Queen Califia: California Namesake or Legend? Page 2
CSU Board Votes to Place Burden of Ethnic Studies Requirements on Community Colleges
The Miraculous Foundation Relaunches With Dr. Jenee Scott
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Stay Home for the Holidays: Gov. Newsom Tightens COVID-19 Rules Page 9
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
postnewsgroup.com
57th Year, No. 23
Weekly Edition. Edition. Nov. 25 - Dec. 1, 2020
“Gumbo Diplomacy” Comes to the United Nations
Black business and community leaders convened by the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce, gathered for a press conference at Taylor Jay. blackowned women’s uptown clothing store at 2355 Broadway, to demand the release of the racial disparity study. From left to right, Front: Paul Cobb, publisher of Post News Group, Dr. Beverly Scott, transportation consultant, Aisha Brown, President, 100 Black Women OBAC, Dr. Jennifer Tran, Executive Director, Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce: Back: Jabari Herbert, FOCON Development, Cathy Adams, President and CEO OAACC, Dr. Eleanor Mason Ramsey, Mason Tillman Associates, Councilmember Loren Taylor, George Holland, President Oakland NAACP, Antoinette Clark, Executive Secretary of NAACP, Michael Baines, President of Baines Group Inc., Alan Dones, President of SUDA, LLC. Photo by Auintard Henderson.
Mayor Schaaf Releases Racial Disparity Study in Response to Black Community and Press Demands By Post Staff
When Mayor Libby Schaaf heard that a press conference was called for 10:00 a.m. Tuesday by a group of Black business and community leaders organized by the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (OAACC), she hur-
riedly released the Race and Gender Disparity Study at the request of a local TV station by 11:00 a.m. OAACC called the press conference to support Councilmember Loren Taylor’s demand that the study, which was delivered to the city administration in February, be
released. The 2017 Race & Gender Disparity Study was conducted and prepared by Mason Tillman Associates. The results of the study are not expected to be a surprise – showing significant disparities facing African American contractors. Oakland’s 2018 Equity Indi-
cators Report found significant disparities in prime contracting between African Americans and their white counterparts, stating that, “white contractors received an average of $1,059,209 per contract which was 11.87 times the average of Continued on Page 10
Oakland City Council Members Call on Gov. Newsom to Select Barbara Lee to Replace Kamala Harris in U.S. Senate By Kimberly Jones
Oakland City Councilmembers Rebecca Kaplan, Noel Gallo, and Sheng Thao wrote an open letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday encouraging him to appoint Congresswoman Barbara Lee to the United States Senate as California’s representative. At the same time, Latinx leaders are urging the governor to break the glass ceiling and place a Latinx person in Harris’ seat, asserting among other things, that Latinx make up 40% of California’s population. The letter from Kaplan, Gallo and Thao tells Newsom that Lee has shown, both with her words and with her actions, a deep commitment to justice and a willingness to uplift truth and justice. “Lee is an experienced member of the Congress
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (left) and Oakland City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.
and can easily transition into the U.S. Senate at a difficult time in history. We are living in a time that has shown that we
must recognize and honor the leadership of Black women,” the letter read. “We need someone who is
unafraid to confront wrongdoing and injustice, who can effectively build coalitions, and can help ensure that everyone in our communities has a voice and is respected in our nation’s decision-making process,” the councilmembers wrote. Kaplan is pleased to join together with others who are also similarly urging that Barbara Lee be selected as California’s next senator, including Cori Bush, the newly elected congresswoman from Missouri and Aimee Allison, Newsweek columnist and Founder of She the People. Bush, a nurse and former activist in the Black Lives Matter movement after Michael Brown was killed six years ago in Ferguson, Mo., has been calling for Lee to achieve high-
If you watched Monday Night Football last night, not only were you treated to Tom Brady catching a glorious L at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams but for the first time in the history of the NFL, we were treated to an all-Black officiating crew. Lead by OG-triple-OG Jerome Boger, who’s got 17 years in the game, the rest of the crew was rounded out by umpire Barry Anderson, side judge Anthony Jeffries, line judge Carl Johnson, down judge Julian Mapp, field judge Dale Shaw and back judge Greg Steed. It’s safe to assume our ancestors were proud. NBC News reports that when the officiating crew was put together last week, Troy Vincent, the NFL’s Executive Vice President of Football Op-
NFL officials, from left, umpire Barry Anderson, field judge Anthony Jeffries, down judge Julian Mapp, referee Jerome Boger, back judge Greg Steed, side judge Dale Shaw (104), line judge Carl Johnson (101) pose for a photo before an NFL football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Rams Monday, Nov. 23, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. Photo: Jason Behnken (AP)
erations (who also just so happens to be Black), caught the Holy Ghost and called it “a testament to the countless and immeasurable contributions
of Black officials to the game, their exemplary performance, and to the power of inclusion that is the hallmark of this great game.”
Linda Thomas-Greenfield has been tapped by Presidentelect Biden to become the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Her appointment is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Biden introduced her by saying: “America is back. Multilateralism is back. Diplomacy is back.” Thomas-Greenfield was born in Baker, Louisiana in 1952 and was the 18th Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under Presidents Obama and Trump from 2013 to 2017. Prior to that she served as Director General of the United States Foreign Service and United States Ambassador to Liberia. Thomas-Greenfield com-
pleted her undergraduate education at Louisiana State University (at the same time as white Supremist/KKK leader David Duke) and her graduate degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She taught political science before joining the Foreign Service and serving for 35 years. Thomas-Greenfield was a volunteer member of the Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team. Thomas Greenfield said of her nomination via her Twitter account: “[i]n my thirty-five years in the Foreign Services across the world, I put a Cajun spin on it. I call it Gumbo diplomacy. Wherever I was posted, I’d invite people of all walks then make homemade gumbo. That’s how you break down barriers, connect, and see each other as humans.”
Carroll Fife
Treva Reid
By Kiki
New Councilmembers Reid and Fife Pledge Action in 2021 on Housing, Homelessness
Continued on Page 10
About Damn Time: NFL Makes History With All-Black Referee Crew During Monday Night Football
By Jay Connor, The Root
Linda Thomas-Greenfield
I don’t know about the hallmark, but let me mind my business. I will say that Vincent is at least partly correct, considering that out of 121 officials, the NFL currently has four Black referees and 40 Black game officials—which is a much higher dose of melanin than it has in its executive roles, coaching ranks, or other positions on prominence. “I am proud of my heritage and excited about my participation in this historic game,” Boger said in a statement. “The opportunity to work with a great group of Black officials and exhibit our proficiency in executing our assignment is something I am really looking forward to.” Some additional littleknown facts about last night were that not only was the officiating crew Blackity-Black, Continued on Page 10
By Ken Epstein
Treva Reid, District 7, and Carroll Fife, District 3, are the two new City Councilmembers elected in November pledging to use the power and resources of local government to help Oaklanders turn a corner on the multiple, intertwined poverty-fueled crises that impact the city. Among the issues their top priorities for 2021 are rampant homelessness and housing insecurity for many thousands more. Reid, who is new to public office, formerly worked as a staff member for Assemblymember (now State Senator) Nancy Skinner. She notes that official homeless rates have increased by almost 50% from 2017-2019 and that 70% of those unhoused and unsheltered in Oakland are Black and primarily Black men. “My goals are strategic community-driven approaches to addressing some of the
challenges before us,” she said. “Many families can’t pay the rent, have been forced out of the market, and many homeowners are worried about losing their homes to predatory actors much like in the past recession….We must actually implement and fund policies that reflect that Black lives really matter,” Reid said. Below are some of her proposed solutions: • Examine the budget to reallocate funding to produce, protect, and preserve affordable housing; prioritize the use of public land and increase the Housing Trust Fund. •Fully utilize the three hotels leased in partnership with Alameda County and the state. Also, secure funding to purchase underutilized hotels and convert vacant property to provide housing. • Remove barriers and enforce policies to ensure resiContinued on Page 10