31 Ways 31 Days for San Francisco Bay Area

Aug. 1 -- Buy products of black food manufacturers in grocery stores such as Sylvia's, Glory and Home-Style; if you don't see a section of such products, ask the manager why not. Purchase the wines of African-American vintners.  See the list at africanamericanvintner.org.  Eat at an African-American restaurant. We will feature one local restaurant each day of August. Find detailed information in Say Grace and Wipe Yo' Hands: BlackRestaurant.NET Guide to America's Black Restaurants.  Many people eat out at least once per day.  Let that be your way to generate jobs.    Today's featured eatery is Brown Sugar Kitchen and B-Side BBQ, the Tonya Holland restaurants at 2534 Mandela Parkway in Oakland.  Call 510-839-SOUL.

Aug. 2 -- Invest in African-American owned businesses to reduce the capital access gap they face.  Buy stock of the Sunnyvale biotechnology company Amarantus BioSciences or San Francisco's American Shared Hospital Services, founded by Dr. Ernest A. Bates.   New laws allow even small amounts to be invested with startups through "crowdfunding." Angel investing, often through investment clubs, is another source of business capital.  Today's featured eatery is Queen's Louisiana Po Boy Cafe, 3030 San Bruno Ave. San Francisco.  Call 415-656-0711.

Aug. 3 -- Support the vitality of African-American business districts such as Third Street from 4000 block to 7000 block or 1000 to 1700 blocks of Fillmore Street in San Francisco.  Oakland's Village Bottoms Sunday Market in August features products from the Village Markets Farm.  Today's featured eatery is Let's Eat BBQ, 5130 Third Street, in the heart of "Barbecue Boulevard."  The neighborhood's proximity to stockyards and the Cow Palace led to specialists in wood-fired barbecue like Let's Eat BBQ, in the former Pittman's building.  Take time to bike or stroll through these districts on the weekend. Take tours led by San Francisco Black Heritage Tours or buy Come to the Water: Sharing the Rich Black Experience in San Francisco.  

Aug. 4 - Subscribe to the seasons or attend performances of African-American theatre companies like AfroSolo, Lorraine Hansberry Theater, Cultural Odyssey, Dimensions Dance Theater, San Francisco African-American Shakespeare Company, Berkeley Black Repertory Theatre.  Today's featured eatery is Gussie's Chicken and Waffles, 1521 Eddy St.  The phone number is 415-409-2529.

Aug. 5 - Attend, volunteer and contribute to the work of African-American churches like Allen Temple Baptist Church, Third Baptist Church, Acts Full Gospel Church, St. Benedict's Catholic,  First A.M.E. Oakland, Bethel A.M.E., First A.M.E. Zion, both of San Francisco; Antioch Baptist and First A.M.E. Zion of San Jose. Today's featured eatery is Monte Carlo, 1705 Yosemite Ave., adjacent to the annual Black Food Festival every March.

Aug. 6 - Contracting Accountability Day.  California's Dept. of Transportation spent just $27.5 million with black-owned businesses in 2011, according to semi-annual reports filed with the U.S. Dept. of Transportation obtained by blackmoney.com through a Freedom of Information Act request.  Call, e-mail or write your state assemblymember or senator to insist that projects financed with federal funds comply with federal business equity regulations and laws. Black-owned transportation businesses include MV Transportation, the largest black company in the nation, measured by employees; Pacific Park Management, and ParkSFO. The new policy by the California High Speed Rail Authority is an example of the kind of results such advocacy can bring about.  Today's featured eatery is 1300 Fillmore, Phone 415-771-7100.

Aug. 7 - Spotlight on Uncle Sam.  Federal agencies spent $241 million with black-owned businesses in California during the first six months of the 2012-13 fiscal year, according to Job Creation and Innovation: State of Black Business, 9th edition.  Ask your congressional representatives to provide you with lists of local federal procurement officers and small business liaison officers.  Visit the area office of the Small Business Administration to learn how to become a federal contractor.  Use the Procurement Technical Assistance Center, 4700 Roseville Road, Suite 105 Sacramento, CA  9566 Phone: toll-free: 866.FTC.PTAC Contact Jack Toney at E-mail: jack@theftc.org.  The web site is www.theftc.org/ptac Today's featured eatery is Pican, 2295 Broadway in Oakland.

Aug. 8 - Higher Education and Health Focus. Billions flow into colleges, hospitals and universities, some located near African-American communities.  As major recipients of federal funds, they are required to use disadvantaged business enterprises.   Contact local university leaders to find their small business utilization plans and the actual performance; and their record of training African-American students for cutting edge careers, particularly in graduate school.  Some of the largest institutions are University of California-Berkeley; UC-San Francisco; Stanford University, San Francisco and San Jose State and Cal State-East Bay.  Today's featured eatery is Sheba Piano Lounge, 1419 Fillmore St. San Francisco 415-440-7414. 

Aug. 9 - Utility and Energy Focus. General Order 156 of the California Public Utilities Commission monitors utilization of black-owned businesses.  Three companies spent more than $100 million based on the most recent reports, indicating how public policy can drive significant revenues into diverse sources.   Contact the PUC for utilization reports and contacts at utilities.  Silicon Valley Solar, building solar farms in Mt. View and Los Gatos, is an African-American energy manufacturer.  Today's featured eatery is Miyako Ice Cream Shop, 1470 Fillmore St.

Aug. 10 - School the Administrators.  Raising the achievement of African-American students is a national priority, thanks to an executive order by President Obama.  The National Black Education Agenda also meets in Chicago in October.   Attend school board meetings to ask how contracts are awarded; ask for small business utilization plans on major federal grants like School Improvement Grants, Title 1, and IDEA. Insist that local firms be used for professional development.   Seek use of the new African-American educational channel ReUNION: Education-Arts-Heritage. Today's featured eatery is Farmer Brown, 25 Mason St.  415-409-FARM.

Aug. 11 - Visit local museums like the African-American Museum and Library in Oakland, Museum of the African Diaspora, African-American Arts and Culture Complex, Bayview Opera House, all in San Francisco; and African-American Community Service Center in San Jose.  Today's featured eatery is Cafe Golo, 1602 Lombard St., at the base of the "crookedest street in the world." Phone 415-673-4656.

Aug. 12 -Support an African-American non-profit organization such as the local branches of the NAACP; Urban League, Bay Area Black United Fund or African-American Chamber of Commerce. Today's featured eatery is Sam Jordan's Bar, 4004 Third St. San Francisco 415-282-4003. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will consider a proposal to make Sam Jordan's, founded in 1959, an historic landmark.

Aug. 13-  Open an account with the African-American financial institution like Allen Temple Baptist Church Federal Credit Union, 8650 International Boulevard, Oakland, CA 94621 510-639-7401 or Taylor United Methodist Church Federal Credit Union, 1188 Twelfth Street, Oakland, CA 94607 510-465-1734. The first black bank in history began in San Francisco in 1857.  Today's featured eateries are the three locations of Everett and Jones, 126 Broadway in Oakland; 1955 San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley; and 296 A Street in Hayward.

Aug. 14 -  Utilize an African-American contractor, architect or construction manager like Hercules Builders 510-672-7041 or Stevens and Associates architects 415-695-3700 for building, remodeling or repair. Visit the National Association of Minority Contractors, northern California chapter for listings. Today's featured eatery is the Fillmore Street Cafe, 1301 Fillmore St. in San Francisco.

Aug. 15 - Book a stay or an event with a member hotel of the National Association of Black Hotel Owners Operators and Developers (NABHOOD).  Warren Fields' Pyramid Hotel Group owns the 234-room Hilton Fisherman's Wharf, 2620 Jones St. in San Francisco, the Marriott Pleasanton, 11950 Dublin Canyon Road in Pleasanton and Hilton Sonoma Wine Country, 3535 Round Barn Blvd., Santa Rosa.  Reality House West, founded by the late Leroy Looper, owns the historic Cadillac Hotel in downtown San Francisco, which features a Friday jazz series. Today's featured eatery is Lois the Pie Queen, 850  60th St. Emeryville.

Aug. 16 - African-American doctors and dentists have been community leaders, entrepreneurs as well as healers.  The Sinkler-Miller Medical Association, the local affiliate of the National Medical Assocation, has a gallery of its physician members like internist Dr. Michael Lenoir, UCSF researcher Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Dr. Mack Roach, chair of radiation oncology at UCSF and Dr. Mark Wilson, head of radiology at San Francisco General Hospital.   Lloyd Dean is CEO of Dignity Health Care, one of the leading hospital chains on the West Coast and Wright Lassiter III is chief executive of Alameda County Medical Center. Dr. William Hoskins leads the Greater Bay Area Dental Society, the local affiliate of the National Dental Association.  Today's featured eatery is Souley Vegan, 301 Broadway in Oakland, 510-922-1516.

Aug. 17 - The lack of information about property has led to such events as the shrinkage of black farm land and the predatory lending epidemic of the past ten years.  Members of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers live in our communities and are part of an organization which has sought to make black consumers aware of their rights as consumers.  Today's featured eatery is Auntie April's, 4618 Third St. in San Francisco. Phone 415-643-4983.

Aug. 18 - The 65th anniversary of beauty products manufacturer Bronner Bros is a continuing sign of the presence of black businesses in the sector.  Look for the Proud Lady symbol of the American Health and Beauty Aids Institute, the trade association of black beauty products manufacturers, when shopping. The Black Owned Beauty Supply Association promotes the development of black retailers for the $9 billion industry. Local options include:  Braids and Fades at 5265 Third St.; New Chicago No. 3 Barber Shop, 1551 Fillmore St., 415-563-9793 and Brighter Image beauty supply store at 4922 Third St. 415-853-3803. Today's featured eatery is Rassela's Jazz Club, 1534 Fillmore St. 415-346-8986.

Aug. 19 - The environmentally conscious Bay Area is a good launch pad for African-American environmentally-friendly manufacturers like Encap Systems Inc.,which makes cementitious remediation materials for asbestos.  When doing remodeling or repair work in old buildings, one can ask for Encap brand.  San Diego-based ChloroFill is making biodegradable building panels to meet the EPA's new standard for removing carcinogenic materials.  Auto battery maker Dr. Lonnie Johnson of Excellatron Solid State presented his scientific findings at PARC, a Xerox company in Palo Alto.  Today's featured venue is Otis, 25 Maiden Lane in San Francisco.

Aug. 20 - Think about what you drink.  Pioneering African-American beverage makers such as United Beverage are making such products as NuSouth flavored lemonades, available in Big Lots and other retailers. Heritage Link Brands is importing wines from South Africa and elsewhere on the continent. Today's featured venue is Yvonne's Southern Sweets, 5128 Third St. 415-368-7900.

Aug. 21 - Utilize African-American software and technology companies like San Mateo-based MyMediaTones, creator of the FriendCoup app for mobile coupons; Sensory Acumen of Orinda, developer of olfactory sensing devices used for games and for therapy of trauma patients or Oakland's CBX Technologies, an IT services firm.  Consult souloftechnology.com to find the latest advances. Today's featured eatery is Lillie Mae's House of Soul Food, 1290 Coleman St. in Santa Clara.

Aug. 22 - Visit the nation's oldest black-owned book store, Marcus Books, 1712 Fillmore St. in San Francisco and 3900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Oakland.  It makes a difference when you buy your books from this bookstore, the  starting point for the renaissance of black literature since 1960.  The top black authors appear at its signings.   Order California black heritage books from californiablackhistory.com.  Today's featured eatery is Bumzy's Chocolate Chip Cookies, 1460 Fillmore St. 415-346-3222.

Aug. 23 - Joe Rudolph started the only black independent public radio station west of the Mississippi 40 years ago and KPOO-FM 89.5 continues to be what many people consider "the best radio station in the world" without any commercial interruptions and the most diverse lineup of music and public affairs one will ever hear.  Become a donor to this global treasure, which streams online at kpoo.com.  The Bay Area also has the only black independent public television station in the West, KMTP-32, which is a must-carry channel in the nine-country region on cable.  It too depends on contributions from its viewers to stay on the air.  Today's featured eatery is Radio Africa & Kitchen, 4800 Third St., 415-420-2486

Aug. 24 -- The black press started in the Bay Area with Mirror of the Times in 1857 and is the authoritative record of our legacy in the West.  Subscribe to a black newspaper like the San Francisco Sun Reporter, Oakland Post, Bayview for the stories you'll never see in the daily press.  Black Money San Francisco adds a new spark to business news coverage.  Today's featured eatery is Franks BBQ, 4712 Third St.,featuring the sauces of Johnny Cherry, the first prize winner for the past ten years in the Black Cuisine Fair.

Aug. 25 - Purchase a video or buy a seat for a black filmmakers work.  The San Francisco Black Film Festival and Oakland International Film Festival showcase local work and independent films from around the world.   Today's featured eatery is Guerilla Cafe, 1620 Shattuck St. in Berkeley, founded by artist Keba Konte, who also does the artwork for Farmer Brown in San Francisco.

Aug. 26 - Support black musicians such as gospel impresario Emmett A. Powell, host of four-days weekly gospel programming on KPOO and KPFA, Ledisi, Destiny the Harpist, blues saxman Bobby "Spider" Webb,  Ajuana "Mama Earth" Black and her band Black Out, guitarist Calvin Keys, Afro-funk singer Victor Sila, drummer E "Doc" Smith,  jazz chantreuse Kim Nalley or composer Jackie Hairston.  Buy music produced by African-American companies.  Help musicians by hiring them to train young people.  Today's featured eatery is Frisco Fried, 5176 Third St.  San Francisco, Phone 415-822-1517.

Aug. 27 -- Select an African-American independent school like Ile Omadele or Meadows-Livingstone School for your child or use an African-American tutorial service.  Ask your school to subscribe to ReUNION: Education-Arts-Heritage instructional network to provide culturally-responsive content for your child's classroom; urge principals to hire African-American educators for professional development. Today's featured eatery is Bissap Baobab Village, 3388 19th St. in San Francisco, Phone 415-643-3558.

Aug. 28 - Purchase back to school items such as clothes and paper goods from African-American retailers like Pan African City Alive, 108 S. Sunnyvale Ave., Sunnyvale. Phone 408-830-9427.  For business and formal attire, image consultant Michelle Renee keeps top leaders in style; Jean Nobles Fashions, 1055 Fillmore St.  Form buying clubs through churches or organizations to purchase goods in bulk directly from wholesalers or manufacturers.  Today's featured eatery is Club Waziema, 543 Divisadero St. in San Francisco.

Aug. 29 -  Purchase automobiles from an African-American dealer. Check the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers at http://www.namad.org  Today's featured eatery is Moya, 121 9th St. San Francisco

Aug. 30 -  Utlilze African-American lawyers.  The National Bar Association's local affiliate is the Charles Houston Bar Association, which has a directory of lawyers.  The Minority Corporate Counsel Association works to gain work for black lawyers with business clients.  Today's featured eatery is Little Skillet, 360 Ritch St., San Francisco, a block from AT&T Park.

Aug. 31 -  Make a political contribution to the African-American candidate of your choice.  It should be obvious that there is an African-American candidate running for President for the second election in a row. However, that should not be a reason for complacency. The history of black political achievement is that such milestones can be followed by backlashes if vigilance is not maintained.  What has happened to the black population in Los Angeles since Tom Bradley or the population in Detroit since Coleman Young or Oakland since Lionel Wilson or San Francisco since Willie Brown?  By reading Job Creation and Innovation: State of Black Business, 9th edition, one will see the critical role of public policy at all levels of government to the success of black businesses.  One of the objectives of National Black Business Month is that the entire African-American community be considered in economic decision-making.  Today's featured eatery is  Savanna Jazz Club, 2937 Mission St., Pascal Bokar's tribute to the music which has been listed as a Downbeat Top Venue.