News

City Passes Z for Public Safety, N for Schools, FF for $12.25 Minimum Wage

Published

9 years ago

November 6, 2014

Oakland residents overwhelmingly backed parcel taxes to improve public schools and continue to supplement public safety dollars, as well as a labor-backed measure to raise the minimum wage in the city to $12.25 an hour.

Measure Z passed with 77 percent of the vote. It needed 66.67 percent to win.

The measure is the successor to Measure Y, which for the last 10 years has generated about $20 million a year for police and anti-violence youth programs.

Measure Z will extend the tax for another decade.

“I’m so grateful that the citizens have chosen to maintain these investments in police services and programs that stand in the breach for the families that are impacted by violence and provide a pathway back for those who have paid their debt to society,” said Councilmember Lynette McElhaney, who spearheaded efforts to pass Measure Z.

McElhaney thanked the community, faith and business groups that worked to pass the measure. She also expressed gratitude to the fire fighters union, which donated $100,000 to the campaign.

“We would not have been able to do anything without them,” McElhaney said. “They were the cornerstone of our financing.”

The Measure N Oakland schools parcel tax won with 75.8 percent of the vote. It also needed 66.67 percent to pass.

Measure FF, a measure to raise the minimum wage in Oakland to $12.25 an hour next March, won in a landslide with 81.2 percent of the vote.

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Related Topics:Measure FF Measure N Measure Z Minimum wage Oakland Politics

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Activism

S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System

Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.

Published

9 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church. Photo courtesy Third Baptist Church.

By Carla Thomas

San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church hosted a rally and meeting Sunday to discuss hatred toward African American students of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church, along with leadership from local civil rights groups, the city’s faith-based community and Black community leadership convened at the church.

“There has been an epidemic of racial slurs and mistreatment of Black children in our public schools in the city,” said Brown. “This will not be tolerated.”

According to civil rights advocate Mattie Scott, students from elementary to high school have reported an extraordinary amount of racial slurs directed at them.

“There is a surge of overt racism in the schools, and our children should not be subjected to this,” said Scott. “Students are in school to learn, develop, and grow, not be hated on,” said Scott. “The parents of the children feel they have not received the support necessary to protect their children.”

Attendees were briefed last Friday in a meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.

SFUSD states that their policies protect children and they are not at liberty to publicly discuss the issues to protect the children’s privacy.

Some parents said they have removed their students from school while other parents and community leaders called on the removal of the SFUSD superintendent, the firing of certain school principals and the need for more supportive school board members.

Community advocates discussed boycotting the schools and creating Freedom Schools led by Black leaders and educators, reassuring parents that their child’s wellbeing and education are the highest priority and youth are not to be disrupted by racism or policies that don’t support them.

Virginia Marshall, chair of the San Francisco NAACP’s education committee, offered encouragement to the parents and students in attendance while also announcing an upcoming May 14 school board meeting to demand accountability over their mistreatment.

“I’m urging anyone that cares about our students to pack the May 14 school board meeting,” said Marshall.

This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.