Online videoconference to address
widespread interest in renaming Marin road
San Rafael, CA – A public online learning session about Sir
Francis Drake Boulevard, one of Marin’s primary thoroughfares, has been
rescheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, August 17. The planned August 5 session was
postponed because of scheduling conflicts with several other videoconferences
pertaining to similar civil rights topics.
The educational
videoconference was prompted by a grassroots effort to have Sir Francis Drake
Boulevard renamed because of its namesake’s documented history as a 16th century
slave trader. The Marin
County Free Library, which is hosting the session, has just created a history
resource webpage on the subject.
The session will be
moderated by Chantel Walker, the library’s assistant director. The session will
start at 6 p.m. and will be closed captioned, offer Spanish interpretation and
ASL/CDI interpretation (available via Zoom webinar ID: 924 8372 9278;
Password: 798119). Viewers may watch the webcast live on the County’s
main Facebook
page and the Community
Media Center of Marin’s Education Channel. Comcast TV subscribers may
watch on Channel 30 or AT&T 99. Video of the session will later be placed
on the library’s
website.
Marin County Supervisors
Katie Rice and Dennis Rodoni co-hosted an online listening session June 26
about one of the most important transportation arteries in Marin. More than 300
people participated in the videoconference. Rice, from District 2, and Rodoni,
from District 4, represent the residents who live along the Drake Boulevard
corridor that connects San Francisco Bay and the Pacific coast. Public feedback
was both in favor of and opposed to renaming the road, and there was interest
in learning more about its history, Sir Francis Drake, and Marin’s indigenous
inhabitants through the centuries.
The August 17 learning session will feature
current and historic perspectives from:
- Tribal Vice Chair Lorelle Ross,
Cultural Resources Specialist Matthew Johnson, and Tribal Heritage
Preservation Officer Buffy McQuillen, all of the Federated Indians of
Graton Rancheria (Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo);
- Dr. Jordan Lieser, Dominican
University of California, and;
- Author and Historian Dewey
Livingston, who has spent 35 years researching and telling stories of
Marin’s past.
After the presentations, the panelists will
answer questions. Email questions by 5 p.m. August 16 or use the Q&A
feature during the Zoom session August 17.
Thousands of people have signed an online
petition in recent weeks in support of renaming the road. The County of
Marin’s Department
of Public Works (DPW) maintains 35.3 miles of the boulevard’s 42.9
miles of pavement. Drake Boulevard runs through the municipalities of Larkspur,
Ross, San Anselmo, and Fairfax, plus the unincorporated areas of Greenbrae,
Kentfield, Woodacre, San Geronimo, Forest Knolls, Lagunitas, Olema, Inverness
Park and Inverness.
Drake, an English explorer, is believed to
have anchored his ship off Marin’s Pacific Coast and made landfall in 1579.
According to History.com, Drake participated in some of the earliest English
slaving voyages to Africa starting in 1567, and he earned a reputation for his
piracy against Spanish ships and possessions.
# # #
If you are a person with a disability and
require an accommodation, requests may be made by calling (415) 473-4381
(Voice), Dial 711 for CA Relay, or by email at least five business days in advance of the
event. The County will do its best to fulfill requests received with less than
five business days’ notice. Copies of documents are available in alternative
formats upon request.
***
DISTRICT
4 OFFICE :
Supervisor
Dennis Rodoni
Email:
drodoni@marincounty.org
Phone:
(415) 473-7331
*
Lorenzo
Cordova
Email:
lcordova@marincounty.org
Phone:
(415) 473-3092
**
Rhonda
Kutter
Email:
rkutter@marincounty.org
Phone:
(415) 473-3246
***
