Digital Issue 10-13

Page 1

Ruth Carol Taylor: Breaking the Sky-High Ceiling

Gov. Newsom Signs 46 Bills, Part of $123.9 Billion Education Plan...P5

Page 2

National Council of Negro Women Celebrate 70th Anniversary, October 23 Carlene Gray, Pres. East Bay Section

Page 8

Taylor Memorial United Methodist Church Serving West Oakland for 100 Years...P10

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

postnewsgroup.com

Weekly Edition: October 13-19, 2021

Opinion

58th Year, No. 17

Jobs in Oakland Series

MACRO Success Depends on City Must Pay Promptly Qualified Oaklanders Who Know Our Neighborhoods

Ambassador Ruth A. Davis (left) is shown meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Ambassador Ruth A. Davis Pioneered Diversity in Foreign Service UC Berkeley Grad Continues to Bring International Economic Empowerment for Women

By Post Staff Ambassador Ruth A. Davis was recently named as a distinguished alumna by the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley. She also has been honored by the U.S. State Department when a conference room at the Foreign Service Institute in Virginia was named in honor of her service as director of the Institute. She was the first Af-

rican American to serve in that position. Davis, a graduate of Spelman College received a master’s degree from UC Berkeley in 1968. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, also a graduate of the School of Social Welfare, now chairs the House Appropriations Committee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs. She praised Ambassador Davis as “a trailblaz-

ing leader and one of the great American diplomats of our time. Over her 40-year career, she had so many ‘firsts’ on her resume: the first Black director of the Foreign Service Institute, the first Black woman Director General of the Foreign Service, and the first Black woman to be named a Career Ambassador, to name just a few. “She served all over the

Elihu Harris

Kayla Patrick

Harris is a former California Assemblyman, executive director of the National Bar Association, Mayor of Oakland, and Chancellor of Peralta Community College District. To purchase tickets and sponsorships, go

to https://policypathways. org/event/fall-celebration/. Contributions to Policy Pathways are tax-deductible. For information contact info@policypathways.org or call (866)-465-6671.

Continued on Page 12

Policy Pathways Honors Former Mayor Elihu Harris and Six Youth Leaders

Policy Pathways has announced former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris as its 2021 Policy Leadership Award recipient, along with six Virginia youth who will receive 2021 Youth Public Service Awards. The award winners will be recognized Thursday, Oct. 21, at the Policy Pathways Third Annual Fall Celebration from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. The event will take place online and is open to the public. The keynote speaker will be Kayla Patrick, Senior Data & Policy Analyst at the Education Trust. She will be receiving the Excellence in Public Policy and Administration Award.

By Sheng Thao City Council President Pro Tempore

I have introduced legislation to restore the City of Oakland’s Prompt Payment Ordinance and it will be heard at 1:30 p.m. by the City Council on October 19 because local contractors and local businesses need to be compensated in a timely manner for work they do on behalf of the City. It’s unacceptable that the city is using the COVID-19 pandemic to delay payment to these local non-profit organizations. By restoring the Prompt Payment Ordinance, local organizations working for Oaklanders will be compensated in a timely manner and can do more work for Oakland as a result. In March 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, then-Interim City Administrator, Steven Falk issued an Emergency Order suspending parts of the City’s codes to give the City the flexibility to navigate the uncertain times. Few would have guessed then that the world would still be navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic nearly 18 months later. One of the ordinances suspended by the Emergency Order was the Prompt Payment Ordinance. Oakland’s Prompt Payment Ordinance requires the City to compensate local businesses and contractors executing City grants or contracts within 20 days of receiving an invoice. This allows local organizations providing services on behalf of the City of Oakland to be Continued on Page 12

ILWU Profile: Marcus McDade, Working on Oakland’s Waterfront Oakland’s longshore and dock workers are the frontline essential workers for economic pandemic relief and supply-chain restoration

“I was born and grew up in North Oakland and attended Washington Elementary and Claremont Jr. High School, then Oakland Tech and graduated from Berkley High. I work for ILWU, Local 10 and have been a longshoreman for 22 years. “Before becoming a longshoreman, I worked small, part-time jobs including as a coach for after-school youth program football, basketball and baseball for Oakland Parks and Recreation. “A buddy called me one morning and said that the longshoremen were hiring and to get down to Jack Lon-

ILWU member Marcus McDade

don Square, fill out a postcard and send it in before 5 p.m. At the time, I wasn’t sure exactly what a longshoreman did, but I

knew it was a good paying job with benefits. “When I arrived at Jack London, there was a line wrapped around the corner. My buddy kept saying it was a good job, so I put in for it. It was 1999, and my name was picked from the lottery. The rest is history. “This is a great job. It takes care of my family, my kids and me. I started off as a dock man, unidentified with no benefits, then identified and went straight to B-man and then Aman where I still am today. “I like the fact that you can start at the bottom (unidentified) and be promoted to the top as A-Man. I’ve completed

numerous skill trainings that allow me to work various waterfront jobs for good pay, including but not limited to operating top picks, calamars, cranes, and transtainers. “Not only are the pay and benefits great, I also love the flexibility. I pick up my jobs from the Hall and if a job is available and in alignment with my number, I can choose it because I’m trained in so many skilled jobs on the waterfront. “Currently, I have a nephew who works on the Oakland waterfront. I’m proud I was able to help my nephew have an opContinued on Page 12

By Rev. George C.L.Cummings, Ph.D Senior Minister Imani Community Church Executive Director, Faith in Action East Bay

Oakland is finally nearing implementation of a model program that will provide a humane alternative model for low-level emergency calls that do not require a police response. Faith in Action East Bay (FAIEB) and other members of the Coalition for Police Accountability were deeply involved in a year-long community process, especially in targeted neighborhoods, that included town halls, participatory research, and stakeholder meetings, to develop an appropriate program unique to Oakland. Two significant concerns

Opinion

were emphasized. Oaklanders overwhelmingly believe that hiring and training diverse, qualified residents that reflect the community they serve is essential to building public trust. We always knew that we would have to fight for good pay and benefits. “If they’re hiring us, what kind of jobs will they be?” was the common question. In February 2019, FIAEB members prepared lunch for 70 unhoused Continued on Page 12

HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge Visits Oakland’s Clifton Hall

From left to right: Susan Friedland, Chief Executive Officer , Satellite Affordable Housing Associates, HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge and Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Secretary Fudge discussed Build Back Better Agenda. Photo by Conway Jones.

Serving low-income women with cancer

Charlotte Maxwell Clinic Celebrates 30th Anniversary

In California, over 1.1 million women have been diagnosed with cancer. About one out of three, nearly 400,000, are lowincome and cannot afford care. Over the past 30 years, Charlotte Maxwell Clinic has been supplementing thousands of low-income women’s standard cancer care with complementary therapies that they otherwise would not have been able to afford. Services are provided free of charge. Studies show that integrative care, including acupuncture, herbs, massage, guided imagery, movement, and nutritional therapies, is vital for an improved quality of life and optimal recovery from cancer and its treatment. Cancer survivor Claudia C. says, “When I came to CMC... my physical health and emotional well-being were serious-

CMC’s Medical Director Dr. Mary Lynn Morales, DAIM

ly compromised. I was going down, isolated and lost. It felt as if I belonged to a different, less valuable subspecies, more like a human waste…. I find myself beyond words to express my gratitude for the extent that CMC has altered and enhanced the life of my family and me. Thank you, Charlotte Maxwell for making such a real, direct and profound difference in our Continued on Page 12


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.