Bishop J. E. Watkins of Overcomers With Hope and actor Omar Gooding at the West Oakland Community Information Center.

Omar Gooding serving food to the youth.

Acclaimed actor Omar Gooding stopped by the Peralta College Digital Arts Media Technology Training Program in West Oakland Thursday afternoon to offer words of encouragement and praise to the young students.
The program, which serves youth ages 16 to 24, is operated by Bishop J. E. Watkins, executive director and founder of Overcomers with Hope.
Best known for his roles in “Baby Boy” and “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper,” Gooding visited the program to give back to the youth. Earlier the same day, he served food to youth at the “Hood Kitchen” BBQ Showdown from the TV show “Hood Kitchen.”
All the food went to feed young people and the community. No one left hungry.

This year’s Bay Area Black Expo will provide free vision and glaucoma screenings on the first of the two-day event, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday Sept. 8 at the Oakland Convention Center, 550 10th St. in downtown Oakland.
“For people with undiagnosed glaucoma and eye disease, Glaucoma Research Foundation and Prevent Blindness Northern California are able to provide a tremendous service to many more people than we could on our own, through public forum, especially the Bay Area Black Expo,” said Bill Stewart, Glaucoma Research Foundation board member.
“Eye screening is the first step to protecting eye health or starting on the path to eye health improvement. For children, diagnosis of eye issues at a young age improves their opportunities for success as they enter school.” Stewart said. “For adults, early detection, especially of glaucoma, may save sight.”
The 2012 Expo, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 8 and Sept. 9, will include entrepreneur workshops; healthy cooking demonstrations with Cuisine Noir Magazine and celebrity chefs; fitness classes; Greek fraternity/sorority step shows; celebrity “Inside the Artist Studio” interviews; a powerful spirit-led Sunday gospel celebration hosted by KDYA’s (The Light 1190 AM) Brotha Phil; and special celebrity guest performers and speakers, in addition to exhibits of arts and crafts, retail, social, corporate, and health care vendors and other exhibitors.
Admittance is $10 general admission; $5 for children, students with ID and seniors. Tickets may be purchased at the door and online at bayareablackexpo.com/event/tickets.

Betty McGee

Author Betty McGee is passionate about her career at the Oakland Unified School District, where she helps students who are at risk of failing find an alternative school setting where they can complete their studies.
Her passion to rescue and redirect high school students also has compelled her to lend needed assistance to their parents. She has written a book, “ Take Back The Wheel: How to Help Make Your Teenager’s High School Journey Successful.”
A number of educators are calling the book a “must read” for parents who are about to enroll their teenager in high school and those who are experiencing “the Blues” because their teenager’s high school progress is on an unsuccessful path.
Her clearly written book explores issues that many parents face:
How to prepare your child for high school; selecting a school that can best meet a child’s academic and social needs; the importance of attending a school orientation for new students;
Why following proper registration guidelines is critical; how not participating in a child’s education hurts his or her chances for success; ways to take action when problems first come up; where parents can seek help.
McGee has over 20 years experience of redirecting troubled Oakland high school teenagers.  She worked for 13 years as an Outreach Consultant at Oakland Technical High School and is recognized by the State Department of Education as leading one of the  “Best Parent Training Programs.”
She currently works in Oaland at the district level as an Alternative Placement Specialist.
“Take Back the Wheel” is available in paperback from Marcus Bookstore in Oakland and online at Amazon.com.

Earvin “Magic” Johnson

By Simeon Gant

High School and College students received a few basic principles on how to succeed in business from legendary basketball star Earvin “Magic” Johnson at the recent  Ron Brown Youth Entrepreneur Summit.
Expaining how he  moved from athlete to businessman, Johnson  said, “I was once poor, but I didn’t have poor dreams.  My work ethic was off the chart. I grew up in a three-room house with six sisters and three brothers, six pants and three shirts, Kool-Aid and no sugar.”
In an inspiring one-hour presentation at the San Diego summit, Johnson related to the youth’s current plight as budding entrepreneurs.  “I’m from the hood, too. Every experience will prepare you for success. Information is the key to succeed and education is the key for success.”
The summit offered African American youth from throughout the state a one-day workshop to build their skills and explore the possibility of developing their own business and setting lofty goals with a plan to achieve them.
One of the young men, 17-year-old Christopher Wilson from Los Angeles, aspires to own his own basketball team one day.
“I really like playing basketball, but I‘m always looking for a backup plan,” he said.  “I really like what Magic had to say about working hard and not letting people tell me what I can’t do. Before today, I never thought about owning a basketball team.”
Johnson’s story inspires both youth and adults alike.  He said his nickname came from a high school coach who was amazed at his efforts defeating a team that he was supposed to lose to.
“I followed my mentors Greg Eaton and Joe Ferguson. These were men from my hood that owned buildings.  I knew then that would be something I wanted to do,”  he said.
He encouraged the youth to get mentors and stay the course.  He mentioned “haters” abound.
“Many of my own teammates and friends said I would not be a businessman after my playing days were over,” he continued, “You have to believe in yourself.”
Johnson’s belief garnered him 105 Starbucks, numerous TGI Fridays franchises, more than 50,000 employees of color, former ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers and currently part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Ron Brown Business and Economic Summit is an annual tribute to former U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. The summit provides business skill-building workshops and professional networking opportunities for African American entrepreneurs.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, lower left, is welcomed by members of the Sikh community as he prepares to worship with them at the Sikh Religious Society of Wisconsin on Monday in Brookfield, Wis. A gunman killed six Sikh worshipers at a suburban Milwaukee temple a day earlier, before being shot and killed himself by police.

Sikh family members hug one another after the shooting on Sunday. Photo by Rick Wood-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-Zuma.

By Jay Singh

Last month, I stood before 300 Sikhs at a Gurdūārā in Roswell, Ga. I stood there representing the Southern Poverty Law Center as part of an ongoing effort to curb the bullying of Sikh school children across the South.
I stood there also as a third-year law student attempting to explain the law and to educate parents and children about their rights against mistreatment. And I stood there as a Sikh, in resistance to a post-9/11 status quo characterized by humanity-blinding hate and empathy-inhibiting indifference.
Last Sunday, at a Gurdūārā in Oak Creek, Wis., this hate and indifference decayed in a violent flourish that extinguished six innocent lives. As I and other Sikhs turned on the television to find aerial images of a Gurdūārā besieged by commotion and emergency lights, the worst-case scenario – a scenario we’d buried deep in our thoughts – had tragically surfaced and was unfolding before our eyes.
Throughout the day, I heard echoes from the 700 other attacks on Sikhs since 9/11 – echoes expressing the need for broader awareness about Sikh identity and belief. Thenational news media heard these echoes, too, and rushed to create this awareness.
But whom to turn to for more information? Who could tell us more about this community, simultaneously invisible and immediately noticeable with its colorful turban and rich tradition?
Ask any Sikh.
The Sikh path is an endeavor to connect with Truth and to defend the honor of the oppressed. Nānak, the founder of the Sikh way of life, was born in 1469. The first Gūrū-Prophet—and the nine that inherited his Spirit—embodied a religious, social and political revolution. Nānak challenged the Hindū caste system and instituted langar halls (free community kitchens) in all Gurdūārās, where people from all four castes and all the four directions could join together in preparing and enjoying a meal together in a demonstration of common humanity.
Today, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India – the most iconic Sikh house of learning – functions as the world’s largest community kitchen. It feeds 80,000 people each weekday and up to 120,000 on Saturdays and Sundays – all free of charge.
Nānak also challenged the worth of idol worship and mechanical ritualism in the pursuit of Enlightenment, building a new path wholly distinct from Hindūism.
The Sikh scriptural canon is perfumed by a steadfast belief in One Universal Integrative Force, conceptualized as Truth, and manifested in all beings and in all matter.
With the Gūrū Granth as their inspiration, Gōbind Singh directed the Gūrū Panth to resist all forms of religious and political subjugation. He gave all Sikh males the last name “Singh,” meaning “lion,” and all Sikh females the last name “Kaur,” meaning “princess,” to erase all markers of caste that Indian last names often denote.
The Gūrū further mandated that all Sikh men and women maintain their hair uncut and wrapped in a turban. Unshorn hair is recognition that attempting to improve upon the creation of the Perfect is an act steeped in ego.
Unfortunately for many Sikhs, particularly younger members of the community, the embrace of this lifestyle has made them the object of misguided hate. Since 9/11, Sikh students have been bullied at an alarming rate. I have heard accounts of lockers filled with written death threats and relentless verbal harassment accusing Sikh students of being “terrorists” or members of the “Taliban.”
In reflecting on the events of last Sunday…we pray for the well-being of the families gripped in grief, and for the well-being of the heroic Lt. Brian Murphy of the Oak Creek police department, who was shot numerous times during the attack.
For more information on Sikhī, please visit SikhRI.org.
Jay Singh is a third-year law student at the University of Washington and an intern at the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization based in Montgomery, Alabama, which is well known for its legal victories against white supremacist groups.

Jeff Meyer, CEO, American Red Cross

The American Red Cross has had a boost in donations since it issued an emergency appeal for blood, but additional donations are needed to ensure an adequate supply of blood through the end of the summer.
“We are humbled by the generosity of the many blood donors in the Bay Area who responded to our appeal, helping to save lives,” said Jeff Meyer, CEO of the Northern California Blood Services Region.
“The Red Cross is so appreciative for each and every selfless act of giving. Our blood donors truly do this out of the goodness of their hearts,” he said.
Across the country, nearly 15,000 donations have been given above expectations since the Red Cross issued its appeal, cutting the blood donation deficit by 30 percent.
However, more donors are needed in the coming weeks. If at least three additional people give at each blood drive through the end of August – above what the Red Cross already expects to collect – there would be enough blood on the shelves to meet patient needs through the end of the summer.
Donors of all blood types are needed, but eligible donors with blood type O negative, O positive, A negative or B negative are especially encouraged to give at this time. Anyone who gave blood at the start of summer may be eligible to donate again as summer comes to a close.
A blood drive will be held 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 15 at the Towers, Suite 759, 1900 Powell St. in Emeryville.
Another blood drive will be held at Allen Temple Baptist Church, J. Alfred Smith Hall, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 18, 8501 International Blvd. in Oakland.
For information call (800) 733-2767 or go to redcross.org.

By Sam Baker

Fewer than half of U.S. adults get enough exercise to improve their health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week.
Adults are, however, getting better about walking. Sixty-two percent of adults say they walk at least 10 minutes per day, up from 56 percent in 2005, the CDC said.
The CDC recommends two and a half hours per week of “moderately intense aerobic physical activity,” such as walking.
Even with the recent gains in walking, though, only 48 percent of U.S. adults get enough physical activity to improve their health, according to data from the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey.
“It is encouraging to see these increases in the number of adults who are now walking,” said Joan M. Dorn, branch chief of the Physical Activity and Health Branch in CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity.
“But there is still room for improvement,” Dorn said. “People need more safe and convenient places to walk. People walk more where they feel protected from traffic and safe from crime. Communities can be designed or improved to make it easier for people to walk to the places they need and want to go.”
The CDC said local governments could let the public use the tracks at public schools and gyms when those facilities aren’t otherwise in use. The agency also suggested that employers “can create walking paths around or near the work place and promote them with signs and route maps.”
Westerners are especially good walkers — 68 percent of people who live in the West walk regularly, the highest of any region in the country. The biggest gains came in the South, where the percentage of regular walkers increased from 49 percent to 57 percent.
The survey found no measurable increase in walking among people with Type 2 diabetes, which is often linked to obesity.
“People who are physically active live longer and are at lower risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression and some cancers. Having more places for people to walk in our communities will help us continue to see increases in walking, the most popular form of physical activity among American adults,” CDC Director Thomas Frieden said in a statement.

Gabrielle ”Gabby” Douglas

By Chanelle
Bell

Gabrielle ”Gabby” Douglas has impressed and wowed the Olympic judges and has represented the US well with her sunny disposition.
At 16, she has become the only African American woman to win the all-around Olympic gold and has also led her gymnastic team to victory. So, why is it that, instead of receiving accolades, she is being cyber bullied?
The hottest topic in American media is Gabby’s hair.  Americans, mainly African Americans, have been ridiculing Gabby for having “unkempt” hair while competing.
The complaints are all rooted in the notion that Gabby is not only representing the US in the Olympic Games but all African Americans, and she is giving a negative impression of Black hair.
When Gabby saw the internet bashing, she said, “I don’t know where this is coming from. What’s wrong with my hair?”
“I’m like, I just made history, and people are focused on my hair? It can be bald or short, it doesn’t matter about hair, ” Gabby said.
It is ludicrous for people to ridicule Gabby’s hair when she is making such huge steps for the future of African Americans in gymnastics. Her sport requires her to throw her body in the air and do outstanding twists and turns – who has time to worry if a strand of hair is out of place?
Gabby’s mother Natalie Hawkins was enraged when she heard the vicious talk about her daughter’s hair, saying, “How ignorant is it of people to comment on her hair, and she still has more competitions to go. Are you trying to ruin her self-confidence?”
Instead of supporting our Olympian, we have been degrading her. Gabby, who has consistently dominated the competition, came in last on the uneven bars this past Monday.
She was not her effervescent self. I hope it wasn’t because the people of this country, at the end of the day, don’t have her back.

Beyond Emancipation is hosting a “Beyond Idol” foster youth talent competition Saturday, Sept. 22 for ages 16 to 24 with auditions at Laney College.
Participants must be a current or former Alameda county foster youth who will perform on “emancipation themes” in one of four categories, hip hop, spoken word, vocalist and instrumentalist.
Finalists will go on to compete Tuesday, Oct. 9 at the New Parrish in Oakland.
Registration is free, and winners will be awarded cash and professional prize packages to help further their careers in entertainment.  For information visit www.beyondidol.com, call (510) 387-3051 or email info@beyondidol.com.

The National Black Data Processing Associates (NBDPA) has selected Hewlett-Packard, the world’s largest technology company, as a 2012 Corporate Epsilon Award recipient.
The award recognizes exceptional companies that provide African Americans with challenging and fulfilling career opportunities in information technology and computer science.  Since 2009, the NBDPA has recognized companies that have demonstrated a commitment to people and an understanding that diversity has a bottom-line business case value.
“We are extremely pleased to be honored with this award,” said Lesley McNorton, Sr., Manager, Global Marketing/Multicultural, HP.  “It’s long been the policy at HP to provide opportunities for individuals to thrive and be challenged in their work environment. We believe in the power of a diverse workforce which offers our company the best possibility for innovation.”
The Epsilon Award was presented to HP – along with seven other companies – on Aug. 3 at the Dignitaries Reception at the National BDPA Technology Conference in Baltimore.
For information visit www.bdpa.org.

By Jesse
Jackson, Sr.

We are shocked and saddened by the massacre in Aurora, Colo. But Aurora is part of a pattern, not an isolated incident. Two days earlier, 17 were hurt outside a bar in Tuscaloosa, Ala., when a gunman opened fire.
There is no safe zone.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others were shot in a Tucson, Ariz., shopping center. Virginia Tech students were mowed down on campus. In Chicago, 228 people have already lost their lives to gun violence as of mid-June. Nationwide, there have been 60 mass shootings since the Tucson horror, according to the Brady Campaign. Every year, about 100,000 Americans are victims of gun violence, with about 30,000 killed. Aurora is shocking — but the shock has become routine.
We fixate on the details of the killer. James Holmes was an honor student who ran into trouble, dropped out of school, apparently suffered depression. He saw himself as the Joker, the villain without a cause, eager only to sow violence and disruption for its own sake. Dressed in black body armor, he walked into the movie theater playing the new Batman movie carrying two handguns, a shotgun and an assault rifle. There was no defense when he opened fire.
Our leaders offer condolences and prayers, as President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney did immediately. But we need both prayer and policy to provide for domestic tranquility. Depression isn’t isolated. Mass depression and mass access to guns is a recipe for massacre. We must do more than mourn. We must act to limit domestic terrorism.
Holmes purchased the four guns he carried in local Colorado gun shops along with 6,000 rounds of ammunition in the last 60 days. How could he arm himself with an assault rifle that is useful only to hunt humans? It was easy because in Colorado, it was perfectly legal. According to the Brady Campaign, this is the current state of gun laws in Colorado:
There is no ban on assault weapons, no ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, no registration requirements, no gun owner licensing requirements, no background checks for Internet sales, no “good cause” required for a concealed carry permit, no limit on the number of handguns you can buy in one purchase.
Our police chiefs campaign hard for a ban on assault weapons that put them at risk. A weak federal assault weapons ban existed from 1994 until George Bush let it lapse in 2004. During that time, the number of crimes committed with assault weapons declined dramatically. But the National Rifle Association — the powerful gun lobby — campaigned hard against the ban and intimidated politicians in both parties.
Now the gun lobby has won. People have begun arming themselves, as if that would protect them. Last year, nearly half (47 percent) of Americans said they have a gun in their home. In 1959, 60 percent of Americans supported a law to ban possession of handguns except by police and other authorized persons. By 2011, only 26 percent supported it. Last year for the first time, a majority of Americans said they were opposed to a law to make it illegal to manufacture, sell or possess assault weapons.
How many must die before we stand and speak? We must revive the ban on assault weapons in America. The Joker’s goal of creating chaos through violence is not a joke. Arming ourselves is not a solution; it is a defeat. We must demand action to defend the domestic tranquility against a gun industry, lobby and culture that now pose a clear and present danger.

Emma Clark

By Paul Cobb and
Leonard Gardner

At the Church of God in Christ California Northwest 55th Convocation in Oakland last month, Emma Clark was seen wearing many hats.
She served as support staff to the Convention Coordinator, Executive Secretary and the Director of Finance’s offices.  She was also a Convocation Institute speaker, whose topic was “Preparing for the Night.”
Mrs. Clark also wears other hats in the Jurisdiction as President of the Business and Professional Women’s Federation, Jurisdiction Union Meeting Secretary, Historian, Evangelist Missionary and Jurisdictional Headquarters support staff person and CNW-Tidbits email ministry writer.
Despite her “busyness” at the northern California level, she finds time to don her national hat to serve as National Business and Professional Women’s Federation Membership Chairperson and chair of Recording Secretaries of Women’s International Convention/Crusade.
She is the Founder/Librarian of the Dr. Mattie McGlothen Library-Museum in Richmond where she is digitizing many issues of the COGIC Whole Truth Magazine and over 100 National Holy Convocation and Women’s International Convention Souvenir Journals for the McGlothen Library-Museum website.
Mrs. Clark loves beautiful hats and she says she does not feel fully dressed on Sunday without a hat. She buys only a few, but many are given to her as gifts.

Rashidah Grinage

Sergeant Chris Bolton

By Jesse Douglas
Allen-Taylor

The Oakland Police Department is struggling to come up with solutions to make a dent in the department’s blacklogged investigations and DNA processing crisis, in the wake of a offical Grand Jury report issued  late in June, which criticized what it called a “significant backlog” in both crime lab and the investigations units that may have kept large numbers of accused criminals from being arrested.
The Grand Jury report said that because of “insufficient staffing” in the 23-member OPD crime lab, the backlog in processing firearms ballistics requests has risen to close to 2,000, causing the lab to “cancel non-homicide requests that are more than three years old, thereby missing opportunities to potentially aid investigations.”
In addition, the report noted the lab had a backlog of 515 requests for DNA processing, and that even when DNA samples from an Oakland crime have been matched to a suspect using the national DNA database, only about one-third of those matches have been followed-up on.
And noting that even though OPD has “drastically decreased” the collection of fingerprint evidence, the Grand Jury report said that because of staffing shortages, the OPD crime lab was only able to complete 34 of 143 requests to identify crime scene fingerprints last year.
But Oakland’s police budget does not reflect a concern about reports of the department’s investigative backlog. While the department’s bureau of field operations, which includes beat officers, was increased from 392 full-time employees to 406 full-time employees between last year’s budget and this, the bureau of investigations, which includes the crime lab, dropped from 173 full-time employees to 157 in the same period.
Neither the Oakland mayor’s office nor the Oakland Chief of Police’s office have yet responded to the Grand Jury’s critical findings,  saying they are still preparing a written response.
OPD Chief Howard Jordan’s chief of staff, Sergeant Chris Bolton, said in an interview that while the chief’s office is “in the process of reviewing” the Grand Jury recommendations on the investigations and crime lab problems, “this isn’t something we’ve been sleeping on. We’ve been taking affirmative steps” to correct the situation.
Last year, for example, Bolton said that in order to maximize their ability to conduct investigations, OPD “created teams of investigators to work on crime scenes, rather than having just one or two process the scene.”
But in the end, Bolton said, it is still a matter of resources. “We need more,” he said. “We don’t have enough.”
Rashidah Grinage, Executive Director of Oakland’s PUEBLO organization, which has monitored and advocated on Oakland police issues for many years, called the increase in patrol staffing while cutting back on investigations “a response to political demands,” and said in a telephone interview that the department’s investigative and crime lab staffing problem cannot be blamed upon solely on lack of money.
Pointing to former OPD Chief Anthony Batts’ 5 Year Plan that called for replacing police officers with civilians in 45 OPD positions, Grinage said that hiring civilians for many positions, including the crime lab and some investigations, would free up current officers to leave desk jobs and go out in the street, easing both the problems of a shortage of patrol officers and a shortage of lab workers and investigators.
Grinage said the money to hire the civilian workers could be found by canceling the upcoming police academies, which she said are too expensive for the numbers of actual Oakland officers they create.
Contacted by the Post, Councilmember Jane Brunner said she had not yet read the Grand Jury report in detail and therefore could not comment on the report’s conclusions about the OPD DNA backlog. Councilmembers Larry Reid and Ignacio De La Fuente did not return calls from the Post.

Math Students Post-up with SAIL

Some of the 6-8th graders pictured are from left to right: Back row - Vinnae Edgerly, Talik Payton, Lashid Kirdy, Keith Givan, Marakie Habte, Phatima Matthews; Middle row left to right Brittany Lane, Herbie Kinchen, Eneceia Lang, Brandon Terry, Nyla Gill, Charle Ward; Bottom row - James Boatner, Taijon Spain, Jordan Green, Jaden Green, Harmony Wallace,Dianna Goodwin, Bazine Solomon. Photos by Katrina Davis.

Left to right : Rickey Stoker, Coordinator FAIL; Ben Chavis, Founder; Ms. Yusi He, Principal; and Claudette Merchant (sitting), Admin. Assistant.

By Paul Cobb

African American youth have been given scholarships to learn how to count, compute and think through math and science problems in a former Wells Fargo office building in downtown Oakland.
They are learning Algebra, which has often been called the “universal second language” and the “gateway to scientific thought.”
“If students can speak Algebra they can migrate to geometry, calculus and sail through other courses on their way to science, technology, computer and engineering careers,” says Dr. Ben Chavis.
Chavis, founder of the American Indian Public Charter High School (AIPCS), offers a special summer “math intensive” science program for inner-city youth. More than 95 percent of the students are minorities, and the school scores among the top five in the state.
By enlisting extensive parental and guardian involvement and with a little dose of tough love sprinkled with high and demanding expectations, Chavis has produced high achieving scholars by partnering with their families and community.
In 2008, Dr. Chavis began the Stanford Academic Institute of Learning (SAIL) in Oakland. The summer program focuses on mathematics for economically disadvantaged minority students.
Since 2011, the SAIL program has expanded to offer academic opportunities to children in Saddletree, North Carolina, a small American Indian community where Dr. Chavis attended school. Saddletree Academic Institute of Learning serves rural students from Mexican, American Indian, Black and white families.
Stanford Academic Institute of Learning (SAIL) serves inner-city and rural students in grades 5th-12th. SAIL soars with an excellent student attendance (99.5%), which helps to ensure the academic success  of students who are interested in attending the  program.
SAIL offers general mathematics to 6th grade students, Pre-Algebra to 7th grade students, Algebra I to 8th grade students, Geometry to 9th grade students, Algebra II to 10th grade students, Pre-Calculus to 11th graders and Calculus to 12th graders.
The school has 340 students enrolled in two locations. Most students come from American Indian Public Charter School I (AIPCS) and American Indian Public Charter School II (AIPCS II).
The Oakland Post and SAIL has partnered to offer scholarships to Black students. They are providing 61 Black students with an opportunity to excel in mathematics this summer.
SAIL alumni are currently attending the University of California at Berkeley, the University of California at Davis, the University of California at Los Angeles, Syracuse University, Stanford University, Cornell University and numerous other universities.

The Broadway Hustlers and A.C. Mob will hold their 2nd annual Family Reunion, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., on Saturday, Aug. 11 at Defremery Park in Oakland, called “A Day of No Violence.”
Known for its GQ style, economic growth and leadership, the Broadway Hustlers was a street gang of more than 75 men and women that roamed Broadway from 2nd Street to Mac Arthur Blvd in Oakland in the late 70s and early 80s.
The A.C. Mob is a gang that often hung out on AC Transit buses.
The family reunion will feature music, food, spoken word, a kid’s zone, and special guest speaker Rev. Dr. Jasper Lowery.
For information call Ron Linzie aka “Poison” at (510) 541-9650 or Rodney “Boss of Bosses” Jackson at (510) 836-3827.

David Glover

“Old Happens,” written and performed by David Glover and directed by Phillip E. Walker, is a one-man show filled with entertainment and comedic quirks and perks.
The show will take place 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5 at Linen Life Gallery, 770 East 14th St. in San Leandro.
Glover calls his performance a building block for an arts movement he has started called “Transformational Entertainment Revolution.”
“The intention of the movement is to elevate human consciousness by utilizing arts and entertainment as a vehicle for social transformation and community revitalization, a movement that takes entertainment beyond entertainment through a series of live events,”
To RSVP for “Old Happens” call (800) 746-4027.  Admission is $15. For information visit www.oldhappens.info

Aric Prather, PhD.

By Elizabeth Fernandez,
courtesy of UC
San Francisco

As mothers have always known, a good night’s sleep is crucial to good health — and now a new study led by a UCSF researcher shows that poor sleep can reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.
The study is the first performed outside a sleep laboratory to show that sleep duration is directly tied to vaccine immune response, the authors said.
The study, conducted while the UCSF researcher was a doctoral student at the University of Pittsburgh, will appear in the August issue of the journal “SLEEP.”
“With the emergence of our 24-hour lifestyle, longer working hours, and the rise in the use of technology, chronic sleep deprivation has become a way of life for many Americans,” said lead author Aric Prather, PhD, a clinical health psychologist and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at UCSF and UC Berkeley.
“These findings should help raise awareness in the public health community about the clear connection between sleep and health,” Prather said.
Research has shown that poor sleep can make one susceptible to illnesses such as upper respiratory infections. To explore whether sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and sleep quality would impact immune processes important in the protection against infection, researchers investigated the antibody response to hepatitis B vaccinations on adults in good health.
Antibodies are manufactured by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as viruses.
The study was conducted at the University of Pittsburgh. Each participant was administered the standard three-dose hepatitis B vaccine; the first and second dose were administered a month apart, followed by a booster dose at six months.
The researchers found that people who slept fewer than six hours on average per night were far less likely to mount antibody responses to the vaccine and thus were far more likely (11.5 times) to be unprotected by the vaccine than people who slept more than seven hours on average. Sleep quality did not affect response to vaccinations.

By Tanya
Dennis

Earl Starnes, who lost his wife Annie Mae from cancer in February, is someone who feels the call to join the fight against the disease, which strikes one in three people during their lifetime.
“I can’t think of a better way to honor my wife and keep her memory alive than to actively participate in eradicating cancer from the planet,” he said.
Starnes will join other Bay Area residents Saturday, July 28, by walking around the clock in the battle against cancer at the 8th Annual American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life in Oakland.
The 24-hour relay gets underway with teams of residents gathering at 10 a.m. at Bishop O’Dowd High School at 9500 Stearns Ave. in Oakland.
Relay for Life, which is being hosted at 4,800 events nationwide, celebrates the courage and strength of the survivors and honors the victims.
“Relay is a unique opportunity for our community to come together to celebrate people who have battled cancer, remember those we’ve lost, and fight back against the disease,” said Angela Caulboy, chair of the Oakland Relay.
“The first lap at the relay is special, it’s the survivor’s lap,” she said. “Cancer survivors are invited to walk the first lap.  It’s very emotional and hopeful to see how many people do survive cancer.”
Each team captain is encouraged to recruit 8 to 15 friends, family and coworkers, who will seek contributions prior to the event.  On the day of the relay, team members will show up with their tents and chairs and take turns walking around the track.
One person will always be walking one the track, representing the team for 24 hours.
In 2010, Relay for Life raised $388 million to fund cutting-edge cancer research, early detection and prevention educations, advocacy efforts, and life-affirming patient services.
“We urge the community to come and see what our event is all about, stay for a lap or all day, just help us fight back against cancer,” said Caulboy.
For more information, contact Angela Caulboy at (510) 258-3458 or go to www.relayforlife.org/oaklandca

Author Robert Stanley Oden will be present his book, “From Blacks to Brown And Beyond,” at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 19 at the Joyce Gordon Gallery, 406 14th St. in Oakland.
Oden, a professor in the Government Department at Sacramento State University, spent 15 years researching and writing the book, which is subtitled, “The Struggle for Progressive Politics in Oakland, California, 1966-2011.”
He worked for the City of Berkeley and lived in Oakland from 1975-1991. He was engaged in many political campaigns in Oakland, including Elihu Harris’ first campaign for the state assembly, Cassie Lopez’s council races, Wilson Riles Jr. campaigns for mayor of Oakland, Jesse Jackson’s run for President in 1984 and 1988, as a member of the Steering Committee of the Berkeley-Oakland Rainbow Coalition, and the David Hilliard campaign for Oakland City Council.
Oden was a founding member of the John George Political Club and worked on many other community issues.  He was also a member of the Black Panther Party in Oakland in 1968 and is presently the CEO of the Intercommunal Institute for Research and Social Change in Vallejo.
Books can be purchased on-line by going to Cognella Publishers and writing in the title.  Books will also be at the Joyce Gordon Gallery event for purchase.
For information call  (916) 422-5134.

By Dianne Anderson
Special to the NNPA
from the Precinct Reporter

The debate rages on in the medical community over  the recent recommendation that doctors stop offering the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test.
Black men die from prostate cancer earlier and at twice the rate over every other racial group, and the PSA test helps in early detection.
Dr. Sanaa Ligons at the Whitney Young Family Health Clinic in San Bernardino says that the PSA test is one of the first tests she orders for her over-50 male patients. Dr. Ligons explains that “In some populations, where it’s (prostate cancer) not so frequent or so bad, it’s okay not to [PSA] screen, but for African American males, I think we should be screening earlier.”
The other alternative–the dreaded Digital Rectal Exam–is often a deal breaker for Black males. Dr. Ligons said the clinic doesn’t use DREs anymore, just the PSA because it is more reliable to detect the cancer.
When men get their annual PSA, it’s easier to spot the trend over time. If the protein marker rises, it’s one indicator that he may have the beginning stages of the cancer. With that earlier indicator comes a better chance of survival .But she said patients must also watch for other symptoms. Urination shows the first signs of trouble if the patient sees a slower or weak urine stream, which could indicate prostate enlargement or cancer. Those symptoms could be benign, meaning not cancerous, but no one should take the chance by avoiding the test.
Black men are most likely to get and die from prostate cancer, but she said that they are still not getting better about walking into her office, and asking for their PSA tests.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is being criticized for calling to curb PSA testing, particularly since Black men comprise those most at risk of dying from the cancer. However, they reportedly only made up about 4% of the Task Force’s case study.
Essentially, medical advocates argue that throwing out the PSA test would be a killer for more Black men.
Men’s Health Network (MHN) and the Veterans Health Council also stand strongly opposed to the decision to curb testing, claiming that Vietnam-era veterans were also more at risk from over-exposure to Agent Orange.
The group blasted the Task Force for not consulting with the National Cancer Institute, or its studies showing that PSA screening was attributed to a 45-70% decline in death rate, as presented at the annual African American Prostate Cancer Disparity Summit last year.
“The recommendation against PSA testing puts men’s lives in jeopardy as they will be discouraged from getting screened for prostate cancer. This especially affects African-American men. In the U.S. alone, 30,000 men die from prostate cancer annually. Early detection is key and PSA testing is the best available tool, reducing prostate cancer mortality by 40% since its inception,” commented Ana Fadich, MPH, CHES, Director of Programs and Health Promotion at MHN.
For information on screening, call Whitney Young Family Health Clinic at (909) 386-7600
Or  go to www.nnpa.org/news/health/black-men-prostate-cancer

The national charitable foundation of the U.S. Tennis Association, USTA Serves, has awarded a $10,000 grant to support 400 young people who are part of Youth Tennis Advantage (YTA) at Mosswood Park in Oakland, the BearTrax program at UC Berkeley, and John McLaren Park in San Francisco.
The grant will be used for Empowering Youth Through Play, which is an ongoing year-round program with the goal of 100 percent high school graduation rate for the group’s scholar athletes.
More than 175 youth participated at the recent Kids Day tennis celebration at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, and academic and life skills staff and volunteers have been added.
“One of the major accomplishments that we sometimes overlook is that Youth Tennis Advantage … (provides) a safe and supervised setting with caring and devoted staff,” said Mike Skinner, board president of the program.
“We successfully prevent drop outs; teach social and living skills, nurture teamwork and healthy relationships, help youth to avoid illegal, destructive and self-destructive behaviors,” he said.
Youth Tennis Advantage for over 25 years has provided tennis and educational programs to young people in the Bay Area through comprehensive programs and expert coaching.
During its 2012 spring funding cycle, USTA Serves awarded 44 community tennis and education organizations more than $400,000 in grants.

The Prescott Joseph Center for Community Enhancement is presenting August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” starring The Lower Bottom Playaz, under the direction of Ayodele Nzinga.
The play will open Friday, July 13 and run through July 22 at The Sister Thea Bowman Memorial Theater at 920 Peralta St. in Oakland.
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is the first of two works by Wilson slated to be directed by Nzinga as a part of Theater in the Yard, Season 11.
The play the third of the Pittsburg Cycle by Wilson to be presented at The Sister Thea Bowman Memorial Theater in West Oakland. Although Wilson’s Cycle is set for the most part in the Hill District of Pittsburg, PA, he sets this work on the South Side of Chicago.
Chicago’s correlation to West Oakland as a migration destination along with the history of Chicago’s Black Belt and Oakland’s 7th St. as two of the country’s important North American African musical centers is obvious.  In both, the North American African community lived similar lives with commons constraints and motivations.
Wilson’s raw and gritty expose of the American music industry offers a look at a community developed as a result of the Great Migration. The work is pushed by and pulled out of the music of people in transit on a quest to a life they can imagine but cannot touch. It is the music of loss and desire.
The music is a story in and of itself. But the people who bring the music are the heart of this piece.
For information and tickets call the box office at (510) 332-1319 or go on line to www.lowerbottomplayaz.com

By Spencer Whitney

For the last few months, Oakland resident David Chin has been combing over data and research from FBI crime statistics in efforts to find out why there is such an enormous backlog of over 400,000 untested rape kits sitting in law enforcement storage facilities.
The victims of sexual assault are asked to submit DNA evidence from their bodies, which are stored in small packages known as rape kits and can be used to identify a perpetrator.
Chin is working to create a new foundation, tentatively named Healix, that will process the backlog of rape kits.
“This is a social justice (issue) that can be salvageable within our lifetime,” said Chin. “All it takes is time, money and people actively working to process the kits. There is enough DNA testing equipment available, it just doesn’t seem like a priority for law enforcement.”
Chin works as an information technology engineer for Resource Development Associates in Oakland. The idea for his foundation came from a desire to see perpetrators of sexual assaults pay for their crimes after a close friend of his was sexually attacked.
The perpetrator has yet to be apprehended.
“Our goal is to end the backlog of rape kits. Healix will focus on bringing more awareness to the prevention of sexual crimes especially on college campuses. We also want to build a system for DNA testing that would prevent further backlogs from occurring in the future.”
The name Healix is a play on words referring to the double helix structure of DNA and the process it takes to help heal rape victims. While he is still researching the data on backlogged rape kits, Chin hopes to find the answers about the lack of funding and exposure of the issue as well as questions regarding the varying prices associated with processing the rape kits.
Advocacy groups such as the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) have been working to pass new legislation aimed at ending the backlogs. The Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry (SAFER) Act would require law enforcement to prioritize rape kit testing and account for the number of untested rape kits in their storage facilities, as well as create an online registry that would allow victims to get real-time updates of their rape kit status.
“Ending the backlog is just the stepping stone to conquering bigger problems,” said Chin. “If we can change the way people think about the issue, we can start making a difference.”

By Chanelle
Bell

Mario Brown

Mario Brown, a running back who has dominated in every league he has played  since the third grade, is an accomplished 20 year old with a warm and humble spirit.
Born and raised in Berkeley, he attended Bishop O’ Dowd High School and was a football standout. Nicknamed “Super Mario,” he was light on his feet and could often be seen zooming down the field, football in hand.
In his junior year, he received the Scooter Oats award of $1,000 because of his athletic achievements, and as a senior, he was named MVP of the year.
It is hard to imagine that this beast on the football field is an extremely humble and kindhearted young man. “I am just a regular person. I just have happened to be very blessed,” Mario says.
His blessings and hard work paid off because he was offered six football scholarships from colleges all over the U.S. Mario ended up attending Eastern Washington University (EWU) with a football scholarship of over $20,000.
In many college football programs, athletes do not play their first year. But when Taiwan Jones, the team’s running back and now a player for the Oakland Raiders, was hurt during a crucial playoff game, Mario was hurled into the spotlight.
“It all rested on my shoulders. A lot of people and fans were skeptical. It was a big game televised on ESPN, and the playoffs are win or go home,” said Mario.
Mario rose to the challenge and played one of his best games, moving his team on to the FCS national championships. EWU players were the underdogs and were set to play 12-2 Delaware for the championship. Going into the fourth quarter of the game, EWU was down 13 points.
“All eyes were on me, and I didn’t want to fail my team,” Mario remembers.
With the help of Mario, EWU made a miraculous comeback and won the game 20-19. His first year of playing college football Mario won a FCS championship ring and his school’s first national championship.
But even with all his athletic accomplishments Mario never loses sight of the importance of school. “The key word is student, you are a student athlete, and student comes first,” Mario said. He won an award for his academic achievements that same year.
Mario comes from an extremely supportive family.  “Football is mentally tough, and my family keeps me grounded,” he said.
Mario urges all young people to follow their dreams, “You have to have a dream and a passion. That is how it all starts. It becomes a reality through discipline, hard work, and sacrifices. You have to make it happen for yourself.”

Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland recently celebrated a “Mortgage Burning Ceremony” for Allen Temple Arms, a community of homes for seniors with limited incomes. The mortgage, taken out in August 1981, was paid off after 30 years. Left to Right are: Rev. J. Alfred Smith, Jr., Allen Temple’s current pastor. Rev. J. Alfred Smith, Sr., Cornell Maier, Chairman of Kaiser Aluminum, retired; Dr. Ramona Tascoe, Allen Temple; and Leo Sorensen, A.T.&T., retired.

The 4th of July is just around the corner and what better way to celebrate than onboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. Once again the USS Hornet Museum is hosting its annual family-friendly Independence Day celebration from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Wednesday, July 4.

The public is invited to enjoy a fun-filled day of entertainment, food and interactive games for all ages. Visitors are invited to stay to view and enjoy panoramic views of Bay Area fireworks from the ship’s flight deck.

Bands scheduled to perform are: Tempest, Michael Sea and Island Fever, The Cocktail Monkey’s, and the Mighty NepTunes. DJ Nikki Blakk from the Bone’s 107.7 FM will also be there to entertain all the guests.

All-day admission is $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 5-17. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 510-521-8448 x 282 or visit www.hornetevents.com

Proceeds benefit the Aircraft Carrier Hornet Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and support the preservation of the historic aircraft carrier and the educational programs of the USS Hornet Museum.

Writer Erica Kennedy (left) has been found dead in her Miami Beach apartment. She was 42.

Kennedy, whose full name was Erica Kennedy Johnson, was found dead last week. No cause was immediately reported.

A former fashion publicist, she began her writing career as a special correspondent for the New York Daily News. She later wrote fashion and entertainment for magazines such as Vibe, In Style, Paper and Elle UK.

She published the hip-hop novel “Bling” in 2004  and “Feminista” in 2009.

“Bling” tells the story of a young, innocent mixed-race woman trying to break into the music business. A gifted singer, she is remade in flashy style by a rapacious record mogul.

Kennedy was a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Oxford University.

Left to right: Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman.

June 21 is the anniversary of the murders in 1964 of young civil rights workers in Mississippi Freedom Summer, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner.

The three young men were arrested by the police on trumped-up charges, imprisoned for several hours, and then released after dark into the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, who beat and murdered them. It was later proven in court that a conspiracy existed between members of Neshoba County’s law enforcement and the Ku Klux Klan to kill them.

The killings, which shocked the nation and world, were the subject of the 1988 movie “Mississippi Burning” and a new documentary “Neshoba: The Price of Freedom.”

R.C. Owens, a San Francisco 49ers wide receiver who was best known for pairing with quarterback Y.A. Tittle to invent the “alley-oop” pass into the end zone, has died at the age of 78.

A 14th-round draft pick out of Idaho in 1956, Owens spent his first five NFL seasons with the 49ers, and his best year came in 1961, when he caught 55 passes for 1,032 yards and five touchdowns. He later played for the Colts and Giants in the 1960s.

But what Owens is best known for is the alley-oop, a term that was applied to Owens’ catches in football before it was used in basketball: The 6-foot-3 Owens would simply plant himself in the end zone and jump as high as he could, and Tittle would hit him in the end zone. After retiring from the NFL as a player, Owens worked for the 49ers from 1979 to 2001 in a variety of capacities, including director of training camp and director of alumni relations. He also started a summer reading program that involved more than 10,000 kids. He is survived by his wife, Susan.