Oakland Post, week of October 26 - November 1, 2022

D.A. Candidate Outlines Plan for Implementing California’s 2020 Racial Justice Act

New Food Hub Coming to Arroyo Viejo Recreation Center

On Thursday last week, business leaders and city, county and state representa tives gathered to celebrate the more than $1.7 million invest ment into an inter-agency food hub at Arroyo Viejo Recreation Center. Among those present were Oakland City Council member Loren Taylor, State Senator Nancy Skinner, Alam eda County supervisors Dave Brown and Nate Miley; Hilary

Bass of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department, Carolyn Johnson of the Black Cultural Zone Development, and Chef La Harrison of Jusla Eats.

Although the project is still in the early development stage, local food entrepreneurs and caterers are already eager for the opportunity to cook and provide food for their commu nity through the planned com mercial kitchen. In an area with

high rates of poverty and food insecurity, this new food distri bution and recovery center will create jobs, support local small business development, in crease access to healthy food, and help counter the genera tional health disparities in the surrounding community.

--- By Kiana Gums, commu nications director for Oakland City Council District 6.

Sheng Thao: The Leader Oakland Needs as its Next Mayor

By State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Alameda County Assessor Phong La, and Alameda County Auditor-Controller/ClerkRecorder Melissa Wilk

We are financial profession als and elected officials who serve Alameda County and the State of California. It is our sworn duty to serve and protect the interests of taxpayers.

We are also proud support ers of Oakland’s District 4 City Councilmember and President Pro Tem Sheng Thao for mayor of Oakland because we believe she is the leader Oakland needs at this critical time. She is the most qualified and effective candidate running.

We are responding to the

Sheng Thao. Twitter photo.

false attack that Thao is some how unqualified to serve as mayor, an age-old tactic used against women candidates. Other candidates and their sup porters are perpetuating this false narrative and we want to set the record straight.

We know from working with Thao that her knowledge and experience will allow her to meet the critical needs of Oakland and get the City back on the right track. Thao’s un derstanding of property taxa tion, finance and budgets is above and beyond most elect ed officials. We’ve worked with Sheng on essential public policy matters and funding re lated to public services includ ing public safety, housing, and street and park maintenance. Thao is well-prepared to ad dress the challenges we face. Her collaboration with county and state leaders has secured millions of dollars in

Continued on Page 14

California State Assembly member Ash Kalra (D-San Jose), author and prime leg islator for the California Racial Justice Act. Photo by Davis Vanguard.

Opinion

By Pamela Price Candidate for Alameda County District Attorney

In 2020, Califor nia took a huge step forward to reform our criminal justice system when the Legis lature passed the Racial Justice Act (RJA).

The RJA was passed based on the undeniable racial dis parities that are pervasive and pronounced in the criminal justice system.

It was a good start, but there needs to be a strong follow-up to be truly effective. Below, I describe the intended impact of the Act followed by my rec ommendations for the present and future.

First Step - 2020

The RJA works to eliminate:

• Intentional bias directed at the defendant by an attorney, judge, juror, law enforcement officer or expert witness.

• Racially coded language in court.

• Racial disparities in charg es.

• Racial disparities in con victions.

• Racial disparities in sen tences.

The RJA makes it illegal for a prosecutor to pursue a crimi nal conviction or a sentence

Schaff Administration Proposes Rezoning Mills College Campus to Allow for Condos and Retail Development

By Ken Epstein

Buried in a draft plan for future housing in Oakland, submitted to City Council by Mayor Libby Schaaf’s Admin istration, is a map of zoning changes that would rezone the beautiful park-like 135-acre campus at what is now known as Mills College at Northeast ern University to allow for pri vate real estate development, including condominiums and retail, the Oakland Post has learned.

(Mills College officially merged with Northeastern University on June 30, 2022.)

The map is part of a presen tation supplementing a 54-page draft Housing Element that was submitted for discussion

Matters is

to the City Council last week. The draft will be discussed and modified and scheduled for a vote in January. The City is re quired by the state to update its

Housing Element every eight years as part of the City’s Gen eral Plan.

The map shows the entire Mills campus in East Oakland

as changed from zoning desig nation “RM-4 Mixed Housing Type Residential – 4 Zone.”

According to the City’s defi nition, “The intent of the RM-4 Zone is to create, maintain, and enhance residential areas typically located on or near the City’s major arterials and char acterized by a mix of singlefamily homes, townhouses, small multi-unit buildings at somewhat higher densities than RM-3, and neighborhood businesses where appropri ate.”

City Council staff indicate that the RM-4 Zone would permit the development of the entire site with condominiums, townhouses and retail busi

Stanley “Mistah Fab” Cox and Richard Johnson at Dezi’s on Broadway where the Soulbeat TV network sponsored the larg est Oakland election TownHall gathering of the year. Mr. FAB, Soulbeat TV and the Formerly Incarcerated Giving Back org. are mutually uniting their efforts to increase voter awareness and participation.Jonathan”Fitness”Jones

Elections Are Not Popularity Contests: I Stand 2 Vote for the Best Candidate Commentary

By Richard Johnson

In choosing the right person to represent an official posi tion, you must be mindful that your choice truly mirrors your concerns, values and, of course, your wishes for the community. Way too often we select and vote for reasons other than what is truly needed for that office. Be it palm-greasing, backdoor promises, or solely for ethnicity, we cannot afford to squander our votes. The choice should always be based on the best-qualified

person to handle that position, whoever they may be. Sure, fa vors are expected in a lot of in stances, for this is certainly the nature of politics.

However, no one should ever allow their selection to be moti vated by emotions over capabili ties. In your choice, it should be a prerequisite that candidates are able to deal with the job descrip tion over who they know and/or how much money they can raise. Voting is not a popularity con test.

Choices have to be about the candidate having the correct skill

Rebecca Kaplan Welcomed By Bay Cities Baptist Ministers Union

Rev. Jeremiah Captain and Rev. Joe Smith of the Bay Cities Baptist Ministers Union (BCBMU)welcomed Oakland Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan who is also a candidate for the Alam eda County Board of Supervisors to discuss how the city of Oakland and Alameda County could become partners to make sure Oakland gets fair share of resources for the support of the more than 300 unhoused encampments throughout the city. They agreed that all of Oakland’s souls should journey to the polls to cast their votes in the upcoming November 8 elec tion. Even though the BCBMU does not endorse candidates in keeping with IRS regulations, nearly all of the ministers indi vidually embrace her and endorsed her as individuals. Photo by Jonathan”Fitness”Jones.

Velma Lee Turns 95!

Velma Lee (a.k.a. Auntie, Nana, Mama Lee, Sister Lee) was born in Farmhaven, Miss., on Nov. 27, 1927.

Velma married Wilfred Lee, a World War II veteran in New Orleans, LA, and remained married 65 years until his death in 2017 at age 93.

Velma has been a resident of Oakland for over 60 years and a member of Cornerstone M.B.C. in East Oakland since 1969. She and her late hus band Wilfred worked with the Alameda County Food Bank for 25years.

Her favorite pastime was fishing on the Delta and visit ing Cache Creek Casino. She enjoys eating chicken wings

Velma Lee and fried catfish. Velma attri butes her longevity to a life of hard work, prayer and her un wavering Faith in GOD! Velma Lee, we salute you -- a true pio neer!

Mills College in East Oakland at 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Photo courtesy of Forbes.

Supervisor Nate Miley, Councilmember Loren Taylor, Supervisor Dave Brown, and Hilary Bass at press conference announcing new inter-agency food hub in East Oakland.

California Nov Ballot ‘22: Prop 1 Aims to Amend State Constitution to Protect Abortion Rights

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

California voters are being asked to decide on whether or not language in the Cali fornia Constitution should be changed to explicitly ensure the right to reproductive health.

Proposition 1, proposed by Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), amends the California Consti tution to prohibit the state from interfering with one’s right to choose to have an abortion or refuse contraceptives.

The Reproductive Privacy

Act passed in 2002 guaran tees these protections, how ever Prop 1 supporters are concerned that the act could be interpreted in a way that would put them at risk of misinter pretation and new limitations

could be placed on reproduc tive freedom.

If Prop 1 fails to pass, the Constitution won’t change and the Reproductive Privacy Act would continue to guarantee one’s right to an abortion up to the point of viability.

According to Akins, “[Prop osition 1] would make it unde niably clear that in California, abortion and contraception are health care and are a private matter between a patient and their medical provider.

Before the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on June 22, Akins said: “We are on the precipice of a U.S. Supreme Court de cision that could topple Roe v. Wade and erode the right to abortion that was secured nearly 50 years ago — altering reproductive freedom in Amer ica as we know it.

“I have seen what is at stake when people don’t have access

Continued on page 10

Reginald F. Lewis: A Wall Street Titan

By Tamara Shiloh

In 1965, a se lect group of Black students participated in a summer school program funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and held at Harvard Law School. Each student lobbied for accep tance in the program, which in troduced them to legal studies. One student’s confidence and leadership skills made him stand out: Reginald F. Lewis (1942–1993).

Lewis made such an impres sion that Harvard Law wel comed him as a student that fall. This acceptance made him the only person in the law school’s 148-year history to be admitted before applying.

In 1968, Lewis began his ca reer with the New York City firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where he prac ticed corporate law. He served as counsel to the New York–based Commission for Racial Justice and represented The Wilming ton 10, a group of civil rights activists who had been unjustly convicted of an arson fire in 1971. He successfully forced North Carolina to pay interest on the Wilmington 10 bond. In 1970, after networking with col leagues, he opened Wall Street’s first African American law firm.

By 1983, Lewis’ dream was to “do the deals himself,” thereby

establishing the venture capital firm TLC Group, LP. The firm purchased the failing McCall Pattern Company for a reported $22.5 million. After successfully reviving McCall, Lewis sold it for $90 million. He later outbid Citicorp and purchased TLC Be atrice International for $985 mil lion. It was the largest offshore buyout in American history at the time.

Looking back, in 1960, Lewis told a friend, “I know that what I’d like is to be the richest Black man in America.” He was on his way. TLC became the first Black-owned company to pass the billion-dollar mark with its annual sales of $1.8 billion.

Lewis had strong influences in his life from childhood. Grow ing up in East Baltimore, his par ents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts always encouraged him to “be the best that you can be.”

Young Reginald’s grand mother instilled in him the im portance of saving, “even cut ting and peeling strips from the bottom of a tin can and nailing it to the floor of a closet to protect

his savings,” according to his website.

He set up a delivery route at age 10, selling the Afro Ameri can newspaper. What began with 10 customers grew to more than 100 over two years. Even then young Reginald had the business savvy to sell his route at a profit.

About Lewis, former-presi dent Barack Obama comment ed: “[He] had the work ethic, the skills, and the know-how. Beyond that, he had the temper ament, the self-assurance, and the confidence that he belonged there. Being the first of anything requires a certain mindset. Regi nald Lewis had it.”

Lewis’ life was cut short by his untimely death after a short illness in January 1993. He was 50 years old.

Learn more about young Reg inald Lewis and the challenges he overcame as he transformed himself from ordinary to ex traordinary in Lin Hart’s “Regi nald F. Lewis Before TLC Bea trice: The Young Man Before the Billion-Dollar Empire.”

Paid for by Alfred Twu for AC Transit Board 2022, FPPC 1443548

Endorsed by the Democratic Party

Reginald F. Lewis. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository.

PAID POLITICAL

Bay Area Native Tied to Serial Killings in Stockton, Oakland

By Manny Otiko, California Black Media

Wesley Brownlee, a Bay Area native, is being held on murder charges by Stockton police. He is a suspect in a string of murders in Stockton and Oakland.

According to news reports, local police have long suspect ed a serial killer was operating in the area. The serial killer is suspected of being responsible for at least six murders. One of the victims was shot but sur vived.

Brownlee, who lives in Stockton, has a history of drug arrests. According to juvenile court records, Brownlee lost a brother to gun violence. After this incident, he showed signs of mental and emotional dis tress.

Acting on a tip, local police and other law enforcement agencies began surveilling Brownlee.

He was arrested while scout ing for new victims. When he was taken into custody, Brown lee was dressed in black cloth ing and was carrying a pistol and a mask.

“Our surveillance team fol lowed this person while he was driving. We watched his pat terns and determined early this morning he was on a mission to kill,” said Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden dur ing a press conference. “He was out hunting.”

California State Attorney General Rob Bonta praised the Stockton Police Department and other law officers for re moving a dangerous criminal from the streets.

“I am grateful for the work of the Stockton Police Depart ment and law enforcement agencies who lent their support

This booking photo provided by the Stockton Police Depart ment shows Wesley Brownlee, from Stockton, Calif., who was arrested Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, in connection to a series of shootings.

to this investigation, including the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Firearms and Bureau of Forensic Ser vices,” Bonta said in a press release.

However, there seems to be no pattern to the murders. Four of the victims were Latino, and one was a white male. The lone survivor was a Black woman. Several victims were home less.

According to FBI profilers, most serial killers are white males. But a few of them have been African American and people of color.

For example, Los Angelesbased serial killer Richard

Ramirez, active from 198485 and known as the “Night Stalker,” was Hispanic. He was sentenced to death in 1989 and died in prison in 2013.

Lonnie David Franklin Jr., dubbed “the Grim Sleeper,” was African American. Frank lin was responsible for at least 10 murders from 1984-2007. He was called the Grim Sleep er because he appeared to go dormant and then become ac tive again at intervals during his killing spree, which lasted three decades.

Franklin mainly targeted women in the South-Central area of Los Angeles. Most of his victims were sex workers. Several local residents com plained that police didn’t take the killing seriously. After be ing convicted and then sen tenced to death in 2016, Frank lin died in custody in 2020.

According to FBI records, Samuel Little, an African American, is considered the most prolific serial killer. He claimed responsibility for 93 murders, 50 confirmed by the FBI.

According to police records, Little operated in Los Ange les and parts of Los Angeles County at one point. But before dying in prison in 2020 at the age of 80, prosecutors planned to tie him to murders in at least 14 states. He was serving a life sentence.

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NAACP Convention in L.A. Addresses Racial Scandal Consuming Host City

By Maxim Elramsisy California Black Media

The California Hawaii Con ference of the National Asso ciation for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) hosted elected officials, activ ists, organizers, faith leaders, and entertainers at its 35th An nual State Convention held in Los Angeles from Oct. 21-23, 2022.

Workshops and discussions were held that covered press ing issues confronting African American and other communi ties of color in California and Hawaii.

Activities included “Stop the Hate” and discrimination training, a health forum, a rep arations town hall, an econom ic development panel discus sion, workshops for youth and college-aged members, an en vironmental justice workshop and the Annual Gwen Moore Utilities Workshop.

The convention highlight

was a fireside chat featuring Los Angeles City Council member Mike Bonin, NAACP California Hawaii President Rick Callender Esq., and the dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at California State Uni versity Los Angeles, Dr. Juli anne Malveaux, on Saturday night.

For the last two weeks, the Los Angeles City Council has been embroiled in a scandal centered around the release of a recorded conversation in volving former City Council President Nury Martinez, City Councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo and for mer L.A. County Federation of Labor President Ron Her rera in which disparaging com ments were made about several groups including Blacks, Mex icans, LGBTQIA+, as well as several individuals, includ ing Bonin, who is white, and his adopted son Jacob, who is Black.

“The attitude that they had

of contempt and racism did not surprise me,” Bonin said.

“This was about the three of them holding power … they said, because I voted with Mar queece [Harris-Dawson], Cur ren [Price Jr.] and my other col leagues, I was the fourth Black member …

“They went after the organi zation that Karen Bass found ed, The Community Coalition, which is based on a BlackBrown coalition. They went after KIWA, the Korean Im migrant Worker Association, which is based on multiracial collaboration.

“They were against the idea of people working together, their whole thing was about di vision. Their whole thing was for them to win. Somebody else had to lose.”

Martinez and Herrera re signed within days after the meeting tape was leaked, but despite public outrage and

on page 10

California Hawaii NAACP President Rick Callender Esq. (left), California State University Los Angeles Dean of College of Ethnic Studies Dr. Julianne Malveaux, and Los Angeles City Coun cilmember Mike Bonin at a fireside chat event at the California Hawaii NAACP State Conference Convention on Oct. 22, 2022. Photo by Maxim Elramsisy.

Bivalent COVID Booster Eligibility Extended to Children Ages 5 and Older

By Aldon Thomas Stiles, California Black Media

State officials have an nounced eligibility for the updated Moderna COVID-19 booster and the Pfizer-BioN Tech booster has been expand ed.

Now children ages 6 and older who have received their initial series of vaccinations can receive the updated Mod erna bivalent booster. Children ages 5 and older are approved to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent booster two months after their most recent injec tion.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preven tion (CDC), these reformu lated, single dose boosters are referred to as “bivalent” be cause they are meant to defend against both the original virus that caused COVID-19 and the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub variants which currently make up about 80% of the cases in the United States.

California Health and Hu man Services Agency Sec retary Dr. Mark Ghaly, and

Director of the California De partment of Public Health and State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás J. Aragón made this an nouncement on Thursday Oct.

13 as experts are predicting that there will be an uptick in COVID-19 cases during the upcoming holiday season.

The decision to approve the use of bivalent boosters is in line with recommendations the CDC has made to the public and it is supported by the West ern States Scientific Safety Re view Workgroup.

“Given the anticipated bur den of COVID-19 infections and related illnesses this fall/ winter season, the Workgroup believes that the benefits of bi valent booster doses that more closely match currently circu lating SARS-CoV-2 variants will sustain protection against COVID-19-related hospital izations and deaths in young children and substantially out weigh any potential risks,” Western States Scientific Safe ty Review Workgroup Chair Arthur Reingold, MD, said in a statement addressed to the gov ernors of California, Nevada,

Oregon and Washington.

Medical experts warn that cooler weather will bring a surge of COVID-19 cases while cases of the flu could make a return this fall and winter. Doc tors are promoting flu shots to keep hospital admissions down as health systems grapple with surging COVID cases.

According to the CDC and official California state es timates, the national 14-day average for COVID-19 hospi talizations is currently 6,496 while the state average is about 1,818.

According to the state, the number of COVID-19 deaths averaged about 19 per day.

About 72.3% of Califor nians have received the prima ry series of vaccinations. And 58.6% of the state’s population has received the primary series and the booster. Only 37.5% of children 5-11 have received the primary series of vaccinations.

Eligible Californians can speak with their doctor, visit MyTurn.ca.gov or call 833422-4255 for more information to make a vaccine or booster appointment.

Stop Hate. Spread Love: California Black Media Campaign Unveiled at L.A.’s Taste of Soul Fest

By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

The “Stop the Hate. Spread the Love,” initiative spear headed by California Black Media (CBM) and others, was introduced to the Los Angeles community at the 17th annual Taste of Soul Family Festival on Oct. 15.

Representatives of the cam paign maintained a booth at the daylong, multicultural event that drew over 300,000 people to a two-mile stretch of Cren shaw Boulevard in South Los Angeles to celebrate the Black cultural experience — as well as the traditions of other ethnic groups — through food, music, and art.

Brandon Brooks, CBM’s campaign project manager, said attending the festival was a good way to familiarize people with Stop the Hate and organizations that are geared toward combatting hate inci dents and hate crimes in the Golden State.

“We brought together a lot of partners to give information on how to combat and address hate — outside of law enforce ment,” Brooks said.

Representatives from local and state government depart ments including the City of Los Angeles’ Civil + Human Rela tions & Equity Department, the California Secretary of State, the California Department of Social Services, and the Cali fornia Civil Rights Department were at the three-table booth with Brooks and CBM Execu tive Director Regina Wilson.

“Having those representa tives on hand was a must,” Brooks said. “If you or I ex perience hate we might not be comfortable with calling the LAPD or sheriff’s depart ment, so who can we actually really call,” Brooks asked rhe torically, speaking to this CBM reporter. “You can actually call the civil rights department; you can call social services. A lot of people don’t know that. These organizations are there to be a resource or an olive branch to

start that dialogue. You may need some help. That’s these organizations’ job.”

A report released by Cali fornia Attorney General Rob Bonta in June revealed hate crimes inspired by racism and homophobia showed a 33% uptick in reported incidents in the state in 2021. Hate crimes against Blacks were the most prevalent, according to the re port. There were 513 crimes committed against Blacks in 2021, 13% more than the 456 in 2020.

Becky L. Monroe, the Cali fornia Civil Rights Depart ment’s deputy director for strategic initiative and external affairs, said working to elimi nate hate crimes and the atti tudes and circumstances that contribute to them is about sav ing lives.

“It is critical that people know what their options are if they are targeted for hate and know that we can take action and that we can stop hate and spread love,” Monroe said.

CBM is in the early stages of its Stop the Hate public infor mation campaign. The media and advocacy organization’s goal is to publish a series of stories that educate Black Cali fornians and state residents from other backgrounds about each other’s lives, cultures and traditions as it promotes an appreciation for diversity and fosters deeper inter-ethnic un derstanding.

CBM has four events or fes tivals planned within the next year that promote the message

of the Stop the Hate campaign.

“Regina’s goal is to really break bread and bring people together,” said Brooks, refer ring to CBM’s executive edi tor.

The initiative is funded by a joint venture of the California State Library and the Califor nia Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Af fairs. The Ethnic Media Grant Project has awarded nearly $6 million in grants to 50 ethnic media outlets and organiza tions serving communities that are historically vulnerable to hate crimes and hate incidents.

The program’s aim is to en hance public awareness of the Stop the Hate Program being run by the state’s social servic es department.

Festival attendees who vis ited the Stop the Hate booth were able to meet representa tives from media publications Al Enteshar, Carib Press, Eth nic Media Services, Impulso News, and Indian Voices.

The booth was sponsored by CBM, Ethnic Media Services, the Civil + Human Relations & Equity, the NAACP, and the California Civil Rights Depart ment.

Brooks said CBM’s Taste of Soul booth was successful because it introduced people to the Stop the Hate initiative and individuals gained more information about fighting hate crimes and reporting hate inci dents.

“When you say hate crimes

Angie Gant Dialysis Patient Orange County

-Rick L Callender, ESQ.

NAACP

Black Republicans Running for Congress Hope Campaigns Lead to More Black Votes for GOP

By Solomon O. Smith, California Black Media

The Republican Party has found it hard to convince Black Californians to join them. But for Black Repub lican candidates running for Congress in California, it’s about running successful cam paigns, which means getting voters to accept the Republi can Party platform.

What that platform is, how ever, depends on which Re publican you ask.

Republican Joe Collins III is hoping that the second time is a charm. A 13-year Navy veteran, who spent his early years in South Central L.A., Collins ran against Maxine Waters for her Congressio nal seat in 2020. Now he is running against Ted Lui to represent California’s 36th Congressional district after making it onto the November 8 ballot with 14% of the vote — well behind Lui’s 66%.

Collins sees the race as a referendum on both parties. He asserts that the Democratic Party, which has controlled much of California for the last few decades, has failed Black constituents. He believes the ideologies of the Republican Party are more in line with traditional African American values, but the party needs to reach out.

“We don’t have a lot of peo ple that are Black that are in the Republican Party speaking to the everyday stuff of Black America. It just doesn’t hap pen,” says Collins.

Craig De Luz, a longtime Republican advisor in Cali fornia, explains that more is needed than just trying to get African Americans to register as Republicans. It is about get ting them to see the Republi can platform as aligned with their own values. De Luz, and other Black Republicans

are trying to reframe their po litical positions to correspond with those values.

For De Luz and Collins how a person votes at the end of the day is what’s important.

The idea that neither party has performed well for its members is a distinct part of the pitch that Black Republi cans are trying to make. Pastor Brian Hawkins’ website ex press his views upfront in the motto, “We the People vs. the Establishment.”

Hawkins is the Republican on the November ballot in the race to represent California’s 25th Congressional district. He advanced through his pri maries with 16.4% of the vote and will face Democrat Raul Ruiz who received 56.4%, ac cording to Ballotpedia.

Hawkins served on the Ja cinto City Council. He also served time in prison dur ing his youth. According to Hawkins, he chose to turn his 10 years in prison into an op portunity to change his life. He created mentorship programs to help other inmates. His unique background echoes many of the issues facing some Black Americans. A life long Republican, he joined the party based on the positions it held during the mid-1980’s, “not so much where the party is right now.”

The current Republican party is difficult for Hawkins to explain. He admits that he has occasionally supported Democrats because he votes with the platform and not nec essarily the party. In 2016, he voted for Hilary Clinton.

“Even as a pastor, when we did precincts at our church, I never encouraged anyone to vote any particular party. I encourage people to vote with what speaks to their is sues,” says Hawkins. “And, you know, both parties can be off from issues that are con cerning the everyday person. I voted for Democrats in the last election, and I have never just said, ‘Hey, I’m going red all the way down my ticket.’”

Hawkins admits that there are some in the Republican Party that adhere to what he describes as “anger and rac ism.” He has even encountered voters who were concerned that his long beard would make him look “too Muslim.”

Hawkins thinks this is holding his party back and that those who pretend not to see it are “just fooling themselves.”

Hawkins describes discuss ing Trump as sad because it makes the party about one per son. He thinks Trump should not run in 2024 and that there should be more space made for new leadership with differ

ent perspectives like himself. He wants to look beyond this to what he thinks the party can be.

“I really kind of have a hard time getting behind him [Trump] because I really want

to see this country move for ward. We want to see people get uplifted and get access to equal opportunities,” said Hawkins.

Tamika Hamilton is a moth er and wife to Ray Hamilton, a police officer. She did 14 years active service in the U.S. Air Force and is currently an Air Force reservist. She is running as a Republican against Ami Bera to represent California’s 6th Congressional District.

Hamilton says her candi dacy is more about policy than party. If she is elected, it’s pos sible she would be the only Republican Black woman in Congress, and the second in history after Mia Love, who served Utah’s 4th district from 2015 to 2019.

Like Hawkins and Collins,

Hamilton is trying to defeat an incumbent Democrat in what is considered to be a safe Demo cratic district.

Her strong Christian values are imbedded in her platform and in a 2020 Good Morning America profile she talked about what being a Republican means to her.

“Republicans offer a space for you to uphold the values that this country was founded upon,” said Hamilton.

Hamilton, Hawkins and Collins all describe themselves as favoring platform over par ty, but they are devoted Repub licans. They all see personal connection as a way to bridge the gap between the Black community and the Republi can party.

Nov. 8 is Election Day.

As Oakland Rent Strike Continues, Management Hires Armed Guards

By Zack Haber

Since tenants living in the ReNew on Merritt building on 1130 3rd Ave. in Oakland started collectively withhold ing rent, management has hired armed guards. Rent striking tenants say they are facing “ha rassment,” while management has said they hired the armed guards due to “threats” from tenants.

Alexandra ‘Ali’ Uro-May and Cassandra Chavez, who both live in the 18 floor com plex, see management’s deci sion to hire armed guards as unnecessary retaliation.

“They’ve started treating us like we’re criminals,” said Uro-May.

“They are trying to use an intimidation tactic,” said Chavez. “All they want is rent and they aren’t worried about the problems here.”

Uro-May and Chavez are part of the ReNew on Merritt Tenant Council, a group of ten ants living in over 40 of the buildings’ 178 apartments who started a rent strike on Sept. 1.

They’re seeking to collectively pressure FPA Multifamily, the

building’s owner, and Trin ity Property Consultants, the building’s property manage ment company, to resolve hab itability and safety issues at the site. The issues, which are doc

Democrat

Oakland Mayor

From left to right: Tamika Hamilton, an Air Force veteran, is running for the U.S. House California District 6 seat, Pastor Brian E. Hawkins, a contender for the U.S. House California District 25.Joe Collins III, who is running for California Congressional seat 36.

A sign hangs from the ReNew on Merritt building on August 31.

Photo by Zack Haber.

Terrence Riley Named New Executive Director for Hack the Hood

By Y’Anad Burrell

On Oct. 10, 2022, Hack the Hood’s Board of Directors named Terrence Riley as the new executive director. The organization’s mission is to provide youth and communi ties of color with tech skillbuilding programs and career navigation that are grounded in justice and support economic mobility.

Riley joins Hack the Hood from Aim High, the largest tuition-free academic enrich ment summer program in Northern California, where he served as the vice president of programs.

When he was a middle school student, Riley partici pated in an Aim High program, and the organization will al ways hold a special place in his heart. He would go on to receive his bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Southern California, and his master’s degree in Educational Administration and Leadership from the University of the Pa cific.

“The Board of Directors is thrilled about Riley leading the next phase of Hack the Hood’s growth and expansion to bet ter serve our stakeholders! We are especially impressed by Riley’s deep commitment to tech justice, his professional experience in the space, and his unique ability to relate to and connect with the commu nity we are serving!” said Jing Zhang, Hack the Hood’s Board chairman.

An avid and lifelong learner, Riley participated in the sixth cohort of the Allstate Founda tion’s Non-Profit Executive

Leadership Program at Kellogg School of Management and re ceived a DEI certificate from the University of South Florida.

Riley was also a member of the inaugural cohort of Bridg ing the Bay, a cohort-based ex ecutive leadership fellowship for C-level nonprofit leaders in the Bay Area sponsored by the Warriors Community Founda tion, Generation Thrive, and Coro Northern California.

Riley brings extensive expe rience in providing thoughtful and inclusive leadership, bud geting, strategic planning, and programming for youth in the academic space.

“Terrence Riley has demon strated his deep commitment to youth development and educa tion through his 13+ year ten ure at Aim High. He will un doubtedly bring leadership and stability to our organization and lead us in the next steps of our vision,” said Samia Zuber, deputy director of Programs & Programs, Hack the Hood.

For more information about Hack the Hood visit www. hackthehood.org

Student Loan Forgiveness Denial Another Reason to Cast a Vote

By Emil Guillermo

Of all the eli gible voters in our country, just 10% actually do, according to a recent Unite America Institute study.

Don’t you want to be in that minority?

You have to register first.

And if you think you’ve missed the deadline, no you haven’t.

You can still call up the Sec retary of State’s office and reg ister for a provisional ballot.

You will count in California.

Don’t miss the boat. You’ve got to vote, especially in this political age of denial. From election denial to DACA de nial to now student loan for giveness denial, there’s a lot of denial being thrust upon us.

It makes the upcoming midterm elections more con sequential that even the last presidential election -- the one that some Republicans insist was stolen but wasn’t.

If the election deniers ride the Big Lie to victory, as hard as these last two years have been, expect things to get even harder and nastier with the de niers possibly in the majority in both chambers of Congress.

Democracy will feel worse than ever because it will be

As Oakland Rent Strike Continues, Management Hires Armed Guards

Continued from page 11 umented in over a dozen com plaints to the city of Oakland since May 31, include black mold, backed up sewage, bro ken down elevators, and elec trical problems. Tenants also complain of fire alarms going off erratically, problems with mail including stolen pack ages, and widespread rat and mouse infestation. In June, Al ameda County Vector Control released a report confirming “evidence of rodent activity” at the building.

No one from FPA Multifam ily or Trinity Property Consul tants has responded to multiple calls and emails requesting comments for this article. But the site’s management, who works for Trinity Property Consultants, wrote emails to the buildings’ residents in late September saying that they intended to address some of the buildings’ issues, that they had faced “threats to our team members’ safety,” and that they had “hired an armed ser vice” to “protect our staff.” The email also stated a resident had been arrested on Sept. 21 in the building.

According to OPD Public Information Officer Candace Keas, “an individual was de

tained” on Sept. 21 at 1130 3rd Ave after a manager called the police on a resident, but re cords “do not note…what the individual was arrested for.”

Chavez said her partner did not want to comment for this article. According to Chavez, a manager accused her partner of making threats during an ar gument between him and staff members about an incident where Chavez says a manager was bothering her about un paid rent in the entryway of the building and in front of her children, which left her feel ing “embarrassed, shocked and disrespected.”

“[My partner] was very up set,” said Chavez. “So he went to have a conversation to say please don’t harass.”

Chavez denies that her part ner was making threats and said he was arrested hours after the argument had ended. Short ly after the argument, armed guards showed up in the build ing. Then the next day, Chavez and her partner were served with a three day eviction notice which accused them of violat ing their lease due to the alter cation and arrest.

“Our hearts just dropped,” Chavez said about receiving the notice. “We have kids and

we didn’t have anywhere to go.”

Chavez and her family have been challenging the eviction, and at this point, they are still living in their apartment.

On Sept. 23, the Renew on Merritt Tenant Council sent a cease and desist letter to FPA Multifamily and Trinity Prop erty Consultants “to demand an immediate end to retaliatory harassment of tenants and the retraction of the notice of evic tion” for Chavez and her fam ily’s apartment. The council criticized the companies for “silence” and “denial” about tenant requests for them to resolve “ongoing safety and maintenance issues” and hir ing “armed guards in tactical gear” who they accused of “ag gressively” knocking on ten ants’ doors “demanding entry to their units.”

A video Uro-May sent this reporter showed a security guard onsite identifying him self as working for Off-Duty Officers inc. The company’s Director of Operations and Marketing Manager did not respond to calls and emails requesting comments for this article.

Opinion Stop Hate. Spread Love:

barely a democracy.

How does democracy denial sound?

People of color surely don’t need more motivation to vote.

It’s already gotten personal.

Are you a Dreamer? A De ferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient?

Do you know someone who is?

A few weeks ago, the Fifth Circuit appeals court declared DACA illegal. Ultimately, the decision to save DACA, or to establish a pathway to citizen ship, relies on Congress.

You can decide who goes to Congress before they decide who to deport.

Are you another kind of dreamer, the kind looking at a college degree as your ticket to opportunity? Remember, you stretched, got into a pric ier school, and got that student loan.

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, acting on an appeal from six Republican attorneys general from Southern states, blocked President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program.

That’s where up to $20,000 in debt relief could come to student loan borrowers if they make under $125,000 a year.

And we’re not just talking students. Some parents went into debt for their kids. Ex cusing $20,000 in debt is like evaporating two or three credit card payments. A relief plan would have made a difference–until Republicans put a stop to it.

You can still apply. But now the courts have made it a new political football.

And it came on a day when Biden was at Delaware State University, an HBCU, describ ing the virtues of the relief plan, how easy it was to sign up, and how nearly 10 million, mostly middle-class Americans, al ready had signed up.

The Republicans must not want their votes.

They do want both the cor porate, high-income voters. And those in the extreme lower end. The ultra-rich and ultrapoor.

The GOP argument is that middle class relief is unfair be cause it helps only the middle class and not lower income folks who normally don’t go to college, and also vote Repub lican. Think of the folks de scribed in the polls as non-col lege educated, mostly whites. The Trump base.

Slashing the student loan

To read the full story, go to postnewsgroup.com

Federal Court Halts Biden’s Student Loan Debt Forgiveness For Now

By Brandon Patterson

A federal ap pellate judge on Oct. 21 temporarily blocked the Biden Administration from cancelling student debt in re sponse to a lawsuit filed by six conservative states alleging they could be hurt financially by the plan.

The court blocked the plan after the states appealed a low er court’s decision to throw out their suit due to failure to show they would be hurt by it. The court ruling does not pre vent the administration from operating the debt forgiveness application or prevent people from applying, the White House said. But no debt can be waived until the court issues a final decision. It is not clear how long the temporary deci sion will last.

The administration had in tended to start cancelling loans as soon as Oct. 23, court re cords show, according to USA

Today. The plan, announced in August, would cancel $10,000 in debt for eligible applicants and $20,000 for Pell Grant re cipients.

“Plaintiffs will suffer no ir reparable injury from the pro vision of much-needed relief to millions of Americans, but the public interest would be greatly harmed by its denial,” the Biden Administration said in legal filings, adding that, if the court disagrees, any in junction should only apply to the states that filed the law suit, where about 2.8 million people are eligible for for giveness, according to USA Today. Those states include Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Mis souri, Nebraska, and South Carolina.

Conservatives have at tacked the debt forgiveness plan as expensive overreach of executive authority since the plan was announced. In this case, the six states argued that the debt forgiveness plan could incentivize student loan

borrowers with loans serviced by the states, which aren’t eli gible for debt forgiveness, to swap those loans for federal loans that are eligible, costing the states money, according to USA Today.

The administration, how ever, says the Department of Education already changed its loan regulations to disallow the swaps, according to USA Today, rendering the issue moot. The states also argue, however, that the administra tion has no authority to cancel the debt at all. The administra tion has held that a 2003 law allows the executive branch to reduce or erase student loan debt.

The case is just one of many lawsuits over Biden’s debt cancellation plan. At least six different parties have chal lenged the plan in court. In most cases, however, the lawsuits have been quickly dismissed, according to USA Today.

Continued from page 7

or hate incidents, we, as a col lective, really need to figure out how to address this topic,” he said. “We really wanted to bring resources and informa tion to the community.”

Los Angeles Sentinel Exec utive Editor Danny J. Bakewell Jr., whose newspaper organiz es Taste the Soul and is a CBM partner, said the festival aligns with “Stop the Hate. Spread the

Love.”

“That is what Taste of Soul is all about,” Bakewell said to CBM’s videographer. “Spread ing the love, right here in our own community on Crenshaw Boulevard.”

“California Black Media was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, admin istered by the California State Library.”

Many of the habitability and safety issues that tenants are concerned with arose be

To read the full story, go to postnewsgroup.com

Notice

2019

LICENSE

Terrence Riley

Oakland residents needed more community-centered coverage

That’s why the team at Cityside Journalism Initiative created The Oaklandside. Launched with support from Google, The Oaklandside grew out of a mission to inform and give voice to underserved Oakland residents.

Through deep audience engagement, The Oaklandside helped readers navigate the pandemic, proving the value of local news that’s for — not just about — its community.

Learn more about how Google supports local news g.co/supportingnews/local

Questions About Contributions to Kyra Mungia’s District 6 School Board Campaign

By Ken Epstein

The Oakland Post recently received a copy of an ethics complaint filed with the Oak land Ethics Commission about the funding of District 6 school board candidate Kyra Mungia, including whether she failed to report two campaign contribu tions as legally required.

In addition, some publicschool advocates are raising concerns about contributions she received from local char ter school leaders and an Inde pendent Expenditure of nearly $50,000 from a Political Action Committee (PAC) controlled by former Mayor and Gover nor Jerry Brown, a long-time supporter of charter schools and school privatization.

Mungia, a former Oakland teacher, works as Mayor Libby Schaaf’s deputy director of education. Mungia was ap pointed in June to the board to fill the remaining months of the term of District 6 Boardmem ber Shanthi Gonzales, who re signed before completing her term.

Mungia’s position in the mayor’s office is funded by the Oakland Public Education Fund, often associated with

Kyra Mungia is running for the District 6 seat on the Oakland Board of Education.

corporate privatizers and char ter schools.

Mungia’s opponents in Dis trict 6, Valarie Bachelor and Joel Velasquez, are allied with the movement against school closings and are critical of charter school expansion in Oakland.

The Oakland Post asked Mungia several questions about these issues, including why she failed to disclose a $1,000 contribution she re ceived from Gonzales imme diately after Gonzales formally announced she was resigning from the Board.

According to Board Presi dent Gary Yee, Gonzales, a strong backer of school clos ings, “stayed on [in Oakland]

for an extra month so we could prepare for this process” of ap pointing a new school board member, during which time Mungia filed her original pa pers allowing her to run in No vember.

Gonzales then resigned on May 2 and contributed to Mungia’s campaign on May 3. Ultimately, Mungia was ap pointed by the board to fill the last six months of Gonzales’ term. Some view this as a po litical ploy to give Mungia a leg up in the November race by al lowing her to run as an incum bent.

Gonzales also contributed campaign email lists to Mung ia, which is an in-kind donation and legally also must be report ed as a contribution.

In her reply, Mungia wrote, “My campaign did receive a contribution check for $1,000 from Shanthi Gonzalez’s cam paign committee, Gonzales for School Board 2018, in May 2022. However, because the contribution amount was over the limit, we didn’t deposit the check.”

Her response does not com pletely resolve potential issues. First, if the check from Gonza les came from her campaign ac

count, it is legally permissible up to $1,800. Second, if she has not cashed it but still has not re turned it, it is possible that she should have disclosed the con tribution because reporting re quirements are based on receipt of contributions, not when they are deposited in the bank.

Further, Mungia did not ex plain why she failed to report the in-kind contribution of Gonzales’ email addresses.

The Public Ethics Commis sion complaint filed by an Oak land resident also alleged that some email addresses contrib uted by Gonzales to Mungia’s campaign did not come from Gonzales’ campaign contacts but from residents who con tacted her only in her capacity as a school board director. The use of those emails in an elec tion campaign is not permitted.

In reply Mungia wrote, “I did receive some email addresses from Shanthi Gonzales, which she forwarded to me from her personal email address and many of which I already had. I understood these emails to belong to friends and personal contacts that she had acquired over time.”

To read the full story, go to postnewsgroup.com

Schaff Administration Proposes Rezoning Mills College Campus to Allow for Condos and Retail Development

Continued from

nesses.

The current zoning of the Mills property, RM-3 Zone, has been in place for at least the past 20 years, according to a staff member in the City’s zoning di vision. These changes are now in the works after Northeastern University in Boston recently took over the Mills campus, with pledges of a merger of many of the best aspects of both institutions.

At present, it is not clear what agencies or individuals request ed the proposed zoning change, nor are there indications so far of how the property would be developed. In general, zoning

changes are proposed by Coun cil members in their districts.

Councilmember and mayor al candidate Loren Taylor, who represents District 6 where the campus is located, has been out spoken in support of the take over of Mills by Northeastern.

Schaff has also been spoken forcefully in favor of the take over of Mills by Northeastern.

According to an article in the Northeastern University (NU) newsletter, Taylor has been deeply involved in the merger discussions between the univer sity and Mills.

“Taylor says he was involved in talks with the college and uni versity as the merger evolved

from idea to reality. ‘When I’ve had conversations with leader ship at Mills and Northeastern,’ Taylor says, ‘I’ve always come away reassured. I hear, feel, and sense that there’s a true commit ment to ensuring the legacy of what Mills had. I look forward to seeing that happen,’” the NU newsletter said.

By the Post’s deadline, nei ther Schaff nor Taylor had re sponded to questions about what the rezoning proposal means for the future of univer sity education on the campus.

Although the proposal is to rezone the entire 135 acres of the campus, City staff told the Post that only part of the cam

Stand 2 Vote for the Best Candidate

set and strategic principle think ing that can match the demands of the position. Being proficient in one area does not qualify anyone for a job. The need for qualified results is of high prior ity. Thus, your mindset in your choices has to match the needs at hand.

Politics are so polluted that the ones who suffer and end up down the rabbit hole lost in oblivion the most are the elderly, young, and misinformed. Ask yourself -- not with your heart nor with personal gain in mind -- who we need most to pull us up out of decay, hopelessness and the seemingly imminent de struction of the society that we exist in at this juncture in life.

More emphasis has to be placed on understanding what has to be done and who can best address it.

Further, we cannot rely on book knowledge alone because it takes both intellect, theoreti cal ideas and community input to govern. What’s learned in the classroom at times is not appli cable to real-life challenges. Put it this way, if something has not worked in the past what makes you think it will work to address the future?

Our thinking must evolve with the times. Old ideas and methods must equally be updated in order to successfully correct things that have changed for the worst. We must rely on solution-based thinking that uses a logical ap proach to successfully deal with contradictions. This also applies to voting for measures, bills, re forms, and all things that affect

our daily lives.

I am not telling you who to vote for or what policy measures to choose.

What I am recommending, however, is to always pick the best person qualified and the measure and laws that support what is needed for community progress.

Election Day is upon us now.

Go to the polls with confi dence.

If not, we all suffer, and uncer tainty continues to rule. Let hope and faith guide you, not indeci sion and misguided loyalty to a scheme based on uncertainty.

Formerly Incarcerated Giving Back (FIGB) is highly encourag ing fellow members with similar backgrounds to register and vote as well as have family members do the same.

Take a selfie and contact the Oakland Post to verify that you and your extended family mem bers have voted. This election

Sheng Thao

is about better living wages, sheltering the unsheltered and stamping out injustices.

Your vote is your voice. Go to your County offices, polling places or your post office to turn in your ballot. Voteless is essen tially a vote for hopelessness!

FIGB refuses to be denied restorative justice: we want our voices heard. We want solutions. We want affordable housing. We want an end to violence. We have long been ignored, over looked, and denied the benefits of democracy, but we can and must make a demand through voting.

An example of the true power of the vote is in Ferguson, Mis souri. After the killing of Mi chael Brown in 2014, the town got together and voted the sher iff, mayor, and police chief out of office.

To read the full story, go to postnewsgroup.com

pus was being considered for development.

“The undeveloped west ern edge of the Mills College campus adjacent to MacArthur Blvd. was identified as a po tential location for the addition of infill housing. Any rezoning of that portion of the campus would only occur if the commu nity and decisionmakers sup port such a change and only for the purpose of facilitating the addition of housing along this undeveloped campus edge,” according to the City’s zoning staff.

Said City Councilmember and mayoral candidate Sheng Thao, “Recent changes in our zoning laws have raised alarm bells that this deal is nothing more than an attempt to turn Mills College into a plot of land for luxury condos. Devel opers stand to make enormous profits off that land.”

She continued: “Mills col lege is a 170-year-old institu tion and one of only two wom en’s colleges left in California. The shady backroom deals that led to its closure need to be in vestigated”

“Meanwhile, Mills students have seen a drastic reduction in programs and workers are con cerned that Northeastern has a history of union busting, and

D.A. Candidate Outlines Plan for Implementing California’s 2020 Racial Justice Act

Continued from

based on an individual’s race, ethnicity or national origin.

The Court is required to (1) hold a RJA hearing in any case where the defendant exposes racial discrimination and (2) take appropriate action to address any case where there is a substantial likelihood that race discrimination infected the process.

The RJA also made major reforms to jury selection based on evidence of the pervasive exclusion of Black and Brown resi dents from juries by prosecutors.

My plan to implement the RJA will include close examination of the case files for current cases in order to identify and evaluate the presence of racial bias and develop an appropriate remedy considering the interests of the victims and any system-impacted people.

We will compile and review statistical data to analyze dispari ties that violate the RJA, assign appropriate staff to ensure en forcement and compliance with the Act and work collaboratively with other County and state offices to ensure its smooth imple mentation in Alameda County. We will also train deputies to fol low the new rules imposed by the RJA in jury selection practices and assist the Court as needed.

Next Step – 2022

Systemic racism in our criminal justice system has devastat ed generations of working families and whole communities. In recognition of this impact, in 2022, the California Legislature passed the second RJA (AB256).

The new RJA makes the new law retroactive with a phasedin timeline for prisoners to apply for relief. Prisoners sentenced to death and people facing deportation will be eligible first, be ginning Jan. 1, 2023. A death sentence must be vacated if the defendant was charged or convicted of a more serious offense based on race, ethnicity or national origin, and prosecutors in the county “more frequently sought or obtained convictions for more serious offenses” against people based on their race, ethnicity, or national origin.

Over the following three years, eligibility will expand to peo ple incarcerated for felonies, people with recent convictions, and people with older convictions who are no longer incarcerated.

Responding to the volume of anticipated petitions will require my office to have a streamlined process to receive, track and ad judicate these petitions quickly.

We will assess the office’s current capacity to do so, and max imize our capacity as quickly as possible. We will train depu ties and staff on the fairest criteria to assess these petitions and propose and implement the resentencing that is mandated by the statute.

Civil rights attorney Pamela Price has successfully litigated cases of racial discrimination for more than 30 years, including winning a racial harassment case in the United States Supreme Court. The California Legistalture has honored Attorney Price as a Social Justice Warrior and Woman of the Year for her advo cacy against discrimination multiple times. When she is elected to serve as Alameda County District Attorney, she commits to root out the racial, gender and economic disparities in our criminal justice system and repair the harm caused by mass incarceration. the community is concerned this will lead to their displace ment,” said Thao, who attend ed Mills.

“I do not know why some of my colleagues rushed to em brace this deal, but I do know we need a fair and transparent process and an investigation from the state like I requested in July. The community de serves to know what is happen ing,” she said.

Rebecca Kaplan, Vice May or, and candidate for the Alam eda County Board of Supervi sors, told the Post she was also deeply concerned about what is happening to Mills.“The merger is suspicious and war rants an independent investi gation,” she said.

The Council unanimously passed a resolution in July, in troduced by Kaplan and Thao,

calling for an “independent investigation into the circum stances of the merger between Mills College and Northeast ern University.”

Mills College, a women’s institution, “is reflective of the region’s diversity,” accord ing to the council resolution.

“Within the 2021-2022 Mills student population, about 44% are first-generation undergrad uate students and about 66% of undergraduate students are stu dents of color.”

This investigation must be conducted because of “al legations of misconduct and misinformation (on the part of the Mills administration) ….to ensure that community needs are respected, truth is pursued, and that the important work

To read the full story, go to postnewsgroup.com

Crowns of Glory Features Return to the Post

Several years ago the Post regularly featured women participating in church activities as First Ladies, Church Clerks&Secretaries, Ushers, Food Preparers/Servers, pastors, musicians and women who just serve. With the assistance of many writers and contributors like Carla Thomas, Antoinette Porter, Ashley Chambers, Martha Taylor, Pastor Phyllis Scott and Maxine Ussery we covered their activities in more than 400 houses of worship. We are returning to that series on Nov. 12. We welcome your submissions, photos and tributes. Please contact Maxine Ussery at 510 287-8200.

First Ladies Hats Shop and Fellowship

“Crowns of Glory “

A celebration of All First Ladies Saturday November 12, 2022

2-6pm

funding to support affordable housing, homelessness services, disadvantaged youth and, most recently, over $2 million for up dates to three East Oakland parks. Sheng has the support of lead ers of the Chabot Space and Science Center for her role in artfully negotiating a complex financial plan to save this Oakland jewel from insolvency.

Sheng has received the most endorsements from elected of ficials and community leaders in the race for mayor of Oakland because of her experience, knowledge and her well-known repu tation for getting things done.

We support Sheng Thao and we encourage you to support the most qualified candidate for Oakland Mayor: Sheng Thao.

Fiona Ma is the California State Treasurer.

Phong La is the Alameda County Assessor.

Melissa Wilk is the Alameda County Auditor-Controller/ClerkRecorder

At Showin’ Out Hair Gallery & We are celebrating All Bay Area’s First Ladies

Wear your finest First Lady Hats and get your photo taken and printed in the post Bring your First Lady friend and come fellow ship, Shop and enjoy the day with us the Post News Group and Showin’ Out Hair Gallery & Boutique celebrating you

This a free Event

Light lunch will be provided

Please RSVP at (510) 287-8200 Maxine Ussery

We look forward to celebrating All First Ladies