Events

Elizabeth Warren Draws 6,500 in Oakland

Published

7 years ago

June 13, 2019

Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren drew over 6,500 enthusiastic supporters to Laney College in Oakland last Friday evening, her largest campaign event in the country so far.

The line stretched for blocks, and many waited for as long as two hours to get into the Laney soccer field where the event was held. Her speech was originally scheduled for the college gymnasium but had to be moved Friday morning to make room for the larger crowd.

Greeted by repeated cheers, Warren addressed some of the key issues of her campaign: governmental corruption, ending gun violence and raising the wages of working people.

2020 Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren speaks to a crowd of 6,500 at Laney College in Oakland on Friday, May 31. Photo by Godfrey Lee.

“Here’s the deal,” said the Massachusetts senator. “When you’ve got a government that works great for those with money, works great for those who can hire an army of lobbyists and lawyers, works great for those at the top, but isn’t working for the rest of the people, that is corruption pure and simple, and we need to call it out.”

“I don’t want a government that works for multi-national corporations,” Warren said, “I want one that works for our families.”

She was unequivocal about taking action to halt runaway gun violence in the country.

“It’s not just the mass shootings,” she said. “It’s the ones that never make the headlines. It’s the kids who are shot at the playground, on the sidewalk, in their own homes. Gun violence touches families every day.

“On the question of gun violence, I will be fearless. We will be side by side, and we will protect our children,” she said.

Warren spoke about her background growing up in Oklahoma. Her mother held a minimum wage job, struggling to save the family home after her father had a heart attack.

“Today, a minimum-wage job will not keep a momma and a baby out of poverty, and that is why I am in this fight,” said Warren. “That difference is not an accident…That difference is about who government works for.”

She also addressed other key issues, including protecting Medicaid from Republican attacks, relieving student loan debt, immigration, universal healthcare and education.

Warren was in the Bay Area for last weekend’s state Democratic convention in San Francisco, where she and many of the other Democratic presidential candidates spoke to party activists ahead of California’s March 3 primary.

Moved ahead for the 2020 election, mail-in voting in California will begin February 3, the same day as the Iowa caucuses that officially kick off the nomination race.

California will send 495 delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

With proportional allocation, candidates who win 15 percent of the vote in a congressional district will have delegates at the convention.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

Published

5 days ago

July 5, 2026

Oakland Post

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.

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Arts and Culture

Prescott Circus Theatre Presents Free Summer Performance Series

Now in its 41st year, the Prescott Circus Theatre is a nationally recognized performing arts education program for Oakland youth. The circus offers safe environments that challenge Oakland youth, through circus arts training, to develop the skills and confidence to thrive on stage, in school, and in life.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

Prescott Circus showcase pathways pyramid. Photo courtesy of Prescott Circus.

By Post Staff

The Prescott Circus, Oakland’s longest-running youth circus, is returning this summer with its free shows. Join the Prescott Circus’s young stars as they share their joys and talents through stilt-dancing, tumbling, juggling, and more.

At the heart of this one-hour show, which demonstrates teamwork, pride, and joy, are Oakland Unified School District students ages 8 – 17 from more than 10 different schools

This is accomplished through no-cost school and community programs for more than 300 Oakland youth each year. Performing company members from Prescott, where the program began, perform and make appearances at as many as 40 Bay Area events each year.

The summer program is funded in part by Oakland Fund for Children and Youth, California Arts Council, Port of Oakland, and the West Davis & Bergard Foundation.

Performances will be held Tuesday, July 14, 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (ASL interpreted) and Wednesday, July 15, 11 a.m., at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. For free reservations go to

https://PrescottCircusSummerShows.eventbrite.com

For group reservations for camps, childcare centers, senior centers, go to www.prescottcircus.org

A community show will be held Saturday, July 18, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., at DeFremery Park,1651 Adeline St., Oakland.

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Inaugural Juneteenth Awards Ceremony Celebrates the Fillmore’s Black History, Leadership and Resilience

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

Published

2 weeks ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown, Pastor Emeritus of Third Baptist Church, SF Mayor Daniel Lurie. Photo by Linda Parker Pennington.

By Linda Parker Pennington

The Fillmore Community Ambassadors held its first annual Juneteenth Wesley Johnson White Horse Awards ceremony on June 19 inside the newly reopened Fillmore Heritage Center.

The event featured awards for former San Francisco mayors London Breed and Willie Brown, along with Third Baptist Church Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown.

The Koret Heritage lobby at the newly reopened center at 1330 Fillmore St. held a standing-room-only, culturally diverse and multi-generational audience while the art gallery featured photos of Fillmore community members in action, red Japanese lanterns, art and calligraphy, and Chinese artwork, giving the space a multicultural feel.

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood acknowledged that “the Fillmore community has had a difficult history. Thanks to Rev. Amos Brown’s continuous focus on accountability and resistance, you hold us accountable and continue to inspire us.”

Mahmoud is referring to the Fillmore’s Japanese residents who were forced from their homes and sent to concentration camps during World War II. Black people occupied those homes until the return of their Japanese neighbors and then gave them back, while homes that had been unoccupied were lost. The presence of the Asian community on Juneteenth is a testament to that shared history.

In receiving his honor, Amos Brown elicited a powerful spontaneous call-and-response, where members of San Francisco’s many Black churches proudly shouted out the names: “Bethel AME! Providence Baptist! Jones Memorial! Glide!”

Awards program Master of Ceremonies Shawn Richards of Brothers Against Guns warmly introduced Breed, highlighting her many accomplishments, particularly on “March 16, 2020, when she became the first mayor to shut down a major U.S. city due to COVID-19, saving thousands of lives.”

The audience was captivated by Breed’s emotional speech touching on past traumas, present conditions, and future hopes for the neighborhood where she grew up.

She recalled another trauma of the neighborhood during the City’s redevelopment era in the 1960s, where Black residents were forced to move with a promise of being able to return that was largely unfulfilled.

“We remember when this land was just a field because they bulldozed hundreds of Victorian homes that Black people owned. They built the Fillmore Center, where most Black people can’t afford to live or start their own business. But we are still here.”