They call it Latin jazz. But as I sat in the front row of their performance at Yoshi’s last night, I couldn’t help but think that what the Escovedo family create when they are on stage is so much more. Legendary percussionist Pete Escovedo and his children–Juan, Peter Michael, and Sheila E.–accompanied by a talented pianist and horn section, create the kind of music that does more than inspire you tap your feet, it moves your soul.

Beyond the rhythms infused with African and Latin influences, as well as what Peter Michael refers to as “Oakland Funk,” is the kind of interplay that comes when family members are more than just kinfolk, but also friends. As I watched the playfulness between the siblings, I was reminded of what is beautiful about family. These are the people who will catch your notes and carry them on, tease you in your moments of glory, serve as your biggest fan club, and push you to shine.

In the show, Mr. Escovedo noted that he and his children are producing a CD that includes several other artists, including Joss Stone, Earth, Wind, and Fire, and (yes!) Prince. I’d pick up the CD even without these great artists as guests, because Mr. Escovedo’s artistry is phenomenal, and each time I have the opportunity to see him perform live (in his 70s now!), I am more impressed by the quality and complexity of his “soul music” and the way that it has permeated the rhythms of his family. I hope to be so lucky with my own children.

Thank you, Escovedo Family, for coming home and sharing your talents and spirit with us. I, for one, cannot wait to get the new CD!

I thought it was just me…and then I realized that maybe others are hearing it too. When Sen. Obama suggested that small-town voters where bitter and clinging to guns and religion as a way through the tough times, Sen. Clinton and Sen. John McCain immediately branded him as “elitist.” The first time I heard it, I thought nothing much of it. Every political leader in this nation is elitist, to a degree. “Elitism” is described as “leadership or rule by a choice part,” usually a group considered to be advantaged in some way. The second time I heard it, I found the suggestion extremely hypocritical. I mean, is it not elitist to lend your presidential campaign $5 million? Is it not elitist to dismissively excuse a refusal to commemorate a slain Civil Rights hero by saying, “we can all be a little late sometimes in doing the right thing“? I mean, really…

Then, I started to wonder whether there was more being suggested here than comments being “elitist.” Each time I heard the utterance of the word “elitist” used to characterize Barack Obama’s approach to leadership, I wondered whether it was an implicit way to publicly suggest that Sen. Obama is “uppity.” I hesitate a bit even as I write it here, because for many, “uppity” might be a benign word, meaning simply “arrogant or presumptuous.” But for many African Americans, “uppity” is a word that boils our blood. So I press on… “Uppity Negroes” were those who sought to challenge a racist ideology that reserved for people of African descent a normalization of ignorance, poverty, and social marginalization. Historically, “uppity” was used to suggest that a person of African descent was somehow out of his or her “place”–a suggestion that we hope Sen Clinton and others are not seeking to make.

Apparently, Sen. Obama has denied feeling that his political rivals’ use of the word has any racial overtones, but I’m not convinced. While the words “elitist” and “uppity” are different, we should all be mindful of the tone and context in which they are being used. Implicitly, we’re receiving a loaded suggestion, and it would not be wise to go there!

“Ultimately a great nation is a compassionate nation. No individual or nation can be great if it does not have a concern for “the least of these”…If we feel this as a profound moral fact, we cannot be content to see men hungry, to see men victimized with starvation and ill health when we have the means to help them…In the final analysis, the rich must not ignore the poor because both rich and poor are tied in a single garment of destiny. All life is interrelated, and all men are interdependent. The agony of the poor diminishes the rich, and the salvation of the poor enlarges the rich. We are inevitably our brothers’ keeper because of the interrelated structure of reality.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1964 Nobel lecture

On Thursday, April 10th, in commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Poor People’s Campaign. I will have the honor of being a commissioner at a Bay Area Poverty Truth Commission. In the mold of the truth and reconciliation commissions that were established in South Africa and Peru to encourage these nations to have honest conversations about the state of social justice, this meeting will provide an opportunity to tell the truth about poverty in the Bay Area.

When we tell the truth about our experiences, we are free to see a clearer path to justice. When we are no longer ignorant, we are bound to a new responsibility–one which provides an opportunity to engage poor people where they are, honors their skills and strengths as valuable to the creation of a socially and economically viable society, and demonstrates that when you cultivate the organic leadership of people marginalized by their economic status, you discover the real promise of democracy.

This is the lens through which the Center for Young Women’s Development (CYWD) views leadership development. I recently joined the Board of CYWD, after years of being impressed by the Center’s vision to engage young women–especially those living in poverty and recovering from histories of victimization, incarceration, and misdirection–as leaders in their communities. So, it is with great pleasure that I shine the Community Spotlight on the Center for Young Women’s Development. Theirs is a truth that will not be silenced!

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