Oakland Jazz Great Offers Master Class as City Declares “John Handy Day”
By Barbara Fluhrer
Rhem Bell has lived in various places around the Bay Area and served in several capcities as an activist and labor rights supporter since his arrival more from North Carolina more than 25 years ago.
A very private person, he preferred to speak about the place that shaped him and how it influenced his perception of opportunities here.
“My original home community, prior to relocating to California, was James City, a small town east of New Bern, N.C. James City was known as a Freedmen’s, Negro and eventually a Black village. Many of the people who reside there are descendants of former slaves who populated the area during the Civil War and Reconstruction.
“The village began with the seizure and subsequent occupation of New Bern by the Union Army in March, 1862. It was then that New Bern became a refugee center for thousands of North Carolina slaves who sought freedom and safety within Union lines.
In 1863, Captain Horace James established a camp for freedmen near New Bern. James City was named in his honor. The attributes of having been reared and educated in the legacy of freedmen continues to run deep in my soul,” Bell said.
“Throughout the San Francisco Bay Area are reminders of my hometown: of micro-cultures or villages amongst and just outside of the urban experience.
Hailing from a small town under Jim Crow and segregated schools left an indelible impact that fueled Bell’s determination to honor ancestral and deep family roots steeped in the spirit of freedmen.
“It did not take long, upon arrival in California, for me to realize that the San Francisco Bay Area was a place to pursue a career, invest in educational opportunities, build deep relationships with family, neighbors, friends, colleagues, and continue the legacy of my village, my community…a place to call home,” Bell said.
His life motto is: “Keep the Faith and Build a Life of Service.”
