Community

Man of Peace, Ronald V. Dellums Remembered

Published

8 years ago

September 23, 2018

Dylan and Sydney Ross with mom, Piper Dellums as they receive a pin from Rafael Jesús González, Berkeley Poet Laureate.

Sunday, September 9 was lovely—a gentle breeze waved its fingertips across the pavilion where chairs were set up in front of a stage where musicians paid tribute to the “Man of Peace,” Ronald V. Dellums, on the first International Day of Peace. How fitting for a man who made Nixon’s hit list early on in a career, for his stance against the Vietnam War, Barbara Lee noted in her comments later that evening.

Piper Dellums and her daughters’ Sydney and Dylan Ross joined their mother and other friends and family at the Block Party at Jack London Square. The family greeted friends and grooved to the music, something her dad would have loved, Piper said. Happy, yet grief stricken, occasionally we’d see the mom and daughter embracing one another, never more evident than when Rafael Jesus Gonzalez, Poet Laureate for the City of Berkeley, arrived giving Piper a big hug as he gave everyone his signature “Earth/Justice/Peace” button with a dove holding an olive branch, over an image of planet earth, encircled by sun rays, against a rainbow backdrop.

Funk ruled Sunday afternoon—the day hot enough for sunscreen, but not too hot to move by the end of the concert, which featured Ronnie Stewart and the Blues Caravan of All Stars, Oaktown Passions, Shirlee Temper, Kayla Marin’s Salt People, and Best Intentions. By the end of the afternoon, earlier sparsely filled seats were full and the audience was thick with folks on the grassy slope all the way back to

the dock, where Scott’s Seafood Restaurant Pavilion hosted the invitation-only tribute that evening.

In the gazebo, which was full with family and other dignitaries, the ceremony opened with an indigenous blessing and a Pan-African percussion procession. Later, speakers both present and prerecorded—including Dellums—spoke to this honored man’s legacy. Perhaps

Piper’s pastor, Warren Campbell (LA) said it best when he took his comments from Timothy 4.6 and said that Dellums poured his life out like Paul: there was nothing left.

“He was full of goodness, because he poured his life into the Berkeley City Council, [and House of Representatives, and City of Oakland].

He was a tall glass full of vision. Full of service. Full of sacrifice,” he said.

Dellums touched many lives—some present in the room, like Senator Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Lee (whose 20 years in Congress reflects her friendship with her mentor), and special surprise guest Stevie Wonder.

Lee’s eulogy included stories of Ron’s comedic impersonations of Richard Pryor, his short but brilliant film career as Frederick Douglass and his role in her life.

“Ron was my boss, mentor, and yet, like the brother I never had. He gave me personal advice and support as a single mom raising 2 boys.”

She remembered him telling his staff: “Let your conscience be your guide. If you are right—just stand on that street corner alone because sooner or later everyone must walk right to you.”

“Ron never backed down. Ron passed me a blue baton when I announced, in 1998, I would run for his seat upon his retirement. The baton, which I look at often, reminds me that all of us must carry that baton that Ron gave us and run our mile in this marathon for justice, for peace, and unity. So, when we pass our batons to the next generation, we know, as Ron said frequently, we have secured their future,” Lee said.

Dellums’ two granddaughters, also shared memories of “Pop Pop.”

The sisters both spoke of their revered grandfather as a role model, and more importantly as a man who had strong faith and belief in God and in the goodness of humanity. Both concepts were tangible in his life.

Dylan said, “My grandfather changed so many lives, and the best part is that he didn’t change them unknowingly or unwillingly, sitting idly by. He made it his life’s mission to change lives. He made it his life’s mission to change the world. He taught me to realize that it is such an absurd lie that one person cannot make a difference.”

Sydney, who fulfilled her grandfather’s academic goal of receiving a doctorate from Brandeis University, said that evening about her grandfather:

“The revolution is a collective and our shared interests in peace and justice for all are going to keep integrating this nation one social arena or place of business at a time.

“My Pop Pop has left us all with an enormous responsibility as well as the great honor to keep fighting to let love outshine fear, outshine despair, and outshine injustice. We must continue to divest from war and the politics of bigotry and we must continue to invest in the health, education, and environment of our communities.

“If you asked my grandfather what he does for a living, he called himself a social activist. In the spirit of social activism I’d like to use this opportunity to spread his desire for greater accountability and transparency in government by encouraging you to all use an app called Countable. Please take a minute to actually write this down. The app is called Countable C-O-UNTABLE. It’s very easy to use and allows you to notify your representatives of your vote on issues as they are being voted on and comes with small descriptions of both points of views. I also am encouraging you to challenge leaders that seek to silence America’s voice rather than encourage America to sing its truths out loud.

“Some say the civil rights movement failed but In the words of Pop Pop‘s Gram: nothing beats a failure but a try. If we keep trying we will succeed.”

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Activism

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses. The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Published

1 week ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, was one of the speakers at the event. Photo by Shellee Fisher Photography and Design.

By Calvin Naito, Special to The Post

On June 4, a national nonprofit named the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP) – which aims to increase public construction contracting opportunities for small and historically underutilized businesses – held a day-long event in downtown San Francisco to rally supporters and build momentum to its cause.

It was attended by more than 100 individuals from public agencies, private firms, and other organizations committed to increasing contracting opportunities with governmental agencies, thereby creating more competition and lowering public costs.

The EIP event was held the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in conjunction with BuildIT, which aims to increase contracting opportunities for LGBT-owned businesses.

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses.

The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Following the workshop, BuildIT hosted a VIP evening reception honoring EIP, whose principals – Phil Washington, John Procari, and Rick Jacobs – accepted the award.

The event also set in motion the coalition’s efforts to implement recommendations from EIP’s “Procurement for Prosperity: A Playbook.”

The Playbook is a practical guide for public agency leaders and procurement and contracting practitioners to grow the capacity of small and first-time contractors, strengthen competition, and deliver better value for taxpayers.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), a long-time EIP supporter, also told attendees, “This is about commitment. This has been a life’s work. This is a tailwind moment.”

The event’s presenting sponsor was Hub International, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the nation, which was joined by partners Travelers Insurance and the State Compensation Insurance Fund.

After the pledge-signing ceremony, attendees participated in a workshop in which they examined the policies, practices, and programs needed to meet EIP goals, learned from practitioners, and identified next steps toward utilizing the Playbook.

Ingrid Meriwether, formerly of Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services (MWIS) and current president of Hub International’s Aligned Risk Management, MWIS, described the hard-fought lessons she and her MWIS team have learned over the last three decades administering contractor development programs (CDPs) for the City and County of San Francisco, Alameda County, City of Los Angeles, LA Metro, and other municipalities.

The CDPs help small and local construction firms win public infrastructure contracts with these government agencies. The program provides bonding assistance, contract financing, technical support, training, and other services to underrepresented businesses funded by public agencies who seek greater contracting participation with these firms.

Merriwether said programs like these “break down systemic barriers, create greater fairness, and save taxpayers money by enabling more competition. The contractor development programs have, cumulatively, over two decades, helped contractors access over $1 billion in bonding, supporting over $380 million in awarded contracts, and maintaining a loss ratio 250 times lower than the industry average – while saving participating municipalities more than $27 million in contracting costs as a result of enabling more competition.”

Rick Jacobs, EIP co-founder and co-chair urged attendees make plans to meet again in the near future “to continue building on this work, share progress on organizational commitments, and discuss how we can collectively advance the goals of the EIP pledge.”

For more information on the EIP and to access a copy of the Playbook, go online to https://equityininfrastructure.org/

Calvin Naito is communications manager for Equity in Infrastructure Project.

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Activism

Oakland Museum Presents Landmark Retrospective Celebrating Beloved Bay Area Artist Mildred Howard

“Poetics of Memory” coincides with a year of major recognition for Howard. In 2026, she received the California Arts Council’s 50th Anniversary Award, honoring artists whose work has shaped California’s cultural and civic life, as well as the Museum of the African Diaspora’s Artist Impact Award. In 2025, she was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in recognition of her transformative contributions to American cultural life.

Published

1 week ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Mildred Howard. Photo by Christine Cueto for the Oakland Museum of California, 2025.

Special to The Post

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) opened “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory,” the first major museum survey of Bay Area artist Mildred Howard, on June 12.

The exhibition spans five decades of Howard’s influential work, bringing together immersive installations, found-object sculptures, archival materials, and new commissions that explore memory, identity, and power in American life.

Howard was born in San Francisco in 1945 and raised in the East Bay, where she went on to study Afro-Haitian dance, make and sell clothing, and experiment with collage and sculpture.

Her multimedia art practice emerged from these experiences, later becoming associated with West Coast conceptual art, San Francisco funk, and a vibrant community of artists like Oliver Jackson, Betye Saar, and Raymond Saunders. Since the 1970s, she has used found materials and family stories to explore memory—both individual and collective.

At OMCA, visitors enter “Poetics of Memory” through a series of intimate galleries featuring Howard’s early mixed-media pieces and sculptures, along with a large video projection of a number of her public artworks.

Together, they emphasize Howard’s interest in everyday objects as powerful carriers of individual and shared stories. Highlights include collages that remix images of the artist herself; found-object sculptures like The History of the United States with a few Parts Missing (2007) that address omissions in dominant narratives; and public works like “Locks and Keys for Harry Bridges” (2001) that transform urban space into a meditation on access and labor.

This culminates in a richly detailed “studio” environment, where works in progress, archival exhibition flyers, historic photographs of Howard and her community, postcards from fellow artists, and other materials offer insight into her creative process and daily life.

The exhibition then opens into a high-ceilinged, dramatically lit space that brings together Howard’s signature immersive installations. On one end, “Crossings” (1997/2026) – a field of hundreds of ceramic eggs leading to an ornate mirror – suggests cycles of birth, motherhood, and transition, while drawing on the emotional echoes of the Middle Passage. On the other end, “Blackbird in a Red Sky” (a.k.a. “Fall of the Blood House”) (2002) – a red glass shack bordered by a pond – also uses reflection and transparency to draw viewers into the work and prompt consideration of themes of identity and home.

Howard’s newest video installation, “Moving Stills” (2026), repurposes never-before-seen family footage she took as a teenager on a train trip to the American South. Projected onto cascading layers of translucent fabric that stretch across an entire gallery wall, the piece immerses viewers in a layered meditation on memory, migration, and time.

The “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory” exhibit will be on display through Oct. 11 at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland, CA 94612. Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Fridays to 9 p.m.

This story is sourced from the Oakland Museum of California press office.

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Alameda County

Ferry Fares to Increase July 1 as Ridership Hits Record Highs

The Oakland and Alameda routes will increase from $4.90 to $5.10, the South San Francisco route will go up from $7.40 to $7.60, and the Vallejo route will increase from $9.90 to $10.

Published

1 week ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Courtesy photo.

By Mike Aldax, The Richmond Standard

Starting July 1, the standard adult fare for the San Francisco Bay Ferry route between Richmond and San Francisco will increase to $5.20, up from the current $4.90.

Discounted fares for eligible passengers, including youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and Clipper START users, will rise to $2.60 from the current $2.40. Children under 5 will continue to ride for free.

The Oakland and Alameda routes will increase from $4.90 to $5.10, the South San Francisco route will go up from $7.40 to $7.60, and the Vallejo route will increase from $9.90 to $10.

The adjustments are part of a systemwide fare update approved by the agency’s Board of Directors, which is moving away from a flat 3% annual increase to route-specific pricing for the 2027 and 2028 fiscal years.

This fare update arrives as San Francisco Bay Ferry celebrates a historic May, transporting 301,270 passengers. The record-breaking figure represents an 8% increase over May 2025 and marks the third consecutive month of record-setting ridership.

Furthermore, it is the sixth month in a row that passenger numbers have exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Weekend travel has been a primary driver of this growth, with average weekend ridership seeing a 56% increase compared to pre-pandemic trends.

The agency states that the fare adjustments are necessary to ensure the long-term fiscal sustainability of public ferry services. By shifting to route-specific adjustments, the agency aims to offset rising operating costs while maintaining the high levels of service frequency and reliability.