Black History

COMMENTARY: Remembering Dr. King and “The Other America”

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “Little children in this other America are forced to grow up with clouds of inferiority forming every day in their little mental skies. As we look at this other America, we see it as an arena of blasted hopes and shattered dreams,” said Dr. King…

Published

7 years ago

January 10, 2019

Oakland Post

By Charlene Crowell, NNPA Newswire Contributor

Once again on the third Monday in January, much of the nation will mark the anniversary of the death of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Countless programs and events will no doubt recall several of his famous speeches from the 1963 March on Washington’s “I Have A Dream to his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” delivered in Memphis during the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike.

In a life of only 39 years, Dr. King captured global attention in his valiant, nonviolent fight for the values of freedom, justice and equality. Preaching and fighting for long overdue citizenship rights first promised to all in the Declaration of Independence, he championed economic justice – especially for Blacks to have safe, decent, and affordable housing. He also called for full participation in the economy, and an end to financial exploitation.

Now 51 years since his assassination, his words still strike a resonant chord. His words — written as prose but markedly poetic — remain as timely as they are timeless.

“There are so many problems facing our nation and our world, that one could just take off anywhere,” Dr. King said in a speech delivered on April 14, 1967 at Stanford University.

Entitled, “The Other America” Dr. King began by recapping the nation’s bounty and beauty, noting how “America is overflowing with the milk of prosperity and the honey of opportunity”, and how “millions of young people grow up in the sunlight of opportunity”.

For his audience, those comments almost certainly reflected the lifestyles of the students attending one of the nation’s elite educational institutions.

In his inimitable Baptist cadence, Dr. King then went on to speak of the “Other America” that was equally real but far removed from the commonplace privilege associated with Stanford.

“Little children in this other America are forced to grow up with clouds of inferiority forming every day in their little mental skies. As we look at this other America, we see it as an arena of blasted hopes and shattered dreams,” said Dr. King. “It’s more difficult today because we are struggling for genuine equality. It’s much easier to integrate a lunch counter than it is to guarantee a livable income and a good solid job. It’s much easier to guarantee the right to vote than it is to guarantee the right to live in sanitary, decent housing conditions.”

In 2019 the two Americas Dr. King wrote about still remain. A nation once lauded for its enviable and expanding middle class has evolved into a nation of people who are either growing wealthy or growing poor. In this unfortunate process, the nation’s envied middle class is vanishing.

Historically, homeownership has been a reliable measure of the nation’s middle class. Late last year it stood at 64.4 according to the Census Bureau. Yet when race and ethnicity are added who owns a home today discloses a far different picture. White homeownership was higher than the national average at 73.1 percent.

But Blacks still-suffering from the financial losses from the now decade-old foreclosure crisis had a homeownership rate of 41.7 percent, lower than its pre-housing crisis rate of 47.7 percent. Today’s Black homeownership resembles the same levels experienced at the time of the 1968 Fair Housing Act’s passage.

Latino homeownership today is higher than that of Blacks at 46.3 percent; but still lower than its earlier pre-crisis rate of 47.7.

Housing also remains troubled for renters as well. According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, the nation lacks more than 7 million affordable rental homes that affect 43.8 million families. Moreover, 11 million families pay more than half of their income on housing and are considered severely-cost burdened.

As of January 3, over 1,100 HUD contracts with landlords for its Section 8 rental voucher program expired. By February, another 1,000 more contracts are expected to expire. At press time, the stalemated federal government shutdown continued, leaving millions of people uncertain about their lives, or livelihoods or both. While landlords and HUD figure out the paperwork, 1.2 million families relying on this vital rental support program remain at risk.

Also caught in partisan bickering of a federal government shutdown are men and women – the military and civil servants – whose service to the country is deemed so essential that they must continue to work without knowing when another paycheck will arrive. Another 800,000 furloughed federal workers may be at home; but like others affected by the shutdown, they too still need to pay their rent or mortgage, honor their financial obligations and take care of children as best they can.

When times are tough financially, a range of predatory lenders seize opportunities to tempt those who are hard-pressed for cash with interest rates on loans that would make a bookie blush. When a loan of only a few hundred dollars comes with interest payments that double or triple the cash borrowed, predatory lenders are ready to exploit those with few or no financial options.

Those who are unpaid or underemployed – those who are working but failing to earn a salary comparable to their education and training, student loan repayments can take a financial backseat to housing, utilities, or other daily living needs.

At press deadline, the federal shutdown was approaching the 1995 shutdown record of 21 days.

In 1967 Dr. King advised his Stanford University audience, “Somewhere we must come to see that social progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals…. And so, we must help time, and we must realize that the time is always right to do right.”

This year, may we all honor Dr. King and do our respective efforts to make America live up to its promise of opportunity for all.

Charlene Crowell is the Center for Responsible Lending’s Communications Deputy Director. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.

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IN MEMORIAM: Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73

Longtime OUSD Employee Debra King-Cooper, 73 Caption: Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo. Special to The Post Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love i

Published

2 days ago

June 17, 2026

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Debra King-Cooper. Courtesy photo.

Special to The Post

Debra King-Cooper, a beloved mother, grandmother, queen, sister, church member, caregiver, and matriarch, transitioned peacefully on May 20 surrounded by family and love in the comfort of her home. To her children, she was royalty, grace, strength, and unconditional love embodied.

Debra Diane Edgar was born on May 28, 1952, in San Francisco, California, to Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar. She was raised alongside her younger brother, Charles Edgar Jr., affectionately known as “Little Brother” or “Lil Bruh.” She also shared close bonds with her older siblings Carol Edgar-Lang, Maryann Edgar Calloway, and Lonnie Lewis Sr.

A proud product of San Francisco’s historic Fillmore District, Debra attended Andrew Jackson Elementary School, where she met her lifelong best friend and adopted sister, Lynn Green, in the fifth grade. She later attended Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School, Roosevelt Junior High School and Thomas Jefferson High School.

Debra’s mother transitioned when she was only 17 years old, and her father transitioned when she was 23. Despite these profound losses, Debra remained grounded through the love and support of extended family and lifelong family friends,

In 1971, she married Harold King. On Sept. 24, 1972, they welcomed their first son, Dajuan Artese King, affectionately called “Pop” or “Poppa.” On Aug. 5, 1976, they welcomed their second son, Dante Dupree King, affectionately called “Tay” or “Taboocoo the Baby.”

After her divorce in 1982, Debra assumed full responsibility for raising her sons.

She supported Dajuan’s passion for football by purchasing sports equipment and attending games faithfully. She supported Dante’s love of music by enrolling him in the San Francisco Boys Choir, Oakland Boys Choir, and the Castlemont Castleers.

Professionally, Debra built an exceptional career. She worked at Blue Shield of California from 1973 until 1994, earning multiple promotions.

She later joined the Oakland Unified School District, initially in a temporary role before being promoted into management within the Labor Relations Department. She retired from OUSD in 2015 after years of distinguished service. During her years at OUSD, she built meaningful friendships with her colleagues.

Faith was central to Debra’s life. During the 1980s, following personal hardship, she joined Love Center Church under the leadership of Bishop Walter Hawkins, where she brought her children regularly. She later became a member of Triumphant: A Church Without Walls Ministries under Pastor Dr. Larry Short, who became a beloved spiritual mentor.

After Triumphant closed in 1992, Debra joined Cosmopolitan Baptist Church in Oakland under the leadership of Pastor Larry Ashley, where she remained for the rest of her life.

At Cosmopolitan, she worked in numerous ministries. She served on the usher board, sang in the choir, participated in the AIDS ministry during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, helped feed and support unhoused community members, and mentored and supported a group of young girls.

After retirement, she cared for older adults in her church community, driving them to appointments, cleaning their homes, managing finances, preparing meals, and helping families navigate funeral arrangements after loved ones transitioned.

Even while battling Stage 4 cancer herself, she continued caring for others.

Debra was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Edgar Sr. and Mamie Arthur Edgar; her brothers, Lonnie Lewis Sr. and Charles Edgar Jr.; her sisters, Maryann Edgar Calloway and Victoria Stephenson Knight; and her adopted mother, Clara Oliver.

She leaves to cherish her memory her beloved sons, Dajuan King and Dante King; grandson, Tiyler Dajuan Artese King; sister, Carol Edgar-Lang; goddaughters Monique Belle and Ricketa Matthews Jones (Leonard); daughter-in-love Quiona Sullivan; son-in-love Marcel Walker; sister-in-law Delores Lewis; adopted sisters and lifelong friends Lynn Green, Barbara Stephenson Hill, and Sarah Fine; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, great-nieces, great-nephews, extended family members, her church family and dear friends.

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Black History

COMMENTARY: Black Alliance for Just Immigration Supports Black Voting Rights!

OAKLAND POST — Historically, white conservative forces have sought to suppress Black political participation because Black communities have consistently organized, voted, and fought for policies rooted in justice, equity, and collective survival.

Published

2 days ago

June 17, 2026

bpusa-syndication

Special to The Post

The Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) condemns the continued gutting of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and the broader assault on Black political power unfolding across the United States.

Black immigrants in the United States — whether citizens or not — share a common condition with Black Americans. Our ability to access housing, healthcare, education, labor protections, safety, and political representation is deeply tied to the political power of Black communities in this country.

When Black communities lose political power, all Black people across the diaspora become more vulnerable to displacement, criminalization, disenfranchisement, and state violence.

The U.S. cannot claim to be a multiracial democracy while systematically dismantling Black political representation and participation. An attack on Black voting power is an attack on all Black people across the diaspora and on the very possibility of a just democracy.

Voting is more than a civic exercise. Voting is about representation, access to resources, and the ability of communities to shape policies that determine whether we survive, thrive, or are left vulnerable to harm. It is both a right and an expectation of participation in public life.

For generations, however, Black people in the United States were systematically excluded from that right through both legal and extralegal violence — especially across the Deep South. The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 was won through bloodshed, sacrifice, organizing, and mass resistance led by Black communities demanding full participation in democracy.

The VRA sought to remedy generations of racial exclusion by requiring states with histories of racist voter suppression to receive federal approval before changing election laws or voting procedures, a process known as preclearance. Section 2 of the VRA also created protections to ensure that Black voters and other historically marginalized communities could elect candidates who would represent their interests.

Historically, white conservative forces have sought to suppress Black political participation because Black communities have consistently organized, voted, and fought for policies rooted in justice, equity, and collective survival.

For more than a decade, the Supreme Court has steadily dismantled the VRA protections.

In 2013, the Court’s Shelby v. Holder decision removed the federal preclearance requirement, opening the floodgates for states to pass voter suppression laws and redraw districts designed to dilute Black political power.

On April 29, the Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana’s congressional map was unconstitutional because it included two majority-Black districts. In a state where more than one-third of the population is Black, the Court has effectively declared that Black political representation itself is suspect.

This is not simply about maps or district lines. Gerrymandering is one tactic in a much larger project to weaken Black political power, undermine multiracial democracy, and consolidate power away from working-class communities and communities of color.

What the Supreme Court has done is allow racial gerrymandering to exclude Black people from political power, while the effort to ensure Black communities have representation is now considered unconstitutional. Gutting of the VRA is simply the latest chapter in a long history of efforts to silence Black voices and roll back the gains of the Civil Rights Movement.

At the same time, the rise of authoritarian, xenophobic politics under Pres. Donald Trump and the broader far right seeks to codify anti-Blackness, anti-immigrant policies, attacks on women, LGBTQ+ communities, and other marginalized groups into law. These attacks are interconnected.

“The United States cannot claim to be a multiracial democracy while systematically dismantling Black political power,” said Nana Gyamfi, executive director of BAJI. “Black immigrants understand that our conditions are tied to the conditions of Black Americans; together then, together now. When Black communities lose political power, all Black people become more vulnerable to displacement, criminalization, disenfranchisement, and state violence. Protecting Black voting rights is not just about elections. It is about protecting the possibility of collective freedom and self-determination for our communities.”

BAJI remains committed to defending Black political power, strengthening Black migrant civic participation, and building a future rooted in Black freedom, dignity, and collective liberation.