The Fannie Lou Hamer Fellowship is a $3,000 award by Public Citizen’s Democracy is for People campaign to an undergraduate or graduate student or recent graduate who has overcome adversity in his or her life and is passionate about challenging the threat posed by the pervasive influence of money in elections. The fellowship stipend...
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San Francisco and Oakland barbershops have joined forces with the Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program (BBHOP) to conduct diabetes and high blood pressure screenings 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 12. Participating barbershops will provide a place for volunteers to educate, screen and refer African American patrons, encouraging them to become more...
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Graduate students in linguistics professor Lev Michael’s class at the University of California, Berkeley, will wrap up the year by producing a legacy for speakers of an endangered language called Garifuna. Under the guidance of Michael and native Garifuna (pronounced Ga-RIF-foo-nah) speaker Philip Tim Palacio of Rocklin, Calif., the nine students have spent the...
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Randie Ellington of ARPB Toastmasters Club 8933 has been installed as the newest governor of Area D30 in Toastmasters District 57 for 2012 – 2013. Ellington, who is originally from Oakland, is an East Bay Commercial Real Estate broker. He has been a member for over 30 years of Toastmasters, the world’s largest organization...
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Oakland and Francisco Public libraries, in partnership with the national organization Youth Speaks, are staging competitions that will result in two Youth Poet Laureates, one from each city. The winners will each be honored with $5,000 in scholarships and the opportunity to officially represent their communities through poetry, media, and public appearances. The search...
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By Mieasha Harris, Executive Director for Girls Inc. of WCCC Young women seeking to empower themselves are taking opportunities to learn from professionals in the science, math and engineering fields, as well as how to lead others, protect themselves from predators and excel in life. Girls Incorporated of West Contra Costa County is committed...
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State Senator Loni Hancock received the Woman of the Year award and Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson was honored with a “Good Guy” award at the annual Susan B. Anthony fundraiser of the National Women’s Political Caucus-Alameda North. The event was held Sunday, March 18 at the Greek Cathedral in the Oakland hills. Hancock...
Read more →Wells Fargo and Company marked a milestone anniversary of 160 years with a series of donations and volunteer activities across the nation. Wells Fargo donated more than $2.5 million to more than 60 nonprofit organizations. In some regions, Wells Fargo customers helped determine how pools of $160,000 were divided among local non-profits by voting...
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Charles H. Turner, Re-Entry Team Manager for the Oakland Private Industry Council (PIC), has been named Workforce Professional of the Year by the California Workforce Association for his dedicated efforts to help the formerly incarcerated successfully reintegrate into society Turner will be honored at an awards luncheon on April 5, as part of the...
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Alameda County Supervisor this week honored three East Bay leaders in the field of public safety who are the first women to hold their current positions. The awardees at the Wednesday evening event at the woman-owned Vessel Gallery in Oakland were Nancy O’Malley, Alameda County District Attorney; Debra Pryor, Chief of the Berkeley Fire...
Read more →Hepatitis C virus — not AIDS-causing HIV — is the leading chronic virus infection leading to death in the United States, and its victims most often are baby boomers. More than half who are infected do not know it. Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found in a study...
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By Armond S. Robinson Formerly homeless, Armond Robinson has found a place to live at C.L. Dellums Apartments at 644 14th St. in Oakland. I was homeless for over a year. I yearned to have the stability and peace of mind of having my own place, where I could resurrect the normalcy in my...
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Members of Oakland ARPB Toastmasters Lia Bolden and Bruce Taylor took first and second place in this year’s area-wide speech contest. Contestants were competing for the opportunity to move on to the District 57 semi-finals. Toastmasters International’s District 57, also known as the Redwood Empire (www.d57tm.org), encompasses most of Northern California, east and north...
Read more →Beyond Emancipation, Alameda County’s primary provider of services for former foster youth ages 18-24, is holding a fundraising dinner 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday, March 28 at Italian Colors, 2220 Mountain Blvd. in Oakland. Italian Colors will donate a percentage of the cost of dinner support Beyond Emancipation programs, which include transitional housing,...
Read more →Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE) is holding a countywide job fair featuring opportunities in K-12 public schools and community organizations. The fair will be held 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Thursday, April 5 at ACOE, 313 W. Winton Ave. in Hayward. Employers will be conducting onsite interviews. Computer terminals will be available to...
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By Lee Hubbard Pastor Dr. Joseph Bryant and First Lady Kelly Bryant of Calvary Hill Community Baptist Church will celebrate 16 years of service Sunday, March 25. The church is located on 141 ‘sIndustrial Road in the San Francisco Bay View. “The 16th ‘Labor of Love’ Appreciation Anniversary for Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Bryant...
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Assemblymember Sandré R. Swanson (D-Alameda) will present a Woman of the Year Award to longtime Oakland community leader Regina Jackson, executive director since 1994 of the East Oakland Youth Development Center. Jackson will receive the award during a special ceremony on the Assembly Floor in Sacramento at 11:30 a.m., Monday, March 26. The event...
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Racquel Martinez, a recreation major at Cal State University East Bay, found an internship at East Bay Regional Park District to do community outreach for the Tidewater Aquatic Center, which provides access to the Oakland shoreline for water activities such as boating and fishing. Martinez was surprised that many people living in the area...
Read more →By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor A newly-released book on the events surrounding the Bailey murder by Chauncey Bailey Project investigative reporter Thomas Peele, “Killing The Messenger” (Crown Publishers), seeks to confirm the conclusion that the leader and two members of Your Black Muslim Bakery, and they alone, were responsible for Chauncey Bailey’s death. But Peele’s...
Read more →Oakland coach Ben Tapscott, along with seven retired professional athletes and five community leaders, will be inducted into the Multi- Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame at its Annual Bay Area ceremony Saturday, March 31 the Waterfront Hotel, #10 Washington St. in Oakland. The event starts at 6 p.m. with a reception. The ceremony will...
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By Carla Thomas Rosie Rios, Treasurer of the United States, told a gathering in Oakland this week that she never wanted to leave her roots in the East Bay – until she realized her experience leading Bay Area economic development efforts was tailor-made for the Obama Administration as it faced a deep economic downturn...
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Too Short and Community Leaders Hold Town Hall Meeting By Carla Thomas In an effort to begin a dialogue on the effects of hip hop and rap on teen and domestic violence, 100 Black Men, A Safe Place and the Office of Supervisor Keith Carson hosted a town hall meeting at Oakland City Hall...
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Rarely do people have a chance to meet an astronaut. Last week, Barbara Lee accompanied NASA astronaut Rex Welheim to meet parents and children at the East Oakland Community Library, 1021 81st Ave. Both Lee and Welheim encouraged students to study science and math and to learn more about the International Space Station, which can teach...
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In an interview with Time magazine, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson was asked the question: “What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the universe?” The famed scientist and author gives an answer that is perhaps as eloquent as it is mind-blowing; as beautiful as it is sublime. It’s best to...
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University Of Rochester Creates Rap Video To Recruit Students (VIDEO) Colleges have ramped up their recruiting efforts in recent years, employing everything from ski weekends to reality TV shows to draw new students in. The latest stunt — a hip hop video — comes from the University of Rochester’s Admissions Office and features a...
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MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry took some time on her Saturday show to discuss what she called a “manufactured controversy” that erupted around President Barack Obama and former Harvard Law professor, Derrick Bell. Harris-Perry, who referred to Bell as an extraordinary legal scholar, issued a bold defense in favor of Obama. Earlier this week, a...
Read more →By Joshua Keating Next week, the NAACP is taking the unusual step of bringing a complaint to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva over voter identification laws, passed in several states, which they say constitute voting rights violations. As William Douglas reports, this isn’t a new tactic for the group: The Geneva appearance...
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By Brian Palmer| Members of the Fraternal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan participate in the 11th Annual Nathan Bedford Forrest Birthday march July 11, 2009 in Pulaski, Tenn. Spencer Platt/Getty Images The number of hate groups in the United States is on the rise, but the Ku Klux Klan is losing chapters,...
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The president has waged war from Day 1. It’s pathetic that critics still claim he’s weak on defense. By: David Swerdlick Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be mistaken, of course, if he went home this week with the impression that all along, he’s been dealing with some sort of peace freak in the...
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An 81-year-old Rhode Island woman is the sole winner of the $336 million Powerball prize, according to ABC News. Louise White, who is African American and of Newport, became the winner of the third-largest Powerball prize ever. “I want to say that I’m very happy and I’m very proud. This will make my family...
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An African-American teacher in south Florida has been suspended in response to claims that she called a Haitian boy “the little chocolate boy nobody wanted.” Leslie Rainer, 46, was suspended for 10 days without pay following a hearing with the Broward County School Board. She allegedly has a history of anti-Haitian comments, having told...
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Before Andrew Breitbart’s unexpected death, the conservative blogger and journalist had promised to release video footage of President Barack Obama that he said would change the election. Now, BuzzFeed has unearthed the video it believes Breitbart was referring to, according to the site’s editor-in-chief, Ben Smith. If this is indeed the footage in question,...
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By Ashley Chambers Grammy-award winning hip hop artist, actor, author, and activist Common entertained Oakland with his optimism and a motivational performance as the host of AT&T’s 28 Days Speaker Series at the Scottish Rite Center on February 1. Joined by the acclaimed actress, author, philanthropist, wife and mother Holly Robinson Peete, the energy...
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The world lost a treasured voice when Whitney Houston died on Feb. 11. She is being remembered not only as a great singer but as a trailblazer in the industry, setting many records and becoming one of pop music’s divas. Whitney Houston’s groundbreaking achievements included more than 400 career awards, and a record-setting string...
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By David Scott Radio personality Nikki Thomas celebrated her 42nd birthday and the Networking Love Festival on Valentine’s Day Feb. 14 at the Liege Spirit Lounge in Old Oakland. “I wanted to get people together to network, celebrating love, community, entertainment and most important – empowerment,’’ said Thomas, who is co-host of the Kevin...
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By Tony Wilkinson Hundreds of neighbors, friends, family members, clergy and union members gathered in front of Berkeley old City Hall Friday, Feb. 17 for a March for Dignity that had been called to support 200 workers who were removed from their lobs at Pacific Steel as a result of a “silent” raid by...
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By Ken A. Epstein Andre Mouton, longtime youth mentor in Oakland and San Francisco schools, had his criminal record cleared recently when he was pardoned by Gov. Jerry Brown. Mouton, 51, was one of 21 whose pardons were approved by Brown from among more 50 names that the Department of Corrections had recommended to...
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By Tanya Dennis Thousands of students, parents, teachers and workers will occupy the state Capitol Monday, March 5, while 70 people are planning to walk 99 miles from Berkeley to Sacramento to join the rally. A march to kick off the occupation begins at 10 a.m. at Southside Park at 6th and T streets....
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By Ken A. Epstein County Supervisor Keith Carson commemorated Black History Month this week with a celebration of five outstanding “Future History Makers” whose leadership is making a difference in the community. “We are here to say thank you to individuals who are contributing each and every day,” said Carson, speaking at Thursday’s reception...
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Editor’s note: In partnership with the Deseret News, we bring you this story about how the Mormon church digitized the Freedman’s Bank Records as a resource to unite African American families. Part I By Trent Toone, Deseret News The cousins from New Jersey can still vividly recall a day two years ago when...
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By Paul Cobb John Collins wants all Americans, especially Blacks, to commemorate March 3 this year: “Everybody should research the Freedman’s Bank, which was founded March 3, 1865. Congress backed the bank as a safe haven for former slaves to deposit their savings and small treasures.” Collins, a numismatist, historian, Buffalo Soldier, inventor and...
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By Kia Croom San Pablo Avenue Church of Christ hosted the 49th Annual West Coast Preachers and Leaders Forum, featuring more than 42 ministers, Between 300 and 400 people attended the forum, which took place from Feb. 5-9. The theme of this year’s event was 21st Century opportunities and challenges facing the church. Minster...
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By Godfrey Lee The Performing Stars of Marin on Feb. 4 hosted an exclusive screening of Red Tails, with a red carpet event to bring 250 middle and high school students to see the movie and meet Tuskegee Airmen and several women who represented Marinship workers in World War II. The event was...
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Mayor Ed Lee celebrated Valentine’s Day this week at City Hall, presenting a key to the city to singer Tony Bennett to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his legendary song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” City Hall rotunda was decorated with pink balloons and red roses. Guests filled the seats under the...
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