Interview with Lincoln Place Tenants Assoc. President Sheila
Bernard
By Rex
Butters
Beachhead: How long have you
lived in Venice?
Sheila Bernard: Since
1988.
Beachhead: You’re the president of the
Lincoln Place Tenants Association. How did you get
involved?
Bernard: I moved into Lincoln Place
thinking it would be a temporary thing. That was August, ‘88. I saw a
notice that was being sent around by the tenants’ association, and I went
to the meeting at Penmar Park. There was this sea of white hair, hundreds of
seniors being threatened with eviction, and that was it. I was hooked.
Beachhead: Were you an activist before
this?
Bernard: I had been involved in
the food movement, the organic food movement, the food co-op movement for many
years in the mid to late seventies. Sort of an activist by nature, and I believe
you can always find some way to engage, either where you work or where you live,
on something that will improve this society. There’s always a way to
engage.
Beachhead: What are the roots
of your activism?
Bernard: It’s
part of my job description as an adult, to first take care of myself, and then
take care of my immediate family. Then, your responsibilities kinda go outward
in concentric circles. If you can take care of yourself and you can take care of
your immediate family, then the next thing is to do your part to take care of
your community, your neighborhood. Those concentric circles can expand outward:
your city, your country, the world. As far as you can go, as much time and
energy you can have without compromising your more personal responsibilities, I
think we all need to go beyond just taking care of ourselves and our families,
because if we don’t, then democracy’s impossible because it requires
participation and volunteering.
Beachhead:
What women inspire you in your
life?
Bernard: One woman who has been
very inspirational to me is Lois Arkin, the founder of L.A. Eco-Village. She is
true to her ideals to a greater extent than almost anyone I’ve ever met.
Beachhead: How about growing
up?
Bernard: My family is full of
strong women and I Iearned from all of them.
Beachhead: The mess at Lincoln Place
has been going for so long. You’ve been involved for nearly 20 years.
Where do you find the strength to go up against corporate aggression and the
indifference of city officials, their lawyers, the dirty tricks? How do you
fight against those overwhelming odds day after day?
Bernard: There’s always a way to
engage for social change, and once you do, all the issues you care about, the
war, poverty, environmental pollution, people’s inhumanity to one another,
it’s all there. Every issue you care about is embedded in the issue you
become involved in. I figure a person has to make a stand at some point. Once
you make your stand, you can accomplish a great deal just by digging in and
staying put and taking it to the wall. That’s what gives me the strength
to keep on going. I want to know how this is going to resolve, and I also know
that if I don’t give up that some good is going to come from it. Maybe not
everything I wanted, but some good is going to come of it, if I just take it to
the wall, as far as I can go.
Posted: Thu - March 1, 2007 at 04:00 PM