before the Judiciary's Unsung Civil Supreme Court. Motley went to work for the NAACP’s legal staff in 1946. The Rights Hero boss who hired Motley: future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. By 1965, Motley had personally argued 10 Supreme Court cases (winning nine), and assisted in nearly 60 cases that reached the high court. While juggling desegregation cases, Motley occasionally represented Martin Luther King, Jr. Perhaps her most famous case, Motley, with the backing of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, helped (African-American) gain enrollment at the University of Mississippi. Motley was also the first African American woman in the state Senate, and the first woman elected Manhattan Borough president. President Johnson appointed her to the Southern District of New York in 1966. On the bench, Motley continued to protect constitutional rights. “I was the kind of person who would not be put down. I rejected any notion that my race or sex would bar my success in life.” Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqqBkG5qnnQ

Ruby Nell Bridges Ruby Nell Bridges Hall is an American civil rights activist. She was the first African-American child to desegregate the all- white William Frantz Elementary School in during the school desegregation crisis on November 14, 1960.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/civil-rights- pioneer-ruby-bridges-on-activism-in-the-modern-era Virtual Events/Other Resources

Deep Roots Webinar Via Zoom February 28, 2021 Noon - 3 p.m.

Join Deep Roots as they explore the Black Hair experience and dig deeper into what lies beneath the surface. Registration is at https://bit.ly/smmsacdeeproots

To learn more and register for the event visit: : https://www.nps.gov/subjects/healthandsafety/februa ry-popforhealthroundtable.htm SANKOFA DAYS @ The BAY Is the annual Black History Month program for New Netflix Docuseries the Aquarium of the Bay at Pier 39, San "Amend: The Fight for America" Francisco. Bay Area youth and families are Enacted in 1868, the 14th Amendment has become one of the invited to a program designed exclusively for most-litigated amendments in US history. Its key provisions, you! Celebrating Families and contributions by promising equal protection for all persons, have proven remarkably elastic, becoming the foundation not only for civil Environmental Champions of the African rights but women's rights, marriage equality (both involving Diaspora mixed-race and gay couples) and immigrants.

Activity - VIRTUAL AQUARIUM TOUR The early episodes take a deep dive into Reconstruction, the https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sankofa-days-the-bay- rise of Ku Klux Klan and the Jim Crow era installing a form of youth-family-celebration-virtual-aquarium-tour- "legal apartheid," as NAACP Legal Defense and Educational registration-141181356237?aff=ebdssbdestsearch Fund president Sherrilyn Ifill notes.