• Special Interests Articles

    Kimberley Hayes, New Head of African American Art and Cultural Complex

    by  • March 31, 2013 • Art, Bay Area, Community Service, Education, Marin County News, Philanthropy, Special Interests Articles

    Kimberly Hayes

    By Lee Hubbard With a broad smile, Kimberley Hayes greeted the guests coming into the reception area on the third floor at the African American Art and Cultural Complex in San Francisco. Though she had already been working for two weeks as the new executive director at the complex, this was her introduction to...

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    Velma Ewing, 88, Widow of Tuskegee Airman

    by  • March 22, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Obituaries, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles, Vallejo News

    Velma Ewing on Mother’s Day last year..

    By Janice Ewing and Lateefa Ali The Tuskegee Airmen earned their place in history as they bravely defied convention and fought for what they loved.  We remember these men. But we seem to forget their wives who have also earned their place in history, defying convention and fighting for what, and who they loved....

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    Africans In America

    by  • March 22, 2013 • Africans in America, Bay Area, Berkeley, Featured, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles, Vallejo News

    AIA 2

    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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    “Daddy Date” Offers Fun for Young Fathers and Their Children

    by  • March 22, 2013 • Article Archives, Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Andre Fikes and daughter Autumn (left) and Dante Toomer and daughter Kennedy .

    By Kia Croom, Contributing Writer Local extent organizer Dante Toomer recently held “Daddy Day,” an afternoon of activities for fathers to share with their children. The event, held on the afternoon of March 16 at Marina Park, took place in conjunction with a carnival sponsored by the City of Emeryville. Fathers and their children...

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    Tax Preparer Robin Swarn: “Whatever Is Going On, We Can Fix It”

    by  • March 22, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Robin Swarn

    By David Scott You don’t have to be rich or a movie star to find good help to do your taxes, according to Robin Swarn, a tax preparer with Jackson Hewitt. “We have news for everyday people seeking a tax refund or needing help with tax issues,” she said.  ‘’Whatever is going on, we...

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    Oakland’s James Meeks in NFL Draft

    by  • March 22, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Education, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    James Meeks, Jr. (center), with his parents James Meeks, Sr. (left) and Nina Meeks (right) at his graduation from Central Washington University.

    By Ashley Chambers Oakland native James Meeks  Jr. will get the chance to live out his dream, taking the opportunity of a lifetime in the NFL Draft next month. Towering at 6’5”, he will compete in the regional combine on March 23 with the Seattle Seahawks in Washington. A graduate of Central Washington University...

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    Breast Cancer and African Americans Bay Area Conference

    by  • March 22, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Health, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    The Stanford Cancer Institute’s Community Partnership Program is hosting the second annual conference, Breast Cancer and African Americans, on Saturday, May 4, 8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the South San Francisco Conference Center, 255 South Airport Boulevard, S. San Francisco. The purpose of this event is provide culturally tailored breast health and cancer...

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    Sickle Cell Advisory Council Offers Scholarships

    by  • March 22, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Education, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    The Sickle Cell Community Advisory Council of Northern California  is offering the Samuel Wallace Scholarship Award to high school seniors and college students living with the Sickle Cell disease. The advisory council was started in 1999 as a collaboration between patients of the former Alta Bates Sickle Cell program, administrators at Children’s Hospital of...

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    Youth UpRising Hosts Arts Open House, March 29

    by  • March 22, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, General Articles, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Youth Uprising at 8711 MacArthur Blvd. in East Oakland.

    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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    Small Business Administration to Expand Access to Loans

    by  • March 22, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Post News Feature Story, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Karen Mills

    Borrowers and lenders of loans backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will have greater access to capital and less paperwork as a result of a proposed regulation aimed at streamlining the SBA application process. “Streamlining and simplifying has been a key focus of our agency over the last few years. The changes...

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    Painter Keli J. Walker Depicts “The Albino,” A Child with a Hard Life

    by  • March 22, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Painter Keli J. Walker stands next to her painting “The Albino” on display at Joyce Gordon Gallery in downtown Oakland through Apr. 28. Photo by Babatunde Harrison.

    By Keli Walker I paint faces that hold stories. I paint them to understand their histories, emotions, and dreams. My process is dialectic; conversing with the face through every brush stroke. The more time I spend painting faces, the more the face tells me about who they are and how to render their appearance....

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    KDYA/KDIA Praise in the Pavilion

    by  • March 22, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Lady Kelly Harris (middle) and the Motions That Minister praise dancers performing at Praise in the Pavilion. Photo by Timothy-the photographer-Powell.

    By Ashley Chambers Gospel radio stations KDIA 1640 AM, “The Light at the Top of the Dial,” and KDYA 1190 AM, “The Light,” put on their first Praise in the Pavilion gospel concert on March 16 at Richmond’s Craneway Pavilion. Featuring praise dancers, gospel recording artists, children’s activities and vendors, the event appealed to...

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    San Leandro Police Settle Contract

    by  • March 22, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Education, Faith, Oakland News Articles, San Francisco, Special Interests Articles

    Isaac Benabou, police association president.

    The San Leandro Police Officers Association and the City of San Leandro have agreed to a three-year labor contract. The 2013-2015 agreement provides wage increases to retain  officers and to recruit qualified new officers, while keeping the city financially sustainable for the long term, according to city officials. “We commend the San Leandro Police...

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    Africans In America

    by  • March 15, 2013 • Africans in America, Bay Area, Berkeley, Featured, News Group Publisher, Oakland News Articles, Rev. Hunter, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    A Veneration Ceremony often has dancing, singing ,drumming, and spiritual chants to honor the ancestors. A  Yoruba Mythology saying:” As a spirit in heaven before taking a body, we each are given assignments tasks from our ancestors to achieve then we are sent to earth through selected parents.  which leads to the chant - It is the errand of my ancestors that I run, or it is the path of my ancestors that I walk. Photos by Kayode Gbadebo and graphic design by Adam L. Turner

    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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    Kaiser Security Officers Rally

    by  • March 15, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Nancy Skinner

    Security officers who work at Kaiser rallied this week in Oakland and Los Angeles calling on the state’s largest health care provider to provide more sick days and family medical benefits. The workers are members of SEIU USWW, which represents more than 1,800 contracted security officers at Kaiser facilities throughout California. The officers are...

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    Nubian Academy for Girls Set to Open

    by  • March 15, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Faith, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Nubian Academy students participate in a science lab. Left to right are: Cierra Suarez, Empress Shalom, Meisha Butcher. The girl in back is Imari Fernandez.

    The Nubian Academy for Girls, which is opening on April 6, will host a Saturday school every weekend until the summer. The Saturday school will serve up to 50 girls from sixth through eleventh grades and will be hosted by several community centers, churches, public schools and colleges. Activities will include homework help, cultural...

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    Wells Fargo to Lend $55 Billion to Women-Owned Businesses

    by  • March 15, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Lisa Stevens

    Wells Fargo Bank has announced it will lend a total of $55 billion to women-owned businesses by the year 2020. The announcement was made recently by Lisa Stevens, Wells Fargo lead executive for Small Business and West Coast Regional Banking president, at the Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) 22nd Annual Latina History Day...

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    Baby Born With HIV Cured, Say Scientists

    by  • March 15, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Health, HIV, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    This image shows Dr. Deborah Persaud of Johns Hopkins’ Children’s Center in Baltimore. A baby born with HIV appears to have been cured, scientists announced Sunday, Mar. 3. AP Photo/Johns Hopkins Medicine.

    By Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press A baby born with the virus that causes AIDS appears to have been cured, scientists announced Sunday, describing the case of a child from Mississippi who is now 2 1/2 and has been off medication for about a year with no signs of infection. There is no guarantee the...

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    Terralyn Mosby, Advocate for HIV/AIDS Awareness

    by  • March 15, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Health, HIV, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Terralyn and her older brother Quincey Mosby, who often uses his poetry to express himself.

    By Jesse Brooks National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is a time to share knowledge and shed light on the often-overlooked impact of the disease on women and families in our communities. The official commemoration was March 10, but events happen all month. Often buried within the data on the general AIDS population...

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    New “InYoFaceFilm” Video Production Features a Light Hearted Comical Music Video

    by  • March 15, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Entertainment, SECTIONS, Special Interests Articles

    From the left Danny A,Droop-E, Cherenna Wright, and Haqq Shabazz.

    By Shaveela Raniga Award winning director Damon Jamal and  executive producer Haqq Shabazz of InYoFaceFilm are coming out with “White Boy Faded,” a light hearted comical music video on getting faded by up and coming artist Danny A. The video features an appearance by hip-hop’s Droop-E, the son of the Ambassador of the Bay,...

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    Myrtle Braxton Labors to Show the “True Side of Richmond”

    by  • March 15, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Richmond News, Special Interests Articles

    Myrtle Braxton. Photo by Joe L. Fisher, Black American Political Action Committee.

    By Kia Croom Richmond resident Myrtle Braxton’s life gives meaning to  the word “service.” She  is known and loved throughout the city and West Contra Costa County for her selfless volunteerism, generosity and goodwill. On an ordinary day, Braxton can be found at one of many board or committee meetings, networking at a community...

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    Africans in America

    by  • March 14, 2013 • Africans in America, Bay Area, Berkeley, Featured, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Special Interests Articles

    Babatunde Harrison, African Journalist Griot

    “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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    Africans In America

    by  • March 8, 2013 • Africans in America, Bay Area, Berkeley, Featured, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Elebiti (in green) and Egungun masquerader is being led from the temple beginning the procession.  The man in Blue is the head of Egungun worshippers in the Ile-Ife city of Nigerian.

    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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    Hugo Chavez Aided Hurricane Katrina Victims

    by  • March 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    hugo Chavez

    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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    Celebrate Harriet Tubman at Peralta Colleges

    by  • March 8, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Harriet Tubman

      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...

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    Dr. E.N. Crawford Celebrates 40 Years of Preaching the Gospel

    by  • March 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, Secretaries and Clerks, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Dr. E.N. Crawford

    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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    Cramer’s “I Design” HIV Education

    by  • March 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Mondo Guerra

    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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    Voting Rights Needed Now More Than Ever

    by  • March 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Politics and Government, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Congressman John Lewis discussed the need to resurrect the civil rights activism of the 60’s and 70’s when he visited with Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Gay Plair Cobb and Paul Cobb on a recent trip to Oakland. Gay Cobb,a former NAACP student leader at Queen’s College, who corresponded with Malcolm X, was also an original freedom rider and attended the March on Washington where she heard Lewis speak.  Paul Cobb was at Howard University when he helped organize a bus boycott with Marion Barry and worked with John Lewis, Jesse Jackson and Julian Bond when he directed the Southern Elections Fund in Atlanta.  Photo by Stephen V. Brooks.

    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...

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    Jazz Talent Competition for Teens and Adults

    by  • March 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    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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    500 Attend African American Organizations Making Connections

    by  • March 1, 2013 • Africans in America, Bay Area, Berkeley, General Articles, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    From  left to right: Congresswoman Barbara Lee, founding Black Panther Party Chairman Bobby Seale, and Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson at the 2nd African American Organizations Making Connections at Laney College on Feb. 23. Photo credit: Reginald James.

    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 Summit Tackles Cultural Barriers

    by  • March 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Terri Sue Canale

    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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    Deborah Ale-Flint Leads Port of Oakland

    by  • March 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Deborah Ale-Flint

    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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    Founder and Conductor of Berkeley Free Orchestra Charles Darden, 66 Charles Darden, 66

    by  • March 1, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, News Articles, Oakland News Articles, Special Interests Articles

    Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Charles Darden in 2011 in St. Barts in the Caribbean French West Indies. He directed the choir at the Anglican Church.

    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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    Oakland Housing Assistance for Tenants and Homeowners

    by  • February 23, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Tanya Dennis is fighting to save her home.

    By Tanya Dennis The Oakland Housing Assistance Office, which will help homeowners and tenants in fear of losing their homes, held a grand opening at its new office at 250 Frank Ogawa Plaza on the 5th floor in Oakland. Supported by Oakland officials, grass root organizations and legal assistance groups, the office will provide...

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    Writer-Activist in New Fight to Save Home

    by  • February 23, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, Sacred Sounds, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    By Tanya Dennis Two years ago in 2011, I broke the locks on my foreclosed house in Berkeley and repossessed my home. By the time the sheriff was due to arrive a month later to evict me again, I had begun working with the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), and with the...

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    “Eslanda: The Large and Unconventional Life of Mrs. Paul Robeson”

    by  • February 23, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Eslander

    “Eslanda: The Large and Unconventional Life of Mrs. Paul Robeson,” is a new book that tells the story of a woman of unusual accomplishments—an anthropologist, a prolific journalist, a tireless advocate of women’s rights, an outspoken anti-colonial and antiracist activist, and an internationally sought-after speaker. Yet historians for the most part have confined Essie...

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    Darlene Lawson, 75, Fought for Equal Education

    by  • February 23, 2013 • Africans in America, Bay Area, Berkeley, Entertainment, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Darlene Lawson served on the Oakland Board of Education from 1983 to January 1993. Here she celebrates her second inauguration with five of her seven children: Loretta Little, Vida Byrd, Billie Wright, Annette Wright and Charlene Byrd.

    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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    Tuskegee Airman George Hardy, 87, Broke Down Racial Barriers

    by  • February 23, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Black Church Information, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Retired lieutenant colonel George Hardy, 87, helped break down military racial barriers as a Tuskegee Airman, a topic he’ll be talking about at a Black History event called ‘They Dared to Fly’ in Lakeland.

    By Josh Rojas A Tuskegee Airman, retired lieutenant colonel George Hardy, 87, fought fascism in World War II and helped break down racial barriers in the American military. “When I went into the service in ‘43, racial segregation was rigidly enforced,” Hardy said. “No fraternization, that is, mixing with races. So, we were completely...

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    Kappa Alpha Psi Offers Scholarships

    by  • February 23, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Education, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, Special Interests Articles

    Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., a predominantly Black fraternity founded in 1911 on the campus of Indiana University, will award $1,000 dollar scholarships to two high school seniors. The deadline is March 30. Applicants must have a 3.0 grade-point average and demonstrate active community service. A PDF is available at the Berkeley Alumni website,...

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    A Global Response to Sexual Violence

    by  • February 23, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Kim Thuy Seelinger

    Courtesy UC Berkeley Public Affairs How do we effectively respond to sexual violence during war, and how can we better protect people during and after violent conflicts? International scholars, policymakers, human-rights advocates and foreign military leaders will take up this issue and more at the Missing Peace Symposium 2013 in Washington, D.C., co-hosted last...

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    Larry Gayden Appointed Senior Controller at East Bay YMCA

    by  • February 22, 2013 • Bay Area, Berkeley, Marin County News, Oakland News Articles, Richmond News, San Francisco, South County, Special Interests Articles

    Larry B. Gayden

    Larry Gayden brings over 27 years of experience to his new position as Senior Controller of the YMCA of the East Bay. “Larry is highly versed in all aspects of financial and accounting issues for non-profits, and we are fortunate to have him on board,” said Robert Wilkins, CEO of the Y of the...

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