As Spark SF Public Schools celebrates its 10th anniversary, we invite San Franciscans from all walks of life to share their reflections on the profound impact of public schools and the personal experiences that have shaped their journeys.

Our April newsletter features Manny Yekutiel, Founder of Manny’s and Executive Director of the Civic Joy Fund.

Spark: Who was a teacher/educator at SFUSD who made a lasting impact on your life, and why?

Manny Yekutiel: I have two main things that I work on: Manny’s, which is a space for civic, political and social justice events and programming. We host talks every night, discussions, community events, to help people who want to get more civically engaged and involved. We also have a coffee shop, a restaurant and a political bookstore. We've been here for about seven years, which is really exciting.

A few years ago, I also started a nonprofit, Civic Joy Fund, that raises money to help revitalize the streets of San Francisco and further a sense of volunteerism in the city. So we do trash pickups every weekend, park cleanups, and then we're funding night markets around the city and a big event called Downtown First Thursdays, which is bringing thousands of people downtown once a month.

Spark: What inspired you to become an activist?

MY: What inspired me to become an activist was Prop 8. In 2008, the California voters voted to make same-sex marriage illegal. I wasn't really politically engaged before then, but I had just been starting to come out and I found it very unjust that my fellow Californians would take away a right - especially the right to get married because I wanted to be able to get married one day. That’s what got me involved.

Spark: Was there a defining moment in your activism journey?

MY: I woke up on the day after election day in Lisbon in 2016 with the news that Hillary Clinton had lost and I didn't believe it. I was in complete shock because Hillary Clinton was so clearly the right person to be the President of the United States of America. Donald Trump was so clearly not fit to be President of the United States - still is not fit to be President. And honestly I'm still waiting to wake up from that nightmare.

Spark: What would you say are the issues that you're most passionate about supporting and advocating for?

MY:  I'm very proud of and I care a lot about supporting small businesses: small business owners, immigrant small business owners, first-time small business owners, LGBT small business owners. Small business is a big part of what makes San Francisco the rich cultural city that it is. LGBT rights issues are still very important to me, especially as trans people are under attack across this country and across the world and there are nine states right now that are introducing bills to make same-sex marriage illegal again. I love San Francisco and I feel like the issue of what can we do to make San Francisco a better run city and a more lively and culturally vibrant city is just an issue I care a lot about. 

Spark: Can you remember a teacher or educator that was really important to you that made a big impact in your life?

MY: I grew up Orthodox Jewish in LA and I went to Yeshiva - which is Jewish parochial school- for most of my young adult life. In ninth grade, I had an English teacher, Janice Frew, who saw in me a curiosity and a desire to learn and grow more that she nurtured. Three or four months into my ninth grade in Yeshiva, I approached Mrs. Frew and told her I wanted to leave Orthodox Jewish school and asked for her help. 

We had a secret curriculum where she would give me books, basically “bad” books. We would meet after school and I told her what I thought about these books. When I applied in secret to transfer out of my high school to a non-Jewish secular high school, she helped write a recommendation. She basically helped me get out of the situation I was in to get a better education and have the life that I have now. It's amazing how those early teachers have a mighty effect on just changing the whole course of your life. And Ms. Frew did that for me. I wouldn't have faulted her for not really having the time or the energy to really see the 14-year-old me and try to help me out of the situation I was in. But she did. And I'm all the better for it. 

Spark: What's the most important thing that public schools can do for our city?

MY: I see public education the same way I see public transportation: they are foundational for a great city. We are a great city, so we should have the best public education possible, the best public transportation system possible, the safest and cleanest streets, which involve the greatest amount of support for people who need it. These are the basic levers that any city needs to provide to its citizens to have the best chance at a great life. San Francisco, with its extreme wealth, small size, and progressive values has all the ingredients for the best public education system in America. That's what I think our north star needs to be.

I did not go to public school. My parents wouldn't let me, partly because I grew up in such an extreme religious environment that it wasn't on the table to go to a secular school for education. But I can't think of anything more powerful that could help people transform their lives for the better than an excellent high quality public education. And that should be the bedrock of a modern, thriving San Francisco. 

Spark:  From your perspective establishing Manny's and the Civic Joy Fund, what advice would you give to our students here in the city?

MY: I would say: Stay curious, sign up for things, be a joiner, be a doer. When I was in high school, I started the classical music appreciation club,  the opera club, the Italian language club, and the Jewish religious club. I benefited a lot from the exposure of pursuing different interests. So I would just suggest that what you learn in class is the bedrock, but so many of the things I did outside of class, within the school system, helped ignite my curiosity in the world. And I still remain that curious person today because of it.

Also, I would tell students to develop a relationship with their teachers - especially if their home life is not optimum. My teachers were like surrogate parents to me. Teachers are heroes, they're literally like angels walking on the earth! 

Spark: And for those students that maybe are interested in becoming activists, what's your advice to them? 

MY: Young minds are particularly impressionable in their development. And especially now, given the times we're in - where there is a potential constitutional crisis happening, we potentially have a dictatorial president in our midst and the rule of law is under threat- I would say to students who are interested in choosing this time to get involved to find the thing that they care a lot about and really focus in. Don’t be overwhelmed by all the different fights that need to be fought or the different stream of news that's coming in. There's a difference between a circle of influence and a circle of concern. And now, when our circle of influences are much smaller than our circle of concern, it's easy to get overwhelmed. So focus, take care of yourself, don't get overwhelmed.

Spark: Right now, public education is under attack nationally. How can the greater San Francisco community come together to support public education?

MY: Like I said earlier, we have a strong tax base in the city itself. So we have the economic might to do a lot to help make sure that our public school teachers and classrooms have the funding that they need to provide an excellent education. So I think San Franciscans need to stand up for funding of public education. They have in the past, they need to continue to do it.

I really do think of it as a frame shift. We just interviewed Ezra Klein a few weeks ago and he talks about this idea of abundance as an alternative to scarcity when thinking of political organizing. Scarcity is very much what our current administration is about: There's a finite amount of money, there's a finite amount of jobs, there's a finite amount of Americans that are allowed to be here. I think as San Franciscans, we're well poised to argue the opposite, which is that we have enough money to fund an excellent public education system. We have enough money to provide housing for public school teachers who can't afford to live in San Francisco at market rate. And so it's really about putting public education, public transportation, and public resources for people who are suffering on our streets front and center.

Spark: Since you had such a moving story about a teacher who affected your life, I'd love to hear what you would say to teachers who are teaching at school right now. 

MY: There are a lot of unsung heroes in the city: People that work at DPW, people who are picking up trash, janitors, station engineers and bus drivers. A lot of times the people who are doing the most work to make our city the best it can be don't get the admiration and the love that they deserve. I hope that the public school teachers in our city feel the love that they deserve.

To our San Francisco teachers: Stay strong! Given the international and national moments, given the budget crisis that the city faces and the school district, this is a time to be tough! And I love you! I'm proud of you! I'm thankful to you. You're amazing. I hope you know that.

Manny Yekutiel is the Founder of Manny's and Executive Director of the Civic Joy Fund. He lives in the Castro district in San Francisco.