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by\u00a0ANNIKA HOM<\/a><\/strong> SEPTEMBER 27, 2022 (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image-1-1024x768.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nConnie Rivera<\/a> caught her breath, then turned to face the crowd. The sun shone on the east 24th Street BART Plaza as she finished another Aztec dance number planned for that day\u2019s peace rally, the same one embattled in controversy just weeks before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat a pleasure to return to a clean plaza and dance,\u201d Rivera said in Spanish. \u201cWe deserve it. This is our barrio.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week, Mission leaders threw a peace rally and \u201ctook back\u201d the plaza, which lately has caused frustration and tense disagreements<\/a> in the community. So organizers planned the rally to send a message: The hood takes care of the hood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo matter what comes up, we are still here. We\u2019re not going anywhere,\u201d said Ruth Barajas, a leader of the Community Resource Hubs. \u201cResilience and our unification is really just an instrumental piece in how we move in this community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rally began as many Mission events traditionally do, a little late, full of affectionate shout-outs to neighbors and friends, and kicked off by prayer and Aztec dancing. \u201cCreator, we ask you, clean this space from all and any pain, anger, hatred and fear and replace it with love and peace,\u201d said an indigenous leader Mary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To demonstrate that peace, Rivera invited youth in the audience to join her performers in the final Friendship Dance. The kids froze. Dance in front of everyone? <\/em>They shrunk, ignoring parents\u2019 pleas to \u201cgo on and get up there.\u201d Then Rivera spied her hero: A young 20-something-looking man in a black Oakland A\u2019s snapback. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCome on, please?\u201d Rivera begged. \u201cYou\u2019re not that big. You\u2019re still a baby to us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The young man exhaled, then cooly stepped up to the expectant dancers dressed in feathers and beads, bravely facing the cheering crowd. Six children, a couple dressed in school uniform polos, shyly followed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In front of an approximately 100-person audience, the dancers joined hands with the youth, and together they raced around a tree planted in the plaza. The audience cracked smiles, and one by one began recording the show on their phones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, the Mama of the Mission<\/a> and co-chair of the Latino Task Force Valerie Tulier-Laiwa emceed and peddled free community resources with the gusto of an auctioneer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFree at home testing, it doesn\u2019t cost a dime!\u201d she said into the mic, pointing at some Covid-19 tests stacked neatly on a fold-up table. \u201cAnd under this mysterious jacket,\u201d Tulier-Laiwa said, lifting a black windbreaker from a box, \u201cis Narcan!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Other organizers handed out Peace Pledges, or promises to commit to non-violence and protect the community, and asked passersby to sign. \u201cIf we could do it inside our county jails, we could do it out here,\u201d said Michael Brown, who has distributed the same pledges to youth in the San Francisco County Jail through his nonprofit Five Keys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Comments directly addressing the 24th Street controversy were far and few between. Still, if vendors wished to obtain a new permit, said Calle 24 Latino Cultural District executive director Susana Rojas in Spanish and English, they could contact her organization for help. William Ortiz-Cartagena of the Small Business Commission said he\u2019d pitch in, too. \u201cStreet vending has always been a part of us,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to ensure that culture continues for our next generation\u2026 That they feel comfortable, safe, welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A drum circle opened up, and volunteers played a few rounds. Eventually it wound down, and the crowd dispersed and the items were packed up. The remaining Mission activists and residents talked amongst themselves, chuckling. Spectators walked home, grinning and feeling lighter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt makes you feel like someone is bringing some awareness that we need some peace, right?\u201d Joanna Hernandez said, content. She sniffed the air, perhaps searching for the last scent of sage. \u201cIt even smelled like peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leaders held a rally to show community unity and peace by\u00a0ANNIKA HOM SEPTEMBER 27, 2022 (MissionLocal.org) Connie Rivera caught her breath, then turned to face the crowd. The sun shone on the east 24th Street BART Plaza as she finished another Aztec dance number planned for that day\u2019s peace rally, the… Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/drumcircleplaza-853x640.jpg\")
Drum circle on the 24th Street BART Plaza. Photo taken by Annika Hom. Sept. 22, 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"