Summer of Change

Photo courtesy of Blink Inc.

Hold on for the ride. We are in the middle of a national paradigm shift to shake up systems that have been unfair and daily habits that could allow a deadly virus to kill you or a loved one. I think it’s fair to say, everything just feels different. As we all slowly emerge from our shelters our world is continuing to evolve. This is the Summer of Change.

Nationally, the Black Lives Matter movement was re-ignited by a gut-wrenching video of police brutality, again. Prompting the city of Minneapolis, where the video was shot, to be the first to ban the use of choke holds. After a national outpouring of frustration, the ripple has made it to Marin, where thousands of us donned protective masks, made signs, checked our privilege and peacefully protested in support of Black Lives Matter. On page 26, contributor Kirsten Jones Neff, reports on the creation of the Marin City Matters peaceful protest, and how the racial inequity flourished here in part because of former laws only allowing whites to buy property in Marin. By chance we were able to feature, Cameron Cressman’s beautiful photographs that captured the hope and intent of those who attended.

There are so many changes happening around the country, it’s hard to keep up. Journalists and scholars with The Black Lives Matter movement have brought the racist origins of our country’s police force into the daylight, so progress is being made. The aforementioned ban on chokeholds, cities reduced police budgets (Los Angeles), Walmart stopped selling guns, and Juneteenth became a paid holiday for companies like Twitter, Nike and Vox Media. HBO removed Gone with the Wind, Nascar removed the Confederate flag, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league “was wrong” for not listening to players’ criticisms of racism in and out of the NFL. Excuse me, Mr. Goodell, are you forgetting someone? Anyway, the point I’m trying to make was probably made best

by the mayor of Washington DC, Muriel Bowser, who is being sued, for her actions earlier in the month when she painted Black Lives Matter in huge yellow letters, for all to see (including astronauts), near the White House.

Meanwhile, here in Marin, I believe we are trying to do our best. After sending out warnings of looting after the aforementioned peaceful protest, Tiburon Police Chief Michael Cronin apologized for his word choice. After an apology and hours long review by Mill Valley’s City Council, Sashi McEntee is keeping her title as Mayor. The city also voted to improve diversity, inclusion and civic engagement across several city departments as well as strengthen partnerships with programs in Marin City to support educational overlap between Mill Valley and the Sausalito Marin City School District.

Baby steps. Now what do we do about Sir Francis Drake? Statues, street names, school districts are foundational in our psyche, we grow up with these names as part of our collective identity. Let’s all try to listen, be patient and respectful as we ponder our county’s responsibilities to our entire community.

Doing what we can here at Marin Magazine, we are excited to offer a way you can help make a difference to kids in Marin City. In our last issue, we mentioned the first annual Marin Decathlon in response to the cancellation of the Olympics. For every person who completes five of the athletic challenges we listed and tags us along with #2020MarinOlympics on Instagram, Make it Better Media, our parent company, will donate $100 to PlayMarin. We want 2020 to be the Summer of positive change here in Marin, and it starts by taking care of our community. As always we welcome your feedback (all forms!). We hope to see you out on the trails, at a safe distance.