Fort Mose: The First Free Black Settlement Page 2
Pres. Biden Nominates First Black Woman to Serve on Federal Reserve Board of Governors Page 3
Covered California’s Jan. 31 Deadline Nears to Sign Up for Quality, Low-Cost Health Plans
Doctor Prescribes “Common Sense” for COVID-19 Pandemic
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Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
postnewsgroup.com
Weekly Edition: Jan. 26 - Feb. 1, 2022
58th Year, No. 32
Biden: I Will Nominate the First Black Woman to the Supreme Court
Wilfred Cyprian Harvey
Wilfred Cyprian Harvey, 88 President Joe Biden President Biden and Supreme Court Justice Breyer appeared together just a day after news broke that the justice announced his retirement. Biden seized the moment to repeat his promise to nominate a Black woman to the nation’s highest court. “Our process is going to be rigorous,” Mr. Biden said. “I
will select a nominee worthy of Justice Breyer’s legacy of excellence and decency. While I’ve been studying candidates’ backgrounds and writings, I have made no decision except one. The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity. And that person will be the first
California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger
Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It’s long overdue, in my view. I made that commitment during the campaign for president, and I will keep that commitment.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer cited the example of how Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was hurriedly con-
firmed in only a month after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Shumer said, “America owes Justice Breyer an enormous debt of gratitude. President Biden’s nominee will receive a prompt hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and will be considered and confirmed by the full United States Senate with all deliberate speed.”
Oakland Police Department Now Offering Assistance to Victims of Crimes
By Post Staff
As Oakland has seen an increase in the levels of violent crime, there have been greater numbers of traumatized victims and survivors. To meet the needs of residents affected by violent crime, the Oakland Police Department has created a position to serve as a liaison between the department and the community to help them navigate an array of services. This furthers OPD’s plan to have victim-centered and trauma-informed responses to crime incidents. “For years, many in our community didn’t know where to turn or who to ask for help,” said Oakland Police Chief LeRonne L. Armstrong. “I felt it important to create the position of a victim specialist to give those most vulnerable the care and compassion they need at a very traumatic time.”
The Victim Specialist position is funded through a threeyear Department of Justice grant. Victim Specialist Brigitte Cook, said “As survivors or family members face some of the worst days of their lives, it is vital to have a compassionate bridge between them and the department to connect them to the resources that they are eligible for.” Cook also meets with local organizations to share information about services and create opportunities for problem-solving. Florence McCrary, a member of the Violence Prevention Coalition Family Support Advocates, representing mothers who lost children to violence in Oakland said, “As a mother who lost their child to gun violence in the city of Oakland, I have to say that working with Brigitte Cook through OPD’s Florence McCrary (left) and Annette Miller, members of the Viovictim services was so very Continued on Page 10
lence Prevention Coalition and mothers who have lost sons to gun violence in Oakland, advocated for the creation of a Victim Service Liaison within OPD. Photo by Brigitte Cook.
Town Hall Meeting Seeks to Stop FCMAT, Karen Monroe, School Board from Closing Schools Retired ILWU leader Clarence Thomas says privatization attacks are occurring under Democrats By Ken Epstein More than 100 people — teachers, parents, school activists and community leaders — came together Sunday, Jan. 23, at a Zoom town hall meeting to begin mobilizing the city to oppose the permanent closing of neighborhood schools and threatened takeover of the Oakland school district. The town hall was sponsored by the Oakland Education Association (OEA) and the Oakland Post Salon.
Dr. Kimberly Mayfield
After listening to speakers, the meeting divided into Zoom breakout rooms to organize to spread the news of what is
Retired ILWU leader Clarence Thomas
happening throughout Oakland and to mobilize the communities to halt the takeover and protect the schools that are
OEA President Keith Brown
in danger of being closed this year and in the next few years. Continued on Page 10
Wilfred Cyprian Harvey was born May 29, 1933, in Washington, D.C., and passed away in Oakland on Jan. 14, 2022. He was the second son to the union of Cecilia Beatrice Fenwick and Emory Augustus Harvey. He attended Dunbar High School. He joined the United States Navy and served as an electronics technician during the Korean War on an aircraft carrier. In 1955, Harvey returned to the states to marry his bride, Virginia, “Ginny” Bell Parkinson. They were blessed with a son, Patrick Wilfred Harvey, now known as Imhotep Elijah Alkebulan, and a daughter, Nancy Elizabeth Harvey. Harvey was hired by the Pacific Bell Telephone Company and became the first African American to hold the position of Chief Equipment Manager. He also became the first Affirmative Action manager where he made his mark by helping other minorities. Harvey and his wife often spearheaded causes to protect
and preserve their Oak Center neighborhood. He was instrumental in saving the West Oakland Fire Station No. 3. After the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, Harvey was a member of the Citizens Emergency Relief Team (CERT), which fought to reroute and align the double-decker freeway to make a pathway for the Mandela Parkway. His membership in various organizations included: Charter member of Oak Center Neighborhood Association; charter member of CITIES – Black Telephone Workers; president of Oakland Better Housing; former member of the Knights of St. Peter Claver, Council #95; board member of St. Patrick’s Senior Satellite Housing Association; and San Francisco-Bay Area Chapter Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. Harvey was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia, of 42 years, his parents, and older brother, Paul. He leaves to celebrate his life, his son Minister Imhotep Alkebulan and his Continued on Page 10
State’s Reparations Task Force Seeks Input from Black Residents in Virtual ‘Listening Sessions’ By California Black Media
To ensure that Black communities across the state voice their thoughts and concerns and provide input, the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans is sponsoring public listening sessions. Conducted in partnership with six grass-roots organizations, the first of the two-day sessions will be on Jan. 27 and 28, 2022. The virtual meetings will begin at 9 a.m. both days. On Thursday, Jan. 27, the meeting will feature testimony from experts during the segments on “Discrimination in Technology,” “Community Eligibility,” and “Public Health.” On Friday, Jan. 28, the California reparations task force will hear testimonies from experts discussing mental health and physical health. California’s Assembly Bill
(AB) 3121, titled “The Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans,” created a nine-member commission to investigate race-based inequity in education, labor, wealth, housing, taxation and more. The commission is also charged with analyzing the state’s involvement in slavery, segregation, and the historic denial of Black citizens’ constitutional rights. Current California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber authored the bill when she was a member of the State Assembly and chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus. AB 3121 requires the task force to submit its recommendations to the Legislature no later than 2023.