Charles Austin, ‘president of South Berkeley,’ dies at 77
Neighbors and friends say they will sorely miss the community organizer's liveliness and dedication to working for justice.
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Charles Austin
Recent Stories
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After outcry, library board votes to change South Branch name to include civil-rights leader
The Berkeley Board of Library Trustees (BOLT) Thursday night voted to recommend to the City Council that the South Branch of the library be renamed to include the name of Tarea Hall Pittman (1903-1991), a long-time South Berkeley resident and civil-rights leader.
Library to reconsider proposal to rename South Branch
The Board of Library Trustees (BOLT) will hold a special session Thursday May 7 at 6:30 p.m. to make a final decision on a community proposal to rename the South Branch library after a local activist.
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Neighbors petition to rename South Branch Library after civil-rights leader
Update, April 23: The Board of Trustees of the Berkeley Public Library voted against renaming the South Branch after civil-rights leader Tarea Hall Pittman at its April 22 meeting. (See who is on the Board and listen to a recording of the meeting on the Library’s website.) The leader of the campaign in favor of the idea, Charles Austin, told Berkeleyside reporter Natalie Orenstein he was devastated, and that supporters would protest the decision at the next Berkeley City Council meeting. “Racism is alive in Berkeley,” he said. The South Branch of the Berkeley Public Library was remodeled two years ago, and soon it might be rechristened too.
