Post News Group Begins Special Series on Domestic Violence In partnership with California Black Media, the Post Newspaper Group will be publishing a series of stories on violence in the home from now, Women’s History Month, through October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic violence affects
iStock image.
1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men in the course of their lifetimes, according to the Center for Disease Control. Domestic violence ends in 30,000 deaths per year worldwide. Recent studies show that Black women are three times as likely as other ethnic and racial groups to experi-
ence lethal domestic violence, making it the leading cause of death for Black women, ages 15-25. In the months to come, we will take a solutions-oriented approach in our stories as we explore early signs of intimate partner abuse, new state laws to help survivors, impact of
religious ideology, same-sex partner abuse and more. Our writers will be reaching out to survivors, social workers, volunteers and faithbased leaders to get ideas on the latest policy and community practices to deal with what is nothing less than a scourge on family, mental and
emotional health. During this months-long campaign, the Post will also host two gatherings inviting the public to learn more about the impact of domestic violence. this series next week.
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
postnewsgroup.com
57th Year, No. 39
Weekly Edition. Edition. Mar. 17-23, 2021
City Council Creates Civilian Teams to Respond to Mental Health Crises Instead of Police By Ken Epstein
The governor addressed recall efforts against him. “The reality is, (it) looks like it’s going on the ballot.” Photo by Auintard Henderson.
Gov. Newsom Visited Ruby Bridges Elementary School, Praising Efforts to Return Children to School for In-Class Learning By Eli Walsh, Bay City News
Gov. Gavin Newsom visited an Alameda elementary school -
fort to recall him while touting the state’s progress in reducing coronavirus cases and expanding vaccine access. Newsom visited Ruby
Bridges Elementary School as part of a series of school visits in recent weeks as students return to in-person classes for the Continued on Page 8
The Oakland City Council this week unanimously voted to kick off a program that uses teams of trained, unarmed civilian to de-escalate and resolve mental health crises and disorderly conduct complaints instead of sending police to those calls. The program, Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland (MACRO), will be operated by the Oakland Fire workers who are trained by experienced experts. The 18-month pilot program is already funded for $1.85 million, but the city will need
Teachers’ Union and District Reach Deal to Reopen Schools Beginning March 30 Oakland (BCN)
Oakland schools will begin reopening before the end of March, after leaders from the teachers’ union and the school district reached a deal Sunday after weeks of negotiations. The tentative agreement -the Oakland Education Association and then passed by the trict board -- also preserves the option for students to remain in distance learning. ment has in-person classes resuming March 30 for prekindergarten through grade 2 and priority students, with the second phase resuming April 19 for grades 3-5 and at least one secondary grade to be de-
Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell
termined later. The district announced the tentative agreement late Sunday night just before midnight in a press release. The union is expected vote on the agreement this week and, if approved, would then go before the district school board for its vote. The agreement allows fami-
Keith Brown, president of the Oakland Education Association.
lies to keep their students in distance learning if they prefer. Few other details of the agreement were included in the district statement. who choose to opt-in would return to campus March 25 to prepare for the transition. Teachers in the second phase
would return to campus April 14. The district noted that campuses will operate at a limited capacity due to public health guidance to maintain physical distancing. “This is a critical step forward for our students, families and staff, as we all can now see the light at the end of the tunnel of this year-long ordeal,” said Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell, in statement included in the press release. “I want to express my deepest appreciation to our teachers for working so hard to get us to this point and supporting their students through distance learning.”
City Council President Nikki Forunato Bas (left) and Councilmember Sheng Thao both strongly backed the creation of MACRO, as an alternative program based in the Oakland Fire Department that will respond to many non-violent emergency calls without police. Photos courtesy City of Oakland.
more money to extend the program. “With MACRO, we’re developing a model unique to Oakland that improves community safety and save more focus on and improve response time to the most urgent calls for services such as homicides and gun violence,” said City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas. “I am thrilled to see the MACRO program move for-
ward under the jurisdiction of medical emergencies,” said Councilmember Sheng Thao on Facebook. The resolution to create the program was originally introduced by Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan on March 2. The resolution and ordinance passed Tuesday to expedite MACRO was introduced by Bas and Continued on Page 8
Chanée Franklin Minor Appointed to U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
remarks, as quoted in the same press release. Continued on Page 8
H.E.R.’s George Floyd Song is Our Song, Too Commentary
H.E.R. didn’t have to mention Pak Ho by name. The Oakland resident came to my mind immediately. Ho is the 75-year-old-Asian American who just recently received his
By Emil Guillermo
Pres. Joe Biden said that anti-Asian hate crimes were “un-American” and “must stop.” But I assure you, those in the current perp demographic suspected of anti-Asian hate crimes in America aren’t listening to Joe Biden. They may listen to Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson. Better known as H.E.R., the Black-Filipino singer-songwriter won a Grammy on Sunday for song of the year for the George Floyd-inspired protest song, “I Can’t Breathe.” She is the embodiment of the harmony that comes when we take a love interest in one another. From the awards stage, she gave a shout out to another Asian American—her Filipina mother. “I want to thank my mom,” H.E.R. said as she accepted the award. “I recorded this song myself in my bedroom at my mom’s house.” Then the Vallejo native spoke
H.E.R. courtesy Twitter,
to the feelings of unity we all felt last year. “We are the change that we wish to see,” H.E.R. said, adding, in us the summer of 2020? Keep that same energy.” now. And could there be a better messenger than a part-Asian, part-Black woman who just won for a Grammy for a song that called out for racial reckoning of our times?
then last week, he needed something more than that. Like a vaccine against racism. Ho died March 11, the latest victim in the rising number of anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S. And it happened about the same time Biden was delivering his prime-time address to let Asian Americans – and the whole country – know that such racist acts will not be tolerated. That’s a whole lot better than the previous president who used the terms “China Virus” and “Kung Flu,” and modeled selfish, unempathetic behavior. But let’s face it. This is more than just about the virus. It’s about 21stcentury racism. It’s just too late for Ho, who died from head injuries suffered when he fell to the ground after being punched earlier in the week in a robbery attempt in Oakland. An African American suspect, Teaunte Bailey, 26, was arrested.
It’s the second fatal death in recent weeks involving an elderly Asian American in the Bay Area. In San Francisco, Vicha Ratanapakdee, 84, was pushed to the ground by a Black suspect, in a crime that was caught on video. Another incident last month in Oakland’s Chinatown, also caught on video, showed yet another elderly Asian man pushed to the ground, but not fatally, by a Black suspect. What gives? “Most people think in terms of racial opposition as being Black can Studies at San Francisco State University’s College of Ethnic Studies. “And the reality is, the ‘other’ includes Asians and that ‘other’ sets us in a position where we’re the targets of hatred from both Black and white. And that’s pretty much in evidence by the attacks that are going on.” But as long as Asian Americontinue to have instances where and violent form of xenophobia. Emil Guillermo is a veteran award-winning journalist and commentator.
Chanée Franklin Minor outside of Oakland’s City Hall. Photo by Eugenia Man. By Zack Haber
Lifelong Oakland resident Chanée Franklin Minor has been appointed to US Commission on Civil Rights. “I’m so excited to join the Franklin Minor. “I feel honored to contribute my skills to take
part in this human rights moment that we’re in.” The US Commission on Civil Rights informs the development of national civil rights policy and enforcement of civil rights laws. Through investigated informed reports, Continued on Page 8
COVID-19 Vaccinations Monday to Friday 9am-4pm, Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church,1203 Willow St, Oakland at the corner of 12th and Willow-no appointment needed. Saturday and Sundays, call 510-208-4565 for an appointment at True Vine Church, 896 Isabella Street, Oakland near West Grand & Market St.”