Reverend Aaron Shumake, Sr. | Interview 1 | October 27, 2006

Oral History Center, UC Berkeley
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00:00:00 - Early life, family, and the move to California

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Keywords: Ford Motor plant; Lake Providence, Louisiana; Richmond, California; canneries; shipyards

Subjects: Extended family members move to Richmond; Father and uncles employed by Ford Motor plant; Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant in Richmond, California; Parents' move from Lake Providence, Louisiana, to Richmond, California

00:02:53 - Port Chicago

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Keywords: Concord Naval Weapons Stations; Port Chicago; Port Chicago Mutiny (book)

Subjects: Exposure to realities of racial discrimination and danger; Father as acquainted with Port Chicago "mutineers"

00:03:54 - Maternal grandmother's influence

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Keywords: Eliza Baker; Sunday night dinners; canneries; grandmother's influence; religion; spirituality

Subjects: Father as mechanic; Grandmother's response to the threat of Russian bomb; His religious calling and inspiration; Inspired by grandmother's inner peace; Mother as athlete and homemaker; Mother worked at canneries; Significant time spent with grandmother; Sunday night dinners with grandmother

00:07:24 - Accepting God's calling

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Keywords: God's calling; baptist; destiny; reverend; submission to God

Subjects: An interaction with a woman on a plane that confirmed to him that he was to be a man of God; His grandmother's role in his religious journey; National Baptist conference in Nashville, TN 1996; On why he resisted his calling to become a Reverend

00:12:17 - How his experiences have shaped his ministry

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Keywords: gospel; peace

Subjects: Death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ; Externalizing his calling; What ministry means to him

00:14:21 - The impact of travel

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Keywords: international travel; racism

Subjects: How travel has benefited him and why he would like others in his community to experience it; On how international travel broadened his perspectives; On how travel helped him cope with racism in the US

00:15:42 - Younger years

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Keywords: Louisiana cultural influences; North Richmond Missionary Baptist Church; associate minister; family training; siblings; work ethic

Subjects: Being modeled collaboration vis-a-vis parents' interactions; Childhood home in Richmond; Knowing how to say no; Not being easily led into situations; On never hearing his parents speak negatively about each other despite divorce; The importance of integrity, compassion, and non judgement in his culture; The value of education and work

00:19:44 - Educational and vocational experiences

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Keywords: CSU East Bay; CSU Hayward; Contra Costa College; track

Subjects: Being self-taught; Grade schools attended; Post-high school career trajectory; The importance of completing one's education

00:22:03 - Movement to mobilize against violence in Richmond

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Keywords: AC Transit; Black-on-Black Crime Summit; June 4, 2005; Reverend Newsome; Richmond City Council; clergy mobilization against violence in Richmond; economic justice; low-income communities of color; poor quality of education; sit-in for peace; vigil; violence in Richmond

Subjects: Clergy speaking to city council; Connecting education, employment opportunities, community resources, and recreation with high crime rate; East Palo Alto as a best practice model; Faith community leadership on the homicide issue; Four funerals in one week of men under age 25; His thoughts on why the violence rate in Richmond is high; Homicides in Richmond; June 4, 2005 Black-on-Black Crime Summit; Neglect of imprisoned peoples; On the passivity of Richmond's leadership in responding to homicides

00:30:52 - Tent City

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Keywords: Day 33; dialogue; partnership between faith community and the broader community; police presence; tent city

Subjects: 45 days of 0 homicide reached due to high police presence; On how young people in the city are being affected on a day-to-day basis by gang rivalries; Shift to strong community presence versus police presence; Tent City as a place of dialogue and youth expressing frustrations; The role of the church in the community in keeping the peace; Wanting to convene community members of North Richmond, Central and the Southside

00:34:31 - Challenges in community collaboration

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Keywords: supporting young people in Richmond; tent city; youth outreach

Subjects: Empathizing with youth; How he interrupted judgments of youth by church community; Making sure the youth are given room to participate; Reaching out to youth and how they have responded; The importance of not pushing away the youth necessary to the peace-keeping process

00:37:51 - Scripture in relation to Tent City

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Keywords: Holy Spirit; lost youth; scripture; youth outreach

Subjects: Fear of the unknown as a barrier; On saving those who are lost; On the responsibility to create an environment helpful to youth; Paying attention to what young people are saying