OAACC to Receive National Honor Page 2
Shirley Chisholm First Black Woman to Run for President
DA to Reopen Investigation Into Oscar Grant Shooting
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LAHF Gets Resiliency Relief Fund Grant to Continue Helping Many in Need Page 14
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
postnewsgroup.com
57th Year, No. 16
Weekly Edition. Edition. Oct. 7-13, 2020
Oakland Voters Unhappy With the Way the City is Being Run By Post Staff
Richard Johnson
Law and Order Without Justice Opinion
By Richard Johnson, K-53293, 3.W.2. San Quentin, CA 94974
If law and order isn’t founded on the principles of Justice, its meaningless. There’s a lot of talk about law and order, but what does that actually mean to people who are suffering from not having justice. The law and order concept is especially difficult for those who endure laws that inflict racial hatred and subjugation, while being enforced in an orderly fashion. Building a better society based on the concept of law and order must coincide not only with the promise of justice but also with the applied practices of social justice. What is needed is law and order that unites a nation, not divides it . When talking about law and order we must include laws that are designed to strengthen society, at the same time empower the true essence and meaning of democratic rule for all. A nation built on lies and deception can’t stand because it will crumble under the weight of falsity and pretense. America, if it so chooses, can be the standard bearer for the entire world to model Continued on Page 10
By a margin of two-to-one, likely Oakland voters believe that Oakland is headed down the wrong track and they overwhelmingly disapprove of the job being done by the mayor and the city council. The Jobs and Housing Coalition (JHC), a non-profit group devoted to economic growth and increased opportunities in Oakland, conducted a poll Sept. 26-28. The poll revealed that 52% of the city’s likely voters are unhappy with the direction of the city. Dissatisfaction is strongest amongst minorities, with 60% of African Americans, 58% of Latinos, and 56% of Asian/ Pacific Islanders sharing this opinion. They are joined by 41% of white voters. These negative poll numbers are the latest in a downward
Barbara Parker
Rebecca Kaplan, Libby Schaaf, 50% disapproval substantial lead
trend. In 2016, only 23% of the city’s voters felt that the city was headed in the wrong direction. The number increased to 33% in 2017 and climbed to 36% in 2019, before increasing to 48% in February 2020 and reaching the current dissatisfaction rate of 52% last month. Fifty-two percent of voters also said their quality of life had deteriorated over the last few years. African Americans, women, homeowners
Carroll Fife, substantial lead
and longtime residents led the voter groups that said the quality of life has gotten worse in recent years. Fifty percent of voters disapprove of the job Mayor Libby Schaaf is doing. Fortyfour percent approve and 6% had no opinion. Of the 50% who disapprove, 28% strongly disapprove. Of the 44% who approve, only 12% strongly Continued on Page 10
Lyft Funds Campaign to Unseat Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan By Post Staff
Local labor and community leaders are denouncing ride-hailing corporation Lyft for funding a campaign to unseat Councilmember-at-Large Rebecca Kaplan, who has a strong record for backing tenants’ rights and affordable housing, including support for taxes on Lyft and Uber and other big companies. This week, Lyft contributed $100,000 to a local political action group, “Committee for an Affordable East Bay” supporting Kaplan’s opponent Derreck Johnson. Lyft’s donation at present accounts for 90% of the committee’s total funding. In a statement released by the company, Lyft said, “It is important to engage in the political system in order to bring
Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez
about real change and (Lyft) is not shy about advocating on the issues that are important for our drivers and riders. That’s why we’re supporting candidates like Derreck Johnson who are concerned about the economic recovery of our state as we emerge from this historic
crisis.” Lyft is one of the companies that will benefit if Prop. 22, which circumvents state law AB-5, is approved by voters next month. Passed last year, AB-5 extends employee status to gig workers. Speaking with other leaders at a press conference Monday morning criticizing Lyft for its attempts to buy the election, Kaplan accused the company of seeking to undermine democracy, harm workers, and undermine communities, while demanding sweetheart deals for themselves. Kaplan challenged Lyft to a public debate, “put their mouth where their money is.” She demanded the corporation tell the voters directly why they should not pay their Continued on Page 10
Eli Ferran
No Endorsement for Oakland City Attorney
The community committee to recommend electoral endorsements for City Attorney interviewed the candidates for that office. Based on our discussion, we asked civil rights attorney Walter Riley, a committee member, to write an explanation of our decision to recommend “No Endorsement.” We are unable to endorse a candidate for Oakland City Attorney. Eli Ferran , a candidate for city attorney, worked in the City Attorney office for more than a decade before he left this year and decided to run to replace Barbara Parker, who is seeking another term, as city attorney. Both candidates have impres-
sive endorsements. Neither has an impressive record to warrant such endorsement. Ferran’s campaign page takes aim at Parker’s stating: “The City Attorney’s Office must apply an equity lens in all of its work from legislative recommendations, policy, and enforcement in order to dismantle institutional racism embedded within the City of Oakland… The City Attorney’s Office can be a powerful tool against all forms of injustice by proactively upholding the law… I will investigate and prosecute those seeking to inflict harm on our communities: from employment and housing disContinued on Page 10
Gov. Newsom Appoints Brendalynn Goodall to CA Commission on Aging
Brendalynn Goodall, 69, of Oakland, has been appointed to the California Commission on Aging. Goodall was the Summer Jobs Program Coordinator in the Oakland Mayor’s Office from 2012 to 2014. She was Division Manager for Aging and Adult Services for the City of Oakland Department of Human Services from 2002 to 2011 and Senior Services Supervisor and Program Director for the City of Oakland Department of Aging, Health and Human Services from 1990 to 2002. She earned a Master of Social Work degree from San Francisco State University.
Brendalynn Goodall
This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Goodall is a Democrat.
Teachers and School District Dispute Union Rights Small Organizations Invited to By Ken Epstein
Members of the teachers’ union, Oakland Education Association (OEA), are reacting angrily to letters from the school district top attorney they believe are intensifying antagonisms between the district and the union and attempt to undermine OEA President Keith Brown. Three letters from OUSD General Counsel Josh Daniels to Brown, dated Sept. 9, 2020, formally complained about OEA’s actions during negotiations and threatened legal action. “OEA members view these letters as an intent to chill the collective bargaining rights of teachers, and they are written in micro-aggressive coded language against Keith (Brown),” said Brian Crowell, an OUSD special education teacher, member of the OEA Grievance Committee and chair of the union’s Crisis Action Committee (CAT). “We are 100% in support
Agreement. Daniels wrote in the letter that, “in the future, OEA would put the district in a situation where it may be forced to pursue legal remedies available to it.” The second letter accuses the OEA of Josh Daniels, OUSD Keith Brown, OEA sending out a commugeneral counsel. president. nication threatening administrators who of Mr. Brown as president of violate health and safety rules OEA,” he said. The district of the MOU that they “they bureaucracy is attempting to may lose their credentials and intimidate rather than negotiate be suspended from employin good faith with teachers and ment.” their leaders, he said. “OUSD expects that OEA The first letter responded will cease and desist from any to issues that came up as the similar threats in the future,” union and the district negoti- Daniels wrote. ated a Memorandum of UnderThe third letter accused the standing (MOU) that “formally OEA of distributing a flyer raise(d) a serious concern re- about professional developgarding certain activities that ment activities in the MOU arose during negotiations,” that is “inaccurate and false alleging that “it appears that and must be corrected immediOEA advised, directed and en- ately,” Daniels wrote. couraged its members to vioThe “crisis in OUSD is the late the Collective Bargaining structural lack of checks and
balances in the district,” said Crowell. “It is difficult for legitimate complaints to rise to the level of the elected school board. Instead, they are sidetracked to labor relations and never see the light of day.” A former member of the Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education, Daniels’ tenure was marked by contentious relations with school unions, disputes over employee free speech and racially discriminatory treatment of Black classified and certificated staff. An open letter to “stakeholders of OUSD” was sent to the public school community recently by Mansour IdDeen, president of the Berkeley NAACP, which said that “Our experience with Mr. Daniels as a board member in Berkeley was quite hostile to people of African American descent,” including “a massive attack on classified Black Staff at BUSD” and a “direct attack on teachers’ collective bargaining rights.”
Apply for Funds for Homeless By Uche J. Uwahemu
Alameda County Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) announces the availability of funding under the Homeless Provider Incubator Fund (HPIF) for small organizations serving or wanting to serve unsheltered people in Alameda County. Application due date is Nov. 6, 2020, 5:00 p.m. Total funding in the amount of up to $800,000 is available to support awarded proposals over a contract period of 12 to 24 months. The Bidder Information Session will be on Oct. 13, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. on Zoom. Follow this link for the meeting (passcode: 009305) or iPhone one-tap: US: +16699 009128,,84236705717#,,,,,,0 #,,009305# Purpose: The intent of the Home-
less Provider Incubator Fund is to support and encourage the growth of small, nontraditional organizations that are, or would like to begin, providing shelter, outreach, or other direct services to unsheltered people. Funds are available to support a wide range of services and interventions for unsheltered homeless residents. Potential services include (but are not limited to): · Winter/Cold Weather Shelter · Warming/Drop-In Center · Safe Parking · Showers/Bathrooms · Tiny Homes · Outreach and Engagement Activities · HIV/AIDS services Funds may not be used for food or feeding programs. All funded activities must be legal in the jurisdiction(s) in which they will be conducted. Click Continued on Page 10