On 3/13, we had our final community meeting required for the commemorative re-naming of Visitacion Valley Playground in honor of Yik Oi Huang. Officially, it was the final meeting required of SF Rec and Park to pass the initiative. I write here looking back at the long journey it has been toward collective peace (true freedom). Although this is NOT the end, it is a milestone worthy of pause & reflection.
At the meeting, we welcomed attendees of multifarious and distinguished backgrounds who each carry with them (as we all do) a rich cultural heritage. Together, as concerned citizens, committee members and friends, we come together in support of the greater cause of healing community TOGETHER, in whatever form that may take.
We have collected over 1,600 signatures in support of the re-naming and now we prepare our official proposal to SF Rec and Park. After that we wait 6 months until we can cut the ribbon for the re-imagining of Yik Oi Huang Peace & Friendship Park as a symbol of a new era. Hope you can all be a part of it. We can honestly say that these efforts and support engendered around love have had tangible results.
Whether you are an activist, community member or neighbor, surely you can attest to the fact that there is no end to this "work" as long as the pain and violence intricately systematized as weapons into our social and infrastructural fabric are allowed to continue. And that is why I want to acknowledge the vital importance of grasping also these moments of space, of relief, of rest, replenishment and, most of all, celebration. These are life-giving moments that exist as visceral reminders of WHY we fight. For it is not enough to know what you fight against.
So let us take pause, let us have breath in our body as we celebrate, too, our smaller victories.
Thank you for being with us. We stand with you.
Let’s play together! Will you also back this memorial effort with money. We envision building a plaque with Yik Oi Huang's story, a friendship bench and a climbing structure at the park (to start).