At the last meeting of the Oakland Workforce Investment Board, Executive Director John Bailey pledged to resolve snafus that have held up the cash advances for the past eight months to nonprofit agencies that serve some Oakland youth who are most in need. Bailey made the promise on Feb. 7, but at least some...
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Corporate officers and staff of Fouche’s Hudson Funeral Home in Oakland are honoring C’Aubrey O. Peoples. Peoples’ career spanned 56 years with Fouche’s Hudson, from apprentice embalmer to general manager. The demands and changes in the funeral industry over these decades made him exceedingly resilient. His ability to manage the company and maintain a...
Read more →By Danielle Savage Home Depot stores across the nation are hiring 80,000 part-time and full-time workers to handle the company’s busy spring home and garden rush. About 1,500 of these jobs will be at Bay Area stores, according to Katherine Ellison, Corporate Communications Specialist for Home Depot. The positions will include cashiers, lot attendants...
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Macy’s will honor the legacy of American cultural hero Gordon Parks in celebration of Black History Month with a special film series event and exhibit at Macy’s Union Square on Thursday, Feb. 21. In partnership with The Gordon Parks Foundation and the American Black Film Festival, the “Gordon Parks: Black American Icon” event will...
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High students in Alameda will be showing and discussing a provocative documentary, “More Than a Month,” in which a young man travels across the country, examining what Black History means in “Post-Racial” America. The event will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 27 from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. at Ruby Bridges Elementary School, 351...
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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...
Read more →Noted music writer Lee Hildebrand will speak on Richmond Blues, Gospel and South of the 1940s to the1970s, Saturday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. at the Visitor Center of the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond. The mass World War II migration of African Americans, many from such states as...
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By Lee Hubbard Lawrence Beamen was 20 when he learned about legendary singer and political activist Paul Robeson, captivated by stories of the historic struggles Robeson went through and how he used his artistic talents to help fight for Black civil rights and equal opportunity. “I began to immerse myself in the study...
Read more →The West Oakland Elder’s Council invites longtime West Oakland residents of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s to participate in a filming of people’s experiences, 12:30 pm. Saturday, Feb. 16 at DeFremery Park at 18th and Adeline streets in Oakland. The filming will document residents’ discussions about their experiences in West Oakland for OURTV, Channel...
Read more →“Taking the Lead to Transform Communities, ” the first in a free series of workshops of the 2013 Model Built on Faith Nonprofit Capacity Building Series VI, will presented Thursday, Feb. 28 in Oakland by OCCUR and the San Francisco Foundation. The series of workshops and clinics are targeted to leaders and staff of...
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By Ashley Chambers In an effort to address foreclosures and keep struggling residents in their homes, Wells Fargo will be hosting their free Home Preservation Workshop on Wednesday, February 13 at the Oakland Convention Center. The workshop is an opportunity for Wells Fargo customers who are facing economic challenges to meet one-on-one with bank...
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Dr. Muntu Davis, Director of Public Health for Alameda County Public Health Department, will lead a free training on case management and the AIDS State of Emergency, 9 a.m. to noon, Friday, Feb. 15, at Cal-Pep, 2811 Adeline St. in Oakland. The goal of the training series is to engage community members to address...
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By Jesse Brooks Celebrating one’s historic roots is an opportunity to honor forbearers and connect to our rich legacy. However, usually missing from Black history are highlights of the Black, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender or Questioning (LGBTQ) community. Highlighting the history of being Black and LGBTQ, a free event, “Generations 2013,” will use...
Read more →By Jesse Brooks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day falls during Black history month to remind the public of the devastating toll HIV has taken and continues to take on Black communities. Feb. 7 marks the 13th year the commemoration will be held as a a day to promote HIV testing, treatment and community mobilization,...
Read more →The Joyce Gordon Galley in Oakland will host “When Struggle Gave Improvisation the Blues,” a poetry performance theater play by poet and playwright Charles Curtis Blackwell, 6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 23 at 406 14th St. in Oakland. This original play captures the jazz era of the 1950s and the 1960s and social and cultural...
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By Curtis Flannigan February is a good time to jumpstart a savings plan for the year as Feb. 25 kicks off America Saves week, a national campaign sponsored by more than 1,000 non-profit, government and corporate organizations. Their goal is to encourage people from all income levels to take savings to heart and build...
Read more →Celebrating 14 years in the Bay Area, Rhythm Tap Hall of Fame is offering traditional tap dance classes starting in February. The nonprofit organization promotes the lost art form, providing educational programs for youth, adults, and seniors teaching the history of tap dancing through audiovisual and tap instruction. The Hall of Fame has offered...
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Honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., members of the Care Ministry at Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church gave away food, blankets, and hot chocolate to the homeless on Jan. 20. Led by First Lady Kathi Pinkard and coordinators Georgetta Edwards-Breedlove and Christopher Thomas, members accompanied by Officer Kittrell Carter gave out 100...
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Kyla Wheatfall’s father was killed by a police officer when she was 10 years old, but the 20-year-old Oakland resident has found a way to forgive and moved on. “They were the first people I called when my grandmother passed away,” said Wheatfall, a psychology student at College of Alameda, during a lively debate...
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Local seniors and activists are holding a Town Hall Meeting to say: No Cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, Monday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. to 4 pm. at the Humanist Hall, 390 27th St. in Oakland. Norman Solomon, author, activist, and co-founder of the 210,000-member RootsAction.org, will speak at the meeting. Other...
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By Lee Hildebrand Former East Bay resident Dayna Stephens is, at age 34, one of the most gifted jazz tenor saxophonists of his generation. Now living in Patterson, New Jersey, he says he “caught the bug” two decades ago from seeing a local performance by tenor titan Joshua Redman. Because Redman and other jazz...
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Keeping with the tradition of celebrating with music, creative costumes, food and colorful beads, The Village Project, The Fillmore Center and the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development are presenting the seventh annual Mardi Gras San Francisco Style – Fat Tuesday in the Fillmore on Tuesday, Feb. 12. This year’s festival will feature...
Read more →The Richmond Public Library is offering an eight-week program where students will receive intensive study preparation from certified instructors and two practice tests for the S.A.T. (Scholastic Aptitude Test). The workshop will be held March 2 – April 27 and cost $40. High school students who live in West Contra Costa County or attend...
Read more →Attorney General Kamala Harris has filed a civil lawsuit on1 against BP West Coast Products, BP Products North America, Inc. and Atlantic Richfield Company for allegedly violating state laws governing hazardous materials and hazardous waste by failing to properly inspect and maintain underground tanks used to store gasoline for retail sale at more than...
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Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is accepting applications from students to receive PG&E Bright Minds scholarships, as well as scholarships from the utility’s Employee Resource Groups. Through its Bright Minds Scholarship program, PG&E will award up to $1 million in scholarships to enable high school, community college and “non-traditional” students to complete their...
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AC Transit has received the highest environmental award in the state, the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, for the bus agency’s use of hydrogen fuel cell and solar initiatives. Gov. Jerry Brown honored AC Transit as one of 17 organizations that have adopted clean-air business principles and policies that conserve energy, reduce costs...
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By Lee Hildebrand Ever since he began touring the Midwest at age 5 as “Little Rance Allen, the Boy Preacher,” the Monroe, Michigan-born vocalist has kept quite busy. Today, at age 64 and no longer “little,” the hefty musician is more active than ever – recording and performing with his brothers Steve and Tom...
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National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day will be held Feb. 7 to encourage African Americans to get educated, get tested, get involved and get treated. Even though African Americans make up 13 percent of the US population, they account for nearly half (49%) of all new HIV infections and half (49%) of the people living...
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The San Leandro Library will host Grammy award nominee and nationally renowned storyteller Diane Ferlatte at the Main Library 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 27, performing “Have I Got a Story to Tell,” tales from her African-American heritage in honor of Black History Month. Ferlatte’s signature storytelling style features dramatic characterization with animation, expression, and...
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Creativity Explored is celebrating its 30th anniversary year with a solo exhibition of artist Vincent Jackson, one of the studio’s most prolific and longest-practicing artists who is well known for his bold and beautiful contemporary portraits and designs. The exhibition will run through Wednesday, Feb. 27 at the Creativity Explored Gallery, 3245 Sixteenth St....
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Dr. Clayborne Carson will talk about his recently-published book, “Martin’s Dream: My Journey and the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.,” a memoir about his transition from being a teenage participant in the March on Washington to becoming the editor of King’s papers, part of a free celebration of Black History Month, Sunday, Feb....
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Jerri Lange (left) will present a photo exhibit of her several trips to Kyoto, Japan at the San Francisco Library, African American Center, Saturday, Feb. 2 through May 2. The exhibit will open at 10 a.m. The exhibit will be on the fifth floor of the library, 100 Larkin St. in San Francisco.
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By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor Some are calling Lailan Huen “stubborn” in the face of the obstacles and challenges to Oakland Chinatown’s newest mural, and some are calling her “persistent.” But everyone agrees that without the daughter of Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, there would probably be no mural across from Madison Square Park. “I was...
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Wells Fargo & Company is donating $300,000 to six non-profit organizations in the Bay Area as part of a $1.5 million in grants awarded across the West Coast to nonprofits and programs that support workforce development and job creation. Award recipients were selected in both urban and rural locations within each state based on...
Read more →Former TV anchorwoman Belva Davis will speak and singers Janice Maxie-Reid and Jeanie Tracy will perform at Downs Memorial United Methodist Church Scholarship Ministry’s annual Black History Concert, 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 10, at Downs Memorial, 6026 Idaho St. in Oakland. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for children under 10, and under...
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“The 44th NAACP Image Awards,” a live, two-hour special on Friday, Feb. 1 (8 p.m.-10 p.m. ET), will showcase the best achievements and performances of people of color in the arts, featuring a star-studded lineup of performers, winners and presenters. Nominations were announced in December and included contributions in television, film, music and literature....
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The City of Chicago will pay pay $10.2 million to a wrongfully convicted man who spent 26 years prison for a murder he did not commit. He was convicted despite the fact that some attorneys familiar with the crime knew almost from the very beginning that he was innocent. Cook County, IL, prosecutors convicted...
Read more →The Metropolitan Transportation Commission High School Summer Internship Program is accepting student applications online for about 38 internships that will be available throughout the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. The pay rate is $10.55 per hour. Each internship will last up to a maximum of 250 hours. Students may work full-time or part-time, for...
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The Alameda County Arts Commission is promoting an opportunity for county high school students involved in the arts to participate in the State Summer School for the Arts, a four-week, intensive pre-college program for talented and motivated high school students in the arts, held on the campus of the California Institute of the Arts...
Read more →The City of Oakland and the consulting firm Sand Dollar Group, LLC have teamed up to help local small businesses grow and increase their revenue. They are offering free technical assistance to Oakland entrepreneurs who are certified as small businesses with the city. Qualified small businesses will receive monthly consulting services through June 2014...
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By Lee Hildebrand “I get paid to belt and shout, but I actually can sing,” Sista Monica Parker quips in the living room of her Mountain House home prior to a Wednesday night rehearsal with her new Acoustic Honey band. Since the Gary, Indiana, native became a professional singer 20 year ago, she’s been...
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The Picklewater Clown Cabaret will host a fundraiser for Prescott Circus Theatre, featuring some of the Bay Area’s finest circus and variety stars and local and international professional circus artists, comedians, and Clown Conservatory alumni, 8 p.m., Monday, Feb. 4 at NEW Stage Werx Theatre location, 446 Valencia St. in San Francisco. In an...
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To honor the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Wells Fargo is joining with the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco and other of the nation’s leading African American museums to host a year-long tour of “The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, Where Art and History Intersect.” The...
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Two UCSF teams have received a total of $16 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study new ways to significantly reduce childhood mortality and disease in developing nations. An international team led by Thomas M. Lietman, MD, associate director of the UCSF Francis I. Proctor Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology, received...
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