Mother' of state's civil rights fight Tarea Pittman dies at 88 *Brett Mahoney to staff writer -Tarea Hall Pittman, one of the pioneers of the civil rights strugDa in 1 Northern California died ednesday in Berkeley. Mrs. Pittman, 88, former West bast regional secretary of the tonal Association of Colored People and host of a black affairs radio program for fifty , died quietly in her sleep Vadnesday afternoon at the yakameema Skilled Nursing Facility after a lengthy fight with a brain tumor. "She was the mother of the civil rights movement in California, "said Lawrence Crouchett, director of the Center for African American History and Culture. From a family of farmers in Bakersfield, she was the first black student to graduate from the junior college there. She moved to Berkeley in 1923 and earned her masters degree in sowelfare from the University California. Mrs. Pittman was a walking cyclopedia of this century's k civil rights movement. She tved dit, led it and talked about it all her adult days. A She was a member of the NAACP for over 75 years and as West Coast regional secretary during most of the 1960s, she helped build the organization in the Eastbay and elsewhere west of the Mississippi. practice in Berkeley, was never paid for her broadcasting work. Until 1985 she did it as a public service. Carpenter said that Pittman's primary interest was getting information out whether she was on the radio or just talking to people at the supermarket. She wanted people to know that there were black doctors, judges, architects and funeral directors who had overcome great obstacles and were role models for other struggling black Americans. Mrs. Pittman is survived by three sisters who all live in the Eastbay: Eugenia Greene, 91; ASHLAND HARDWARE ROOFING MATERIALS ROOFING SPECIALS * SUMMER SAVINGS * Fiberglass Shingles - 2nds ONLY $4.50 Per Bundle 16104 E. 14th Street SAN LEANDRO 351-3963 Tarea Hall Pittman was a member of the NAACP for over 75 years and as West Coast regional secretary during the 1960s, she helped build the Eastbay organization. "She was a fighter and good fighter, "said Eugene Lasartemay one of Mrs. Pittman's coworkers in the NAACP. But it was her voice and elocution that Mrs. Pittman was best known for. For 50 years she brought Bay Area listeners "Negroes in the News"on KDIA radio which under previous owners was named KWBR. Aleta Carpenter, now general manager of KDIA, remembered listening to Mrs. Pittman when she was growing up. "My grandmother would sit us down in front of the radio and we were not allowed to go to the bathroom or sneeze or anything. When it was over she would say, 'When you u grow up I want you to speak as well as Tarea Hall Pittman,' "she said. Mrs. Pittman, whose late husband, Dr. William R. Pittman, was the first black dentist to OBITUARIES Clarice Isaacs, 84 and Faricita Wyatt, 78. A memorial service will be held 3:30 p.m. Sunday, August 4 at Fouche's Hudson Funeral Home, 3665 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. Learn the Facts