SF FAITHS Offers Classes on Disaster
Preparedness to Community Groups Page 2
Yolanda Richardson, Government Operations Secretary Page 5
Ruth Ella Moore: First AfricanAmerican Woman to Earn Graduate Microbiology Degree Page 2
Teachers Hesitancy to Return to Classes Has Led to Safer Reopening Plans...Page 5
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
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Rev. Dr. Robert Lacy, Founder of St. Andrew Missionary Baptist Church, Dies at 88 From St. Andrew Missionary Baptist Church
Rep. Barbara Lee
U.S. Must Do Better to Help Migrant Children at Southern Border, Barbara Lee Says By Keith Burbank Bay City News
“We must do better” at helping migrant children coming alone to America’s southern border, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, said following a trip she made late last week to immigrant facilities in Texas. Lee made the trip to Texas as part of a congressional delegation that toured at least two facilities, including the Carrizo Springs Ofand the El Paso Border Patrol Central Processing Center. “This is a heartbreaking situation that requires a long-term solution as well as urgent action to reunite families,” said Lee, who added that children arriving at our border alone are experiencmatic ordeal. “In the El Paso facility, I saw a young girl, about six years old, reunite with an older brother, about 10 years old,” Lee said. “When they saw each other, they ran to each other and embraced, both of them crying.” Lee committed to advocating for more money for social services -- such as counseling and education at the facilities -- and to ensuring that federal development dollars strengthen economies and further democracy, so that children don’t have to “People come to the United States seeking a better life,” Lee said. “Immigration has made this country what it is. We must provide just and fair treatment for those seeking a better life in our country.” Lee is on the House Appropriations Committee and chairs the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs.
Inside:
“Rape is Rape” See page 6
Rev. Dr Robert Lacy was born on Nov. 27, 1932, in Vicksburg, Miss. He left this world on March 28, 2021. He was 88 years old. His early education began in a church house called Mt. Ararat Missionary Baptist Church in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He started kindergarten in 1937, graduated Bowman High School in May 1947 (age 15). The fall of 1947, he entered Alcorn State University, where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Education. His academic promotions were accelerated through his personal intellect and the guidance of a popular businessman who owned portions of city industry in Vicksburg. The dawn of 1951, he traveled to California and decided to advance academically by enrolling in evening courses at Merritt College. Because of the union strike that year, he was able to take a full course
in the 2021-23 budget even with $192 million coming from the federal American Rescue Plan. Despite that, council President
Acting at a public meeting, Oakland’s state overseers recently blocked a Reparations for Black Students resolution that would have protected neighborhood schools from being permanently closed. Under state control since 2003, the school district has already closed about 20 schools under the guidance of the state acting through the Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team (FCMAT) and a state trustee.
The Oakland Post Salon Community Assembly will hold a Zoom meeting April 18 to investigate the undemocratic and discriminatory practices by the state in Oakland schools. The meeting will be held Sunday, April 18 at 2:00 p.m. The Zoom link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/886518342 04?pwd=YWUvSWlqOHJV ckdQTUlHcjJZQW5ldz09 The meeting ID is: 886 5183 4204; and the passcode is: 848752
Institute. Through endless study hours and due diligence, he accumulated a multitude of cluding with a Doctor of Divinity with a major in Theology. The Spirit of God developed Continued on Page 8
Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas
Nikki Fortunato Bas hopes to position Oakland to thrive, not just survive. “It’s not enough to go back to where we were,” Bas said,
referring to pre-pandemic times when even then many in Oakland were hurting. She thinks the council can position the city for a strong economic recovery and she has at least one idea to help do that. Bas’ idea is a progressive business tax, which could raise tens of millions of dollars by applying a higher tax rate on larger businesses. Currently, Oakland’s busimom-and-pop businesses pay the same tax rate as Whole Foods Market, which is owned by online retail giant Amazon. Under a progressive tax, Whole Continued on Page 8
COVID-19 Rent Relief Funds Available to Oaklanders By Zack Haber
About 12.8 million in federal funds and 13.8 million in state funds are available to Oaklanders to help tenants pay, and landlords receive, back rent that was due related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds will be distributed through the Keep Oakland Housed Emergency Rental Assistance Program and SB 91 State Rental Assistance Program. Both programs begin the process of taking applications and distributing funds on April 1, 2021. Information for both programs will be available and updated through this url: oaklandca.gov/resources/ housing-resources-erap-emergency-rental-assistance. The Keep Oakland Housed Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which will distribute federal funds, will focus on those with the highest need
By Post Staff
Rev. Dr. Robert Lacy. Photo courtesy of the family.
load at both Laney and Merritt colleges in Oakland. Transferring to San Francisco State University, he carried a full load of academic classes. Over the years he pursued study at Golden Gate Seminary, University of California, Berkeley, and Bay Cities Bible
By Keith Burbank Bay City News
But the mayor and City
Post Salon Launches Investigation of School District’s State Overseers
State Overseers Want to Continue Closing Oakland Schools
Homelessness, Housing, Public Safety Top City Council Budget Priorities Homelessness, housing, and public safety are Oakland city councilmembers’ top priorities for the 2021-23 budget, the topic of a council retreat Tuesday. Those priorities are at least partially consistent with what Oakland residents see as the city’s most pressing needs, based on a recent survey by FM3 Research, an opinion re-
57th Year, No. 41
Weekly Edition. Edition. Mar. 31-Apr. 6, 2021
Mike Hutchinson By Ken Epstein
District’s state overseers have mostly operated behind the scenes to enforce their dictates since they took over the district nearly 20 years ago. But last week, the state Trustee Chris Learned sent shock waves through the school community when he came to a public board meeting to announce that he would “stay” or block any motion of the board that halts or puts a temporary moratorium on permanent closing of Oakland schools The state, acting through the Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team (FCMAT) and the state Trustee, has pushed for austerity budgets, with annual cuts to programs in the city’s classrooms and closing as many as 20 schools since the state takeover in 2003. Many activists who back the Reparations for Black Students policy told the Post that the overseers were forced to appear in public because of the huge pressure the board and administration were feeling from hundreds of students and community members in the
VanCedric Williams
Justice for Oakland Students Coalition, which has the backing of community leaders and Organizations active in the coalition include Bay Area Plan, Parent Voices, Anti-Police Terror Project, the Black Organizing Project and the Oakland Education Association (OEA). Activists are excited about the passage of a historic reparations policy in OUSD because it contains a commitment to repairing the historic harm done to Black Students. But they are furious the about the refusal to pass the part of the resolution stopping school closures. “There is no justice if you Continued on Page 8
Free COVID-19 Vaccinations at True Vine Ministries
Four tenants who lost work during the pandemic and are withholding rent payments live in this home in the Northgate neighborhood of Oakland. Federal and state funds are likely available to them and other Oaklanders in similar circumstances. Photo by Zack Haber on March 30.
and reimburse up to 100% of unpaid rent and utilities. The SB 91 State Rental Assistance Program, which dis-
tributes state funds, will cast a wider net and reimburse in Continued on Page 8
True Vine Ministries will administer free COVID-19 vaccinations on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday through April 5, 2021. You must be a resident of Alameda County and bring valid ID. Priority will be given to the following zip codes: 94601, 94603, 94606, 94607 and 94621. The church is located at 896 Newton Carey Jr. Way (formerly Isabella St.) in Oakland. True Vine Ministries Health & Wellness in conjunction with My Dr. Donna, LifeLong Medical, the Alameda County Public Health Dept., FEMA, and the California Highway Patrol is assisting community members to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Schedule an appointment by calling 510-549-5402 or 510208-4565.