Remembering Dr. Nathan Hare, a gentle reminder from Marvin X: Community healing, Black Studies and honoring a living archive

by Dr. Tiffany Caesar

I saw Marvin X on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, for the second time this year, casually shopping at the Walgreens on Lakeshore in Oakland. Our initial contact was on Friday, July 26, 2024, at the memorial for Dr. Nathan Hare. Marvin X was a long-time friend of Dr. Nathan Hare. Marvin X also collaborated with Dr. Nathan Hare on Black liberation projects like Black Reconstruction that created Pan-African Mental Health Peer Groups along with Suzzette Celeste, psychiatric social worker. I remember interviewing Marvin X and his beautiful family on the legacy of Dr. Nathan and Dr. Julia Hare at the memorial. The goal was to quickly share a memorial article – yet there was a delay. 

This article was not a programmatic review in the Bay Area or applauding a good citizen’s deed – I was ushering in a soul one last time to a community that loved him so. Also, as a life-long student and professor of Black Studies – I owe my current livelihood as an SFSU assistant professor in Africana Studies to Dr. Nathan Hare. He was the first Black Studies department director advocated for by the Black Student Union at San Francisco State University and community members in the Bay Area. The current chair of the Africana Studies Department is Dr. Abul Pitre.

The heaviness and critical need to share something of relevance halted my ability to push through, in addition to the sheer pain of losing someone I could not see before passing. Yet, seeing Marvin X at Walgreens was a gentle reminder to my soul to continue to share the homecoming of Dr. Nathan Hare, who embodied Black liberation, Black love and Black excellence. I ask those who have probably waited on this article and may have even given up hope to receive these words still with appreciation, joy and timely urgency, since it is always the right time to express the legacy of a Black Liberation giant – Dr. Nathan Hare. Below, I have provided a description of the memorial with shared words from those who loved him. 

Remembering Dr. Nathan Hare Memorial at Third Baptist

“We just want to say thank you for all that he did for us,” Marvin X, global poet, playwright, educator, activist and community leader, shared as he sat in front of the doors leading to Dr. Nathan Hare’s memorial. He encouraged people to take books that were written by Dr. Nathan Hare and his revolutionary partner and wife, Dr. Julia Hare. Marvin X was accompanied by his grandchildren and later his daughter in the sharing of Dr. Nathan and Julia Hare’s extensive archive and legacy. The memorial was accompanied by longtime friends, professional allies and community members. 

On Friday, July 26, 2024, an intimate group gathered to honor Dr. Nathan Hare at Third Baptist Church of San Francisco.  It is one of the oldest Black churches in the Bay Area, existing since 1852. It was a warm day with a light breeze as the congregation entered the chapel greeted by African drums playing, welcoming all including ancestors to a celebration. Dr. Nathan Hare was the director of the Black Studies program at San Francisco State University solicited by the Black Student Union to create an environment within higher education that honored the history, culture and legacy of Black people. Later, he would be known as the people’s psychologist due to his avid work in counseling locals in the Bay Area who were living in an oppressive white hegemonic society. 

Dr. Amos Brown, the pastor of Third Baptist of San Francisco, opened the service with words of encouragement. The memorial host and organizer, Dr. Ramona Tascoe, member of the first Black Student Union and participant in the 1968 Black Student Union/Third World Liberation Front, welcomed multiple people to share their remarks on Dr. Nathan Hare. Sharon Jones, Dr. Dorothy Tsuruta, Dr. Jimmy Garrett, Marvin X, Oba T Shaka, and the late Rev. Arnold Townsend were just a few of the speakers. 

Following their remarks, the esteemed guest, Dr. Micheal Eric Dyson, distinguished author, professor and political commentator, provided a riveting speech on Dr. Nathan Hare’s legacy while reminding guests to continue to fight for the liberation of Black people. Dr. Nathan Hare’s Memorial was recorded and can be viewed online. In addition, some of his patients were there and showed substantial gratitude for the work he and his wife, Dr. Julia Hare, did in saving their lives. 

For example, Monique El-Amin shared his liberatory practice: “It has been an honor to know Dr. Nathan Hare. He was a very kind and wise man who shared a lot of knowledge with me … We had a long journey. I met Dr. Hare when I was a little girl.” She mentioned his work with the Black Think Tank and his activities in dismantling white supremacy at San Francisco State College. “Dr. Hare even went to jail fighting for ethnic rights on campus, so he is very historic as far as building for our Black community.” There were others who shared stories similar to Monique’s, cultivating life-changing relationships with the Hares.

Suzette Celeste, psychiatric social worker, remembered co-facilitating counseling workshops with Dr. Hare. “They were called Black Reconstruction and/or White Deconstruction of White Supremacy … so we would co-facilitate these groups in the Tenderloin under Marvin X’s vision. I was privileged enough to work with Dr. Hare at that time because it wasn’t just recovery from addiction, but it was recovery from white supremacy not just to heal yourself from recovery, but to heal yourself well enough so you can help change the world – and that was what Dr. Hare was in alignment with.”

Dr. Nathan Hare and Dr. Julia Hare were more than just husband and wife; they were change agents advocating for the liberation of Black people globally. Together they created multiple institutions including the original Black Think Tank publishing multiple books like “The Endangered Black Family: Coping With Unisexualization and Coming Extinction of the Black Race,” “The Sexual and Political Anorexia of The Black Woman: The Pain Guts and Glory of the Black Woman,” “The Miseducation of the Black Child” and more! 

After the service, guests were escorted to a repast that served all the delicious foods reminiscent of a holiday dinner. The room was filled with joy, stories were exchanged, and various people gathered to take photos for their own personal archive. It was truly a celebration, a homecoming, where many of the individuals had not seen each other for years, but the spirit of Dr. Nathan Hare brought them together at least one more time. 

One may wonder, what happens next after a giant leaves such a huge imprint? More than ever, Black people and allies need to unite to continue to create liberatory institutions and spaces that cultivate Black upliftment. Marvin X shared in “How To Recover From Addiction to White Supremacy: “The hour is up and time is running out, Black people, but white supremacy is not. We are living now in the final and highest stage of racism and white supremacy.”

Dr. Nathan Hare’s Living Archive is still here, in the halls of San Francisco State University with the Africana Studies Department or in the service-oriented work of former students and patients while illuminating the soul work of both Dr. Nathan Hare and Dr. Julia Hare. In addition, this is also a call to action – to continue to study and advocate for the Back family, Black mental health, and Black liberatory practices in your own way. The Hares’ believed that Black people were immortal, always existing, even when there have been concerted efforts to write us out of history. So, what will be your part in the preservation and healing of Black people and humanity as a whole? 

Dr. Tiffany Caesar is an Oakland-based writer, scholar, artist and activist. Her work emphasizes cultural heritage and art institutions, Africana women, pan-African political movements, reparations and self-care. She is currently an assistant professor of Africana Studies at San Francisco State University, where she teaches African American History and Black Lives Matter: Race and Social Justice Movements. She can be reached at [email protected]. 

Marvin X – “We just want to say thank you for all that he did for us…”…thank you…we want some of the people that helped him and his wife and acknowledge…there are still here…they were not just educators; they were black women that were providers…

“She was a psychiatric social worker…” 

Suzzette -I co-facilitated some of the groups with Dr. Nathan Hare…they were called Black Reconstruction and or White Deconstruction of White Supremacy…so we would co-facilitate these groups in the Tenderloins under Marvin’s vision…I was privileged enough to work with Dr. Hare at that time because it wasn’t just recovery from addiction, but it was recovery from white supremacy not just to heal yourself from recovery, but to heal yourself well enough so you can help change the world and that was what Dr. Hare was in alignment with…

Monique El Amin – It been an honor to know Dr. Nathan Hare, he was a very kind and wise man who has shared a lot of knowledge with me…We had a long journey, I met Dr. Hare when I was a little girl and they were a part of the Black Love and Relations…as a Black Psychologist…He and his wife Dr. Julia Hare had a big influence on our community…Dr. Hare even gone to jail fighting for ethnic rights on campus, so he is very historical as for as building for our black community…and its an honor to know him … I can’t name all of the things he has done…countless things…The Black Think Tank…Those are just the two I can remember just off the top of my head…the fighting for ethnic studies on campus…also having a black think tank…also providing services black psychologist in the community…It’s been an honor knowing him…

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Source: https://sfbayview.com/2025/02/remembering-dr-nathan-hare-a-gentle-reminder-from-marvin-x-community-healing-black-studies-and-honoring-a-living-archive/