By Etta Jones Despite life challenges that would disorient most others, young and old, Nicolas Ross is looking forward to graduating from Fremont High School with a 4.31 grade point average and attending UC Berkeley in the fall. Since ninth grade, 10 of his friends have died as a result of gun violence in Oakland. [...]
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By Post Staff Spencer Whitney, a 23-year old journalist from New Jersey, received his master’s degree in Journalism from UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism this past May. Whitney graduated from Howard University in 2011 where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the John H. Johnson School of Communications. Whitney’s master thesis project, [...]
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Courtesy UC Berkeley Public Affairs The UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Community Partnership Fund (CCPF) has announced this year’s award recipients for projects focused on education, arts, math and sciences. Now in its seventh year, the fund will award a total of $252,000 to 11 partnerships between local community members and UC Berkeley students, faculty and staff. [...]
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By Terri Schlichenmeyer The Bookworm Sez When you become a parent, much is expected of you. Of course, you’re expected to feed and clothe your child, to provide shelter and comfort, toys and encouragement. Society expects you to teach morals, kindness, and compassion, and to send your kids to school to learn more. And heck, [...]
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By Raquel F. Donoso, Madeline Kronenberg and John M. Gioia The future of California is here. Our state — with its great cultural and economic diversity — is at an important point in its history. Our economy is adapting to the dynamic global marketplace. But, due to many factors, including the Great Recession, many of [...]
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By Sarah Yang, UC Berkeley Media Relations Some racial groups are more likely to bear the brunt of extreme heat waves because of where they live, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. The findings, published May 14 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, highlight racial disparities at a [...]
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Seeds of Change, maker of organically grown seeds and organic foods, has announced that Willard Middle School is among this year’s 16 Share the Good award recipients. Willard will receive a $10,000 Share the Good grant to support community-based gardening and sustainable farming. Share the Good is funded by the Seeds of Change “1% Fund,” [...]
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Joseph J. Gross, who served on the Berkeley School and was executive director of Neighborhood House of North Richmond, died on April 25. He was 72. Mostly recently a resident of Albany, he was born on April 3, 1941 in Detroit, MI. He graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C. and became active in the [...]
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UC Berkeley and the Young Musicians Choral Orchestra (YMCO), an independent, non-profit organization, have announced that the nonprofit will be taking over the administration and management of the Young Musicians Program. This year’s Summer Institute, which will be shortened in length and limited to orchestra/choral training, will be Young Musicians Program’s last official offering as [...]
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By Terri Schlichenmeyer, The Bookworm Sez You’re a kid who knows right from wrong. When you were little, your parents helped you understand what was good and what was not. Once you got bigger, you could see when something wasn’t fair and you remember how much you hated that. These days, you’re old enough (and [...]
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By Ned MacKay According to Katie Colbert, the East Bay Regional Park District naturalist who has studied the reptiles for many years: “People are seeing the rattlesnakes now because they have come out of their winter dormancy and are moving around mostly looking for food, but the males might also be ranging a little further [...]
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By Terri Schlichenmeyer, The Bookworm Sez For awhile there, you thought you were gonna die. Your head hurt. Your body ached, and your stomach was acting like a fresh-caught fish – but that didn’t matter much. Bills still needed paying and business needed attending. There was family to care for, work to do. Yes, you [...]
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By Benjamin Todd Jealous There is no way to make up for decades of discrimination that crippled the proud history of Black farm ownership in America. But we can do our best to move forward. In 1999, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agreed to settle the civil rights lawsuit Pigford v Glickman. The settlement [...]
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By Marc Morial “The findings represent a tipping point for blacks, who for much of American history were disenfranchised and then effectively barred from voting until the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.” Associated Press Last July, the National Urban League released a report entitled “The Hidden Swing Voters.” Our report predicted that [...]
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Bees and other insects will be the focus of a couple of programs on Sunday, May 19 at Tilden Nature Area in Berkeley. Naturalist James Wilson will host a meet and greet with local bees, while talking about the importance of a healthy bee population, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Then from 2 p.m. to [...]
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By Roibín Ó hÉochaidh, UC Bekeley News Center Tension-spoked wheels. Triangular metal frame. Crank-and-chain drivetrain. The bicycle is perhaps man’s simplest means of self-propelled transportation. For UC Berkeley graduate student Christopher Ategeka, however, the humble machine propelled him on a journey from the dirt tracks of East Africa to Oakland’s asphalt streets and the lecture [...]
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DeFremery Park, which was the home to the USO for African Americans in World War II, will be receiving a facelift and a makeover of its historic grounds. Friends of deFremery Park held a reception May 3 to recognize McElhaney’s work and last month’s Earth Day cleanup of the park. More than 175 volunteers participated [...]
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By Jesse Brooks For over a decade, Blacks have been disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. Although they account for over half of new infections each year in the United States, African Americans account for a low percentage of experimental vaccine participants. According to Dr. Susan Buchbinder, director of Bridge HIV research department at the San Francisco [...]
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Ora McClendon, affectionately known as “Carol” to family and friends, passed away on April 14 at the age of 90. She was born Ora Hopkins on Dec. 15, 1922 in the Jackson Parish of Quitman, Louisiana to Green and Rose Hopkins. She graduated from Chatum High School in Quitman and was a faithful member of [...]
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Rev. Clarence L. Johnson announced that the annual revival of the Mills Grove Christian Church, 5410 Fleming Avenue, Oakland, will begin with a reception at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, May 17. Praise Dancers will perform and sermons will be delivered by Rev. Elvis Knox and B.K. Woodson. A continental breakfast with music by the CYF [...]
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By Tanya Dennis Representative Mel Watt, Democrat Representative from North Carolina was named to replace Ed DeMarco on May 1st as the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) after a year of protests from housing activists. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley called Demarco’s actions “inexplicable” and joined New York’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman [...]
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Kaiser Permanente, the largest health-care provider in Northern California, has announced that it will invest $11.7 million in the Oakland community. The investment will help keep children and teens healthier year-round by expanding school-based health centers, and will also enhance programs that promote learning and job-related opportunities. Through funds established by Kaiser Permanente at the [...]
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Amsterdam News Staff The Amsterdam News has learned, and the U.S. Embassy has confirmed, that Malcolm Shabazz – grandson of Malcolm X, was killed in Mexico. Several reports around the circumstances of his death, stilled unconfirmed, have rummored that he died early Thursday morning, May 9, 2013 from injuries sustained after he was thrown off [...]
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By Ashley Chambers With Mother’s Day approaching, Sankofa African Arts & Jewelry at 120 Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland has pieces fit for a Queen. One of a kind amber, silver, and gem stone jewelry fill the display in this local shop accessorized with unique handbags, African fabrics and artifacts, handmade masks, drums, incense, and [...]
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The Temple Hill Symphony Orchestra is presenting its Spring Concert, “Blast Off,” on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Oakland Temple Hill’s Inter-stake Center Auditorium. Presented by Jay Trottier, the orchestra’s new conductor, with help from Dr. Scott Holden, head of the BYU Music Department, and the Golden Gate Knights, [...]
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By Post Staff Professor, author, and East Bay resident, Margo Okazawa-Rey, became known to thousands of educators with her 1998 co-edited book, “Beyond Heroes and Holidays.” This collection of analytical essays and curricular materials for K-12 educators challenged the prevailing approaches that focused on a list of famous figures and ethnic holidays during the “months” [...]
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By Jesse Brooks For over a decade, Blacks have been disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. Although they account for over half of new infections each year in the United States, African Americans account for a low percentage of experimental vaccine participants. According to Dr. Susan Buchbinder, director of Bridge HIV research department at the San Francisco [...]
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The green Senior BART ticket is being replaced by the Senior Clipper card, an all-in-one transit card. The clipper card keeps track of multiple passes, ride books or tickets (which are specific to the transit system being used), as well as up to $300 in cash value at one time, while applying all applicable fares, [...]
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By Ashley Chambers Chatting with golf-lover Reyhan Griffin, 14, one can notice that the young man is wise beyond his years. A 4.0 student from San Francisco’s Bayview district, he was the grand prizewinner of Wells Fargo’s Succeeding Together video essay contest, playing in the 2013 Wells Fargo Championship Pro-Am last week alongside Rickie Fowler, [...]
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By Kia Croom More than 200 people attended the Black American Political Action Committee’s (BAPAC) Sixth Annual Judge Carroll Community Service Awards reception and fundraiser held on May 2 in Richmond Sanitary lobby. The annual event is a fundraiser that recognizes outstanding citizens for community service, leadership and dedication to the Richmond Community. This year’s [...]
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Ten-year-old Tariah Brown, a student at Verde Elementary School in North Richmond, has been a cheerleader for the past four years. A SWAT All Stars Youth Divas Youth Prep Level I cheerleader, she and her Northern California team competed against a team in Southern California for the Cali Finale North vs. South, April 19-21,in Bakersfield. [...]
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By Terri Schlichenmeyer, The Bookworm Sez Sometimes, your entire life feels like a recipe for drama. Oh, you really hate it, and you’d like to wipe your plate clean of it all, but that’s never goanna happen. No matter what’s cooking around you, there’s always an extra ingredient to increase the tension: raw emotion, sliced [...]
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The Berkeley Alliance will hold an 8th grade workshop to help students and families understand the challenges students may experience as they transition from middle school to high school on Thursday, May 16 at Willard Middle School, 2425 Stuart St. in Berkeley. The workshop will also provide some basic information about post-secondary opportunities and how [...]
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By Joseph Serna, L.A. Times A limousine burst into flames when a rear door was opened in an attempt to save the passengers inside, the limo’s driver told CNN in an interview Monday afternoon. “Everything happened so fast,” LimoStop Inc. driver Orville Brown, 46, said. “When that back door opened, it just burst into flames.” [...]
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Congresswomen Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) this week introduced H.R. 1843, the Repeal Existing Policies that Encourage and Allow Legal (REPEAL) HIV Discrimination Act. The REPEAL Act expresses the sense of Congress that federal and state laws, policies, and regulations should not place a unique or additional burden on individuals solely as a [...]
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The Oakland Emiliano Zapata Street Academy’s Youth Action Team (Y.A.T.) recently hosted a school-wide assembly to discuss violence in the city, bringing the message “It’s NOT whatever!” to their classmates on Thursday, April 18.. Students at the school were assigned the task of creating and leading a project to address youth violence in Oakland. Youth [...]
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Centerforce, a leading organization that serves youth, families and formerly incarcerated adults – will hold a celebration and fundraising event Wednesday, May 15 from 5 p.m.- 8 p.m. at Coliseum Lexus of Oakland, located at 7273 Oakport St. For over 30 years, Centerforce has been a national leader in providing evidence-based programs to incarcerated [...]
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Democrat Linda Dorcena Forry, a Haitian-American from Dorchester, Boston, won her party’s nomination in the race for the First Suffolk state Senate seat. Her opponent will be Joseph Anthony Ureneck in Boston’s May 28 election. If elected, Forry will be the first woman and minority to represent the Boston district and the first Haitian-American to [...]
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The premiere of “Free Angela and All Political Prisoners,” written and directed by Shola Lynch with questions and answers by Angela Davis, will take place Tuesday, May 7 at 7 p.m. at the Landmark Piedmont Theater, 4186 Piedmont Ave. in Oakland. In this historical vérité style (observational) documentary marking the 40th anniversary of Davis’ acquittal [...]
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The Oakland City Council will decide Tuesday, May 7 whether to extend an ordinance that requires crematoriums to obtain a Major Conditional Use Permit (CUP) in order to operate in Oakland, a rule that was adopted last May. Among those urging the council to make the ordinance permanent are East Oakland residents, Allen Temple Baptist [...]
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By Carla Thomas Acts Full Gospel Church of God in Christ’s Youth Department presented a “Diamonds In the Rough” Debutante Ball last Saturday night at HS Lordships Restaurant in the Berkeley Marina. Themed “Celebrating our Strengths and Accomplishments,” the black tie gala showcased over a dozen young women in white ball gowns with matching arms [...]
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A pillar of girl and women empowerment, Girls Inc. of Alameda County recently held its 25th Annual Strong, Smart, and Bold Luncheon where four young ladies, Keisha Hayfron, Sharon Yu, Luna Flores, and Lisset Perez, were awarded with Girls Inc. scholarships. The organization also honored Bay Area journalist Belva Davis, producer of Disney Pixar’s “Brave” [...]
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By Janet Peterson Deseret News “I want to start with the common belief we have that African-American personal histories are unknown and unknowable. Indeed, this is a common idea both among professional historians, and among those of us who do genealogies,” stated Dr. Leslie Harris, keynote speaker at the 9th annual African-American Genealogy Conference held [...]
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By Jesse Brooks A candlelight vigil was held Monday on the anniversary of the unsolved murder of Brandy Martell, who was killed last year at the corner of Franklin and 13th streets in downtown Oakland. The vigil was meant to raise awareness of continued violence against the transgender community. Martell, 37, who identified as transsexual, [...]
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By Ebony Tinsley A trip to the emergency room can be an expensive nightmare for households. It is a place that is often filled with frustrated patients and their relatives who feel vulnerable and neglected. While the emergency room is designed for those who are suffering serious and unexpected medical conditions, there are more non-urgent [...]
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By Sarah Jane Weaver, LDS Church News Each youth has gained something from the Hotdogs and Homework program, held on Tuesday nights at the Church of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Harlem. Clever Clark, 7, just learned to read; and Daisy Sorcia, 14, doesn’t mind doing homework, but prefers to have fun. Hotdogs and Homework started [...]
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Attorney General Kamala Harris has announced California’s National Mortgage Settlement Grant Program has awarded $9.4 million to 21 organizations in order to assist Californians affected by the state’s foreclosure crisis. “The foreclosure crisis has inflicted wide-ranging and deep harm to California homeowners and communities,” said Harris. “These grants will give homeowners and families the financial [...]
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The East Oakland Rotary Club is offering a $1,000 George T. Jackson Scholarship to high school seniors. The scholarship will go to nine students who: reside in the East Oakland area; attend an accredited high school in East Oakland; and need financial assistance to enter a four-year college Students must also have at least a [...]
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Ginger Howard, a 17-year old golf player, has officially become a member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) making her the youngest ever. She is also the fifth Black American woman to join the LPGA Tour. While her popularity is still very low, all of that will likely change as Howard continues to advance [...]
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Dancer, author, actress and playwright Ruth Beckford is hosting a workshop on how to stay open to new experiences after the age of 80. The workshop – “So I live to 80, then what?” – will be held on Saturday, May 18, featuring a panel of women who remain active and continue to pursue new [...]
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