San Mateo NAACP putting focus on the future

Represented by people of various nationalities and faiths, the membership of the San Mateo branch has been growing in recent years, momentum Owens is hoping to build on during her tenure as president. Though the nationwide organization started 110 years ago to address discrimination against primarily African-Americans, noted Owens, its work has evolved over the years to fight for justice for people of all different backgrounds, a value she’s found the San Mateo branch has embraced.

“There is … this diversity that I think is wonderful,” she said. “Now it’s … a situation where we’re saying an offense or an injustice against one is an injustice against all.”

With a background in technology and education, Owens is hoping to draw on her career experiences to help students of color prepare for jobs that are available today and those that could be available in the future. Acknowledging many are working in the intersection of technology and education, Owens is hoping to build on existing efforts to connect Silicon Valley companies with local talent and also to help students and parents understand what skill sets will help young people be competitive for future job opportunities.

Among the efforts Owens could see members of the San Mateo branch taking on are supporting career technical education programs, finding ways to expose students of color to role models in a variety of industries and connecting companies with organizations working with young people.

Owens said housing is another issue the group plans to explore further in the coming months, noting the region’s shortage of housing has reached almost crisis level, forcing many residents out of San Mateo County in search of lower rents or home prices. Though service workers and teachers have long been among the groups dramatically affected by the region’s high cost of living, Owens has seen the issue drive those making more than $100,000 out of the region as well.

Because the organization’s San Mateo branch has historically formed committees focused on exploring and addressing a range of issues, Owens sees the branch playing a role in connecting individuals interested in specific issues with organizations and community resources dedicated to effecting change in the same areas.

“We have a lot of eager and interested people,” she said. “If we do a better job of connecting, paralleling, working with them, then we can accelerate the results in those areas for everyone.”

With many of the branch’s original members getting older, Owens said membership declined somewhat but has more recently climbed, drawing more than 30 people at its last meeting. In the hopes the group can continue to expand its impact, Owens said she plans to continuing reaching out to groups working on some of the same issues as the NAACP to see how they can partner on specific goals, noting she also hopes to re-engage and engage with the wide array of local faith communities.

She said she is also hoping the group can be more visible in community discussions of social justice issues, noting the Oct. 3 incident in which 36-year-old Chinedu Okobi died after being hit with a Taser by San Mateo County sheriff’s deputies in Millbrae has raised questions for her and many others about what policies and training are in place for law enforcement officers.

With family members who work in law enforcement, Owens acknowledged the challenging situations officers face daily and noted the prevalence of implicit bias in all people. But because they are often required to make split-second, and oftentimes, life-or-death decisions, officers’ awareness of their conscious or unconscious biases becomes very important, she noted.

“I believe strongly that part of the training that we need to see in our law enforcement agencies is an admission that ‘yes, we bring this bias.’ We all do, this isn’t picking on any group of people,” she said. “How do we counter that bias when we’re out there on the streets making those split-second decisions?”

Though she acknowledged training isn’t going to completely solve the problem, Owens felt that when people are aware of their biases, they can make better choices. With many community members still seeking answers following the investigation into Okobi’s death, Owens is hoping the branch she leads can be part of the change she said needs to happen to prevent such tragedies in the future.

Having served as president of the San Mateo branch for some 10 years after her husband Ernest Davis led the organization for 14 years, Marie Davis has seen the organization advocate for the rights of people of color in the criminal justice system. Davis said she can remember some thinking the NAACP wouldn’t be needed after the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, but noted the group still has a lot of work to do.

Knowing how long it can take for social justice issues to be recognized and addressed, Davis said the group was enthusiastic for Owens to carry the branch’s torch in the coming years.

“We’re all thrilled,” she said. “She has the ability to do what needs to be done.”

As Owens looks to the future of the San Mateo branch, she said she often reflects on the many hours branch members dedicate to the volunteer-run organization in an effort to see change in a range of causes.

“It’s a labor of love,” she said. “We invite everybody, regardless of race, creed, [or] color that wants to work on ensuring justice in this community.”

anna@smdailyjournal.com

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