Politics
Confederate Flag Sales Soar After South Carolina Church Shooting
By Amen Oyiboke
Special to the NNPA from the Los Angeles Sentinel
Rising conversations about the origin and history of the Confederate flag continues to be a topic on America’s list of issues for discussion.
Last week companies such as Walmart, Amazon, Sears/Kmart, eBay, Etsy and Google Shopping made statements by pulling merchandise displaying the confederate flag from their stores. The catalyst for the change came after a brutal shooting that left nine people dead at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
21-year-old Dylann Roof, the gunman of the shooting, proudly displayed the Confederate flag in his social media posts as a statement to support racial separation. After the shooting, debates about the Confederate flag’s meaning and stance began to resurface.
Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina and a group of locally elected officials announced on June 22 that they supported the removal of the Confederate flag from state capitol grounds. Other Southern states, like Alabama have followed through with removing the Confederate flag from state capitol grounds.
For decades Confederate merchandise has been sold quietly in stores with little opposition from businesses and consumers.
“We have decided to prohibit Confederate flags and many items containing this image because we believe it has become a contemporary symbol of divisiveness and racism,” eBay said in a statement last week.
The flag was a symbol of the slave-holding South during the Civil War. The flag that is currently produced isn’t the original Confederate flag, instead it is the battle flag used by Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee. The army held their own views of rebellion against the union to keep slavery in place for economic prosperity. Soon white supremacy groups began to use the flags as symbols for racial segregation and cleansing.
Although companies have announced their decisions to discontinue items of Confederate memorabilia, flag sales continue to soar. Confederate flags made the top of Amazon’s Patio, Lawn & Garden category last week and some item purchases peaked by more than 5,000 percent.
Customers who buy the products may have different reasons, for instance some customers have reportedly bought Confederate flags to burn them, while others believe they are preserving history, according to an article published by the New York Times. Consumers voiced their purchases as a way to celebrate history.
Although there are many groups who would like to brush off America’s 500 year-long history with slavery, when the subject of Confederacy and its prevalence in memorabilia as a symbol of grace to Southerners is brought up its called “preserving history”.
This rhetoric does nothing more than make it seem as though the conception of preservation is only beneficial when it comes to the lives of descents that were not directly impacted by this country’s turbulent history. Symbols of slavery are rarely shown or addressed in mainstream history books. These symbols are also often absent from present discussions of America’s roots. Supporters of the Confederate flag say it’s preserving history and represents heritage of the South. Heritage should not produce a strong feeling of offense by people who fell under the oppression.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Bay Area
MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS
San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org
***PRESS RELEASE***
MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS
HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence
San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.
HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.
This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.
“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”
The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.
“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”
The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:
- $42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
- $318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
- $445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
- $6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
- $750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
- $2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence
In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.
“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”
In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.
Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024
To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
-
Community2 weeks ago
Financial Assistance Bill for Descendants of Enslaved Persons to Help Them Purchase, Own, or Maintain a Home
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of April 3 – 6, 2024
-
Business2 weeks ago
V.P. Kamala Harris: Americans With Criminal Records Will Soon Be Eligible for SBA Loans
-
Community2 weeks ago
AG Bonta Says Oakland School Leaders Should Comply with State Laws to Avoid ‘Disparate Harm’ When Closing or Merging Schools
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of April 10 – 16, 2024
-
Community2 weeks ago
Oakland WNBA Player to be Inducted Into Hall of Fame
-
Community2 weeks ago
Richmond Nonprofit Helps Ex-Felons Get Back on Their Feet
-
Community2 weeks ago
RPAL to Rename Technology Center for Retired Police Captain Arthur Lee Johnson