The San Leandro Public Library and the Oakland-East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus kick-off and celebrate Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month with a concert and reception on Sunday, June 2 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the San Leandro Main Library, 300 Estudillo Ave. in San Leandro. The concert is free and...
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By Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan The Rev. Philip Cousin Jr., a longtime religious and political leader in Durham, North Carolina was appointed new pastor of Bethel A.M.E. Church in San Francisco. The African Methodist Episcopal Church moved Cousin from St. Joseph A.M.E. in Durham, where he has served since 1992, to the pulpit of Bethel...
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School Makes a Difference for Oakland Students By Jennifer Inez Ward The front office of Street Academy superficially looks like many other high schools – teenagers and teachers milling about, checking mailboxes and turning in assignments. But this is not your regular school. The Oakland Emiliano Zapata Street Academy was born 40 years...
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City Auditor Courtney Ruby has sent out an email “Call to Action” asking Oakland residents to defend her audit that accuses two city council members of interfering with staff in awarding a $6 million Army Base development contract. Ruby’s email was sent on April 26, after the council’s Rules Committee placed an item on...
Read more →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...
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By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor Officials with the Port of Oakland’s longtime cargo inspection company announced this week that they will have to lay off a portion of their workforce, and Oakland will immediately see a drop in the amount of cargo destined for its port if an ongoing conflict involving a move from their...
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By Josh Levs, Phil Gast and Steve Almasy, CNN Within hours of becoming a national hero, a viral video star and the top topic on Twitter, Charles Ramsey talked about having trouble getting sleep. It wasn’t because of all the excitement that followed his knocking down a Cleveland neighbor’s door, freeing three women and...
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By Post Staff The new independent Compliance Director who oversees the Oakland Police Department has released a sweeping “Remedial Action Plan” that requires broader reforms than those that were part of the original settlement that led to the federal takeover. “This action plan…goes well beyond the issues contained in the 11 Negotiated settlement Agreement...
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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’...
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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...
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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...
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Members of Sheet Metal Workers’ Local Union 104 and other construction trades unions joined forces this week with environmentalists, transit advocates, and community leaders in a day of action at BRE’s Annual Shareholder’s Meeting to protest use of out-of-area workers at “substandard wages in developments around the Bay Area. “It is critical that the...
Read more →By Benjamin Todd Jealous The United States has five percent of the world’s people but 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. For the sake of our families and future we must do better. Our nation leads the world in the incarceration of our own citizens, both on a per capita basis and in terms...
Read more →By Post Staff For nearly 12 years, The Richmond Main Street Initiative (RMSI) has been a catalyst for change in the city. The community-based nonprofit has revitalized downtown Richmond, offering community events and programs that celebrate the rich history of the community, such as the Music on the Main summer concert series. Under the...
Read more →By Jesse Jackson The Atlanta public school cheating scandal is but “the tip of the iceberg,” reports Bob Schaeffer, public education director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing. A new FairTest survey reports confirmed cheating incidents in 37 states and the District of Columbia in just that last four years. It...
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Kitty Kelly Epstein, an Oakland activist, received the 2013 Marilyn Gittel Activist Scholar award last week when the Urban Affairs Association held its national conference at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Scholars from across the U.S. and many other countries, including Libya, South Africa, China, and Singapore presented research on topics ranging from...
Read more →By Jesse Brooks A new documentary, called “End Game: AIDS in Black America, will air 10 p.m. on Tuesday, July 10, on Public Broadcasting Network (PBS), by award-winning filmmaker Renata Simone. The film, in which this columnist played a part, takes viewers on an unprecedented two-hour exploration of one of the country’s most urgent,...
Read more →The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is helping to educate teenaged drivers and their parents regarding safe driving practices through its Start Smart Program. The Start Smart Program is a collaboration between the CHP, Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), parents and their teenage drivers. Its goals include: (1) helping younger...
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Christianity’s African Roots Nana Ekua-Hammond breaks down our relationship to the religion before American slavery and White Jesus pieces By Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on linkedin Share on email More Sharing Services ‘Baby Jesus and Three Wise Men’, by Clementine Hunter This Easter, over two billion Christians around the...
Read more →Obama praises Calif. AG’s looks Rich Pedroncelli, AP In this this May 10, 2012 file photo, California Attorney General Kamala Harris appears before an Assembly committee at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. by David Jackson, USA TODAY Published: 04/04/2013 05:40pm We can’t help but wonder what the first lady is going to think of...
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Participants learn basic html with Black Girls Code’s Summer of Code in San Francisco on July 28, 2012. All Photos by Julianne Hing by Julianne Hing Tuesday, July 31 2012, 9:48 AM EST Tags: BlackGirlsCode, Science, Technology, Teens Aita Zulu, on her first try and on her first day with computer programming, made a website....
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We are less than half way through our Black Girls Code- Summer of Code Campaign and it has been an amazing journey! We hosted our largest workshop yet in Oakland on Saturday June 30th with almost 80 girls in attendance. Yes 8-0! Who says girls don’t like technology? Fail. Well they do and they...
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“Feeding the Artist Within” series in collaboration with J.Posh Design Studio is back! The series opening Friday, April 5, 2013, is a call for all creative persons who have blocked their creativity because it wasn’t profitable. It is also for the folks that use to be into theater, write or sing but grew up...
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On April 9, Dr. Nathan Hare, The Father of Black Studies in America, will celebrate his 80th year on the planet. The Bay Area will celebrate with the esteemed sociologist and clinical psychologist on Saturday, April 13, 3-5pm. Tentative location is Geoffery’s Club, 14th and Franklin, downtown Oakland. For more information, please call 510-200-4164....
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The first full length feature film from Damon Jamal ROLLING, premieres Saturday April 6th at 9pm at the San Leandro Performing Arts Center as part of the Oakland International Film Festival. If you are reading this, you are invited. Check out the Facebook fan page and website.
“Unleash the Power of Age,” the theme for Older Americans Month 2013, will be commemorated at San Leandro’s Senior Community Center with a gala dinner dance and multicultural potluck lunch. Every year since 1963, May has been a month to appreciate and celebrate the vitality and aspirations of older adults and their contributions. The...
Read more →San Leandro City Manager Chris Zapata has announced the promotion of staff members to lead the Community Development and Public Works departments. Cynthia Battenberg, who has worked on the billion-dollar Kaiser Medical Center project and the ultrafast fiber optic project, Lit San Leandro, has been appointed Community Development Director. Debbie Pollart has been selected...
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Contra Costa College (CCC) and Single Stop Program are hosting An Evening with Julian Bond, accompanied by members of the Freedom Singers on Friday, April 12 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the college’s John & Jean Knox Center for the Performing Arts, 2600 Mission Bell Drive in San Pablo. Tickets are $50...
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Part 3 Propitiation honoring Ancestors According to the Odu Osa Meji, in the Yoruba belief system, Odu (female oracle) established all the sacred groves (places) and maintained secrets of the sacred shrines of the Orisas (belief of the Yoruba, divine system) after descent. Women were not excluded from performing rituals at any sacred grove....
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In the wake of a year of unprecedented violence, which ultimately led to the murder of four Youth UpRising youth members, the agency is showcasing young artists who will display their artwork focused on community violence. The open house will be held Friday, March 29 from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Youth Uprising...
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Part II By Babatunde Harrison In the ancient African empires of West Africa, the Griot was the custodian of the histories and genealogies of the people of West Africa. Through epic songs and poetry, the Griot told and preserved the traditions and memories of ancient Mali, Songhai and Ghana.. Since the arrival of the...
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Part II By Kayode Gbadebo According to historian John Ridpath, “Observers of traditional African culture, so inevitably influenced by Western style of thought and intellectual traditions, failed to understand and interpret the culture.” This may be because, according to writer John Bascom. “The Yoruba way of life is traditional, dating back well before the...
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Reba Williams, a 106-year-old woman from Columbus, Ohio, is finally receiving her high school diploma. She never graduated from Mount Vernon High School even though she completed all 12 years. Apparently, she was being punished for being in “academic rebellion,” when she refused to read the final book assigned by her teacher during her...
Read more →The Africana and African American Studies and Friends of the Library group at Contra Costa College presented a book signing this week with Rufus Battle, author of “One Man’s Battle: An African American Journey.” The book, a tale of struggle and redemption, tells his story of living in a “sharecropper’s shack near a Louisiana...
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“There are not enough Griots to tell the stories of the brave men, women and children who lived through the pain and stench of the dungeon castle. This castle holds millions of intangible horror stories. And, annually, thousands of descendants of the millions gone, return to pass through this dungeon to imagine and relive...
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Dr. Wole Soyinka, Nobel Laureate for Literature, visited his relatives Alice Arthur, Dr. Folarinde Christiana Harrison and a Babatunde Harrison on a trip to the Bay Area.
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Egungun Festival of Nigeria’s Yoruba Ancestors The Egungun is a secret society among the Yoruba people of Ibadan, Oyo, and Modakeke, Gbongan Osun State, Nigeria. The major Egungun festival takes place in June, when members of the society come to the market place and perform masked dances. The masks represent ancestral spirits. It is...
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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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By Ken A. Epstein Businesswoman Darlene Ann Lawson-Scott, 75, who left a lasting impact on Oakland schools during two terms on the Board of Education, died on Jan 13. A fighter for equal education for flatland children and families, she was the first African American woman to be elected to the school board. Known...
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By Carla Thomas The San Francisco Black Chamber of Commerce recently held an event to honor the city’s top African American civic leaders, department heads, commissioners and elected officials. Held on Jan. 25 at Yoshi’s Jazz Club, the celebration was led by Dr. Toye Moses and Chamber President Fred Jordan. “We want to honor...
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By Carla Thomas The San Public Utilities Commission and the San Francisco African American Chamber of Commerce are saluting Linda Fadeke Richardson, a champion of environmental justice, education, health and community revitalization for over 25 years. “Commissioner Richardson’s efforts have made the community a better place,” said Harlan Kelly, General Manager of the San...
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“Strategies and Outcomes for Our Black Community” is the theme of African American Organizations Making Connections 2013, a free event featuring panels and workshops for members of the Black community that will be held Saturday, Feb 23, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the gymnasium at Laney College, 900 Fallon St. in Oakland. The...
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By Jesse Brooks The public is invited to participate in a conversation at the Bay Area’s first public showing of PBS’s Frontline documentary “End Game: AIDS in Black America.” This documentary explores how politics, social factors and cultural factors allowed the AIDS epidemic to spread rapidly in the African American community over the past...
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Larry Bryant (left), an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, is a straight Black man living with HIV. In 1986, he contracted HIV as an 18 year-old student at Norfolk State University. He is a member of the National Steering Committee for “Campaign to End AIDS,” founded in 2005 by Housing Works to serve...
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