Oakland Post Week of November 9 - 15, 2022

Oakland Post

Karen Myles Inspired the Thru Random Acts Homeless Feeding Volunteers With Jehovah Jireh — R. L. Rogers Outreach Ministries at Cooper AME Zion Church

By Karen Myles

Although we became a nonprofit in October 2017, this ministry began Nov. 18, 2000 as a Thanksgiving Holiday ef fort by the Glad Tidings Com munity Church in Oakland, California, pastored by Rev. Ronald L. Rogers, Sr., to bless the homeless and those less fortunate than ourselves, with a Thanksgiving meal, and cloth ing. We distributed 100 meals on our first outreach! We were so excited after that experience we wanted to continue in this effort and received guidance, encouragement and much wis dom from Rev. Rogers to pre

Loren Taylor, Sheng Thao in Front to Become Mayor of Oakland, 70,000 Votes Left to Count

Progressive/Liberal Coalition Leads in City Council Races Results for District Attorney, Board of Supervisors and State Assembly Contests

Voting and Jobs for Formerly Incarcerated are Connected

By Richard Johnson

I am happy to report that I have spent the last month of this election season attend ing candidate forums, talking to all politicians, encouraging my family and friends to vote

and participate with me and the Formerly Incarcerated Giving Back (FIGB) organization in our efforts to put an end to the violence and illegal guns that has gripped our communities

Candidates Against School Closures Poised to Win School Board Elections

By Ken Epstein

With thousands of votes re maining to be counted, Coun cilmember Loren Taylor is ahead of Councilmember Sheng Thao in what has shaped up as a two-candidate race for mayor of Oakland.

Final vote counts are sure to change as more mail-in bal lots and other votes are counted over the next week, though it is unlikely that frontrunners will change in races in which a can didate is far ahead.

By Post Staff

Community advocates and organizations are calling on members of the public to show up Monday morning at a Special Public Works Com mittee hearing to oppose City Administration’s attempt to divert a state grant of $260 million from port-related proj ects and redirect them to nonpriority projects, specifically infrastructure for John Fisher’s Howard Terminal private real estate deal.

With a lack of transparency and minimal public notice, Mayor Libby Schaaf’s admin istration is proposing resolu tions that ignore usual due pro cess, seeking to commit public funds to the Howard Terminal project before any City Coun cil approvals have been grant ed, say activists.

According to the activists, these funds were intended to

Here are the results for the first-choice votes that were counted by Nov. 9 the day after the election:

• Loren Taylor 34.19%

• Sheng Thao 28.73%

• Ignacio De La Fuente 12.89%

• Allyssa Victory Villanueva 6.93%

• Treva Reid 5.93%

• Gregory Hodge 4.27%

• Seneca Scott 3.81%

• John Reimann 1.17 %

• Peter Y. Liu 1.14 %

• Tyron Jordan 0.95%

In a statement released Wednesday, Sheng Thao said, “We are so proud of the cam paign we have run and want to thank all of our supporters and volunteers for their dedication to our great city. The Alameda County Registrar of Voters has so far only counted 37,000 votes, and there are 70,000 bal lots that remain to be counted. We remain optimistic about the final outcome. Every vote de serves to be counted.”

The liberal/progressive City

Council majority will likely be stronger as a result of this elec tion. Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas is far ahead in her reelection bid with 60.42% of the votes in the first round of counting, beating opponent Harold Lowe who has 39.58% of the vote.

In District 4, Janani Ram achandran is leading with 64.26% of the vote and Nenna Joiner with 35.74% of the vote.

By Ken Epstein

Oakland school board can didates seeking to halt the an nual ritual of closing neigh borhood schools and years of cutting budgets for classroom programs are leading in two of three board races, potentially poised to join several other board members in a new pro gressive majority.

With many thousands of votes left to count, in District 2, award-winning educator and progressive Jennifer Brou hard leads with 52.91% of the vote. Former school board member David Kakishiba is coming in second with 34.21% of the vote, and progressive construction worker Max Oro zco is third with 12.89%.

In District 4, Nick Resn ick, backed by charter groups and pro-charter politicians, leads with 41.98% of the vote. Progressive incumbent Mike Hutchinson is in second place with 33.6% percent, and pro gressive community leader Pecolia Manigo is coming in third with 24.42%.

In District 6, progressive union organizer Valarie Bach elor leads with 46.46% of the vote. Running in second place is Kyra Mungia, backed by pro-charter politicians Mayor Libby Schaaf and former Gov. Jerry Brown, with 40.94% of the vote. Progressive parent and community activist Joel Velasquez is running third with 12.60%.

Sarah Syed Rides to Victory for ACTransit Ward#3

By Sarah Syed

benefit the Port of Oakland’s supply chain, safety, and criti cal infrastructure needs — not a billionaire’s private real es tate development.

The meeting is Monday, Nov. 14 at 10:30 a.m. To par ticipate, go to the agenda at https://tinyurl.com/p8ev2t5b

If you are reading this on

Rally of teachers (Oakland Education Association) and longshore workers (ILWU Local 10) against Howard Terminal real estate project. Photo courtesy of Indybay.

line, you can go to the Virtual Tele-Conference Via Zoom, and view the Staff Report and the Committee Agenda .

Left to right at the bottom: Dr. Ronald L. Rogers, Pastor of Greater Cooper AME Zion Church and Presiding Elder of The Bay Cities District, Betty Moorer, Karen Myles, and Richard Johnson ; Left to right top: Rhonda Edwards, Mimi Pappaly, Joe Pappaly, Oscar Russell, Rolanda Rogers, West ley Myles, Emily Green, and Angela Williams. Photo by JonathanFitnessJones.

Jennifer Brouhard Valarie Bachelor Nick Resnick

Derreck Johnson, Richard Johnson and Marcus Washington at Culinary Employment for Formerly Incarcerated. Photo by JonathanFitnessJones.

After voting in the rain I celebrated my election night party with my parents Munis Syed and Mary Hickok.

I talked with Councilmember-Elect Kevin Jenkins and Teva Reid who has committed to joining me for a Transit Listening Tour in early 2023 to center bus riders and strengthen cross-agen

Loren Taylor

Sheng Thao

From left to right: Nikki Bas, Janani Ramachandran, Kevin Jenkins.

State, Local Officials Take Actions to Tackle Homelessness Crisis.. P6

Gov. Newsom Won’t Support Making Kindergarten Mandatory...

Philippa

Sacramento Civil Rights Group Accepts Benevolent Boon from Billionaire

By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

In October, the Greater Sacramento Urban League (GSUL) received its biggest donation in the civil rights or ganization’s 54-year history.

Philanthropist, author and the ex-wife of Amazon found er Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, donated $2.4 million to the local chapter of the Na tional Urban League (NUL) based in central California.

GSUL President and CEO Dwayne Crenshaw said in an Oct. 31 announcement that the Urban League is grateful

to the billionaire for the dona tion and appreciates Scott and her team’s recognition of the group’s impact and value to the

Sacramento area.

“By placing racial equity and social justice at the forefront of her philanthropic mission, Ms. Scott is shining a much-needed spotlight on the nation’s struc tural and institutional limita tions and helping to build a stronger, more resilient society for everyone,” Crenshaw said.

According to the NUL, the Sacramento chapter was one of 25 Urban League affiliates that received over $100 million in contributions from Scott.

NUL President and CEO Marc. H. Morial expressed gratitude for the gift in a Nov. 1 statement.

“As the nation’s economic first responders, Urban League affiliates are the most effective and impactful engines of em powerment for eliminating ra cial gaps in our economic and justice systems,” Morial said.

The donated funds will go toward GSUL’s mission of empowering, educating, and employing youth and families from Black and other margin alized people to build thriving communities.

In particular, the monies will aid in the development of a mixed-use housing and community-serving building project on GSUL-owned land in Del Paso Heights, a neigh borhood in North Sacramento.

The group hopes to break ground on the development, a community and economic re vitalization project, late next spring, said GSUL spokesper son Laura Murrell. Murrell said Scott’s financial contribu tion will jumpstart the devel opment.

Although it was the lone Urban League branch in the

Continued on page 5

Philippa Duke Schuyler: Pianist Received National Prominence at Young Age

By Tamara Shiloh

African Amer ican author and journalist George Schuyler and white artist and journalist Jose phine Cogdell’s marriage was dubbed “the most celebrated interracial marriage of the Har lem Renaissance.”

The couple had one child, Philippa Duke Schuyler (1931–1967). From Philippa’s birth, both Schuyler and Cog dell felt that racism in the U.S. “could be rectified through creating interracial children,” thereby setting high expecta tions for their daughter.

Because Philippa was bira cial, the Schuylers considered her a “superior offspring known as a hybrid vigor.” Neverthe less, Philippa was a child prod igy with extraordinary talents who received tutoring while isolated from her peers.

Before age 3, Philippa was taught to read and write and had begun to play the piano. At 4, she was composing, and at 5, performed on the radio. By 11, she was touring. Despite her high IQ at age 8 (185), the Schuylers consistently reject ed Philippa being known as a prodigy, attributing her talent to “hybrid genetics, proper nutri tion, and intensive education.”

Philippa had a close relation ship with her father, thereby ab sorbing his conservative beliefs in educational advancement, self-help, and introspection. But despite her being a part of the Black intelligentsia, “her precocity was fed on notions and conceits of the white mi lieu; and her passion for clas

sical music would essentially reflect the same bias.”

Americans were in awe of young Philippa’s genius. The media often reported on her progress, specifically the Pitts burgh Courier. She received guidance, mostly from her mother, into adulthood. But as she became an adult, white America’s fascination with her talent waned. What she had been shielded from throughout her life became reality: racial prejudice. And this altered the trajectory of her career.

Schuyler then began playing in concerts overseas, traveling to more than 80 countries, per forming for international lead ers including Haile Selassie and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. Her fame attracted worldwide attention, yet she was never

invited to perform for leaders in the U.S. Disillusioned with the racial and gender prejudice she encountered, she moved to Latin America, where people of mixed races were more com mon.

About this decision, she said: “I had 30 miserable years in the U.S.A. because of having the taint of being a ‘strange curios ity’ applied to me.”

In the late 1950s, Schuyler performed for white audiences in apartheid-era South Africa. She briefly toured in Europe as Felipa Monterro, no longer identifiable as the “daughter of a Negro journalist.” Between 1960 and 1966, she published five books about her life and travels.

Just before her death, Schuy ler had begun a career as a news correspondent, publishing ar ticles in several languages in cluding French and German. She died at the age of 35 in a he licopter crash during the Viet nam War while attempting to rescue Catholic schoolchildren from a war zone in Da Nang.

Learn more about Schuyler’s life through previously unpub lished letters and diary entries that reveal her extraordinary and complex personality in the unauthorized biography, “Com position in Black and White” by Kathryn Talalay.

To place a Legal Ad contact Tonya Peacock: Phone: (510) 2724747 Fax: (510) 743-4178 Email: tonya_peacock@dailyjournal.com All other classifieds contact the POST: Phone (510) 287-8200 Fax (510) 287-8247 Email:

Philippa Duke Schuyler in 1959. Wikipedia.org photo.

MacKenzie Scott has a for tune worth $27 billion. Twitter photo.

HOW THE COMMUNITY WILDFIRE SAFETY PROGRAM IS HELPING TO PREVENT WILDFIRES IN 2022

LESS THAN

PG&E’s Community Wildfire Safety Program (CWSP) will continue to use Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings following the success of its pilot program. Enhanced safety settings allow PG&E to be more surgical in its approach to preventing wildfires. These settings will automatically turn off power within one-tenth of a second if an object comes in contact with a powerline. This approach is just one part of a multifaceted wildfire strategy which includes:

■ Undergrounding 175 miles of powerlines in high fire-threat areas as part of our multi-year goal of 10,000 miles.

■ Strengthening the electric grid with stronger poles and covered lines to reduce wildfire risks.

■ Installing microgrids that use generators to keep the electricity on during wildfire safety outages.

While these safety settings prevent wildfires, they also may result in additional outages for customers.

Public Safety Power Shutoffs

During extreme weather or wildfire conditions, PG&E may proactively turn off power to prevent wildfires.

SECOND

Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings

Advanced settings on powerlines to quickly and automatically turn off power if a threat is detected.

Covered California Enrollment LaunchedHealthcare Help Available for All Californians

By Maxim Elramsisy, California Black Media

California’s health insur ance marketplace, known as the Covered California Health Exchange, launched its 10th open enrollment period on No vember 1.

Covered California is the government agency that offers subsidized Obamacare plans for Californians. Those who qualify receive financial as sistance on a sliding scale for their health coverage in com pliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Depending on income, some consumers may qualify for an other state-provided health in surance option, Medi-Cal, at a lower or no cost.

“We saw from COVID how many gaps there are in our public health care system. First and foremost, we’ve got to get people covered. They know they have that peace of mind if they can walk into any doctor’s door, into any hospital. It gives them the confidence to do it the right way,” said Becerra.

“That’s why we’re going to continue to expand. When you can offer an American health insurance plan for $10 or less a month; you can’t go see a mov ie today, not in L.A., for $10… $10 or less a month for peace of mind. That’s what we’re

selling.”

Since Covered California’s first open enrollment campaign in 2013, federal data shows that California’s uninsured rate fell from 17.2% to a record low of 7.0%, the greatest percentage decrease for any state in that period, and below the national average of 8.6%.

Publicly funded Certified Enrollment Counselors, or “navigators,” provide consum ers with free, unbiased advice as they look for health insur ance options available on the marketplace. They help com plete eligibility and enrollment forms, and they assist with out reach, education, and renewal support services.

“We just came out with a report that showed that in the past year, because we went out to where you were to try to

Gov. Newsom Won’t Support Making Kindergarten Mandatory

get to you, especially with our navigators, we saw a rise in the number of African American enrollees by 49%. And we saw a rise in the number of Latino enrollees by 53%,” said Becer ra.

Still, according to estimates from Covered California, 1 million people are uninsured and eligible to get insured with low-cost or no-cost plans.

“Regardless of your income, if you need health insurance or if you’re covered directly through a health insurance company, come to Covered California to see if you can get financial help to make your insurance more affordable,” said Jessica Altman, executive

Continued on page 8

Sacramento Civil Rights Group Accepts Benevolent Boon from Billionaire

Golden State to receive a boon from Scott, GSUL wasn’t the only California organization to receive a donation from the wellheeled benefactress last month.

The Girl Scouts of the USA announced Scott gave $4.9 million to the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles. The gift was part of an overall $84.5 million donation to the Girl Scouts of the USA.

The Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles, headquartered in Inglewood, serves more than 46,000 girls in partnership with 25,000 adult members and volunteers throughout the communi ties of Los Angeles County and parts of Kern, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties.

Sofia Chang, the Girl Scouts of the USA CEO, said in a state ment that the charity is a great accelerator of efforts to give girls the tools to become the next generation of powerful leaders.

“We’re excited to prove how Ms. Scott’s investment in girls will change the world -- because when one girl succeeds, we all succeed,” Chang said.

Several other groups across the nation also announced they had received monetary aid from Scott last month.

However, no indication of the donations came from Scott, who has a net worth of $27 billion and has given away around $12.7 billion to more than 1,200 nonprofits since July 2020, according to Forbes. Scott does not give media interviews or make public appearances.

Since she supercharged her charitable giving after her divorce from Bezos in 2019, Scott has at times acknowledged her gifts on the blogging site Medium. As of press time, her last post on the website was in March.

In the post titled, “Helping Any of Us Can Help Us All,” Scott acknowledged 465 nonprofits she had given funds to since last June and typed, “as always, our aim has been to support the needs of underrepresented people from groups of all kinds. The cause of equity has no sides.”

Murrell, the GSUL spokesperson, said the organization was shocked by Scott’s charitable gift.

“She has a reputation of giving very generous donations to countless organizations across the U.S. that do incredible work. So, to have her recognize the Urban League and our Sacramento affiliate in particular was astounding,” Murrell recalled.

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

Last week, the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom released a list of bills from the current leg islative session that he signed and those he vetoed.

Among the bills vetoed was Senate Bill (SB) 70, which would have made attend ing one year of kindergarten mandatory beginning with the 2024-25 school year.

“While the author’s intent is laudable, SB 70 is estimated to have Prop 98 General Fund cost impacts of up to $268 million ongoing, which is not currently accounted for in the state’s fiscal plan.

“With our state facing low er-than-expected revenues over the first few months of this fiscal year, it is important to remain disciplined when it comes to spending, particu larly spending that is ongoing.

“We must prioritize existing obligations and priorities, in cluding education, health care,

public safety and safety-net programs,” Newsom said in a release.

Existing California law does not require children to attend school until they are 6 years old, the age children typically begin first grade.

Children currently attend ing kindergarten, need to be 5 years old to be eligible, with some school districts offering transitional programs for kids as young as 4 years old.

In California, about 5 to 7 % of eligible students don’t enroll in kindergarten.

A similar bill to SB 70 was vetoed in 2014 by Gov. Jerry Brown, who said the decision should be left to parental dis cretion.

SB 70 is the latest in a string of bills that Newsom has ve toed, referencing lower-thanexpected state revenue. The California Department of Fi nance announced earlier this month that revenue for August was $816 million, or 6%, be low what state officials had

forecasted.

In his SB 70 veto message, Newson said that the Legisla ture has sent measures with po tential costs of over $20 billion in one-time spending commit ments and more than $10 bil lion in ongoing commitments to his desk. “Bills with signifi cant fiscal impact, such as this measure, should be considered and accounted for as part of the annual budget process.

State Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), who in troduced the bill, responded. “Any teacher who has been in the classroom as long as I have can describe to you in de tail the long-term, devastating effects to a child who misses kindergarten,” she said. “I plan to reintroduce my mandatory kindergarten bill and fight for the funding next year. Our chil dren are too important. We can either pay the education costs now or the far greater societal costs later,” said

(Left to right) Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Covered California Executive Director Jessica Altman, Covered Cali fornia Consumer Zhang Yue, Secretary of United States Department of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Congresswoman Karen Bass, and Secretary of California Health and Human Services Agency Dr. Mark Ghaly launch the 10th open enrollment period for Covered California at Union Station in Los Angeles on Tuesday, November 1, 2022. (Maxim Elramsisy, California Black Media).

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier

Becerra joined Congresswom an Karen Bass (D-CA-37), Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and other Covered California leaders at Union Station in Los Angeles to kick off open en rollment.

Kindergarten attendance appears to help children’s academic performance in first grade and be yond. iStock photo.

L.A. Civil Rights Dept. Launches Discrimination Enforcement Division

Could Similar Project Be a Solution for Neglect in Oakland?

By Sentinel News Service

The city’s Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department (LA Civil Rights) officially launched its discrimination en forcement division, allowing for city enforcement of civil rights law on Tuesday, Novem ber1.

In a press conference with Mayor Eric Garcetti, Council President Paul Krekorian, and Council President Pro Tem pore Curren Price, LA Civil Rights announced its authority to investigate alleged discrimi natory practices in the private sector areas of commerce, edu cation, employment and hous ing and enforce the city’s Civil and Human Rights Law.

“Today we’re doubling down on our work to build an L.A. that is more equal, more fair, and more just,” said Garcetti. “We’re creating a place where Angelenos who have faced discrimination can seek justice — and affirming that we will always stand up for each other and put our values at the center of everything we do in this City of Angels.”

“Fighting hate and discrimi nation is in our DNA at LA Civil Rights, and we are proud to take this fight to a whole new level,” said LA Civil Rights Executive Director Capri Mad dox. “Our Discrimination En forcement division can enforce civil rights law in Los Angeles and provide much-needed jus tice to those who have faced discrimination in private sec tor commerce, education, em ployment and housing.”

LA Civil Rights can inves tigate discrimination against

protected classes that occurred in the City of Los Angeles within three years of a com plaint being filed. After a com plaint intake form is filed and an initial assessment is con ducted, special investigators will investigate the case.

Based on outcomes of the investigation, financial penal ties up to $250,000 and other corrective actions may be im plemented. All available tools including subpoenas will be implemented to the maximum extent possible by the City’s Human Rights law.

LA Civil Rights will offer outside mediation services, provided by Pepperdine Uni versity. Complaints can be filed online or via telephone at (213) 978-1845.

The establishment of the Civil and Human Rights Law and discrimination enforce ment authority is the result of a

multi-year effort led by the Los Angeles Black Worker Center, Instituto de Educación Popular del Sur de California (IDEPS CA), UCLA Labor Center and others in a multiracial coalition of workers and community or ganizers.

“I am truly happy to hear about the launch of the LA Civ il Rights Discrimination En forcement program, something long sought by the LA Black Worker Center,” said Janel Bailey, co-executive director of Organizing and Programs at the Los Angeles Black Worker Center.

“For many years now, Black Angelenos have raised con cerns about the lack of equity and opportunity at work. The LA Black Worker Center, in coalition with other marginal ized workers, helped lead the fight for local enforcement of civil rights law. This is an im

portant step forward, and I’m eager for Black workers and other marginalized workers to feel the effects of this program in their day-to-day lives,” Bai ley said.

Many of these organizations joined Garcetti, Krekorian and Maddox for the announce ment, alongside representa tives from the California Civil Rights Department, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportu nity Commission (EEOC), the department’s Commission on Civil Rights, civil rights activ ists and others.

State law controls the en forcement of housing and em ployment violations for certain protected classes under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

In areas where it lacks ju risdiction, LA Civil Rights

To read the full story, go to postnewsgroup.com

Karen Myles Thru Random Acts

Continued from page 1

pare us and to press on in this great work of God! In appre ciation to him his name shares in the umbrella title of this or ganization.

This ministry has always been an out-of-pocket expense by those who participate, and still is to this day. lt is a sacrifi cial offering in personal financ es and time, not only to teach us as adults to be grateful for what we have, but also to teach children a very important les son about giving. It is intended for those sincerely seeking to serve God in this area, to help spread the Word of God, pray for, worship with and encour age those in need. We often call it “Food for the Body and Food for the Soul”.

After the initial outreach, it became a smaller group effort, which included me, a child hood friend, Sherolyn Ridgell, and Rev. Phillip Daniels. The group we began to feed con sisted of 10-15 people living under the 580 overpass in Em eryville, CA. After they were disbursed in April of 2001, we continued our efforts by indi vidually packing up meals, and driving around the Oakland, and sometimes Emeryville, and Berkeley communities to distribute meals, along with clothing, blankets, and later toiletries and dog food pack ages (CeCe’s Ministry) for their four legged companions. Since then, every third Satur day of the month, come rain or shine, our small group has gathered together to prepare, package, and distribute meals, which included special holiday meals such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chinese New Year, Black History Month, Easter, Cinco De Mayo, Juneteenth (In memory of Adelaide Moore), and July 4 barbeque meals. Our service is performed with sin cerity, with joy, in thanksgiv ing, and gratitude! Each meal is prepared with love for the many blessings God has be stowed upon us!

There is nothing like hear

ing someone say, when you ask if they are hungry, “I wasjust asking the Lord where I was going to find something to eat today, and here you all come!” and be able to respond, “That’s how He works! He’s a Right on Time God!” We do not ex pect those who are in need to find us, but we Trust in God to lead us to those that need us the most on that day! We are also blessed up until our I th year

of service to have only missed one month. Of course we did have to shut down for about l ½ years (3/2020 - 8/2021) during the pandemic. It was a very difficult time for us, as we still wanted to go out, but we had to consider safety first, but even so we still continued plan for the time we would re turn to our monthly outings. We were pleasantly surprised upon our return how much we

were missed and not just for the meals, but for the time we spend talking, praying with and encouraging those we would see each month.

When you help the poor you are lending to the Lord~ and He pays wonderful interest on your loan!

(Proverbs 19:17 ~ Living Bible)

To contribute or volunteer visit: Thrurandomacts.org .

Voting and Jobs for Formerly Incarcerated are Connected

Continued from page 1 with fear.

Jonathan

of Oakland, Ray Bobbitt, Af rican American Sports and Entertainment Group, Sheila Brooks, Rebecca Kaplan, Chris Iglesias and Noel Gallo and many others that I will cover in my future columns.

I also met with Felix Mitchell’s wife and nephew Lil D, the mas ter of ceremonies of the black cowboys parade, The black Muslims and many ministers to spread the word that FIGB will work with the Pastors of Oakland, youth groups, motorcycle clubs and former athletes and other trusted messengers to use our voices to fight for jobs, affordable housing and an end to racism so we can help to curb violence.

I also met with Derreck Johnson, Founder & Board Chair | blackownedproject@gmail.com at the coalition of Bay Area Non profits, Organizations Launch Workforce Training Program For Formerly Incarcerated Individuals To Combat Rising Systemic Vi olence, Economic Displacement with: Lifeline Culinary On The Job Training Program Official Kickoff with host Marcus Washing ton, News Anchor at NBC Bay Area

Ortiz’s Joyful Tears for Years of Service

By Robert Lyles

After 16 years of public ser vice on the AC Transit Board of Directors, Director Elsa Or tiz has retired from the Board.

Through memories, tears, and a standing ovation, Direc tor Ortiz was recognized with a proclamation and crystal gavel as a trailblazing policymaker with an eagle-eyed attention to fiscal responsibility, commit

ment to diversity and equity in transit, support of labor, and public accountability.

Staff members also could not resist poking fun at the longtime legislator about her early morning, late night, and weekend phone calls and emails about news headlines or the NL bus line.

Nov. 9 was Director Ortiz’s final public meeting.

Capri Maddox, 3rd from left, with members of the Los Angeles Black Worker Center. (courtesy of LA Civil Rights)

Mayoral Candidate Loren Taylor says he welcomes Richard Johnson’s FIGB ideas to help bring peace to Oakland’s streets. Photo by JonathanFitnessJones.

Richard was busy networking. Setting up meetings with Loren Taylor, Felix Mitchell’s wife and nephew Lil D, the master of cer emonies of the black cowboys parade, The black Muslims and others. Lil D’s telling him he tried for two years to stop the vio lence with the youth. Photo by JonathanFitnessJones.

Jones and I were busy networking and setting up future meetings with Loren Taylor, Treva Reid, Ignacio de la Fuente, Greg Hodge, Janani Ramachandran, Pamela Price, Nikki Bas, Sheng Thao, Rob Bonta, Mia Bonta, Libby Schaaf, Mistah Fab, Gay Plair Cobb, Greg McConnell, Mr. Chuck Johnson of Soul Beat TV, Pas tor Phyllis Scott President of Pastors

From left to right: Dir. Jean Walsh, Vice Pres. Joel Young, Pres. Elsa Ortiz, Dir. Diane Shaw, Dir. Murphy McCalley, Dir. Chris Peeples.