Veteran's Affairs Plus W/ David L. Washington

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Dave Washington 0:47
day. Las Vegas, good day. This is Veterans Affairs plus Sun 91.5 jazz and more. I'm Dave Washington, your host. I'll have a couple announcements, and I got two dear friends that we will have on the show in just a few minutes. One, I want to very quickly talk about something that occurred in the month of August in 1963 in particular, was a march on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and it occurred on the Lincoln Memorial, believe it or not. And that was in 1963 it was something that was very, very needed at the time, and so I want to recognize the folks who were that are still around with us, who participated in that particular program. Another thing that I never, ever heard of until today, when I was listening to urban Sirius XM, Karen hunter and the professor, talked about a group, a young lady who took some children into a lunch counter in Oklahoma City. She was a school teacher. She took her children and several, I think it was a total of 1314, of them. And they didn't get served at this lunch counter, but they came back in the second day, and the owner, I don't have his name, but I want to look this up, because I think it's for further discussion about because I had not heard of this particular incident. But kudos to that woman who was willing to stand up and take her kids in. And after that, that particular establishment continued to serve blacks in that restaurant. And that occurred again in August, several, well, many years ago. In fact, also, I want to mention a couple birthdays. Brian Willett, colleague with me at Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, my dad, who is an ancestor now, his birthday is this month. And also a dear friend and mentor, Assistant Chief Herschel Clady, out of LA County his birthday. He's again, an ancestor as well. But I always want us to remember those who have gone on, who were instrumental, particularly in our particular lives, certainly for me, then a group that I was going to have on last month, and they still can't make and, in fact, don't want to come on just yet. That's the whittingtons Whittington, Delbert Whittington, the third and his two sons, Lawson and Logan. They're twins, and these young men, and more particularly, I want them to come on and talk about how they orchestrated getting themselves. They're seniors now at UNLV, and these guys are, I think they're 18 or 19 years of age, but they they came through a pretty dynamic program that I think is worth talking and informing our public about, because I'm sure a lot of young folks are totally unaware of this particular program. With that at this time Las Vegas, I'd like to introduce a dear friend, Dr Leonard, Linda Bynum and Mr. Bill Parker, so doc, please give our listing audience an indication Who are you and where are you

Dr. Linda Bynoe 3:57
from. Hello. Thank you, Dave, for allowing me to have this opportunity just to be here and talk about a very special book. I think the name of the book is, they call me trustee a black firefighters fight for social justice. My name is Dr Linda Turner, by now, professor emeritus from California State University in Monterey. And I currently still live in Monterey. I was actually married to trustee by no for 57 years, until his passing in December 25 2022

Dave Washington 4:34
well, so your husband. Another thing that's that's very critical that I want the public to know about, which Bill will fill in some as well. Is that your husband and Burgess Porter, they were the founders of the southwest region, black firefighters, retirees, annual social gathering. So I'll come back to you on that. So hold that thought, Bill. Please tell our little listening audience a little bit about who is Bill Parker.

Bill Parker 5:00
Yes. Well, I was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Los Angeles, and I think one of the things that's important for me to say, because it was a big part of my development into who I am and how I handle things, was that I was a product of bussing in the 70s, and that prepared me for what I was getting into in the fire service in the in the long run. Right?

Dave Washington 5:32
Interesting. So what department and how long did you serve?

Bill Parker 5:38
I was a member of Los Angeles City Fire Department. Mm, hmm, and that was 33 and a half years, and I joined in 1980 Okay, and retired in 2014

Dave Washington 5:50
that's something, man, because I did 33 and you did 33 and a half, Huh? Interesting. It is, indeed, so Linda, please, Doc, tell us a little bit about and I don't know, I would imagine. You know, after being married for 57 years, trust would have mentioned to you why he thought it was important for he and fire service professional, also an ancestor Burgess Porter, to put together this program to get the retirees of the southwest region together to discuss just fellowship, if you will, and play a little golf. Did he ever talk to you a little bit about that?

Dr. Linda Bynoe 6:27
Yeah, he did. He really worried about after the death of his friend Benny. He really worried about losing more black firefighters, and they were dropping almost annually, trustee, trustee and Burgess Porter founded the southwest region black firefighters retirement annual gathering. They wanted this reunion where retired firefighters could actually connect with each other, share their stories and serve as living mentors for younger generations of black firefighters. I think that was their major purpose, right? Just reconnecting too was important, I think, to them,

Dave Washington 7:07
you know, and it's something how when trust you, and I talked about and I started spreading the word, trust that bill for sure, maybe even you. Doc, remember Clark Walker? Clark was planning to come to the gathering, and he passed away. So again, that was another affirmation, if I can use that term loosely, that we should gather. And since that time, I think only during covid did we stop for for whatever time frame that was necessary to ensure that we could come together and everybody would feel safe.

Dr. Linda Bynoe 7:41
Yeah, so I think Dave, too, you were part of that, because you helped put it all together. I

Dave Washington 7:47
believe, yes. Well, let me tell you how that they came to me with the idea, and they said, I said, Oh, that's a great idea, guys. I think you guys are so right about wanting to do that. Where should we have the first one? They said, have it in Las Vegas. I said, What lost Burgess had already moved from Las Vegas after retiring from Clark County Fire and Rescue, he had moved back to the to Detroit, where his wife was from. Like, oh, oh, okay. So again, you're right. I was a part of it, from the standpoint of that first one that we hosted here in Las Vegas, and it was, it was a great time, and we've had from large numbers to small numbers. But the bottom line is, we continue to meet. And I know one of the bigger ones was when Chief Robert osby's 80th birthday, his wife tied it with the with our reunion gathering, and it was huge, you know, along with his birthday. But the bottom line, we were all able to get together and have some discussion, and it's just important to relive some of the things that we've gone through, but also think about the future. But we never, never had an agenda to talk about what these young guys are doing or not doing we're like, No man. We're going to play some golf and we are going to have a few meals. So Bill, tell me why. Bill, because you volunteered, or were voluntold, or however you want to frame it, to host the next one. Give us some indication of when and where and how did you come about doing that?

Bill Parker 9:21
Well, when, when we were, when we were in, when we were in Chandler, Arizona, a friend of mine volunteered me for the next, which is this upcoming event. And at first, at first, I was a little apprehensive, because I didn't, you know, I just hadn't thought about being the next one up. But after I thought about it for a second or so, I said, You know what, I can do this and and gladly accepted the the honor. And, you know it, I think it. Important for us to continue to get together because of because of the fact that life is short and it gives us the chance to connect. We don't always talk to each other on a regular basis. All of us, collectively, there's a few people that you know. They're they're closer to each other. They may they may connect on a more regular basis, but I think it's good that we just get to see each other and share what's been happening in our lives and have some fun and fellowship. Right?

Dave Washington 10:37
Absolutely, and I can tell you guys, we also hosted here with EDI the Carl Holmes executive development institute. They allowed me to run a tournament I had got the clearance from from both the the children of and the wife of Herschel Clayton. He's an ancestor now retired Assistant Chief Los Angeles County Fire Department, and also retired and an ancestor now, William Spike Jones, out of St Louis and their family said, yeah, go ahead and do that. So you know, when you don't know how to do something, I'm a guy. I call on somebody else. So I knew some guys, they're going to travel, travel in they don't want to do a one day golf tournament and go back home. So I call upon bill. I say, Bill, I know you know how to do this, because you're always doing some golf things. And I said, Bill, we need, we need a skin game Wednesday. Bill say, Uh huh, you do? I say, Yeah, Bill, I like for you to run. And he said, Hey, Linda, hey doc. He said, Well, if you Yeah, I'll do it. And we had a great time. And then, then the crazy part, what I crazy part? But we never know what kind of obstacles or challenges God's going to put in, in our, in our in our path. My sister in law, who had been get battling cancer, Ava Marie Campbell, she passed away. So I'm like, and I'm like, gosh, I hope that the services isn't on either the ninth or 10th of this past April. Well, you know, when it's a military burial, you have to go where they can get you in. So it was on the 10th. So I was able to stay around and, you know, be over in the skin game on on Wednesday and Thursday, I had to Wednesday evening, I was on a plane headed down because, you know, I was Hee hawing about maybe I shouldn't go. And my family said, Oh, you going? You go into the services. So I asked gene to step up. And Danny Smith from from down in the Texas area. He came in, and Bill helped them as well. So we you know one thing about it, when you're doing something, whether you're black, male, white female, when you're doing something, and people know your heart is right, they will step up in your absence. And I knew I had to go, and they did a fine job, and we made almost eight grand. And I can tell you that it was, it was a great show. And we had about, I believe, Bill, if I remember correctly, we had 56 golfers. And Dave of the Board of Directors of the Carl Holmes executive development institute have allowed me to continue that. So I'll be calling on you again, Bill for some time in April of 2026, so I'm giving you, hey, I won't drop it on you at the last minute, Bill, I'm letting you know now I'll be calling on you again, man, because you did such a great job. And really, people really appreciated it. And again, no one wants to travel because we had some people coming in as far as Baltimore, because they knew spike, they knew trustee, and they knew they knew, uh, excuse me, uh, Herschel. So they came in for this, for this golf event, so certainly want to do more than one day. So we'll be looking forward to doing that again. Brenda, Linda, you tested,

Dave Washington 13:52
yeah,

Dave Washington 13:54
you say, All right, you got me. All right. I'll get back with you once I firm up the dates. Uh, Dr, Linda vaino, you mentioned the book. Give us some detail on it. We can't talk about price on the air here, but we can certainly give indication of how people can get their hands on that book. I think it's very, very important give us some insight on what it entails.

Dr. Linda Bynoe 14:17
Well, in 2020, at the height of the covid pandemic, when people were kind of stuck at home, Trustee began writing his memoirs. He had, over the years, collected so many binders and drafts and court files and all that stuff. So he started pulling together. And you guys know, trustees not wasn't the most organized person. So I got he had papers, he had binders, he had tablets, he had all these things with no Senate. But it was important to him for some reason, many, many of his colleagues were saying, You need to write a book. You need to write a book. And then I finally said, Well, I'll help you, you know? And he said, No, I'm going to write it myself, and how he was so he started writing it. And he, you know, he was doing really, really well. That was 2022 he collected additional information for other black firefighters as well. Because everyone has a multitude of files. I'm sure you do as well. Yes, after his passing, I was left with all these pieces of paper and all this information. So I took on the task after I pulled myself up from his loss and started putting it together more as an editor, I was really struggled with and sincere about keeping his voice and not into interrupting it with my voice, so I wanted it to sound like him. So that's that's how that came about. And the significance of that book, I think, extends beyond family and the fire service. It documents the history of the Santa Clara County black Firefighters Association and the challenges within the San Jose Fire Department, this white patriarchal system that was so endeared to our society, it from the 1970s even to the 1990s and that's when, that's the stage for the book, primarily.

Dave Washington 16:12
Well, I think it's going to be an interesting reading. We're going to do all that we can to to get the word out. And that's why I wanted you to come on the show, because knowing trustee, as I did, in fact, trustee would sometimes visit Las Vegas, and I'd be out somewhere and be beaten, slipped into town, him and him and Benny. You, as you mentioned, he and Benny Scott were dear friends. They're dead at this lounge. I'm like, man, what are you doing in my town? And you haven't man, I didn't have to call you. I called Benny, they were just hanging out, but no trustee was was a great loss, but we know that he's still with us in spirit, and certainly I trust that a lot of folks just can't wait, because the word is already getting out there. I saw the gentleman that put on particularly what's the name down in Chandler that you mentioned? Bill? My mind is drawing a blank, but they put out some information on how the book can be achieved and gathered and garnered.

Bill Parker 17:16
Oh, yes, yeah, mine up. Mine is supposed to be delivered to the house today, so I picked mine up. You know, any but any place you can go buy a book, you can probably available.

Dave Washington 17:32
Great, yes. And you were saying,

Dr. Linda Bynoe 17:36
well, the fastest place to or it's pretty available, the fast, fastest place to order from is, of course, Amazon, but there's all kind of places you can pick it up at. Oh,

Dave Washington 17:44
excellent, excellent. And Bill, it's so what was the as far as the task of getting it done? How long did it take? Don, about,

Bill Parker 17:55
for to get what done? Dave,

Dave Washington 17:57
No, I'm asking Dr byno, how long did it take for her to complete? It? No, she said, yeah, it's kind of like me got papers all over the place.

Dr. Linda Bynoe 18:06
Yes, yes. It was hard to pull it all together. Well, I didn't start working on it, actually, until 2023 took me that long to kick myself up and continue. But yeah, so 23 and we're getting it out in 25 so I think that's pretty good, you know, considering Yeah, and, and, you know, I think it's such an important thing for all of us as black people to remember is that these books are not just only to learn about the person that wrote the book, right? It's also power. It's about social movement. Is it? This one is about social movement organizations that you you have always been a part of Dave, and so have you bill and and it's, it's a reminder that history is not just simply about the past. We're talking about 1970 to 1990 it's about guiding the present and inspiring the future. So that's really what trustee and I both we've always inspired around the idea of generational reciprocity and spirituality and activism. So those are the things that the book is really about. And of course, Trustee story says only trustee can tell them.

Dave Washington 19:18
Sure, you know, I love it, and I can't wait. And I was telling someone today earlier that I plan to buy a number of books, because I like to give books as gifts to folks. So you can trust that I'll be getting quite a few, and we will certainly spread it amongst the student body at the Carl Holmes executive development institute. And I can tell you that it is important for us to carry on and not forget those who have been warriors in the field of community justice for all people. In fact, I know trustee was respected because I could tell at his services, you can tell how I mean, it wasn't just black folk. Up in there at his services. There was a whole lot of white folk. There was a whole lot of white folks up in there. So that tells you that all the work that he did was he was well respected for the work that he did, and and he was, and I know he and when he and chief Osby were working together, they would have knocked down, drag out battles, and I've heard about plenty of them. In fact, anytime I'm down in Southern Cal I drop by and see chief Osby, and I told him that I've already made contact with his son, who's retired fire chief from LA County, that he should be strongly considering bringing his dad down. I know they're not golfers, but come down and fellowship, because I think to see them in down where Bill has put it all together. So Bill give us some further on the dates of that particular function. So people out there in our listening audiences, we do get a number of not only veterans, but also fire service veterans, not just military veterans. I should say that. Listen to the program.

Bill Parker 21:05
Well, the the events going to be in Palm Springs, California, and it's going to be the ninth, 10th and 11th of October, and we're going to be playing golf on the 10th and 11th. Excellent. Yeah. Well, I just wanted to say that, you know, my my relationship with trustee and and Burgess was as a young guy getting in the in the fire service and being a member of the Black firefighters, I kind of gravitated towards some of the older guys. Guys were older than me. I just, I wanted to learn, right? And that's, that's how our friendships develop, as them being kind of mentors to me.

Dave Washington 21:54
Well, once again, this is Veterans Affairs, plus on 91.5 jazz and more. We have Dr Linda by no and former fire service professional Bill Parker to talk about a couple things that are going on. One, the retirees gathering. Also, Dr Bino was talking about a book that her husband had started to put together before he transitioned, and now ancestors. So doc, give us further information on how to get that. I just want to have that repeated so people can clearly understand how they can go about. Yeah,

Dr. Linda Bynoe 22:27
it's available in most places where you can buy books, Amazon, if you're going to get one mailed to it. But a lot of us aren't into Amazon. So there's all kind of choices that you thrifty books is another one. Barnes and Nobles is another one. I'm just trying to think, just almost any place where you can buy books, you know, you can order it. Did you tell them you wanted it? They don't have it on the shelves. They'll order it for you. Well,

Dave Washington 22:55
that's That's wonderful. I mean, obviously you have done a great job, because getting a book completed. One is a task, particularly if it was, it's not your book. It was his book and and I appreciate, and I trust that others will appreciate the fact that you want to keep it in a way that he would have spoke about the entire book. So that's that's commendable on your part, for sure.

Dr. Linda Bynoe 23:19
Now, Dave, he actually did put the book together pretty much himself. He had completed most of it, so my thing was to go back and edit it, and, you know, make sure the spelling was right and make sure he didn't leave any gap, gaping holes in it. I didn't he did the majority of the book. He worked on it for two years.

Dave Washington 23:37
Wow, that's excellent. And I can tell you, saw my office, you go, Wow, man. Do you know where anything is in my office at home is? Is? It's not. It's worse than when I was working, because my office at the job was kind of my secretary, career chief. Do you Do you know where that document is we supposed to be getting into? Oh, yes. And that stack over there, I got several stacks on my desk at home, but Marsha just shakes her head and walks out. But we appreciate the work that you've done, and I know that we got a few more minutes. Is there anything else you'd further like to say, as well as you build in regards to the function, as well as our dear friend and ancestor Dudley trust? Trusty banner again,

Dr. Linda Bynoe 24:29
I think what I could trustee, that I admired the most about trustee was that he really, really worked with black firefighters, or young black men and women that actually wanted to be in the fire service. He worked with them even up to the week he died. You know, he had calls from people. He helped people get jobs. He had, you know, a good connection with people across the country. He could always help them, help someone find. Someone that would be willing to work with them. I think that's important. I think that's even important these days, that we have those people out there that will shelter for us, friendships and knowledge to help our young people get working in the fire service. I think it would be great,

Dave Washington 25:15
absolutely. Once again, this is Veterans Affairs, plus on 91.5 jazz and more. We have about four more minutes. Let me say this before you come in, Bill trustee, and I like to say I've known this brother for a number of years, and had no clue of why he wasn't a higher ranking officer until his memorial services, believe it or not, Doc, he chased a battalion chief around the office because something he did not do properly. And then, you know, when you do certain things, they would go like, No, we're not gonna make him an officer, because that wasn't the proper behavior. But I understood why, because I'm like, This dude is he's too sharp not to be an officer, but when you when this guy said what he did, man, everybody started laughing in the audience. Not it was, it was just that we knew something about trustees character, and he wasn't gonna take no stuff off of nobody, including Fire Chief Robert Osby. He just didn't take nothing off anyone. Go ahead Bill.

Bill Parker 26:24
I just wanted to say that. You know, my friendship with trustee goes back to 19, probably early, mid 80s. We're in the mid 80s. We lost contact with each other and then we regain the connection. And I just want to say, Linda, I really miss him, and it's an honor to be on on this radio show with you. And Dave,

Dave Washington 26:54
yeah, thanks. Well, you know, same way. You guys, yeah, Linda, I couldn't remember, did trustee serve in the military? Oh, yes. What branch did he serve? And I'm sorry I meant to ask you that served in the army. Okay,

Dr. Linda Bynoe 27:10
I think it was only two years.

Dave Washington 27:11
Well, me too. Well, man was man. Man was 2028, months because I had a little issue I had to address and get taken care of. Yeah, I thought he had served in the military. Yeah, this, again, this is a veterans affairs show, and sometimes, and I say plus, because the plus side is there's other things that need to be talked about, and with all the things that are going on in our country, I think it was worthy of having a conversation with both of you about the work that trustee did, and I'm so pleased, Doc, that you was able to get his book all squared away and get it out there on the market. So those of us who knew him, and even those who did not know Him, will get to know a little bit about him and the work that he did to ensure that we all have a equal place to have upper mobility within the fire service, no matter where it is in the country or the world. So to both of you, wish you Godspeed, and we appreciate you for coming on this show. And I love you both and look forward to seeing you soon.

Both 28:18
Dave, again, my

Dave Washington 28:20
pleasure once again, this is Veterans Affairs, plus on 91.5 jazz and more. We will talk to you next week. Hey,

Music 28:40
oh, all the smoke in the air till the hate when they stare all the pain that we bear.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai