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Barbara Cottman Becnel (born May 30, 1950) is an American author, journalist, and film producer. She was a close friend of
Crips 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 ...
co-founder
Stanley Williams Stanley Tookie Williams III (December 29, 1953 – December 13, 2005) 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 Angele ...
(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 The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...
-nominated film '' Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story'', which starred award-winning actress
Lynn Whitfield Lynn Whitfield (''née'' Smith; born February 15, 1953) is an American actress. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a ...
playing the role of Becnel.


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 Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
is, in fact, himself a cold blooded murderer." Williams directed Becnel to make the arrangements for his funeral, which was held at Bethel
African Methodist Episcopal The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. It cooperates with other Methodist ...
Church on December 20, 2005. 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 Soweto () is a Township (South Africa), township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western T ...
,
Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...
, South Africa. In February 2009, Becnel and Neal released ''Tribute: Stanley Tookie Williams, 1953–2005'', a documentary they directed and produced about Williams. Announcing her intention to defeat Schwarzenegger in the upcoming gubernatorial election, Becnel ran for the Democratic Party's nomination for
Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...
in 2006, the first black female to do so. She finished with 66,544 votes overall, which amounted t
2.7% of all ballots cast
coming in third out of eight Democrats behind
Phil Angelides Phillip Nicholas Angelides ( ; born June 12, 1953) is an American politician who served as the California State Treasurer from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Angelides was the party's nominee for ...
and
Steve Westly Steven Paul Westly (born August 27, 1956) 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 Gov ...
. Her campaign attracted media attention, and she raised enough money in the last week of the campaign to run television and radio commercials. She publicly denounced Democratic Gubernatorial candidates
Phil Angelides Phillip Nicholas Angelides ( ; born June 12, 1953) is an American politician who served as the California State Treasurer from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Angelides was the party's nominee for ...
and
Steve Westly Steven Paul Westly (born August 27, 1956) 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 Gov ...
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. 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 Green Party of California (GPCA) is a California political party. The party is led by a coordinating committee, and decisions are ultimately made by general assemblies. The GPCA is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States (GPUS). ...
, 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."Becnel joins U.S. Green Party
indybay.org. Accessed January 2023.


Selected works

* ''Parents Who Help Their Children Overcome Drugs'' (1990), Compcare Publications; * ''The Co-Dependent Parent: Free Yourself by Freeing Your Child'' (1991), Harper San Francisco; * ''Life in Prison'' (2001), Seastar Books; (co-author) * ''Gangs and the Abuse of Power'' (1997), Hazelden Publishing & Educational Services; (co-author) * ''Gangs and Drugs'' (1997), Hazelden Publishing & Educational Services; (co-author) * ''Gangs and Self-Esteem'' (1997), PowerKids Press; (co-author) * ''Gangs and Violence'' (1997), Hazelden Publishing & Educational Services; (co-author) * ''Gangs and Your Friends'' (1997), PowerKids Press; (co-author) * ''Gangs and Your Neighborhood'' (1997), Hazelden Information & Educational Services; (co-author)


References


External links

*
VoteCircle.com Non-partisan resources & vote sharing network for Californians


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060514043310/http://www.electionvolunteer.com/race/Governor 2006 Candidates for Governor of California
Becnel, Barbara. "Why I left the Democratic Party"
''Socialist Worker Online'', October 27, 2006
"Barbara Becnel: Why I Joined the Green Party" by Robert B. Livingston, San Francisco Independent Media Center, January 15, 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Becnel, Barbara African-American women journalists African-American journalists Film producers from California Living people 1950 births California Democrats California Greens Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century African-American writers Green Party of the United States politicians Activists from California American women film producers 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century American politicians