Oakland Post, week of March 8 - 14, 2023

President Biden, Civil Rights Figures Mark 58th Anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” in Selma

By Brandon Patterson

President Joe Biden joined civil rights leaders, congressmembers, and Black Americans from across the country in Selma, Alabama on Sunday to mark the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. The annual pilgrimage commemorates the events of March 7, 1965, when civil rights demonstrators attempting to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge from Selma to Montgomery were met by police officers and white counter demonstrators who attacked them as they marched for voting rights.

In Selma on Sunday and throughout the weekend were civil rights figures including Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King III, and Rev. Al Sharpton, congressmembers including Rep. Jim Clyburn and Rep. Maxine Waters, and many other people who traveled to Sel-

ma from elsewhere.

In remarks on Sunday, Biden decried attacks on voting rights from conservative Supreme Court justices and state legislatures while renewing his call for strengthening voting rights with the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, named for the late congressman who, at age 25, was among those attacked on Black Sunday. Lewis was then chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and helped plan the march, which spurred the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“The right to vote — the right to vote and to have your vote counted is the threshold of democracy and liberty,” said Biden, according to remarks published by the White House. “With it,

Continued on page 14

Oakland Post

“Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18 postnewsgroup.com

Weekly Edition. March 8 - 14, 2023

SEIU 1021 Joins Communitywide Effort to Maintain Higher Education at Holy Names

HNU officials indicate willingness to consider placing HBCU on campus

By Ken Epstein

In the wake of Holy Names University’s sudden announcement that it will close the institution at the end of the semester and sell the 60-acre Oakland hills property to the highest bidder, a local union that represents some HNU faculty is working with city officials and other community leaders to save the campus as a center for higher education in Oakland.

In a recent letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, SEIU Local 1021 President Theresa Rutherford called on the attorney general to join those who are committed “to preserving higher education for the residents of Oakland.”

“As the collective bargaining representative for the adjunct professors at Holy Names University, we support the call by members of the Oakland City Council to maintain a nonprofit college in Oakland geared towards educating firstgeneration college students from the East Bay as well as training workers in education and health care fields specifically. We want to preserve jobs and services,” the letter said.

The SEIU letter disputes HNU’s rationale for closing its doors.

“We believe that the Holy Names Board … decided to close without exhausting every possibility to keep the school open and without transparency to the community about the basis for their decisions. Holy Names can and should remain open,” the letter said.

The union’s experience with other higher education institutions indicates that these small univer-

sities did not need to close. “We have come to believe that each of these schools actually closed not because of the pandemic or unavoidable national trends, but because of lack of transparency in decision-making, and administrators and board members complicit in a combination of self-dealing and negligence. Holy Names was no exception,” the letter said.

Further, the letter said that if the board does not want to continue operating HNU, “they should step aside in favor of others who want to preserve the school and its function.”

As an alternative to continuing HNU, SEIU supports the goal of Oakland City Council members to bring a Historically Black College

North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church Property Saved! THANK YOU!

By Rev. Michael Wallace

or University (HBCU) to take over the campus and operations.

“SEIU stands ready to work with all stakeholders to maintain vital educational resources in Oakland and to make history by bringing an HBCU to Oakland,” the letter said.

In a reply to the SEIU letter dated March 7, Holy Names leadership has indicated that it may be considering turning the campus over to an HBCU as the union and city leaders are proposing.

“The HNU board continues its efforts to find a successor university for the HNU campus. Each of the Historic Black Colleges or Universities has been contacted by HNU in the hope that the HNU

Continued from page 14

The Community of Faith throughout the state of California came to the rescue of the 118-yearold North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church (NOMBC) under the pastoral leadership of Dr. Sylvester Rutledge!

The historic Church’s property was scheduled to be sold due to delinquent property taxes, in the amount of $43,000.00, by the County of Alameda on March 17, 2023. Faith and community leaders joined forces in providing leadership in organizing this great effort!

Pastor Michael Wallace said, “God be praised! This past week we have witnessed the profound power of prayer and unity [when] pastors, faith leaders, and the community of faith from various traditions, denominations and cultures came together in a collaborative effort to save the property of the historic

Continued from page 14

(l-r) Bishop G. Payton, Dr. V.K. Jones, Pastor M. Wallace, President Dr. E. Wayne Gaddis and Dr. Rutledge at the Alameda County Tax Assessor’s Office on March 7, 2023.

(l-r) Bishop G. Payton, Dr. Sylvester Rutledge and Dr. E. Wayne Gaddis at the Alameda County Tax Assessor’s Office on March 7, 2023.

Pastors Chauncey Mathews, Michael Wallace, Anthony Braxton, Gregory Payton, V. K, Jones, E. Wayne Gaddis, Lawrence VanHook and Dr. Willie Estes at I-Hop restaurant in Emeryville on March 7, 2023.

Sister Carol Sellman

Kimberly Mayfield Theresa Rutherford

“The right to vote, and to have that vote counted, is democracy’s threshold liberty. With it, anything is possible. Without it, nothing is.”

— President Joe Biden

(See story on page 6)

Internet Pioneer Lisa Gelobter Helped Create Technologies for Web Animation

operations, user-centered design, product management, and engineering is expansive. She served as chief digital officer for BET Networks and was a member of the senior management team for the launch of Hulu.

Reparations: California Legislative Analyst’s Office Proposes “Paths” For Payments

By Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media

This past weekend, the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans received insight on how the state government might implement recommendations the panel submits in its final proposal due before July 1.

Chas Alamo, the principal fiscal and policy analyst at the California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), appeared remotely in front of the panel as an expert witness during the two-day meeting held March 3 in Sacramento.

Alamo offered “several paths that could be possible for ultimate recommendations” by the task

The LAO is a non-partisan office overseen by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC), a 16-member bipartisan team. It is the “eyes and ears” of the State Legislature ensuring that the executive branch is implementing legislative policy in a cost-efficient and effective manner. Its biggest responsibility is analyzing the governor’s annual budget.

Alamo explained to the task force how the recommendations they make will likely become state policy.

“The creation of a new agency would be initiated through the governor’s executive branch and reorganization process, but other options exist,” Alamo said. “Regardless of the path, to initiate a

adding clarity to the agency’s mission as overseer for other entities offering reparations in the form of assistance to Californians who qualify.

After a two-hour spirited debate at the meeting — the 13th convening of the task force so far — all nine-members agreed that CAFAA would have specified powers and its structure would include an administrative body that guides implementation.

“The proposed entity would be an agency, independent agency, that would provide services where they don’t presently exist (and) provide oversight to existing (state) agencies,” task force chair Kamilah V. Moore said.

CAFAA would facilitate

By Tamara Shiloh

Many Black women have made significant strides within technology, yet they remain significantly underrepresented across the computer sciences spectrum.

According to the United Negro College Fund, Black women make up only 3% of the tech workforce, and less than 0.5% have leadership roles in Silicon Valley.

These statistics did not keep Lisa Gelobter (b. 1971) from living her dream. As a computer scientist, technologist, and chief executive, she has spent 25 years in the software industry.

By working on several pioneering internet technologies and creating web animation and online video (Brightcove and Joost), she has designed products used by millions of people.

Gelobter was instrumental in the creation of Shockwave, a technology that formed the beginning of web animation, and oversaw its

product release cycle. She coded the ActiveX control for the player and coordinated the engineering transition.

A Brown University graduate (at age 20), Gelobter’s degree in computer science with a concentration in artificial intelligence and machine learning was instrumental in launching her career. She served as chief digital service officer for the U.S. Department of Education during Barack Obama’s presidency and led the team that built the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

This is an online tool, created by the federal. government, for consumers to compare the cost and value of higher education institutions in the U.S. At launch, it displayed data in five areas: cost, graduation rate, employment rate, average amount borrowed, and loan default rate.

Gelobter’s background in strategy development, business

Little is known about Gelobter’s childhood. Her father was Jewish and from Poland, and her mother was Black and from the Caribbean. There is no public information available about where Lisa Gelobter was born or raised.

In 2019, Gelobter was named one of Inc’s 100 Women Building America’s Most Innovative and Ambitious Businesses. Serving on boards for the Obama Foundation, Time’s Up, and the Education Trust, she is proud to be a Black woman with a degree in computer science.

Today, Gelobter runs her own company, tEQuitable (2006), an independent, confidential platform to address issues of bias, discrimination, and harassment in the workplace, according to its website. She raised more than $2 million for the start-up, making her one of the first 40 Black women ever to have raised more than $1 million in venture capital funding.

She is also a former member of the New York Urban League STEM Advisory Board and was named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People.

Encourage young girls by helping them learn about pioneering women in STEM with faces like theirs who shaped the world. Read with them T.M. Moody’s “African American Women Pioneers in STEM Activity Book.” It’s part activity book, part educational workbook.

force to “flow through the Legislature and become state law” and how they can “apply” to the creation of the proposed California American Freedman Affairs Agency (CAFAA). The agency, if approved, would oversee compensation the state authorizes to Black California residents who are descendants of enslaved people in the United States.

new agency or enact any other recommendation that makes changes to state law, fundamentally both houses from the state Legislature would have to approve the action and the governor will have to sign it.

During discussions at the Sacramento meeting, the task force began the process of clearly defining CAFAA’s role, focusing on

claims for restitution and would set up a branch to process claims with the state and assist claimants in proving eligibility through a “genealogy” department, the task force members said. A commitment to assisting with the implementation and operation of policies and programs being

Continued on page 9

By Carla Thomas

Pastors and elected officials join Pastor Sylvester Rutledge of North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church on Monday to pray, support and present checks for the Alameda County Tax Assessors Office and remove the church from the scheduled action list on March 17.

The 118-year-old church at 1060 32nd Street owes $43,000 on a property next to it.

“The NAACP will be pledging $500 and is calling on our Beloved Black Community to galvanize and to invest in North Oakland

Baptist Church as well. Firstly, so that they are not foreclosed, but secondly, to maintain a piece of our Black heritage that ensures a space for Black families to grow and thrive, and so that other Black churches that may be vulnerable will know that there is a Black community that supports them,” said Cynthia Adams, president of the Oakland NAACP.

Front Row (l-r): Post News Group Publisher Paul Cobb, Rev. Ray Williams, Morning Star Baptist Church; Pastor Vince Collins, King Solomon Christian Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church;

Thomson Mathews, Corinthian Baptist Church; Pastor Mary McConn Gilmore, Oakland Community Chaplaincy Program - Westside Baptist Church; Pastor Dr. Sylvester Rutledge, North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church; Dr. Maritony Yamot, Life Impact for Humanity; Pastor Ken Chambers, Westside Baptist ChurchPresident of Interfaith Council of Alameda County; Bip Roberts, The Well Christian Community Church; Brett Badelle, deputy district director, Office of Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

Lisa Gelobter is the CEO and co-founder of tEQuitable, which promotes fairness in the workplace. tEQuitable web site photo.

Force members during the debate to determine the scope of a Freedmen’s

agency.

Sacrameto, Calif. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.

Khansa “Friday Jones” Jones-Muhammad, is the vice president of the Los Angeles Reparations Advisory Commission. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.

Back Row: (l-r): Tim Hopkins, Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church; Thomas Harris, Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church; Vince Steele, Office of Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson; Pastor Raymond Lankford, Oakland Community Church - Oakland Private Industry Council; Darryl Stewart, Office of Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley; Jay D. Pimentel, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; Pastor Gerald Agee, Friendship Christian Center; Pastor Donald Scurry, Joshua Christian Church. Photo by Carla Thomas.

Preserving

Wildlife and a Way of Life

By Ben Jealous.

For decades, hydroelectric dams on the lower Snake River have been killing off salmon that must traverse them to spawn, Southern Resident orcas that feed on salmon, and the cultures of tribal nations who consider the salmon their first food. Through an intersection of bipartisan interest that’s unusual these days and once-ina-generation federal funding, we may finally have a chance to end the spiral toward extinction for all three.

Where millions of Chinook salmon would make the upstream journey from the Pacific to the Idaho habitat where they laid eggs before the dams were erected, in recent years that count has been

in the thousands. The numbers are much worse for Coho and Sockeye salmon. Getting over the dams to the spawning grounds and back to the ocean has proven too much for fish who are able to travel a thousand miles to spawn. The orcas have less to eat as a result and there were only 73 left last year.

Not surprisingly, the dire situation exists in part because the dams were built ignoring the needs and the treaty rights of Indigenous people who consider the salmon sacred symbols of resilience and renewal. They have been fighting for the salmon with science and with litigation for years. Their treaties with the United States maintain their rights to fish in rivers of the Columbia Basin — a meaning-

less benefit if there are no fish to harvest.

These species are endangered; we’ve spent more than $18 billion unsuccessfully over the years to bring back salmon populations alone with the dams in place. As a tribal leader told me last month, “the government agencies are managing our extinction.” It’s a story that’s too familiar in so many communities that bear the brunt of choices that destroy the climate and pollute the planet from the cancer alley in Louisiana to hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico.

Those fighting for the salmon, the orcas, and the people who rely on the fish spiritually and economically got a new champion two years ago when Mike Simpson, the Republican Congressman who represents the eastern half of Idaho, unveiled a plan that includes breaching the four dams by removing the earthen berms that flank them to let the river run freely. He got a more favorable response from the Democratic governors in Washington and Oregon than from other Republicans in the Pacific Northwest.

Last year, Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray (both Democrats from Washington) added their voices with their own joint report and recommendations around breaching. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also concluded that circumventing the dams must be “the centerpiece action” to restore salmon populations.

The new star in this political constellation is the Biden Administration, who agreed to pause the long running litigation to look

specifically at recovering salmon in the Columbia Basin, removing the lower Snake River dams, and meeting the treaty rights responsibilities. This new look at options comes along with the historic infrastructure and inflation reduction packages that President Biden and Congress have approved since 2021. Simpson points to them as the way to pay for his $33 billion plan. Replacing the electricity generated by the dams can be done with renewable generation. So is replacing jobs and revitalizing state economies through greener industries and tourism tied to the outdoors.

There’s a lot more work to be done, starting with the Biden Administration joining Murray, Inslee and Simpson, making decisions that work for salmon, orca and Tribal Nations. Their proposals aren’t perfect, but they are a usable framework to get work moving to deal with the dams.

Years ago, Colin Powell told me it’s more important in a democracy to find the thing you can agree on with people who otherwise may be political opponents than the many things you disagree about. “Figure that out and you can get a lot done,” he told me. I see that playing out on the Snake River, and that can’t come a moment too soon for wildlife and native cultures at the verge of disappearing forever.

Ben Jealous is executive director of the Sierra Club. He is a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania and author of “Never Forget Our People Were Always Free,” published in January.

COMMENTARY: 3 OUSD Board

Members ‘Set the Record Straight’ on School Closures, Budget

By Emil Guillermo

I confess, I haven’t seen Scott Adams’ Dilbert comic strip in ages. Who even gets a newspaper that carries it anymore? Alas, after this week, Dilbert is as dead as a dodo.

Hallelujah.

Adams use of a conservative poll as justification to make racist statements against Blacks is more than a little ridiculous. It’s also a little sad because Adams sounded serious.

Adams used a poll from Rasmussen Reports that showed 53% of Black Americans agreed with the statement that it’s “OK to be white.”

That statement, “OK to be white,” has a history of being associated with white supremacy movements, according to the AntiDefamation League.

So, Adams asked aloud on his YouTube video, if 53% of Blacks in the poll were good with the statement about whites, what about the others who weren’t sure?

Adams said the 47% who disagreed or weren’t sure, made the conclusion clear to him.

Blacks were a hate group!

He wasn’t joking.

Adams concluded in a video rant, “The best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from Black people.”

Adams was justifying segregation. From a falsely accused hate group in his mind —Blacks.

And he seemed adamant. “Just get away,” he said. “Because there’s no fixing it.”

Does he mean there’s no fixing

Clarence Thomas? Because I believe that.

Still, the only fixing needed seems to be Adams’ warped perception.

Just seems like quite a leap to extrapolate all that he does from a simple public opinion poll.

But Adams seems to be showcasing an emerging tactic of the anti-woke, pro-white movement.

Just call your enemy a “hate group.”

It gives white supremacists in their minds the leverage of moral superiority. Imagine, a group that hates more than they do?

This is pro-fascist, pro-white logic in action. It’s worked for Fox News and Trump, so far. We’ll see how long it lasts after the Dominion Voting machines defamation suit against the conglomerate. Adams is simply showing how easy it is to call your enemy a hater.

Fortunately, sane people see it for what it is. Newspapers that have been carrying Adams for decades are cancelling ‘Dilbert.’

Not that Adams seems to care about losing business or money.

He has enough. After more decades creating a newspaper panel strip about a workplace dullard in a far from diverse and sensitive worksite, it may be that Adams was just looking for a way to go down with a bang, a way to say goodbye, as his strip was becoming more and more irrelevant.

And Adams only seems to be implying a half-hearted first amendment argument. Probably because it falls flat. No one stopped Adams from saying what he wanted to on his video. Besides, free speech

laws apply to government business not to the private corporate world Adams deals in. Businesses have a right not to work with selfdeclared public racists. Nothing wrong there.

So, Adams was either bored with Dilbert, or he was just modeling behavior for the other male and female Ken/Karen-types, conservative whites who feel threatened by a diverse America, not just of Blacks but the entire BIPOC community.

Adams was the role model with the hot take: it’s OK to hate a hate group.

These are the sentiments of a paranoid anti-Woke crowd. Maybe Dilbert wants to run for office?

I really had to think hard the last time I even saw the Dilbert comic strip. I couldn’t recall if I’d ever seen a person of color in any Dilbert panel cartoon? Sadly, you can still get away with segregation in the comic strips. But sure enough, the first Black character in Dilbert, was Dave the engineer in 2022.

He’s much darker than Dilbert and in his introduction, Dave delivers the punchline, “I identify white.”

And I’m positive it wasn’t a matter of affirmative action, but of merit. Still, Dave needed the help of a white man. Adams had to draw it.

And maybe that’s the point. Dilbert, a white drone in a diverse work force, may have run out of funny things to say — that weren’t racist. In a work force of aggrieved whites quietly quitting, Adams had to go out loudly.

Adams’ rant was a nostalgic cry not for a brighter, optimistic America, but for the way things used to be in the 1950s. Only with faster computers. And decent Wi-Fi.

Adams and Dilbert deserve what they’re getting.

If they wanted to be cancelled, I’m more than happy to oblige.

Emil Guillermo is a journalist, commentator and storyteller. See him at www.amok.com.

By Oakland Board of Education

Members:

Jennifer Brouhard, District 2

VanCedric Williams, District 3

Valarie Bachelor, District 6

“We were elected to end a harmful era of unjust school closures and mergers carried out in Oakland’s Black and Brown communities”

On March 1, 2023, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote a onesided story, which contained inaccurate and hyperbolic statements, about the decision of the Oakland school board not to enact budget cuts. As OUSD school board directors, we want to set the record straight.

We were elected to end a harmful era of unjust school closures and mergers carried out in Oak-

land’s Black and Brown communities with little to no notice, let alone authentic engagement with impacted communities.

Oakland voters understood that research – and their own experiences – show that school closures don’t save money and are harmful to our most vulnerable students. In November, Oakland voters clearly said, “Enough is enough” by voting for school board directors who were committed to ending these harmful practices, and committed to putting our schools on-track to be the safe and racially just spaces that all our students deserve.

Old habits are hard to break, and that became clear last week when special meeting documents were posted with only two days’

SEEKS SUBCONTRACTOR BIDS FOR THE FOLLOWING PROJECT: THE PHOENIX

OWNER: EAST BAY ASIAN LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORP.

BID DATE: MARCH 13TH, 2023 AT 2:00 PM

Bernards is requesting bids for the construction of a 101 unit, 100% affordable, modular development. The site address is 811 & 821 Pine Street, Oakland, CA 94607. In addition to the residences, the development includes a mix of uses including amenity and community meeting spaces. You are hereby invited to submit a bid for the scopes of work shown and/or specified in the documents. Please note that California residential prevailing wages are required.

The goal for the Phoenix project is to use 50% City of Oakland L/SLBE authorized subcontractors, subject to City of Oakland completion of an Availability Analysis. For non-L/LSBE Subcontractors, please consider L/SLBE authorized firms when selecting sub-tiers and vendors to help utilizing L/LSBE firms.

The project will follow Section 3 HUD requirements, City of Oakland regulations, including the City of Oakland local hire requirement of 50% local workers or more per Subcontractor based on hours worked. Refer to the following Section 3 and City of Oakland resources for more information: https://www. hud.gov/section3 and https://www.oaklandca.gov/topics/local-employment-program

A Job Walk will be held on Monday, February 27, 2023 from 9:00-10:00 AM at 811 Pine Street, Oakland, CA 94607. We strongly encourage all bidders and L/LSBE subcontractors/vendors to attend. Please RSVP for the Job Walk by emailing bid@bernards.com

Plans & Specifications: Plans and specifications are available now. You may view or purchase plans through our reprographics company at www.Bidmail.com and/or requesting a bid invitation by emailing bid@bernards.com.

By submitting a bid, subcontractor confirms they have reviewed Bernards’ Subcontract Agreement and will execute said Agreement without modification. Please review all Bernards’ Standard Subcontract documents and forms on our website: https:// www.bernards.com/industry-partners/.

Bernards is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to; and encourages the participation of MBEs, WBEs, DBEs, SBEs, DVBEs, LSAs and OBEs and requires submittal with their bid the certification form from the authorizing agency. Participation in Bernards’ Prequalification process improves our ability to collaborate with Subcontractors while providing them with the benefit of inclusion in potential select project lists. Please contact SubcontractorPrequalification@bernards.com for Prequalification documents.

If you have any questions about this project, please contact us at: Bernards | 1798 Technology Drive, Suite 244 | San Jose, CA 95110 (818) 898-1521 | bid@bernards.com

Contacts: Diana Eberhard, Eileen Roe, Scott Huh, Lyle Fricke

OPINION: ‘Dilbert’ Creator’s New Anti-Woke Strategy—‘You Are A Hate Group!’

Jennifer Brouhard, District 2

Ben Jealous

Emil Guillermo

The Case Against SB357— Black, Vulnerable and Trafficked—Why Us? Part 1

By Tanya Dennis and Vanessa Russell

By Tanya Dennis and Vanessa Russell

Motivated to protect trans, Black and Hispanic people from persecution by police, State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) sponsored the Safer Streets for All Act.

Passed by the Senate Public Safety Committee on June 1, 2021, and the Assembly on Sept. 10, 2021, SB357 repeals provisions of California law that criminalize loitering for the intent to engage in sex work.

But the impact of the bill goes far astray from the author’s intent.

The uptick in trafficking and prostitution started even before the law was formally adopted in January, and SB357 ties the hands of police to do anything but observe or do a sting.

After the bill passed in the Legislature, “The Track”—where most prostitution occurs in Oakland—along International Boulevard near 15th Avenue turned into a “drive-thru” akin to a fast-food eatery as the ‘Johns’ lined up to make their choice.

SB 357 is seriously harming the neighborhood on 15th Avenue. Girls are not allowed to take restroom breaks and are defecating in the alley and standing naked in the streets directing traffic on The Track.

This writer has seen a photograph of a little girl having a birthday party in her front yard while a transaction was going on across the street.

To take the pressure off 15th Avenue and give residents some peace, a public official at a recent town hall has even said that the city was considering accom-

Am Debra Lee: A Memoir” by Debra Lee

c.2023, Legacy Lit Books, $29.00, 256 pages

modating the Johns by doing cutaways on International Boulevard so they can turn around and get back in line.

Wiener says SB357 was the first legislation initiated by the DecrimSexWork CA Coalition, but this first step toward legalizing prostitution turns a blind eye to human trafficking, opponents say.

Before the law passed police were able to recover seven minors who had been forced into prostitution but none have been rescued since.

The Post will present an eightpart series to provide an inside view of why SB357 has left minors, and victims of human trafficking vulnerable. Forty percent of those who are trafficked in the U.S. are Black women and girls. Why is this happening and why is Oakland ground zero for a growing supply of Black bodies to purchase?

How It Began Black people’s vulnerability to trafficking, violence and abuse in the United States began with slavery in the 1600s. During the slave era, Black people were forced not only to work but engage in sexual servitude to their owners. Black women and men were forced to make themselves sexually available to the slave owner, enduring many levels of violence or oppression to survive. Black mates and fathers learned they could not protect themselves or others.

Slavery and human trafficking are the same beast.

In fact, human trafficking was labeled as modern-day slavery by The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA).

Although slavery in the U.S. was “abolished” in the 1860s, the

effects of slavery are on display today in the fragile Black family, a condition that makes Black people vulnerable.

Sixty-four percent of Black families are led by single mothers in the United States. Those family members are four times more likely to experience poverty, seven times more likely to experience teen pregnancy, more likely to use drugs and alcohol, and more likely to experience prison and human trafficking.

The trauma and displacement that Black communities and families have been and continue to experience is heavily impacting children. A study conducted by West Coast Children’s Clinic involving 113 youth ranging in age from 10 to 24 highlighted the correlation between human trafficking and foster care, homelessness, and addiction.

For many Black youth, their desperation to be loved and to belong makes them sitting ducks for exploitation and predatory people, systems, and policies.

One Black girl shared that she would “do whatever as long as you keep telling me that I’m important.”

As we explore the history of human trafficking in Oakland, we invite you to evaluate whether the sex industry is empowering or oppressing the Black community and what you can do to uplift, rebuild and restore.

For more information go to the Post electronic copy of this article for more information and facts.

Tanya Dennis serves on the Board of Oakland Frontline Healers (OFH) and series coauthor Vanessa Russell of “Love Never Fails Us” and member of OFH.

By Jose Dorado and Mariano Contreras

After a 30-day suspension and the inaction of the empowered Police Commission, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao made the difficult but necessary determination to administer discipline for the complicit cover-up actions of the chief of police.

The Latino Task Force supports Thao’s decision to fire Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong. All Oakland Police Department sworn officers who participated in concealing facts should receive similar discipline. Further, those officers who refused to engage in the cover-up should be recognized and commended.

Coming Storm Prompts Flood Warning for Entire Bay Area

By Jeff Ballinger Bay City News

By Terri Schlichenmeyer The Bookworm Sez, LLC

Everybody’s looking at you.

They’re wondering what you’re going to do next, because you often surprise them. They don’t know what you’re about to say because you’re never predictable. So stand up, throw your shoulders back, let them watch and learn a thing or two. As in the new memoir, “I Am Debra Lee” by Debra Lee, represent.

Back when she was still in grade school, little Debra Lee’s father decided that she would be a lawyer someday — and so she was. Though she often pushed the envelope and was her own person, it was hard to even think of disappointing the Major, a man who always admonished Lee to be a “nice girl.”

Back then, Lee “lived and breathed Black culture,” a feeling she carried through law school and into her first big job at a law firm that “treated its associates well,” and where she instinctively found a mentor who helped her in her niche. He passed along to her a few choice clients, which eventually led Lee to a life-changing introduction to Bob Johnson, who was then the CEO of Black Entertainment Television, or BET.

It was a soul-searching time for Lee. Personally, she’d had a pregnancy she didn’t want, and an abortion, then a marriage that failed. Professionally, the law firm she worked for was no longer a good fit. Johnson offered her a job and a title, but it involved a considerable salary cut, which was tough to take. Still, Lee looked at the long picture

Decades of cover-ups and no accountability in OPD were rampant before the Riders case gave way to the now 20-year-old consent decree. By firing the chief, Thao sent a clear message that the deep-seated blue wall of cover-up

and leapt at the opportunity.

The job had its downsides, specifically, eternally long hours and an overwhelming workload with no work-life balance whatsoever, but Lee was undaunted. She learned about the industry and herself, found her limits and sailed past them, and enjoyed the chance to befriend people whose names pepper the tabloids.

She never seriously considered reaching for the stars until she was named COO, with a public face to maintain, a reputation to uphold, and a list of things she’d never do.

And then she did one of them...

For readers who are unfamiliar with the whole story, let’s just say that you’ll want to be prepared. “I Am Debra Lee” contains a big kaboom.

Leading up to that, though, is a treat: the inner mechanics of a media empire are told side-by-side here with the story of a long, exhausting journey and the personal sacrifices it demanded. It isn’t presented as a burden, however; instead, author Debra Lee holds her tale with a steely grip and no apologies, making sure that she’s clear on the extra work it took being a Black woman in a mostly-man’s world. There’s not a single ounce of poor-me in that but rather, a series of subtle lessons to accompany the outright advice that Lee scatters about.

And then there’s that ka-boom. Read about it from this first-person point of view, and you won’t be sorry. If you’re ready for an absorbing, fascinating memoir that pulls no punches, “I Am Debra Lee” is absolutely worth a look.

will no longer be tolerated in Oakland.

Thao displayed authentic leadership by weighing the implications and impact that police misconduct and untruthfulness have on all Oakland residents. Bold and

The approaching storm anticipated to hit the region beginning Thursday has prompted a flood warning through Sunday for the entire Bay Area and the Central Coast.

An updated forecast Tuesday night from the National Weather Service includes a 40-percent chance of flash flooding overnight Thursday into Friday morning in the Bay Area and Monterey County.

Rainfall totals forecast for Thursday and Friday are 4-6 inches in Santa Cruz County and in southern Monterey County along the coast and in the coastal mountains. About 3-4 inches are expected in the area around the cities of Napa, Gilroy in Monterey County and Cloverdale in Sonoma County. Between 2-3 inches of rain are expected in the rest of Sonoma County, on the San Francisco peninsula and in Marin County. The remaining areas could see 1.5-2 inches.

Compounding the deluge are the cold temperatures and high winds expected for much of the region overnight Thursday. Lows in the upper 30s and 40s are expected for most of the Bay Area, and in the mid-30s in the interior valleys. Peak gusts overnight Thursday night into Friday morning may be 20-30 mph across most of the area, and 30-40 mph in San Francisco, Half Moon Bay and the East Bay interior.

Scattered thunderstorms are also possible, with small hail, brief heavy rain and a few lightning strikes.

Additional widespread rainfall is expected Monday and Tuesday.

necessary decisions are generally opposed by a few, while positively affecting many.

Only with accountability and resolute leadership can we achieve constitutional policing in Oakland. Just as important, the community’s involvement and oversight are necessary to ensure fair and sustainable policing.

Direct community involvement demanding OPD accountability and supporting the tough decisions necessary to achieve this must be emphasized.

The Latino Task Force unequivocally supports the mayor’s decision.

Jose Dorado and Mariano Contreras are members of the Latino Task Force.

“I

OPINION: Mayor Sheng

Thao’s Decision to Fire Police Chief Difficult but Necessary

“The Caged Mind Does Not Move Forward.” Photo courtesy of Sable Horton.

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State Parks Visitors Can Collect Digital Badges in New App-Based Passport Program

By Olivia Wynkoop Bay City News Foundation

State park visitors can now track their adventures in California’s 280 parks and earn badges along the way in a digital passport program launched on Wednesday.

No longer are the days where state park lovers have to carry around a paper passport to be stamped at the visitor center -now, visitors can check-in at each park and receive a badge on their

phones, accessible via the California State Parks Apps.

“This new Passport Program adds a layer of play that’ll help entice new visitors - especially digital natives and folks more accustomed to screens and feeds than streams and fields - to find that out for themselves,” said California State Parks Director Armando Quintero.

Each check-in will be added to the user’s profile, where they can also add photos. Users are able to

recount their adventures, share with their friends and take note of which parks to visit next.

“With the digital Passport Program and interactive enhancements in the app, everyone will have the opportunity to create personal and meaningful relationships with parks while also developing a deeper experience - both during their park visit and long after they leave through digital community engagement,” said Kindley Walsh Lawlor, president and CEO of Parks California. “These lasting connections will foster the next

A waterfall on the Falls Trail Loop in the Mt. Diablo State Park in Clayton, Calif., on January 6, 2021. (Ray Saint Germain/Bay City News)

Reparations...

Continued from page 2

considered for recommendation would also be in the purview of the agency.

The concept of CAFAA is based on the defunct federal Freedmen’s Bureau. On March 3, 1865, Congress passed “An Act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees.” The bureau’s main objective was to provide food, shelter, clothing, medical services, and land to newly freed African Americans. Ward Connerly, the African

American political activist who led the ballot initiative that outlawed Affirmative Action in California in 1996, Proposition (Prop) 209, told FOX News one day after the task force’s Sacramento meeting that offering reparations was a “bad” and a “goofy idea.”

Connerly, former President of the California Civil Rights Initiative Campaign, has made objections to reparations for about a year now as California gets closer than any government in United States history to making amends for historical injustices committed

against Black Americans.

“California is a progressive state but we’re not insane,” Connerly told FOX News on March 5. “So, I think that people of this state would rise up and say ‘no.’”

The two-day meeting in Sacramento was held at the Byron Sher Auditorium at the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) in downtown Sacramento. Both days attracted crowds, mainly comprised of interested individuals and groups from Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg attended the second day of the meeting. Steinberg is one of 11 mayors who pledged to pay reparations for slavery to Black residents in their cities.

Similar to efforts in Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, and Richmond, Sacramento is focused on developing a municipal reparations initiative through the city’s ongoing Sacramento Centered on Racial Equity (SCORE) initiative.

“I wholeheartedly support reparations and think everyone should,” Steinberg told the task

force panel on March 4. “If government should stand for anything, it should stand for investing in communities and people who have been the victims of discrimination and disenfranchisement for far too long.”

The task force also recommended “appropriate ways” to educate the public about the task force’s findings and future reparations actions by the state.

The charge calls for building a collective base of knowledge to inform racially diverse communities in California about repara-

tions, appealing to different ways of learning, expanding task force discussions into mainstream conversations, and inspiring reflection and action among all residents of California.

Task force members Dr. Cheryl Grills and Don Tamaki presented the proposal.

The next two-day task force will return to Sacramento at the end of March. For more information on the next meeting, visit the California Department of Justice’s website (https://oag.ca.gov/ ab3121).

State Parks...

Continued from page 8

generation of park stewards who will protect these amazing places.”

The state parks app, built by the technology platform OuterSpatial, also provides information on park closures, directions and wayfinding. OuterSpatial is specifically designed for outdoor organizations hoping to expand their access and engagement to visitors.

“We believe in empowering organizations to deliver the best outdoor experience to visitors.

The State of California has done incredible work to provide easy access to the outdoors to people of all ages and abilities, and it’s a huge milestone for OuterSpatial to partner with California State Parks and its new digital Passport Program as part of that progress,” said Ryan Branciforte, CEO of OuterSpatial. “Our collaboration will help accelerate their popular Passport Program and will encourage a diverse audience to enjoy all that California has to offer, from its oceans, mountains, lakes, and deserts, to the rest of what its parks have to offer.”

Senior Housing (62+) Section 8 Waiting List Opening

Northgate Terrace will be accepting applications for our Studio Section 8 rental units. Some units available for immediate occupancy. Applications will be accepted through our online portal at LiveAtNorthgateTerrace.com or by dropping off a paper application starting on March 10th 2023 at 9am (PST). Applications submitted will be on a first come first served basis.

Incomplete applications will not be accepted. Household members can only appear on one application. If an application contains household members that are on other applications for this listing, all of them will be disqualified. Any fraudulent statements will cause application to be removed from the waiting list.

Rents for this affordable housing program are based on total gross household income. Applicants must be 62 years or older, income eligible, and meet occupancy guidelines. Households must earn no more than the maximum income levels noted below: 50% HUD Median Income Limits

CITY OF SAN LEANDRO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA ENGINEERING AND TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT

NOTICE TO BIDDERS FOR WICKS AND MANOR TRAFFIC SIGNAL MODIFICATION PROJECT

PROJECT NO. 2020.5620

FEDERAL PROJECT NO. HSIP 5041(049), BID NO. 22-23.012

1 BID OPENING: The bidder shall complete the “Proposal to the City of San Leandro” form contained in the Contract Book. The proposal shall be submitted in its entirety. Incomplete proposals will be considered non-responsive. Sealed bids containing the completed Proposal Section subject to the conditions named herein and in the specifications for Wicks Boulevard And Manor Boulevard Traffic Signal Upgrade Project, Project No. 2020.5620, Federal Aid Project N0. HSIPL-5041 (049) addressed to the City of San Leandro will be received at City Hall, 835 East 14th Street, 2nd Floor San Leandro at the office of the City Clerk up to 3:00 pm on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, at which time they will be publicly opened and read.

2. WORK DESCRIPTION: The work to be done consists of complete installation of traffic signal improvements including new controller and cabinet, poles, mast arms, underground conduit, conductors, and curb ramp improvements and doing all appurtenant work in place and ready for use, all as shown on the plans and described in the specifications with the title indicated in Paragraph 1 above, and on file in the office of the City Engineer. Reference to said plans and specifications is hereby made for further particulars.

3. SAN LEANDRO BUSINESS PREFERENCE AND PARTICIPATION GOALS The bid preparation and work performed under this contract is NOT SUBJECT to Section 1-6-225 of Article 2 of Chapter 1-6 of the San Leandro Municipal Code regarding Local Business Preference during bidding and Local Business Participation.

4. OBTAINING THE PROJECT PLANS AND CONTRACT BOOK: The Project Plans and Contract Book may be obtained free of charge from the City’s website at: http://www.sanleandro.org/depts/finance/purchasing/bids. Bidders are highly encouraged to contact the City of San Leandro Engineering and Transportation Department at 510-577-3428 to be placed on the project plan holders’ list to receive courtesy notifications of addenda and other project information. Project addenda, if any, will be posted on the website. A bidder who fails to address all project addenda with their proposal may be deemed non-responsive.

Printed, hardcopies of the plans can be purchased from East Bay Blue and can be contacted at https://www.eastbayblueprint.com. Search the public projects plan room to find the subject project.

5. PRE-BID CONFERENCE: Two non-mandatory pre-bid meetings will be held in-person with available remote simulcast attendance via Zoom as follows:

• March 15, 2023, at 3:00 pm. Sister Cities Gallery on the first floor of San Leandro City Hall located at 835 East 14th Street, San Leandro, CA. This meeting will also be simulcast on Zoom: the virtual meeting can be accessed by internet as follows:

Zoom Meeting ID: 890 0712 9792

Passcode: 270405

Zoom link: https://sanleandro-org.zoom.us/j/89007129792?pwd=WjV0ZDUxaTI 3eVhGQkNFY2ovYWh1UT09

• March 16, 2023, at 9:00 am. Held in the Sister Cities Gallery on the first floor of San Leandro City Hall located at 835 East 14th Street, San Leandro, CA. This meeting will also be simulcast on Zoom: the virtual meeting can be accessed by internet as follows:

Zoom Meeting ID: 813 6346 0679

Passcode: 684691

Zoom link: https://sanleandro-org.zoom.us/j/81363460679?pwd=anFzWWM3Q3 B5NXA3dUFyMUJrbmFCUT09

A bidder who fails to attend a pre-bid conference will be held responsible for any information that could have been reasonably deduced from said attendance.

Note: Paper applications will not be distributed. Applicants may submit paper applications by downloading a blank application on our online portal LiveAtNorthgateTerrace. com and mailing a completed application to the following address: Northgate Terrace, 550 24th Street, Oakland, Ca 94612. Applications may also be dropped off on site between 9am to 4pm (pst) from Monday-Friday.

Application information and our resident selection criteria is available on the online portal at LiveAtNorthgateTerrace.com. Please contact Related Management for building info at 510-465-9346 or email us at NorthgateTerrace@related.com.

If you need help filling out an online application, you can contact 211 or you can go to the website, http://211alamedacounty.org/ for additional information.

Applicants may request a reasonable accommodation if one is needed to assist in completing an application by calling 510-465-9346, TTY 711 or by emailing NorthgateTerrace@related.com

Income limits are subject to change based on changes to the Area Median Income as published by HUD, and the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.

Questions regarding the plans and specifications may be submitted in writing to the project engineer until 5:00 p.m., five (5) days before, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays, bids are due. The City will not respond to oral questions outside of the pre-bid conference. The response, if any, will be by written addendum only. Oral responses do not constitute a revision to these plans or specifications.

Dated: February 23, 2023 Kelly B. Clancy City Clerk

wds.) 41 J_ _ _ _ ter (funny person)

42 *Lena Horne hit song "From This ___ On"

43 Beatty and Buntline

Down 1 **___ Owens; 1936 Olympic hero who shattered Hitler's myth of white supremacy

2 One way to walk (3 wds.)

3 ___ cheese

4 "The __ __ God is Lord" (Mark 2:28)

5 **Tennis Hall of Famer Arthur

6 Do not disturb (2 wds.)

7 Bring up the rear

8 That man 9 "La vie ___ rose" (song)

10 Battery size

16 Opposite of SW

17 "Do not ___ to one another" (Colossians 3:9)

18 **Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, looked up to, so to speak

19 *Afro-Cuban dance, _ _ lsa

24 West Palm Beach (abbr.)

26 Tough Love, briefly

27 About to explode 28 **___ Kaepernick; NFL quarterback & activist

29 **Basketball icon Jordan's monogram

30 **Baseball's Hammering Hank

32 Snake sound

34 Shelter

35 **Holyfield rival Tyson

38 *"I ___ Legend"; Will Smith movie

39 *Egyptian king (2 Kings 17:3) /"very"

Continued from page 3

notice that contained the proposed merger of 10 schools with no community engagement.

This is the least amount of time that communities have been given notice of school mergers and closures that any of us can remember, and a violation of the OUSD Community Engagement policy, the Reparations for Black Students Resolution, and AB 1912 - which requires an Equity Impact Analysis before any vote to close, consolidate or merge schools.

Mergers would not impact the budget next school year since they would not occur until the 2024-25 school year. This makes the lack of notice and community engagement even more shocking and unnecessary.

The Public Employment Relations Board recently ruled that the way OUSD closed schools last year was illegal. Additionally, California Attorney General Rob Bonta led an ongoing investigation into the recent school closures by OUSD. We believe that a rush to merge schools currently is legally, financially, and ethically irresponsible.

We were also elected to ensure Oakland students have the safe, stable, and racially just community schools that they deserve. Cutting our lowest-paid staff who provide direct services and support to students is not the way to balance a budget, and it’s certainly not what is best for students.

Finally, we were elected to bring stability to a district that has been mismanaged for decades. Thanks to federal COVID funds, historic increases in state education funding, and the payoff of one of our state loans, we are not in a financial crisis.

However, we do have an obligation to be fiscally responsible and direct our resources where they will have the most impact on students. Unfortunately, rushed

decision-making on a compressed timeline based on little community input and insufficient data is a pattern in OUSD and one that we were elected to end.

We need to fundamentally change how our district does business.

That change starts with a few things. First, while our teachers are paid less than the Bay Area average, our highest-paid, top-level employees are paid more.That must change.

We have more unrepresented top-level staff than districts of similar size and demographics. That must change. We owe it to our students, teachers, and families to keep all cuts as far away from the classroom as possible.

Additionally, OUSD has a 22.7% reserve, far more than the 2% reserve required by the state or

California Reconsiders Potential of College Work-Study Jobs

UCSF Patient Support Corps is giving her a preview of what a nurse’s duties look like. She reviews patients’ charts and checks in with them during telehealth appointments.

“I see words that I’m studying at school,” she said. “I’m learning how to communicate with cancer patients at a sensitive time in their life.”

Fixing The Disconnect Between School and Work

By Emma Gallegos EdSource

When she returned to school to become a nurse, Karina Mendez wanted a work-study job that she could balance with classes at City College of San Francisco. Thanks to a new program in California, she landed one that does more than pay the bills — it gives her a career boost.

Mendez works to support patients with cancer at UCSF, helping her get a foot in the door of a hospital where she’d love to be a nurse.

“It gives me a sense of hope that I could be a part of the UCSF department,” Mendez said.

ticipate.

The program is in its early days. Funds were rolled out to the state’s public colleges and universities this fall, and institutions have until 2031 to use them. Some colleges and universities have small pilot programs, but most are in the planning stages of using this funding.

It’s too soon to say how many students are participating statewide. In the long run, state funding could provide opportunities for about 100,000 students like Mendez — who makes $20 an hour — working 15 hours weekly for a semester.

Most students work their way through college, but often these jobs have nothing to do with their career aspirations. The state and federal governments are working to change that.

Adele Burnes, deputy chief of Californa’s Division of Apprenticeship Standards, put it this way: “What if that work was really, intentionally connected to their education?”

the 3% reserve required by OUSD board policy. We can fund nonrepresented positions through the money in reserves and not fill positions vacated through attrition.

The reserves would fund these positions for one year and at the end of one year, departments would have to find other sources of funding if they wanted to maintain these positions.

Lastly, as elected officials, we have a responsibility to the public to be professional and honest in our messaging and actions. The words we use carry power, and so we must choose them carefully.

Our teachers, staff, and admin istrators work hard and deserve our respect. It is unconscionable to make unfounded accusations that educators who oppose these bud get cuts are “engineering a strike.”

Educators, whether they are certificated or classified, work to gether to build school communi ties that support our students, fam ilies, and communities every day. Teachers do not want a raise on the backs of the people they work with to support students.

No one is “engineering a strike,” and these reckless words only seek to divide students, fami lies, educators, and the commu nity.

We call on our colleagues to engage in civil debate over dif ficult issues, and not use their po sitions of power to discredit those who show up to work every day for us, our children, and our city.

1111 Broadway, Suite 800, Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 208-7400 • www.alamedactc.org

Professional Services for the Alameda County Multimodal Performance Monitoring Project (RFP No. R23-0011)

The Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) is seeking proposals for a contract to commence services in October 2023, or as indicated in the RFP and/ or appropriate addenda.

Key Date:

• Pre-proposal conference held online: March 15, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time (PT)

• Proposal due date: April 6, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. PT

Proposals are subject to Alameda CTC’s Local Business Contract Equity Program. The Program goals for professional services are 70% for Local Business Enterprise (LBE) and 30% for Small LBE. For Program requirements and forms, visit Alameda CTC’s website. Any contract resulting from this RFP will be awarded without discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation or national origin.

All RFP documents are available at the Procurement Portal: https://alamedactc. bonfirehub.com. All questions regarding this RFP must be submitted in writing via the Procurement Portal, no later than 3:00 p.m. PT on March 21, 2023.

Submittals must be made in accordance with the instructions in the RFP. Any contract awarded must be in compliance with the local, state, and/or federal requirements.

She is one of the first beneficiaries of a new state-funded workstudy program called the LearningAligned Employment Program. It pays the wages of students who are considered underrepresented in a job that aims to give them a leg up in their careers — unlike traditional work-study positions in campus cafeterias or bookstores that have little connection to students’ future career goals.

Besides medicine, the fields include tech, engineering, clean energy, education and university research.

The state invested $500 million of its budget surplus into the program, which is run by the California Student Aid Commission. Over 98% of public colleges and universities have signed on to par-

Ohlone College in the East Bay has a small pilot, and it is hearing from other colleges in the Bay Area Community College Consortium looking for ideas of how best to spend the funding.

“It has taken a fair amount of time to figure out how we will use these LAEP funds, because it’s in its infancy,” said Kelsey Bensky, program manager for the college’s Career Services.

Eloy Ortiz Oakley, president and CEO of the College Futures Foundation, applauded California for using work-study funds this way. He called it “an important piece of a larger puzzle.”

“Students are hungry for this experience,” said Oakley, former chancellor of California Community Colleges. “They want to see that their work in the classroom is connected to their employment.”

Mendez said her role in the

Critics say that the lack of opportunities for college students to learn on the job is a symptom of the larger disconnect between the California economy and higher education. The state is making important strides on this front, Oakley said, but it is still behind many European countries, Singapore and even states like Indiana and Texas.

“Employers have not invested time and effort to make this work,” said Oakley. “Colleges don’t always have the resources to make this work.”

A lot of work goes into creating a high-quality internship, such as figuring out which students are eligible and vetting opportunities from employers, said Gina Del Carlo, the founding director of Earn & Learn. The Bay Area Community College Consortium contracted with Earn & Learn to guide 25 Bay Area colleges pursuing this work-study funding.

“It’s not as simple as: ‘Here’s

VanCedric Williams, District 3

Valerie Bachelor, District 6

State funds will pay for up to half of student wages at for-profit employers, 90% at a public educational institution or a nonprofit and 100% of the wages at the UC, CSU or community colleges.

Comcast and Black Joy Parade Honor Bay Area Changemakers at the 2023 Black Joy Parade

Angela Wellman, Aminah Robinson and Antoine Hunter are the 2023 Icons Among Us

chef, she believes that food is a universal experience that brings people together to share their heritage.

Robinson has brought to life three distinct brands centered around the intersection of food, social justice and entertainment: The Black Food & Wine Experience, an interactive annual event that bridges food, education, health, and Black culture, “Bringing It to The Table,” the first culinary competition show highlighting the talent and passion of Black chefs, and Chef Mimi Catering, a boutique catering company that services Bay Area tech companies, non-profits and cultural events.

On February 26th, Black joy filled the streets of Downtown Oakland as Black Joy Parade gathered the community for its 6th annual celebration and parade. Comcast has proudly supported the Black Joy Parade and its mission to honor, celebrate, and amplify Black joy since its inception in 2017. This year, Comcast powered the “Black Cultural Zone,” a dedicated area within the celebration site featuring a DJ station, roller skating rink and a Black-owned small business marketplace.

To celebrate the movement beyond Black History Month, since 2020, Comcast joined forces with Black Joy Parade and introduced the “Icons Among Us” award, an initiative to recognize community-nominated local activists and leaders dedicated to being a warrior for racial equality. Upon selection, each “Icon” receives a $5,000 contribution from Comcast to donate to a charity of their choice.

Comcast’s float in the Black Joy Parade procession featured the 2023 Icons: educator and activist, Angela Wellman; culinary expert and entrepreneur, Aminah Robinson; and choreographer and advocate of possibilities, Antoine Hunter. Each Icon is committed to igniting change and inspiring innovation within our communities.

Meet the Icons

Angela M. Wellman is an award-winning musician, scholar, educator, and activist. In 2005, she co-founded the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music (OPC), a vanguard institution that centers Blackness in the development of American musical culture and identity. Since opening its doors, OPC has provided affordable and culturally relevant music education for people of all ages.

Antoine Hunter, also known as Purple Fire Crow, is an award-winning African American, Indigenous, Deaf, Disabled, choreographer, dancer, actor, instructor, producer and Deaf advocate. He creates opportunities for Disabled, Deaf and hearing artists and produces Deaffriendly events.

Adding onto the celebration, Comcast and Black Joy Parade partnered with Visit Oakland to host a panel introducing the 2023 Icons to reporters and influencers to give them a warm welcome and congratulations.

“We often wait until our heroes are gone to honor and celebrate them, but these heroes are here, and they are incredible. We don’t have to wait, we can have dinner with them right now,” said Elisha Greenwell, Black Joy Parade Founder and CEO. “I can’t believe we are on year six of the parade. Comcast took a gamble on us before the first parade when we didn’t know if anyone would come. Comcast has been a ride-or-die since the beginning. I know we have a love-hate relationship with corporations, but Comcast has shown up authentically.”

Wellman’s passion for and commitment to creating access to culturally sustaining music education has kept her dedicated to developing pathways to meaningful experiences in music for the people of Oakland and beyond for the past thirty-five years.

Aminah Robinson, also known as Chef Mimi, is passionate about bringing Black culture and food together for the best culinary experiences. As a classically trained

An innovator and changemaker at heart, Hunter has founded many organizations and programs driven to expand diversity and inclusion within the arts such as the Urban Jazz Dance Company and the Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival. Hunter utilizes his company’s artistic talents to engage with audiences, empower Deaf and disabled communities, and advocate for human rights and access. In response to Covid-19, Hunter founded #DeafWoke, an online talk show that amplifies BIPOC Deaf and Disabled stories as a force for cultural change.

SPONSORED BY COMCAST CORPORATION

This story was written and paid for by Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA), a global media and technology company that connects people to moments that matter. We are principally focused on connectivity, aggregation, and streaming with 57 million customer relationships across the United States and Europe. We deliver broadband, wireless, and video through our Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky brands; create, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, Universal Studio Group, Sky Studios, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, multiple cable networks, Peacock, NBCUniversal News Group, NBC Sports, Sky News, and Sky Sports; and provide memorable experiences at Universal Parks and Resorts in the United States and Asia. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

From left, Jacob Mitchell, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Comcast Xfinity in California, introduces the 2023 “Icons Among Us”: Antoine Hunter, Aminah Robinson, and Angela Wellman. Credit: Don Feria/Comcast

Comcast employees walking in the 2023 Black Joy Parade. Credit: Don Feria/Comcast

The Comcast California team at the Black Joy Parade media preview. Credit: Courtesy of Comcast

Angela M. Wellman (center) is an award-winning musician, scholar, educator, and activist.

Aminah Robinson, also known as Chef Mimi, is passionate about bringing Black culture and food together for the best culinary experiences. Credit: Don Feria/Comcast

Antoine Hunter (left), choreographer, entrepreneur, and advocate of possibilities, was honored at the 2023 Black Joy Parade in February. Credit: Don Feria/Comcast

From left to right, Angela Wellman, Aminah Robinson, and Antoine Hunter are announced as the 2023 Icons Among Us at the inaugural 2023 Black Joy Parade Media Preview by Velena Jones, emcee and NBC Bay Area Journalist. Credit: Courtesy of Comcast

Alameda County D.A. Adds Hate Charge to Defendant Facing Trial for Assault with Deadly Weapon

North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church Saved...

Continued from page 1

North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church from a Tax Sale.”

Continued from page 1

By Carla Thomas

On Wednesday, March 7, new Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price added a second charge to a man already accused of a hate crime.

“Hate crimes will not be tolerated in Alameda County,” said Price at a Tuesday afternoon press conference in Oakland. Price amended the charges from an assault in Fremont in which Aqweel Akbar Khan, 46, ran over an African American man six times with a car on Dec. 6, 2021.

Area surveillance captured the incident on video, that has gone viral. The victim survived the assault with major injuries and remains traumatized. Reports say the victim said he’d been verbally attacked with racial slurs by Khan before. He also accused Khan of vandalizing his car with racial slurs.

Former Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley did not charge Khan with a hate crime in the alleged assault with a car and offered no explanation.

Khan was initially charged with assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury. Following a review by prosecutors in Price’s office, the hate crime allegation was added.

The other alleged hate crime by Khan was against a woman of Indian descent in August 2021, Alameda County prosecutors said. Near Lake Elizabeth in Fremont the defendant approached her, and cursed her, and made comments about the victim speaking to her brother in Hindi. He punched the victim several times, causing her to fall to the ground and lose consciousness.

Khan was initially charged in

2021 with one count of attempted murder for the second incident. He was also charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism over $400, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury.

There were special allegations including felony hate crime, use of a deadly weapon, and great bodily injury for the first incident involving the Hindu woman, but similar charges were missing for the African American man. Honorable Judge Kimberly Coldwell held the defendant to answer on these charges in a preliminary hearing in April 2022.

Price and her prosecution team believe racial bias led to both attacks.

Court documents state Khan admitted to spray painting racist words on the victim’s vehicle and trying to kill the man he ran over.

Price explained that Khan fled the scene and the county following the attack with the car. Records detail Khan’s arrest three days later in the Sacramento.

Price commended the Fremont Police for their prompt apprehension of Khan and their repeated requests that the attack against the African American man be properly charged as a hate crime.

The case was scheduled for a pretrial hearing on March 7 and was postponed to April 14, 2023. The District Attorney plans to amend the charges before that date.

According to Price, each of Khan’s victims testified at his preliminary hearing.

“Hate has no home in Alameda County,” said Price.

Effort to Maintain Higher Education at Holy Names...

Continued from page 1

campus will continue to be used for educational purposes,” according the HNU letter signed by Board Chair Steven Borg and Acting President Sister Carol Sellman. Responding, Kimberly Mayfield, deputy mayor of Oakland, told the Oakland Post, “It would be an amazing opportunity for the city to be home to an HBCU.”

A former faculty member, who served on the HNU Faculty Senate, speaking in an interview with the Oakland Post, thanked the Post for publishing truthful informa-

Contributions in various amounts poured in the save NOMBC from so many, but these leaders were instrumental in this effort: Dr. Fleetwood Irving, moderator of the St. John Missionary Baptist District Association; President E. Wayne Gaddis of the California Missionary Baptist State Convention, Chaplains of Oakland Police Department, Bay Cities; Dr. Joe Smith, Antioch Missionary Baptist Church and Baptist Minister’s Union; Dr. Todd Wheelock, Mount Zion District Association; Dr. Anthony Braxton moderator, ICAC, Impact Oakland Now; Dr. Willie Estes, New Strangers Home SF; Bishop Gregory Pay-

ton – Greater Saint John MBC; Dr. Lawrence Van Hook, Community Christian Church; Pastor Ken Chambers, West Side MBC; Dr. Henry Perkins, First Baptist MBC; Dr. Leon McDaniels, Paradise Baptist Church; Dr. Maurice Bates, Mt. Zion Baptist Church; Bishop Kevin D. Barnes, Abyssinian MBC; Dr. Jim Hopkins, Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church; Pastor Darnell C. Hammock, New Life Community Church; Bishop Keith L. Clark, Word Assembly Church and Pastor Michael W. Wallace, Mount Zion MBC of Oakland.

As a result, North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church paid its delinquent and current tax bill on Wednesday, March 7 and saved its property!

anything is possible. Without it — without that right, nothing is possible. And this fundamental right remains under assault.”

“We must remain vigilante,” he continued.

Brenda Knight, co-founder of Ladies in Red, a Bay Area organization that travels around the country with seniors to learn about important African American history, was in attendance this weekend. She told the Oakland Post the weekend included a Foot Soldiers Breakfast honoring those who marched on Blood Sunday, an awards ceremony, a film screening, and educational panels, among other events. Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia received an award.

Knight shared why she at-

tended the weekend and why she thinks commemorating Bloody Sunday and other historical events is so important. “If it wasn’t for the foot soldiers, we wouldn’t have rights. If our children understood how many people died for their rights, they would vote more. If our kids know the history. We have to stop taking our voting rights for granted.”

Knight said commemorating anniversaries like Bloody Sunday was even more important considering recent book bans and attempts to ban African American history in schools. “Our history is American history,” she said. “We have to do what we need to do to make sure our history is told. Because they’re taking the books. [So] we can’t stop talking.”

Oakland City Officials Send Letter to Holy Names University

City officials seek collaboration to preserve higher education on campus

tion about what is happening at the university.

“All the other news media just repeat what the university puts in its press releases,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Based on his experience, he said he remains skeptical of statements and promises made by HNU’s leadership.

“The Faculty Senate has been completely shut out of the process. Many faculty members have had to leave. We’ve asked for transparency for years, but the stories shift, and there’s no accountability and no transparency.”

By Dr. Kimberly Mayfield, Rebecca Kaplan, Carroll Fife, and Janani Ramachandran

The following letter, which the Post obtained on March 9, was sent to Steven Borg and Sister Cynthia Canning, leaders of Holy Names University in Oakland.

As Oakland Leaders who hold the well-being and educational needs of Oakland residents to the highest priority, we respectfully request your collaboration with the City of Oakland to ensure that an educational institution serving the community will exist on the Holy Names University site in the future.

Holy Names University provides vital community needs by expanding access to jobs for underserved communities, providing career opportunities within the university itself, and helping remedy the labor shortage for essential workers, including teachers and nurses in Oakland. Not only do students, faculty, and the community of Holy Names enjoy these benefits, but the community overall benefits from all the university provides.

Understanding the unique role Holy Names University plays in Oakland, in 2019, the City authorized the issuance of tax-exempt bond financing at the request of Holy Names University to enable and support these vital public purposes.

Due to our interest in preserving and improving the quality of life for our constituents and preserving the educational use of the campus site, which is its appropriate General Plan designation, we are concerned about the future of Holy Names University, and its announced closure in May of this year.

It is our goal to ensure that an educational institution serving the community will exist on the Holy Names site in the future. We have learned that a variety of stakeholders and other universities have expressed interest in preserving this site for educational purposes and that the lender is ready, willing, and able to support such efforts.

We want to make clear that any efforts to remove resources from Holy Names University’s approved

public purpose as a university would be inappropriate. The endowment, the tax-exempt bond approval, the Oakland General Plan designation for the site, and more, are all based on the designated use of the Holy Names campus as an educational institution, and we are prepared and enthusiastic to help ensure this already designated use for the site persists.

It is encouraging to hear that outside stakeholders have expressed interest in maintaining the Holy Names site for higher education. We request your collaboration with us, Preston Hollow Community Capital (PHCC), and other stakeholders, to preserve Holy Name’s current site use for the purposes of higher education.

We are confident that there is a win-win, amicable solution where we can work with you and your lender to find a successor university and absolve HNU of the debt, while providing a better future for the workforce and vital educational programs.

Thank you for letting us know about the breakdown in commu-

nication with the lender whom you had chosen to work with for the bond financing. We are happy to help broker a mutual resolution by which the property would be transferred to a new university, and there would be a mutual commitment that any excess proceeds from such sale would be dedicated to an appropriate non- profit entity.

We gladly welcome the opportunity to collaborate with you and hope to connect within the next week to work towards achieving this goal.

Signed:

Dr. Kimberly Mayfield, Deputy Mayor

Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, At-Large

Oakland Councilmember

Oakland Councilmember Carroll Fife, District 3

Oakland Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, District 4

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price

Pastor Joe Smith of Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church along with the Bay Area Baptist Ministers Union and Facilities supported the North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church (NOMAB).

Dr. Kimberly Mayfield, Deputy Mayor Oakland Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, At-Large Oakland Councilmember

Oakland Councilmember Carroll Fife, District 3 Oakland Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, District 4