MLK: Letter From Birmingham Jail
Navdeep K. Jassal
Beautiful Bus Tour of Atlanta Neighborhood Ends at National Center for Civil and Human Rights..P3
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Evangelical Technology: The New “E.T., The Extra Terrestrial.” Local Black Media in California Will Benefit From New Funding....P5
Curtis O. Robinson, Sr.
Oakland Post
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“Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
postnewsgroup.com
Weekly Edition: Jan. 12-18, 2022
Lee Applauds U.S. Mint Release of Maya Angelou Quarter
58th Year, No. 30
City’s Environmental Report on Oakland A’s Project Fails to Protect Health and Safety of Local Residents, Says Community Coalition Oakland Port Commission Zoom hearing on Final EIR set for Jan. 19 at 3 p.m.
Oaklanders shown adjacent to Paul Cobb are Will Battles (left) and Milton Hare (right). King is flanked by Dr. Ralph Abernathy and Dr. Ralph Bunche. Other Oaklanders who sat on the grassy knoll but are not shown here were Bishop Wil Herzfeld and Bishop Ralph Capolongo. The Oakland contingent marched for seven days with King. Post Reporter Paul Cobb (with pencil in his glasses) is shown with Dr. Martin Luther King after he interviewed him in 1965 at the end of the Selma to Montgomery March in Alabama.
The Selma Voting Rights March Must Continue Today By Paul Cobb
Maya Angelou as depicted on the tail side of a 2022 quarter and a portrait of her. U.S. Mint. gov and Facebook photo.
Maya Angelou
Barbara Lee
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) applauded the United States Mint for beginning shipments of the first coins in the American Women Quarters (AWQ) Program, starting with the Maya Angelou quarter on Monday. The Mint implemented the new four-year program as authorized by the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020, bipartisan legislation introduced by Congresswoman Lee along with Representative Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) and Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Deb Fischer (R-NE), which was signed into law last year. These circulating quarters honoring Maya Angelou are manufactured at the Mint facilities in Philadelphia and Denver. Coins featuring additional honorees will begin shipping later this year and through 2025. Continued on Page 8
Many of the civil rights activists and believers in democracy embraced the belief that change and progress could be best achieved through unity and voting. The march for voting rights in 1965 was necessary because 100 years after the Civil War ended in 1865 — which had been fought to keep Blacks enslaved or let them go free to vote and participate in the economic and educational mainstream of America — Southern states had implemented Jim Crow laws abridging those rights. It was through the partnership between Dr. King, a visionary preacher and master politician,
and President Lyndon Baines Johnson, also a consummate politician and master of the American Congress, that the 1965 Civil Rights Bill was signed into law to protect the voting rights of Black Americans. And now, 57 years later, a second civil conflict has broken out over the same issue: voting by Blacks and minorities in the democratic process. Just as we marched in Selma, we must march again in greater numbers to the polls. If we had voted our strength in numbers former President Donald Trump never would have been elected. We must work and vote our way into freedom.
Long-haul truck cabs sit near shipping containers at the Port of Oakland. Nearby communities question the fate of these trucks if the Howard Terminal is developed into the Oakland A’s stadium, worrying they may end up on city streets. Photo courtesy of the Port of Oakland. Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith Sr., Pastor Emeritus of the Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland. To read his reflection on M.L. King Jr., go to postnewsgroup.com
Higher Ground NDC Sponsors MLK Jr. “Day of Service” in Sobrante Park and Brookfield By Clifford L. Williams
Higher Ground Neighborhood Development Corporation (NDC) will once again participate in its 15th Annual Martin Luther King Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 10495 Edes Avenue in Oakland. More than 170 volunteers will come together to provide service to various projects within the Sobrante Park and Brookfield neighborhoods in East Oakland. Higher Ground has partnered with community-based programs that will be on hand Continued on Page 8
On Jan. 6, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) held a virtual conversation about hope, resiliency, and the fight for democracy one year after the insurrection at the Capitol. The panel discussion, “Remembering the Insurrection and Reclaiming our Democracy,” was broadcast live from Congresswoman Lee’s Facebook page and on CSPAN to mark the one-year anniversary attack. “We must commemorate that horrible day, and the perpetrators must be held accountable for obstructing the transfer of power,” she said. “We must secure the Capitol and protect our democracy and prevent them (insurrectionists) from re-grouping.” Lee was in the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters attacked police
Congresswoman Barbara Lee
and stormed the building to block what should have been the peaceful transfer of power to the Biden administration. Congresswoman Lee said she ran for her life and was grateful she was wearing tennis shoes. “I was in my chambers and had to run to safety,” she said. On Capitol Hill, House and Senate representatives set aside the business-as-usu-
The real estate development at Howard Terminal proposed by billionaire developer John Fisher, the owner of the Oakland A’s, and backed by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf “will result in numerous significant and unavoidable impacts in critical areas of concern such as toxics, traffic, air quality,
MLK Day of Service organizers Khariyyah Shabazz, Cynthia Arlington, and Bill Richie. Photo Courtesy of Khariyyah Shabazz.
al filibustering for prayers, pledges, and a moment of silence that set the tone for the series of events. Offering a historic perspective, Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden moderated a conversation in the Cannon Caucus Room between historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham to establish and preserve the narrative of Jan. 6. Members of the House and Senate continued with shared reflections of the day and held a vigil on the center steps of the U.S. Capitol. Locally, during a deep dive into the tragedy and assessing the political climate that led to the insurrection, a livestreamed panel featured experts and community leaders. Speakers frankly discussed the repercussions of the insurrection on the nation, confronting white supremacy, and protecting American democracy from future attacks.
Moderated by Aimee Allison, founder of She the People, the panel discussion included an honest dialog with Lee; David C. Wilson, dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley; Martin Waukazoo, CEO of the Native American Health Center, clergy members Rabbi Jacqueline Mates-Muchin, Temple Sinai and Rev. Dr. Charlie Hames Jr., Beebe Memorial Cathedral. MarTan Martinez, a traditional Native American healer led prayer for the nation. Congresswoman Lee continued to share her life’s story, including how at the tender age of 15, she was supported by the local NAACP in order to become the very first Black cheerleader at San Fernando High School. Through the years, Lee says she knows firsthand the Continued on Page 8
and public safety,” according to a statement released by the East Oakland Stadium Alliance (EOSA). After examining the 3,500page Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) produced by City staff, the EOSA found that the Final EIR did not adopt any of the recommendations from Continued on Page 8
Oakland Fund for Children and Youth Issues Request for Proposals for $18 million in Grants By Karen Boyd
Lee Says Work and Vote to Reclaim Our Democracy By Carla Thomas
By Ken Epstein
The Oakland Fund for Children and Youth, a program of the City’s Human Services Department, seeks qualified non-profit organizations and public agencies to provide direct services to Oakland’s children, youth, and families through the implementation of the strategies outlined in the OFCY Strategic Investment Plan 2022-2025. OFCY’s Request for Proposals (RFP) for the next three-year funding cycle, FY 2022-2025, was released on Jan. 10, 2022; proposals are due by Feb. 22, 2022.
The RFP covers the 11 funding strategies outlined in the 2022-2025 Strategic Investment Plan. Grants awarded through this RFP will be for an initial one-year period starting July 1, 2022, and may be renewed up to two additional one-year periods. The total projected amount of funding to be distributed for fiscal year (FY) 2022-2023 grant awards is $18 million. The OFCY RFP and additional information about the application process are available online: https://www. ofcy.org/funding/rfp/. Contact ofcy@oaklandca.gov with questions.
Zoom Town Hall Meeting to Stop State Takeover of Oakland Schools By Post Staff
There will be a Zoom Town Hall meeting to learn about and take action to stop the takeover of the Oakland Unified School District by L. K. Monroe of the Alameda County Office of Education and the Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team (FCMAT) on behalf of the State of California. The Zoom Town Hall, sponsored by the Oakland Post Salon and Oakland Education Association (OEA), will take place Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. Pacific time (U.S. and Canada). Join the discussion as we seek answers to the following questions: • How did this happen? • Why is L. Karen Monroe
of the Alameda County Office of Education, doing this? • What is the role of the Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team (FCMAT)? • Why are they trying to force OUSD to close more schools? • Why do they demand massive budget cuts when schools are awash in billions of dollars of state and federal funding? • What can we do to stop this? Register in advance for this meeting at: https://bit.ly/saveOUSD After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing information about joining the meeting. A short video that explains the issue can be viewed at https://bit.ly/noFCMAT