Barbara Becnel

Last updated

Barbara Cottman Becnel (born May 30, 1950) is an American author, journalist, and film producer. She was a close friend of Crips co-founder Stanley Williams (aka "Stan Tookie Williams"; a convicted murderer and former gang leader who would later become an anti-gang activist and writer), and editor of Williams's series of children's books, which spoke out against gang violence. Williams was executed in 2005. Becnel co-produced the Golden Globe-nominated film Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story , which starred award-winning actress Lynn Whitfield playing the role of Becnel.

Contents

Biography

Becnel was in attendance at Williams' execution as one of his chosen witnesses. After he was pronounced dead, she, along with two of his friends, television executive Shirley Neal and movie producer Rudy Langlais, stood up and yelled that California had executed an innocent man. After the execution, she said "We are going to prove his innocence, and when we do, we are going to show that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is, in fact, himself a cold blooded murderer." [ citation needed ]

Williams directed Becnel to make the arrangements for his funeral, which was held at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church on December 20, 2005. [1] [2] More than 3,000 people attended Williams' memorial service. On Sunday, June 25, 2006, Becnel and Neal released Williams' ashes into a lake in Thokoza Park, located in the black township of Soweto, Gauteng, South Africa. In February 2009, Becnel and Neal released Tribute: Stanley Tookie Williams, 1953–2005, a documentary they directed and produced about Williams. [3]

Announcing her intention to defeat Schwarzenegger in the upcoming gubernatorial election, Becnel ran for the Democratic Party's nomination for Governor of California in 2006, the first black female to do so. [4] She finished with 66,544 votes overall, which amounted to 2.7% of all ballots cast, coming in third out of eight Democrats behind Phil Angelides and Steve Westly. Her campaign attracted media attention, and she raised enough money in the last week of the campaign to run television and radio commercials.[ citation needed ]

She publicly denounced Democratic Gubernatorial candidates Phil Angelides and Steve Westly for supporting the death penalty. She is also outspoken on other social issues, such as the environment and immigration. Barbara's outspoken criticism of Angelides and Westly resulted in her not being invited to a number of key Democratic Party events during the general election season. [5]

This, coupled with differences over issues such as the death penalty, led Barbara to leave the Democratic Party. In the first weeks of 2007 Barbara left the Democratic Party and joined the Green Party of California, the state affiliate of the Green Party (GPUS). When asked why she joined the Green Party, Becnel responded, "The Green Party is right on the issues—no ifs, ands, or buts." [6]

Selected works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Schwarzenegger</span> Austrian and American actor and politician (born 1947)

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, filmmaker, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder known for his roles in high-profile action films. He served as the 38th governor of California from 2003 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanley Williams</span> Founder of the Crips (1953–2005)

Stanley Tookie Williams III was an American gangster who co-founded and led the Crips gang in Los Angeles. He and Raymond Washington formed an alliance in 1971 that established the Crips as Los Angeles' first major African-American street gang. During the 1970s, Williams was the de facto leader of the Crips and the prominent crime boss in South Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Washington</span> American gangster

Raymond Lee Washington was an American gangster, known as the founder of the Crips gang in Los Angeles. Washington formed the Crips as a minor street gang in the late 1960s in South Los Angeles, becoming a prominent local crime boss. In 1971, Washington formed an alliance with Stanley "Tookie" Williams, establishing the Crips as the first major African-American street gang in Los Angeles, and served as one of the co-leaders. In 1974, Washington was convicted of robbery and received a five-year prison sentence, during which his leadership and influence in the Crips declined.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Camejo</span> Venezuelan American politician

Peter Miguel Camejo Guanche was a Venezuelan American author, activist, politician and Sailing Olympian. In the 2004 United States presidential election, he was selected by independent candidate Ralph Nader as his vice-presidential running mate on a ticket which had the endorsement of the Reform Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Shriver</span> American journalist and author (born 1955)

Maria Owings Shriver is an American journalist, author, a member of the Kennedy family, former First Lady of California, and the founder of the nonprofit organization The Women's Alzheimer's Movement. She was married to former governor of California and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, from whom she filed for divorce in 2011; it was finalized in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Lee</span> American politician (born 1946)

Barbara Jean Lee is an American politician and social worker who has been serving as a U.S. representative from California since 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, Lee represents California's 12th congressional district, which is based in Oakland and covers most of the northern part of Alameda County. According to the Cook Partisan Voting Index, it is one of the nation's most Democratic districts, with a rating of D+40.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Westly</span> American businessman and politician

Steven Paul Westly is an American venture capitalist, entrepreneur, educator, and politician. He was the State Controller of California from 2003 to 2007 and was one of the top candidates in the Democratic primary for Governor of California in the 2006 election. He was defeated in the Democratic primary by California State Treasurer Phil Angelides, who later lost to Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in the November 2006 elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Angelides</span> American politician

Phillip Nicholas Angelides is an American politician who was California State Treasurer and the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for Governor of California in the 2006 elections. Angelides served as the chair of the Apollo Alliance and of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 California gubernatorial election</span>

The 2006 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 7, 2006. The primary elections took place on June 6, 2006. The incumbent Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, won re-election for his first and only full term. His main opponent was California State Treasurer Phil Angelides, the California Democratic Party nominee. Peter Camejo was the California Green Party nominee, Janice Jordan was the Peace and Freedom Party nominee, Art Olivier was the California Libertarian Party nominee, and Edward C. Noonan was the California American Independent Party nominee.

<i>Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story</i> 2004 television film directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall

Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story is a 2004 American biographical crime drama television film directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall, written by J.T. Allen, and starring Jamie Foxx, Lynn Whitfield, Lee Thompson Young and CCH Pounder. The film premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, and was later broadcast on the FX network on April 11, 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crips</span> Street gang from Los Angeles, California

The Crips are a primarily African-American alliance of street gangs that are based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips began as an alliance between two autonomous gangs, and developed into a loosely connected network of individual "sets", often engaged in open warfare with one another. Its members have traditionally worn blue clothing since around 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liebenauer Stadium</span> Football stadium in Styria, Austria

The Liebenauer Stadium, sponsored as the Merkur-Arena, is in the Liebenau area of Graz, Styria, Austria. The ground is the home of the football clubs SK Sturm Graz and Grazer AK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger</span> Political career of Arnold Schwarzenegger

The governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger began in 2003, when Arnold Schwarzenegger ran for Governor of California in a recall election. He was subsequently elected Governor when the previous governor Gray Davis was recalled and Schwarzenegger placed first among replacement candidates. Schwarzenegger served the remainder of Davis' incomplete term between 2003 and 2007. Schwarzenegger was then reelected to a second term in 2006, serving out this full term and leaving office in January 2011. Schwarzenegger was unable to run for a third term due to term limits imposed by the Constitution of California.

Phillip L. Isenberg was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he was mayor of Sacramento, California, from 1975 to 1982. He also served in the California State Assembly from 1982 to 1996. He represented the city of Sacramento and surrounding areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanyika Shakur</span> American author (1963–2021)

Sanyika Shakur, also known by his former street moniker Monster or Monster Kody, was an American author and former gangster. He was a member of the Los Angeles-based Eight Tray Gangster Crips. He got his nickname as a 13-year-old gang member when he beat and stomped a robbery victim until he was disfigured. Shakur claimed to have reformed in prison, joined the Republic of New Afrika movement, and wrote a 1993 memoir called Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member.

Bob Mulholland is a political operative in the California Democratic Party and a member of the Democratic National Committee for California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 California Proposition 11</span>

Proposition 11 of 2008 was a law enacted by California voters that placed the power to draw electoral boundaries for State Assembly and State Senate districts in a Citizens Redistricting Commission, as opposed to the State Legislature. To do this the Act amended both the Constitution of California and the Government Code. The law was proposed by means of the initiative process and was put to voters as part of the November 4, 2008 state elections. In 2010, voters passed Proposition 20 which extended the Citizen Redistricting Commission's power to draw electoral boundaries to include U.S. House seats as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katherine Schwarzenegger</span> American writer (born 1989)

Katherine Eunice Schwarzenegger Pratt is an American author. Her books are compilations that have asked others to comment on various subjects, including self-harm, adultery and finding direction after college; she has also written two children’s books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jasmyne Cannick</span> American journalist (born 1977)

Jasmyne Ariel Cannick is an American politician, journalist, and pop culture, race issues and politics commentator. She is also known for her work as an advocate for underrepresented and marginalized communities. She was selected as one of ESSENCE Magazine's 25 Women Shaping the World, KCET's Southern California Seven Women of Vision, one of Los Angeles' Most Fascinating Angelenos by the L.A. Weekly and as one of the Out100 in 2019.

References

  1. "Becnel states that Williams' funeral will be "on the scale of Rosa Parks' recent funeral"
  2. Coverage of funeral of Stanley Tookie Williams, latimes.com. Accessed January 22, 2023.
  3. Tribute: Stanley Tookie Williams, 1953–2005, exclaim.ca. Accessed January 22, 2023.
  4. "New Leadership for Ordinary People: Barbara Becnel for Governor". www.votebarbarabecnel-gov.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2006. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  5. "Barbara Becnel: Why I joined the Green Party". Indybay. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  6. Becnel joins U.S. Green Party, indybay.org. Accessed January 2023.