Diversity lauded in La Jolla; Sy Brenner, Yale Strom feted

By Donald H. Harrison

LA JOLLA, California — Ironically on an evening that television news was reporting the firing of a school bus driver for having a swastika and a personalized license plate reading “Not See,” a homonyn for “Nazi”  on his private car, KPBS Television and Union Bank were feting 18 diverse individuals at the Museum of Contemporary Art as “local heroes” for their work in behalf of human cooperation and understanding.

The awardees included two Jews, two  Native Americans, two Hispanics, three LGBT community members, two Asian Pacific representatives, three women’s group representatives, two persons with disabilities, and two African-Americans.

The San Diego Unified School District announced the dismissal of bus driver Shawn Calpito after reports surfaced about his car’s bumper sticker and license plate.  There was no immediate indication if Calpito had in any way attempted to spread or act upon his Nazi views among school children who rode on his bus.  It was also reported California had revoked the personalized license plate.

The event honoring the “local heroes” reprised the San Diego public television station’s  coverage over 2013 of such special occasions celebrating the county’s diversity as Disability Awareness Month, American Indian Heritage Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, LBGT Pride Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Women’s History Month and Black History Month.

One of the Jews honored was Sy Brenner, 91, a former prisoner of war who was held in a German prison camp during World War II by captors who were unaware that he was Jewish.  Had his Nazi captors known of Brenner’s religion, they might have shot him on the spot or sent him to be murdered with  co-religionists in Auschwitz or some other death camp.  Brenner suffers nightmares from his experiences as a medic in the POW camp, including being tossed into a closet with a corpse for three days and only being able to breathe fresh air through the crack between the bottom of the door and the floor.

Brenner has for many years been talking to students, veterans, and civic groups about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which he and other veterans have suffered as a result of their war experiences.  He told the “Local Heroes” function that talking about it has lessened his PTSD, and he advises other veterans to similarly try to share their experiences.

The other representative of the Jewish community honored during the proceedings was klezmer violinist, documentary film maker, and ethno-musicologist Yale Strom, who described music as a universal language, “the Esperanto of the world.”  When he plays his music, said Strom, who is the artist in residence with San Diego State University’s Jewish Studies program, “the violin is me, and I am the violin.  Where does it start?  Where does it end?”  Strom, wearing a tan suit, confided that his wife Elizabeth Schwartz demanded that he dress for the occasion instead of wearing his more familiar casual clothes.  Schwartz, a vocalist, often performs with Strom in his klezmer group Hot P’Strom’i.

Music by seven  neighborhood choirs that combined in a presentation by the San Diego Children’s Choir was a delightful addition to the evening.  From such diverse neighborhoods as Chollas View in San Diego, Jamul, Escondido and Oceanside, the children all wore blue pants, white shirts and red sweater vests.

After opening the proceedings with “The Star Spangled Banner” and “Hello, Bonjour, Buenos Dias,” a song of greeting that also included “Shalom” in its lyrics, the children’s choir returned to the stage in the middle of the program to sing about celebrations. The gist of the lyrics was that people all over the world have their own celebrations and that is the way it should be.  However, it would be nice if there could be one big celebration with everyone lighting a candle that would stretch around the world.

When the children entered the auditorium in two files, they all walked with their hands neatly folded behind their backs.  Of some interest, female honorees went up and down a set of steps to the stage on the arm of an escort.  However, Amina Sheik Mohamed, a Somali Muslim woman who had been  celebrated during Women’s History Month for her advocacy in behalf of inner city gardens and fresh food markets, walked besides her escort without making physical contact — exactly as an observant Jewish woman might also have done.

Among the African-American honorees was Dr. Carrol Waymon who had served during the 1960s as executive director of the Citizen Interracial Committee in San Diego.  Looking around the museum’s Sherwood Auditorium, he noted that back when when he served on that committee neither Jews nor persons of color were welcomed as residents in La Jolla nor as visitors to its cultural institutions. However, La Jolla began to change rapidly after UCSD was built and many Jews found their way into the university’s faculty, administration and student body.  Today, La Jolla has a large, active Jewish community, and is the home of several synagogues representing different denominations.  The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center lies along its eastern border.

In addition to Waymon, Prof Chuck Ambers, curator of the Casa del Rey Moro African Museum in Old Town, was an African American honoree.  Candace Bahr and Ginita Wall, co-founders of the Women’s Institute for Financial Education were the other honorees along with Amina Sheik Mohamed during Women’s History Month.

In other categories, the honorees brought to the stage by Elsa Sevilla, host of the KPBS television show San Diego’s Historic Places were: Linda Bound and Al Kovach Jr., Disability Awareness Month; Jane Dumas and Rose Margaret Orrantia, American Indian Heritage Month; Fabiola A. Navarro, formerly of Chile, and Andrea Skorepa, a Mexican-American, for Hispanic Heritage Month; Carolyn Bolton, Max Dispoti and Vincent “Vinnie” Pompei for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans-Sexual (LGBT) Pride Month; and Elmer Bisarra, a man of Filipino, Chinese and Hawaiian heritage, and Sophak Yem, an immigrant from Cambodia, for Asian Pacific American Month.

Following the presentations, a buffet dinner reception was held featuring an international array of tray-passed and station foods that included chicken enchiladas, mini-Reuben sandwiches, pumpkin ravioli and collard greens, tandoori chicken, sushi, rosemary bread with squash and cheeses.  A classical ensemble provided music.

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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World.  He may be contacted at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com