Vice President Kamala Harris Flies to Europe Amid Fears of War By Post Staff
Vice President Kamala Harris
In what is largely seen as the biggest security risk between Russia and the United States since the Cold War, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris flew to Germany to engage in talks aimed to halt the looming invasion of Ukraine by Russia. It is her most difficult foreign relation issue she has faced in her tenure as vice president. She left on Thursday to meet with several European allies to nail down a unified response to
the Russian leader Vladimir Putin as doubts remain about his assurances that he has pulled back troops at Ukraine’s border. While Pres. Joe Biden remains stateside, Harris will attend the Munich Security Conference. On Friday, she is scheduled to meet the leaders of three Baltic states — Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania — in conjunction with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. On Saturday, she is expected to deliver a speech outlining the Biden Administration’s plans to halt
Russian aggression. Afterward, Harris is supposed to sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In a statement to the press, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Harris would “convey to the rest of the world again our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies, our commitment to defending the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and our commitment to putting in place severe economic consequences should Russia invade.”
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
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Weekly Edition: Feb. 16-22 2022
58th Year, No. 35
The Oracle of Allen Temple at 90 By Paul Cobb
Teachers and members of school communities joined the ILWU Local 10 longshore workers who shut down the Port of Oakland and rallied Thursday at noon at Oakland City Hall to halt the takeover of public land at the Port land and the closure of schools to benefit billionaire charter school and real estate developers. Shown (L to R) are Marlo Johnson, ILWU Local 10; Parker Elementary School educators Denise Huffstutler and Hillary Chen, who were among a group from Parker that held a sick-out Thursday to oppose the closing of their school in June; Trent Willis, past president of ILWU Local 10; and Kira Allen, who spoke for hunger strikers at Westlake Middle School. Photo by Ken Epstein
Longshore Workers Shut Down Port of Oakland, Rally to Save Port and Public Schools By Ken Epstein
Longshore workers, members of ILWU Local 10, shut down the Port of Oakland Thursday, rallying at Oakland City Hall at noon to show their determination to halt the giveaway of public land to billionaire John Fisher’s real estate project at the Port and to show solidarity with the fight of Oakland teachers and communities to save their schools from being closed and given away to privatizers.
Trent Willis, past president of Local 10, called on union members to organize and fight. “We know what we stand for: we stand for equality, we stand against privatization, we stand against gentrification,” he said. “Every generation has had their battle, and this is ours. When it’s time to throw down, we have to stand up.” The name of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, when mentioned, was greeted by boos. Schaaf, who is viewed as an agent of privatizers like John Fisher,
also has spoken publicly in favor of closing as many as half of Oakland’s public schools. Melvin Mackay, ILWU Local 10 executive board member, emphasized that building of million-dollar condominiums is incompatible with the functioning of a 24/7 working port. “If they ever put residential on maritime land, we’re done,” he said. Said ILWU Local 10 member Linda Adams, “This is not about a ballpark. This is about prime real estate for billion-
Rebecca Kaplan Announces Run for Alameda County Board of Supervisors
On Tuesday, Oakland City Councilmember-At-Large, Rebecca Kaplan announced her run for Alameda County Board of Supervisors District 3. Rebecca has been representing all of Oakland and was unanimously chosen as Oakland’s Vice Mayor by her colleagues. Prior to that, she represented the East Bay region as an elected AC Transit director, as a Board member on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, as a housing rights attorney, and State legislative
Rebecca Kaplan
aide. She has advanced important region-leading innovative projects, such as the civilian crisis responder program (known as
MACRO), new zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell trucks to reduce dangerous air pollution, expanded bicycle, pedestrian, and transit access, improving access to COVID vaccination and support, improving equity and economic opportunity in development, and expanding solutions for homelessness, including use of hotels and housing on public land. Kaplan looks to continue to build and expand on actions to improve community health, protect and strengthen our Continued on Page 12
aires.” Nick Palmquest who is a teacher at MetWest, said the struggle to save the schools and the Port are connected. “We must stop the privatization of our Port, and we must stop the privatization of our schools,” he said. A group of teachers and others from Parker Elementary School, which is one of the schools scheduled to be closed in June, held a sick-out and joined the City Hall rally.
By Emil Guillermo
To watch the Olympics is a moral dilemma. If you’re an ethnic minority in America, it’s hard not to support the U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. The boycott is over China’s treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority. As many as 3 million have been placed in reeducation camps and then put into forced labor. If it sounds like a form of slavery, it is. And all because the Uyghurs are Muslims, and Muslims are feared in China as terrorists. Still, U.S. athletes are al-
Erin Jackson celebrates after winning the gold medal during the women’s 500m speed skating event on Feb. 13. She becomes
the first Black woman from any country to win a gold medal in a Winter Olympics individual sport. lowed to compete. And I feel it’s OK to watch these games, but only after first offering my own version of a gold medal to the Uyghurs for what they’ve been forced to endure. The lucky ones are those
who got away as part of the Uyghur diaspora, including more than 250,000 Uyghur Americans. They are always trying to contact family and loved ones still in the Xinjiang province in the northwest part of China.
Madame Secretary: Hon. Shirley N. Weber Reflects on Voting Rights, First Year in Office By Tanu Henry California Black Media
In December 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Shirley Weber California’s 31st Secretary of State (SOS), the state’s chief election official. The first African American to serve in the role — and the fifth Black person to become a constitutional officer in California — Weber took office on
Shirley N. Weber Jan. 29, 2021. Weber has been a central and Continued on Page 12
City Council Unanimously Asks Gov. Newsom and Legislature to Halt School Closures
School District Prepares to Close Schools and Programs in June By Ken Epstein
Reflecting growing consensus throughout the city, the Oakland City Council voted unanimously this week to call on the state of California to halt school closures, supporting the growing fight of Oakland communities, families and teachers to oppose the state-sponsored plan to close as many as half of Oakland’s schools in the next few years. “I am proud the City of Oakland has joined the thousands of students, families, educators, and city leaders in demand-
True Athletic Affirmative Action Equals Black History and Olympic Gold Opinion
Conversations with Rev. Dr. J.Alred Smith, Sr. at 90 He tells why he gave up a career dream to become a professional saxophonist to answer the call of the ministry. He credits his association with the late Rev. Dr. Hazaiah Williams and the Alamo Black Clergy for inspiring him Rev. Dr. J. Alfred to develop an orthopraxy on how to apSmith, Senior ply his theology to seek practical solutions that answer the questions of what Jesus says to those whose backs are against the wall. Since we struggled in the civil rights movement together for more than 50 years, he invited me to enroll in the Allen Temple Leadership Institute. He says, “We must go beyond the messages of the sweet bye and bye but also speak to a message for the “nasty now and now.” The series begins next week.
They never do, because China blocks calls to their relatives. It’s enough to lose one’s taste for the Olympics, but then, you’d miss the counter-balance, real examples of diversity and teamwork that show Americans working together toward a united common goal. That’s so rare to see anywhere in these divisive times. But it can happen. And when it happens in the Olympics it’s more than special. Erin Jackson’s Gold How else would I get to see the historic effort of Erin Jackson, the 29-year-old from ice-challenged Florida, who won the gold in the 500 meter women’s speed skate? Jackson’s remarkable victoContinued on Page 12
Greg Hodge
ing a reversal of the proposed school closures,” said Council President Pro Tem Sheng Thao in a statement. “In the richest state in the richest nation in human his-
tory there is absolutely no reason we should be closing down public schools serving Black and Brown communities,” the statement said. The resolution, which passed 8-0, was sponsored by Oakland’s “Squad” on the City Council — Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, Thao and Councilmember Carroll Fife. In a media release, Kaplan said, “This resolution calls upon Governor Newsom and the State Legislature to elimiContinued on Page 12
Oakland Superintendent Explains School Closure
By OUSD Supt. Kyla Johnson-Trammell
This has been a difficult week for many people across the District, especially at schools that are being impacted by planned consolidation. The Board of Education voted (recently) to close seven schools, merge two others, and eliminate grades 6-8 at two K-8 schools. This is set to happen in two phases. Phase 1 will be enacted for the 2022-23 school year and includes two school closures, merger of two co-located schools on their shared campus, and one truncated 6-8 grade program. The remaining closures will take place prior to the 202324 school year, after a year of planning. I know these changes for our school communities are chal-
Kyla Johnson-Trammell
lenging, painful, and emotional. I understand the opposition and the strong feelings resulting from this difficult decision. I also take my responsibilities as superintendent seriously, and I am committed to doing our absolute best for our students and families during these transitions — for both Continued on Page 12