{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://saaacam.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/d50ft8g620/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["John H. Sanders Interview"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/571/original/full-color_2x.png?1735841768","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Publisher"]},"value":{"en":["The African American Network TV (TAAN TV)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eJohn Sanders, activist and former city councilmember, speaks about his call to activism and the leaders who inspired him. He draws analogies between groups like SNCC and the Black Panthers and modern-day movements like Black Lives Matter and SATX4. By getting involved in issues, having compassion, and bringing resources to the community, he earned the trust of his community and, consequently, they drafted him for multiple leadership roles, including city councilmember. He shares some experiences that led him to run for office.     \u003c/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e (summary)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eAll materials are for noncommercial educational or research uses only. Please contact SAAACAM for any questions regarding usage rights.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2017-07-23 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Interview"]}},{"label":{"en":["Format"]},"value":{"en":["MP4"]}},{"label":{"en":["Keyword"]},"value":{"en":["G.J. Sutton","Claude Black","Harry Burns","Buster Sutton","Jim Crow","Black Lives Matter","generational activism","SATX4","Black Panthers","SNCC","Organizations United for Eastside Development","Karen Jones Conley","Sheila McNeil","SAC Basketball Team Protest","Reverend S.H. James"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English (primary)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Access Ss"]},"value":{"en":["access_restricted"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eJohn Sanders, activist and former city councilmember, speaks about his call to activism and the leaders who inspired him. He draws analogies between groups like SNCC and the Black Panthers and modern-day movements like Black Lives Matter and SATX4. By getting involved in issues, having compassion, and bringing resources to the community, he earned the trust of his community and, consequently, they drafted him for multiple leadership roles, including city councilmember. He shares some experiences that led him to run for office.     \u003c/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eAll materials are for noncommercial educational or research uses only. Please contact SAAACAM for any questions regarding usage rights.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://saaacam.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://saaacam.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/571/original/full-color_2x.png?1735841768","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/245/321/small/300VoicesLTACollectionJohnH.SandersInterview.mp4_1720645525.jpg?1720645529","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://saaacam.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2808/collection_resources/131067/file/245321","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - 300_Voices_LTA_Collection_John_H._Sanders_Interview.mp4"]},"duration":1908.7068,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/245/321/small/300VoicesLTACollectionJohnH.SandersInterview.mp4_1720645525.jpg?1720645529","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://saaacam.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2808/collection_resources/131067/file/245321/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://saaacam.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2808/collection_resources/131067/file/245321/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-saaacam.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/245/321/original/300_Voices_LTA_Collection_John_H._Sanders_Interview.mp4?1720645505","type":"Video","format":"video/mp4","duration":1908.7068,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://saaacam.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2808/collection_resources/131067/file/245321","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://saaacam.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2808/collection_resources/131067/file/245321/transcript/68566","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["John Sanders - Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://saaacam.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2808/collection_resources/131067/file/245321/transcript/68566/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Transcript\r\nFor\r\nJohn Sanders\r\n07/23/2017\r\nTyrone Darden  0:04  \r\nWelcome back to another edition of 300 Voices in 300 Days on the African American Network. I'm your host, Tyrone Darden, and we have one of our 300 voices here today, Councilman John Sanders. We have our former Councillor John Sanders, who is also in the faith based community here as well as many other organizations. He's going to give us an in depth history on many of the social and political aspects of the African American contributions here in our community. So if you would, go ahead and break the ice for us.\r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  0:38  \r\nLet’s see, well, I– I shouldn't probably go back further than my age, to tell that particular story, I became aware of the political impact of the Black community as a– as an entity, probably around 17, when I was coming into my own, though, understanding the struggle. In my history I was reading [Frederick] Douglass, just finished reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X– twice as matter of fact. It was my senior English paper, and had now transitioned into my freshman year at San Antonio College. And so the fullness of understanding the history of– of the G.J. Sutton era and the Claude Black era when they were younger men, the late Harry Burns, those figures in the NAACP, Buster Sutton (Rev. A.C. Sutton), those men and how they had opened up the public accommodations at Walmart [sic] and Joske’s, how they had protested in front of City Hall. And during their era, and read about that history. So I was inspired to see on the local level that we had the kind of leadership– and of course GJ being the first elected African American in Texas Legislature since Reconstruction was a tremendous impact– to have someone, a local icon figure like that, in the community when you're young like that gives you inspiration. And so you learn what the landscape looks around you. That's probably where the history started for me.\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  2:10  \r\nAnd– and definitely, I'm glad you brought up the landscape. So– so obviously now, here in 2017, we're approaching 300 years celebrating the history of the City of San Antonio. And the landscape here now is at a level where we've had a black mayor, we currently have a African American County Commissioner in precinct four, we've consistently had a African American in the district 120 seat, and overall, we've had some political African American leadership. But that last case may or may not have been the same over those eras that you're speaking of. So if you could, just– just give the viewers a little bit of insight on that.\r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  2:48  \r\nOn that? \r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  2:49\r\nYes, sir.\r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  2:50\r\nI think the social climate in generational politics has a lot to do with it. Because of my exposure– I've often said I probably am the last generation that came up with a living experience with a basic Jim Crow racism. Having to go through the backdoor of the Majestic Theatre, knowing that if you wanted to go and eat at Joske’s or S.H. Kress downtown, you went in the basement. Having that living experience of seeing signs on water fountains that said, “Colored here” back there as a young person. And then discovering when I got to San Antonio College that my spirit– and I discovered who I was– I had an innate dislike for injustice. And so not just against me, but I had my first experience with institutionalized racism from– from an institutional standpoint that not only discriminated against me, but it discriminated the whole group of us who were the intramural basketball team that happened to be all Black at SAC [San Antonio College]-- at SAC College at the time. So moving forward, I think my exposure to the leadership that I saw growing up– the Kings [Martin Luther King Jr.], the Abernathys [Ralph Abernathy], the Walkers [Wyatt T. Walker]. But also the Carmichaels [Stokely Carmichael]. Also the Rap Browns [H. Rap Brown]. Also the Eldridge Cleavers. Also, the Black Panthers, the SNCC [Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee] leadership– it was the broad leadership– Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, the women who were involved in the movement– I had the opportunity to see what it was about. And so when I took it on with the passion, because pain produces passion, which produces a plane of progress. You're gonna– you’re in pain, then you're going to have a passion to go out and do something. And that's– that's how it was innate for me. I think now, as we get to generationally move forward, we were activists before we sought elected office. We established credentials of leadership. We established that we cared about our community, we learned how to access funds, we learned how to bring resources into our community. So then once we got into a position, of elected responsibility, then of course, we knew what our role was. I think because of the broadness of society and our young people– and integration– your generation, some of the generations that follow you, their exposure has not made them keenly aware, I think until right about now, of the impact of politics and the importance of every generation stepping up and speaking to the issues that are happening in their lives and impacting their lives in their generation. Most of them started when they were young. Jesse Jackson, them, they were boycotting, doing counter sit-ins in at 17-18 [years of age], they’re college students. We were college students most times. And I was really happy when I saw Black Lives Matter– the amount of activists– I said, “Here comes another generation of young activists who are going to come out of this movement.” Because once you have visual injustice, it’s going to ignite something in you– in you and other people, to say, “I have to stand up for my generation.” \r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  6:04  \r\nAnd– and speaking on– and kind of pivoting from the political to social, but you know, as we both know, they are, you know, intertwined. But pivoting a little bit to that– to that social– that social justice aspect. So, you know, have you– as you kind of shared to this point, you were active at a young age, like you said, you had to kind of find yourself and see what your role was going to be in regards to, you know, what– what pieces of the puzzle you fit in the grand scheme of things. And you saw that justice and– or injustice was something that you paid attention to. Looking at the SNCCs and looking at the [Black] Panthers and– and the different organizations that were active during your youth, and then seeing now similar injustices still going on. It's a different type of Jim Crow. But the systematic ills and injustice are still there. What– what does Black Lives Matter and what does SATX4 and– and leaders like a Mike Lowe– or for other people in the community that are a little bit younger, kind of getting– try to get it together like you were getting it together back then, what does that look like in comparison to when you guys were coming up?\r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  7:10  \r\nOne of the things we knew in order to make an impact– all of us– it starts with your marketing, your advertising, your branding. We knew that primarily we wanted an African American group, young, progressive African American community action, community civil rights group. But what we were not going to do was pigeonhole ourselves, or allow other people to put us in a certain box by just identifying us as a “Black group”. Once you call yourself “Black Lives Matter,” anyone else who is not Black, you have to now bring them into understanding what your movement is. It's not against anybody. It's for everybody. Let's say we just named it “Youth Against Police Brutality.” Everybody just happens to look maybe Black, but you have a more open invitation for other people to join it because it's a generic name. We were known– we– we named ourselves– we gave ourselves a generic name: Organizations United for Eastside Development [OUED]. We were a coalition, Frontline 2000 [other San Antonio activist group]. So it did not just identify us, our ethnicity, it allowed anybody who dealt with the issues, the way we were dealing with the issues at the same positions that we had, about what was going on in our community could be a part of the movement. And so I appreciate a young man. I see myself in many ways in Mike Lowe and those young people. We were doing the same thing. When you organize, you're going to be attacked. When you organize, you're going to be criticized. When you organize and address things, people are going to come out with all kinds of things to discredit you. You just have to stay faithful, stay organized to y– stay organized and faithful to your mission. And then you expand. Because once you deal with the issue that you're dealing with, you find that other people come to the table, there's another issue. And so you deal with that issue. And when you find success, people join what works. So once they see that you all are committed and you serious, plus you know how to go about civic engagement, you grow. Don't worry whether it's ten, or five or seven. Once you just successful– and it doesn't take a whole lot of people to be successful– and you stand up, whether it's four or five standing up for the behalf of the community, they will appreciate it, they will support you, they will back you up, and you will grow. We didn't just pop into these positions overnight. It was from the Krugerrand coin issues, from the discrimination of not letting the team represent the school at SAC. It was from other issues in the community, the lack of resources. So we organize around communities and neighborhoods. What are the issues, getting community development block grant money for a community, dealing with the police brutality. We had the Hector Sanders score issue, we had the Michael Haskins issue, we had Webb Eugene Boyd. So we were addressing those issues boldly that many in the community were not, and it energized the community to grow. And it gave us that kind of initiative to keep doing what we were doing because we were working. We– I had a job, I was working for the state. Thank God that I was, because I knew– I used to say this all the time, if I was in private employment, my resume would probably look like I've been to Vietnam because it– they– I’ve been getting fired– “I saw you doing this, we just can't have that in here,” because I'm in a right to work state. So God blessed me, give me a state job that I had somewhat, some employment and I could pursue what my heart was driving me to on behalf of my people. I think when young people themselves, when you get involved, it's not just to get elected. Your people will– will move you in positions of leadership. Get involved in the issues, address the issues, show that you have compassion and concern with what is bothering and– and happening in the community. Bring resources to your community. We bought [sic] parks– Dafoste Park, Second Baptist Park. We did Lockwood [Park], put air conditioning into whatever facilities, made the quality of life better in our community. When you do that, your community will support you, they will elevate you, they will– they will draft you, they will put you in positions and then they will support you because they know where your heart is. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  11:31  \r\nAnd– excellent points. You said something earlier about when you were younger, you had to figure out what your role was and how you fit. But then you also kind of– kind of touched on as an elected official kind of knowing your role. So I’m kind of putting some questions together. But you really kind of already answered a question. So my question was going to be as an elected official, you know, your time doing that, you know, what– what specifically was that role and how did you get it? How'd you get there? But the response that I heard you say was your role was to improve the quality of life of the people that you represent. \r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  12:09  \r\nI have never sought leadership. I've never solicited leadership. From being the first Black president of the Greater San Antonio Community Churches Youth Council, to being the– on the board, President of the Ella Austin Community Center. Being the President of the Board of Sickle Cell Anemia, being on the board ECPPLC and being the president. I've been president of about four nonprofits in this community. I never sought to be the leader. I imagined my commitment, and of course the talents, I guess that I was blessed with, the skills that the Lord gave me, had the people, my peers around me, elevate me to those positions. When it came time for City Council, we were involved in a number of races just as activists as I can remember the– the race years ago when James Myrick [?] ran for city council. I remember when Willie Mitchell ran for city council and– and young people like that. But when we grew into the era– well, we look around– now it's your time, you just kind of know it's your time to step up and just be more than just activists. Now your community needs you to seek that office and your community is telling you they need you. Well, I went and got Mario [Salas] first says, “Look, we can get you elected. We need you to run whatever.” But at that time, both he and Ricky– Mario was the Public Information Officer of OUED. Rick Greene, Rick Marshall Greene, the late Ricky Greene, was the first vice president. They both had a television show at that time. And in the television show, they had some mannerisms that some of our older constituents in the community somewhat was skeptical of. And so in order to get him to run, I asked some of these folks, some of whom went to my church, and most notably Juretta Marshall, I asked to be the treasurer of his campaign, would she be the treasurer. And she gave me three things that he needed to do for the greater community to accept him. Well he did those. He cut his hair, he put on a jacket, and they stopped tearing up paper, throwing it over their head on TV. So that got him elected because the community already knew the commitment. And they wanted some bold leadership. District 2 is a very unique district, it’s a very independent-minded district. So I helped him get elected. I was his campaign manager. He got elected, so I was downtown. So now, not only am I moving from dealing with downtown from an activist position and getting resources for a community from a community position, now someone is in office that we know what the agenda is. And we know what our position is. And we know how the city has– has betrayed our district and has treated our district and we know how to deal with these issues now because we've watched it for 25-30 years. So now we're in office– and when I say we because I succeeded him– he's in office for those years and so here we go. And what is it? We want resources for our community. We want a fair tax return on the tax dollars, as if East Side homeowners and property owners didn't pay taxes. They– they have a– a right to parks, swimming pools, community buildings. They have a right to have developers come in and– and take over a community and make it better– not move everybody out, but enhance what is there. So I understood my role. And when Reverend [Claude] Black came to me– ‘cause I was not seeking to be in city council– I did accept the appointment and then I ran for election. I was on the Edwards Aquifer Authority at the time. The former State Representative, Karen Conley, Karen Jones, called me and– from Austin and I’ll never forget when– you know, just Karen is very folksy. And she say, “Homeboy, I need you to do me a favor,” and I was a– I wasn’t– didn't want to be in politics in that elected office, “I need you to take an office for the betterment of the community because it’s gonna be dealing with high power and high money. And I need somebody who's not scared of money or scared of power.” Okay, I'll take it. “Just run for election one time, if you don't like it, you don't have to do it.” Well, I eventually stayed two terms, stayed six years on the Edwards Aquifer. So at the time that I was in office, then I was with Mario somewhat downtown through all the issues, and whatever, so I knew what it was about. Necessarily I didn’t want it. But when Reverend Black called me and he told me– I'll never forget– when he asked me to come by the house. I knew what that meant, when he asked you to come by the house. And I went by the house, and he told me “I understand you don't want–” “No I–”  [inaudible] “Well, we need you to do this.” And I wrestled and whatever and fought my demons and not wanting to do it ‘cause I knew what the commitment was. I knew what the sacrifice was. And in the movement as you have learned, when you're out here, you're trying to do whatever, there’s sacrifice. There’s no way you're gonna be in the movement– you're gonna sacrifice. So I had to suck it up and take that on. And I did and we– we went on from there.\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  17:05  \r\nSo going back to something you said and– and really just making me jog my memory– so you were active young, and then when you were active politically before you were in office, one of the first people you got elected was Joe Webb? \r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  17:23  \r\nNo, Karen Conley–\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  17:24\r\n–Karen Conley. \r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  17:25\r\n–back in 83-85. She first ran for state representative. \r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  17:29\r\nOkay. Karen Conley–\r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  17:30\r\nThat was my very first political campaign where I was in a senior role and– and well, my very first political campaign that I was actively involved in. I had been actively involved against persons who were running for– involved in campaigns opposing or whatever supporting people who run it. But I mean, I'm in this campaign. It's the first campaign that I personally was actively involved in. And totally– now since you’re aging me, Tyrone– I've been involved 16 campaigns, and I don’t know anybody in this district who can say that 15 won. And I want the record to reflect that all my activist friends who have ever been vot– supporting somebody ran against me, they've always lost. None of my friends have ever– huh?\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  18:10\r\nWhat was the one? The one?\r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders:  18:13\r\nMy reelection. [Laughs]\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  18:14  \r\nOh, that don’t count! [laughs] 15 and 0. 14 and 0.\r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  18:21\r\nI– 15 and 1.\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden 18:22\r\nSo I guess what– what I'm– what I'm looking at is I can remember, and I was– I might have even been a boy, it might’ve just been a story I heard. But uh, you and Mario and– \r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  18:31\r\n–All of us, yes\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  18:31\r\n– the young cats, the young cats were– were out there, just out there, working, working.\r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  18:34  \r\n–T.C. [Calvert], Mario, Barbara [unclear] Johnson, Linda Richardson, we had women, we m– yeah–\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  18:39  \r\nAnd so, you know, the years passed and the leadership, you know, moved on. But then the idea of succession and having a plan. So I can remember, you know, being at– at Sam Houston High School, transitioning from middle school to high school to college and coming back home, that over those six to eight years, it was really three names that I heard. It was your name, it was Mario's name. And it was Sheila’s name [Sheila McNeil?]. But it wasn't that I heard you guys' names separately. You guys are working together in some type of capacity. And– and the reason why that was phenomenal to me, because before then– before then obviously I was a child, so I didn't really get the concept. But after that, you don't see that. So you look at, whether it’s District 2, whether it’s District 120, whether it's the county commissioner’s seat, whatever those offices are, you don't see that– that plan and those people working together to ensure that progress–\r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  19:48 \r\n–Ensure that we have a continuation\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  19:50  \r\n–and then we have continuity in the office. Because I know one of the things I always heard was, “Well, you might not like John and you might not like Sheila, or you might not Like Mario, but then at least they knew what the world was going on down there.” You know, because it was a wealth of knowledge, you know. And so, you know, even as Charles Williams– he's also one of our 300 voices– and when I ran for city council, Charles Williams told another community member, [imitating Charles] “Who that boy? Who that boy? Well I can't get behind him. He don’t even know where the bathroom is.” And at the time, you know, it was very offensive, condescending, to the point where he even– I was 31 years old at the time, 32 years old at the time– he came to my campaign office, and you know, he kind of like tried to bully me. And I said, “No, you're not gonna bully me.” I said–\r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  20:38\r\n–Really? To get out of the race?\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  20:39\r\n–No, just being– \r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  20:40\r\n–Just being a muscle– put a little muscle– \r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  20:41\r\n–Just being a bully. Just being a– just being a bully. But I told him, I said, “Sir, I don’t appreciate you talking about me.” He’s like, “What you mean?” I said, “You telling people, you know, I ain’t nobody and I don't know where the restroom is,” I say, “if you don't think I know where the restroom is, why don’t you show me where it is?” He said, “You know what? I ga– I gained a lot of respect from you.” Since then, we’ve been cool–\r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  20:56  \r\nYeah, but you put him in that place.\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  20:59  \r\nI put them in that place. But the crazy thing is, he wasn’t wrong. \r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  21:02\r\nNo, I understand. No he, wasn’t wrong [inaudible]--\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  21:06\r\nI know now what he means by that. Because if I was to get elected right now for city council, there’s a lot on the surface for the community–\r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  21:13  \r\n–Yeah. Like high crime communities– [Laughs].\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  21:15  \r\n–What goes on down there? If I don't go to you, if I don’t go to Sheila, if I don’t go to Mario or whomever has already been behind the dice, I don’t know. So with that being said, kinda explain how– what were the dynamics of– of– just the three– it’s not even three headed monster, but–\r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  21:33  \r\nMario– Mario hired Sheila his last 18 months in office in his second term. Like you said, continuity. I told Sheila if she wanted to stay, I wanted her to stay. Because I wanted the continuity. We attempted, when we changed the name from OUED to Frontline 2000– you talked about leadership, that was our objective– to let new leadership step forward. Because our 10-15 years of going at it hard had created certain kind of baggage. We needed to metamorphosize it, create a new front, have a new group of people still– we’re still here, but we’ll be like Waddell Bowman and– and Elmira Willis, and people work for us. We had a– we had a senior constituency that was very faithful to our organization. So that gave us a lot of commitment, you have mainstay people in your community that support what you're trying to do. When we changed the name, we still had some members, my good friends, who had not been president who wanted to be president of something. They didn't want to move and let some younger faces take that. So that's how Frontline only went two-and-a-half years. Did get the MLK holiday in, but after that it kinda– it kinda rolled down the hill and we did not replace ourselves the way I thought we should be. So I'm constantly looking, as you know already. Any young group of young people– and the Lord knows this about me– that is meeting, trying to organize, trying to be active, I just see myself when it was me. I will talk to ‘em, I'll give ‘em the insight of how we did it, how we organized, how we prioritized, how we compartmentalize. We created five committees. If you were into community development block grant monies, how you got those resources. If we were into housing, UDAG [Urban Development Action Grant program] money, how we got resources, how we deal with housing, housing discrimination when we were going against the housing department, whatever. The Casa group on the North Side, who didn't want public housing north of Hildebrand. All those kinds of issues if you were dealing with this. So we had people who had certain interests who worked on these committees. And then we have a meeting every month, we prioritize, we need to be down at this meeting on this day. We had a bunch of retired folks. So we knew who our retired people who were available and accessible. We had a phone list we could work– who can be this meeting, who can be at that meeting. So you had committed people who were working. Sometimes it'd be 75 people at this meeting, may have 300. When it was CDBG [Community Development Block Grant] time, you had all the neighborhoods. You had Harvard Place EastLawn, you had Eastwood, you had the Sunrise, because all of them had a stake in the game. We were trying to– the park out at Skyline, all of those people. If you want this park, we need your neighbors to come, we going down to CDBG here. So everybody's interest– and once they saw that we were serious– and then we had local newspapers that would report on certain things. We had a radio station, we had Speak Your Peace, and– and that's one of the major organizing tools of a community, is a radio station. If you can get on the radios to tell everybody– well, you all have now social media, you should– you can tweet. You can get on social media now and tell 200 people, “We need to be at so and so and so and so.” Y'all have a whole different– and just think about– you talk about Martin Luther King, them, they didn't have email, they didn't have cell phone. But everybody got the word– you understand what I'm saying? What's going down– because they had a mentality for that kind of thing. So I think we do have a void because things have changed. Education is the new currency. So everybody's sort of concentrating on getting an education. But we still need that activist element. Just like I have a thing about this 14-year-old girl, I still hold on, who got punched in the face by a grown police officer. I got a problem with that. And I think we as a community of men, especially Black men, when you talk about protecting your own and– and the reputation that we protect our own, we have to address that. We have to go downtown, we can meet with Sheryl Scully, we gotta meet with the police chief, the– the DA [District Attorney], what you gon’ do? We got to have some answers. Who is this police officer? Is he gonna be disciplined? We have to show the powers that be that as a community, we gon’ protect our own, we're gonna speak up for ‘em. And so I'm still– I'm just still floating with that. But I support any move– and we had to learn too– once you finish talking, you have to know how to do civic engagement. From SAC– from the SAC incident, we wasn’t throwing chairs, and– but we– we protested, but we met with the administration. We were able to point out what our differences was and why we were insulted that you would think we need to integrate our team. Because if we had lost, you wouldn't be asking nobody to take any of us. So we made our point. We protested. A number of us left the school. That's how I got to St. Philip's [College]. That's how I left SAC to come to and start going to school at St. Philip's. And then I started going to school at night, because I was working full time. I got hired with the employment commission. I was 19 years ago. So I had to switch– I started going to school at night, and I was going to St. Philip's. But I– my activist career started at 17-18, at San Antonio College addressing that, and it just started rolling. And there are always issues. The issues never stop. \r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  26:59\r\nThey– and they won’t stop\r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  27:04\r\nThey won't stop, but each generation has to step up and energize theyself and deal with the issues that– that are in that generation.\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  27:12  \r\nExcellent. So– so our last– our last little topic, I guess, the point we'll cover is– because you know, we looked at the political piece, we looked at the social and social justice piece, the other piece that you've been highly engaged in over the years is the faith based piece. I know Second Baptist is one of the– the linchpins of the community, staples of the community. Politically and socially, a lot has come out of that– that church. But I know you've been in a position because of your different roles, to kind of see what the role of the faith-based community has been, and kind of, not necessarily how– how it has evolved. We’re not gonna say how it stepped up or dropped down, [inaudible]. So– so if you can share some of that history, brief history, and then kind of where we are now. And– and if possible, you know, what can we do to get more engaged? \r\n\r\n\r\nJohn Sanders  28:03  \r\nHistorically, the church was the safest place that we could meet to organize and make a plan. Then there was a fear that even if we were meeting in churches, the [Ku Klux] Klan may walk, march up, burn the church down. You didn't know. So our people met and dealt with the issues in that particular time, as– as they could. We move into my particular era, and the way we would meet in the church and how important a church was, it was all having to do with what kind of leader you had. If we had a [Reverend] Claude Black [of Mt. Zion First Baptist Church], if we had Reverend [A.R.] Nelson over– who was at Bethel AME, I'm going way back when I was real young– if we had– now here– and here's the role, that different people had played. Coming up when the Good Government League decided that it was time to integrate, it was the social norms or movement. School integration had happened in San Antonio without a fight. There was no major disruption, no major protest or rioting. And the school desegregation plan went into effect. So now we're going into representation. Well, the Jackie Robinson of the day was the former pastor of Second Baptist, which was Reverend [Samuel H.] James. Now you have those who think he wasn't a Stokely Carmichael. He wasn't– well, what are you gonna be if you the first one? First, you're gonna take all the heat for not being radical enough. But then you got to also perform to give a door open for the [Dr.] Robert Hilliards, and the ones who come behind you, the Joe Webbs and everybody else we– and the Claude Blacks. Reverend Black came behind Reverend James. So we had ministers who would allow you to meet in their churches, organize in their churches, and had chur– [cut]. So I think now we just have this satisfied thing as if we've arrived, and we've been accepted. So now we just saying, “The Lord has got it all in His hands and He'll take care of it,” while they're– they’re stealing our resources out the back door, changing the laws and sending us back to Jim Crow, and trying to reintroduce these kinda draconian laws on us. We have to stand up. I have to stand up until I'm not able to stand anymore. But I’m like Al Sharpton. When I can't stand, I’ll just sit here and wave my hand. When I can't wave my hand, y'all just roll me in, and let me just hum and shake some. Let me just be there. But that– I wanna inspire the next generation in any way I can be there. But I need to show up and be my presence. I– ‘cause I know the importance of civic engagement. And each generation has to be involved with this engagement. And then we find our leaders. And we put our leaders in office who will represent us whether they realize who they represent. Because you can easily go downtown and get caught up easily in that celebrity-ism, and then they'll tell you it’s us against them. And they'll make you feel like you're– you're in this unique little group. And the general population is– is an adversary. Are you serious? But none of them can keep you in office. It’s this district, these people that keep you in that seat.\r\n\r\n\r\nTyrone Darden  31:13  \r\nSo with that said, we mak– gotta make sure we show up and we got to stand up. Over the last 300 years– Most recent last four or five decades they've been great. Political, social, and faith-based contributions to the African American community here in San Antonio. We've heard some very, very, very wise and telling stories on– on what has come, on what is happening, what is yet to come. So let's just keep pushing, let’s stand up, let's show up. And keep– and stay tuned in to 300 Voices over 300 Days on the African American Network.\r\n\r\n\r\nTranscribed by https://otter.ai","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://saaacam.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2808/collection_resources/131067/file/245321#t=0.0,1908.7068"}]}]}]}