By Barbara Bauer Charles L. Burns Jr., who worked as an administrator for Four Seasons Arts and other symphonies, died Feb. 24 in San Francisco. He was 76. Burns was born on Aug. 8 1936 to Beamen White Burns and Charles L. Burns, Sr. in Grand Ridge, Florida. He earned a Bachelor of Arts...
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By Ashley Chambers Men of Iron (MOI) is an organization that seeks to provide a positive influence for young boys in Oakland, Seeing the lives of young Black men taken away by countless homicides and incarceration, six deputy sheriffs started the program in 2007 in response to the lack of positive male role models...
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By Post Staff As millions of Venezuelans mourn the death of 58-year-old President Hugo Chavez, a number of local residents remember the controversial leader’s efforts on behalf of the poor in his country and the U.S. Under Chavez, the CITGO – Venezuela Heating Oil Program has provided low-cost heating oil to 1.7 million people...
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By Ashley Chambers Students across the nation can boost their math and science scores from the comfort of their computer screens by tuning in to live stream sessions conducted by Rev. Robert Lacy Jr. of St. Andrew Private School in Oakland. As a teacher of math and science for the past 15 years, Lacy...
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Gigi Crowder has received the Mental Health Association of Alameda County’s Distinguished Achievement Award for her work as ethnic services manager in the county’s Behavioral Health program. Crowder received the award for her “commitment to cultural diversity in mental health” and “the outstanding work she does to honor the consumer and family voice regarding...
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History, says Wanda Ravernell of Omnira Institute, is not a subject you study. It is something you live with. Day in and day out, we live with the choices made in the past, choices that continue to affect us. “It is important to know that history,” said Ravernell, “because it frames the choices...
Read more →The Senior Travel Troupe will discuss upcoming excursions for adults 50+ Monday, April 1, 10 a.m. to noon at the Senior Community Center, 13909 East 14th St. in San Leandro. Learn the affordable, exciting and fun way to travel. Preregistration is required to attend this free meeting. Priority registration for all trips will be...
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Bancroft Middle School sixth grader Isaac Silva won a brand new 24-inch mountain bike this week as part San Leandro’s Safe Routes to School Program. The bicycle was presented Monday by Vice-Mayor Michael Gregory, along with San Leandro School Board Trustee Diana Prola and Safe Moves Coordinator Lisa Jackson. Bancroft Middle School students took...
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By Ashley Chambers A few hours or more spent viewing the Kinsey Collection will put you in touch with the legacy of Black history in its original powerful form. Examine the iron shackles used for female slaves, the bill of sale of William Johnson sold for $550 in 1832, or look at the insightful...
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Berkeley High School’s jazz bands kick off their spring season with two shows at Yoshi’s Oakland on Tuesday, March 26. Both shows will feature the Berkeley High Jazz Ensemble, the program’s flagship big band. The show will also feature one of the program’s smaller combos, made up of students poised to become tomorrow’s jazz...
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In commemoration of Harriet Tubman and Women’s History Month, the national nonprofit GirlTrek is challenging Black women and girls to join the “We Are Harriet” challenge on Sunday, March 10. Event organizers are asking women to commit to walk 30 minutes a day, five days a week for eight weeks to pay homage to...
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Vice President Joe Biden marched Sunday, March 3 with Congressman John Lewis and other Black civil rights leaders in Selma, Alabama to commemorate the “Bloody Sunday” beating of voting rights marchers 48 years ago. State police assaulted the original marchers in 1965 over the protest urging Congress to pass the 1965 Voting Rights Act...
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The Senate’s version of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 was approved by the House on Thursday, Feb. 28 but not until Democratic members of Congress spoke out against the plan proposed by the House, which excluded women of Native American ancestry and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people. “I pray that this...
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Thomas C. Frazier, former police commissioner from Baltimore and deputy police chief of San Jose, has been appointed by a federal court judge to oversee long-stalled reforms in the Oakland Police Department. Frazier will have unprecedented powers to fire or demote the police chief and commanders and spend money without city approval. He will...
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Senator Huff visited Post/El Mundo offices to discuss issues affecting minorities State Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff this week visited the Oakland Post Newspaper to open a dialogue regarding educational opportunities for all Californians. Huff is backing an education reform package that he says is designed to promote equal and quality access to public...
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By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor The beginning stages of Oakland’s redevelopment of its portion of the old Army Base grew a little more confused last week when city officials filed an unlawful detainer legal action in Superior Court against Pacific Coast Container (PCC) Logistics to make sure the company is off the base property in...
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By Ken A. Epstein Is the city retaliating against Pivotal Point Youth Services, which provides job training to low-income youth in West Oakland, after the Oakland Post reported on the city’s failure to provide timely payments to the agency? The Post reported complaints made by Pivotal Points at public meetings of the Oakland Workforce...
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Cape Coast Castle dungeons where slaves were housed before the middle passage journey to America By Babatunde Harrison Part I—My mother “The Ancestress” If it were not for the British Navy, my father told me, our family would have ended up on an American slave plantation. My great grandfather, Labia Harrison, was kidnapped in...
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Raised in Oakland, Dr. E.N. Crawford accepted Christ at the age of 13. He acknowledged his call to the Gospel ministry in 1973, making him the youngest preacher in the California State Baptist Convention. Crawford took on an active role as part of the ministerial staff at the Union Baptist Church, where he became...
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By Jesse Brooks Acclaimed photographer and HIV advocate Duane Cramer is partnering with Project Runway star Mondo Guerra on the national HIV education campaign “I Design,” which encourages people with HIV to become personally involved in their treatment. “I Design” kicked off the second year of its initiative on National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day,...
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By Jesse Jackson The Supreme Court this week heard a challenge to the Voting Rights Act in the case of Shelby v. Holder. On the same day, across the street in the congressional rotunda, a statue honoring Rosa Parks was unveiled. And one week later, the nation will celebrate the 48th anniversary of Bloody...
Read more →Jazz Search West 2013, a Bay Area’s Jazz talent search for adults and teens 15 and up, is holding four competitions at Jazz venues in San Francisco and Oakland during the month of March. Contestants will perform at the venue of their choice in front of a panel of judges chosen from Bay Area...
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In celebration of Black History Month, Supervisor Keith Carson and community leaders held the African American Organizations Making Connections 2013 conference, “Strategies and Outcomes for Our Black Community,” Feb. 23 at Laney College in Oakland. More than 500 people attended. “The Black community faces many challenges, including high unemployment, Black-on-Black violence and poor health...
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Problem gambling crosses the lines of culture, race and economic status—impacting more than a million people in California. The 2013 Problem Gambling Training Summit, hosted by the California Office of Problem Gambling (OPG) on March 4-5 in San Diego, will focus on prevention and treatment approaches tailored for the state’s diverse populations. “There is...
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By Tanya Dennis Acting Executive Director Deborah Ale-Flint has become the first African-American woman to serve at the helm of the Port of Oakland, the fifth busiest container port in the country. She had previously worked since 2010 as aviation director at the Oakland International Airport, another first for an African-American woman. A resident...
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Charles Darden, 66, a music conductor and pianist who worked with the Dance Theater of Harlem and performed frequently in Europe, died Feb.20 at his home in Dublin, California. Born in Galveston, Texas on Aug. 28, 1946 to Linnie L. Darden, Sr. and Victoria Darden, he attended local schools in Galveston and and Berkeley....
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James Noel, local artist and former local resident, will be exhibiting his work at the Hannah Gallery in Marin City. The opening reception will be on March 9 from 5 p.m. to 7 pm. The exhibit will continue through April 30. Special guests at the opening will include best selling author and jazz critic...
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The San Leandro Public Library is hosting a talk with San Leandro City Attorney Jayne Williams in celebration of Women’s History Month. Williams was recently selected by the legal periodical The Recorder for its 2012 “Women Leaders in Law” list. She heads the law firm Meyers Nave’s Crisis Management Practice. Her prominence in the...
Read more →The San Leandro Public Library is offering a visit to the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in the heart of the Yerba Buena Cultural District in San Francisco on Saturday, March 9. A guided tour of the museum will include MoAD’s new temporary exhibit of The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and...
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The Black Student Union (BSU) at San Leandro High School hosted a Black History Month program on Monday, Feb. 25 with the theme “Reaching Back, Moving Forward”. The event was supported by parents LuTillian Hudson and Angelia Foxall, and donors included Starbucks, Piccadilly Restaurants, D.R. Roberts Event Management, Best Burgers, Rock & Roll Japanese...
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By Carla Thomas The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission held an awards luncheon, Celebration of Black American History, in partnership with the San Francisco African American Chamber of Commerce at the Hotel Whitcomb in San Francisco on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The 500 community members, leaders and elected officials enjoyed live entertainment by the Jaye...
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Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and the City of San Francisco announced plans for PG&E to invest approximately $1.2 billion in San Francisco’s infrastructure over the next five years. Tony Earley, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of PG&E made the announcement with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee during the San Francisco Chamber...
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The Contra Costa Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. will host an Impact Day in Richmond on Saturday, March 9, focusing on Childhood Obesity. The free, daylong community health fair “Keep it 100!” at John F. Kennedy High School in Richmond is designed to help combat a growing crisis in America while...
Read more →By Debbie Hernandez The 6th annual sold out celebration of Black History held on Feb. 8 at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium focused on the history and people of Richmond. The event featured stories of migration to Richmond; gospel and praise dancing; poetry and civil rights speeches; local heroes, and fashion from different regions of...
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By Kia Croom The Robinson-Weeks-Robinson Scholarship Fund Inc. hosted its 14th Annual Scholarship Breakfast Saturday Feb. 23, from 9 a.m-noon at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium. The annual event raises money to help underserved high school seniors from West Contra Costa County go to college. Event highlights included a performance by Rhythm and Gospel artist...
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By Kia Croom Richmond youth are ready to play ball, and Richmond Little League Baseball and Softball is here to serve them. For the last five years, the Little League has partnered with agencies such as Richmond Police Activities League (PAL), YMCA and Richmond Parks and Recreation to bring organized baseball and softball...
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By Post Staff After nearly seven years in prison, Ronald Ross was exonerated from a conviction for attempted premeditated murder. Ross was found guilty Nov. 8, 2006 of trying to murder Renardo Williams, who was shot on the front porch of his West Oakland apartment in April of that year. Ross was sentenced to...
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By Danielle Savage NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory may have discovered the youngest black hole in the Milky Way galaxy, according to a UC Berkeley researcher. “We know of a couple of hundred or so black holes. The interesting thing about this one we think it’s the youngest one ever discovered,” said Josh Shiode, graduate...
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The East Bay Regional Park District is looking for lifeguards for the 2013 swim season. Applicants must be able to swim well but need no previous lifeguard training. Hourly wages are from $13.78 to $21.06, a bit more for instructors. No certificates are required. The district provides paid training. Applicants must be at least...
Read more →By Conway Jones Capitol Post News President Barack Obama this week appointed David Johns as executive director of the White House Initiative for Educational Opportunity of African Americans. Under the Presidential Executive Order, the initiative will be part of the U.S. Department of Education. The goal of the program is to restore the country...
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By Benjamin Todd Jealous and Chad Griffin A decade before Rosa Parks’ arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, police dragged Bayard Rustin off a bus in Tennessee for the same act of protest. When pressed about why he was resisting segregation, Rustin gestured to a young white...
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The Internationally known African Children’s Choir will perform Friday, March 8 at 6 p. at The Church By the Side of the Road in Berkeley. The program features children’s songs, traditional spirituals and gospel favorites, as well as African dances. Admission to the concert is free. A free-will offering is taken at the performance...
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By Rikha Sharma Rani Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, the well known downtown Oakland nightclub that closed in early 2009 after a high-profile showdown with the Oakland Police Department, reopened its doors in July. The grand opening was marked with a birthday celebration for club owner Geoffrey Pete. Pete’s birthday is March 5. On his birthday...
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By Conway Jones Capitol Post News President Barack Obama this week appointed David Johns as executive director of the White House Initiative for Educational Opportunity of African Americans. Under the Presidential Executive Order, the initiative will be part of the U.S. Department of Education. The goal of the program is to restore the country...
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