Community

New Oakland Mural Will Celebrate Diversity, Support Local Black Artists And Enhance Social Justice Efforts In The Community

Published

6 years ago

November 14, 2020

Kiki

Oakland Artist Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith paints a mural highlighting equity and diversity on a Kaiser Permanente building at 20th and Broadway streets in downtown Oakland. Kaiser Permanente is donating the mural as part of its commitment to advancing equity, inclusion and diversity in our community. The partnership with ABG Art Group and the support being provided to local Black artists will result in a dynamic display representing racial equity and justice for all. Photo credit: Kaiser Permanente Multi-media.

Large wooden panels outside a Kaiser Permanente building in downtown Oakland will soon be transformed into colorful art in support of the social justice movement and will ultimately be housed permanently in the Black Cultural Zone at the new Liberation Park.

Kaiser Permanente is donating the mural as part of its commitment to advancing equity, inclusion and diversity in our community. The partnership with ABG Art Group and the support being provided to local Black artists will result in a dynamic display representing racial equity and justice for all.

“Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to ending systemic racism in our nation and breaking down barriers to equality,” said Yvette Radford, vice president, Kaiser Permanente Northern California External and Community Affairs in the November 6 announcement. “As an organization with deep roots in Oakland, we want to do our part to help our community heal by showcasing the amazing contributions of Black artists and creating an inspirational-piece of art to remind us all of the importance of social justice, inclusiveness, and racial equity.”

Two well-known Oakland artists are currently creating the mural on wooden slabs outside of a Kaiser Permanente building on the corner of 20th and Broadway streets. ABG Art Group is one of OakArtist Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith paints a mural highlighting equity and diversity on a Kaiser Permanente building at 20th and Broadway streets in downtown Oakland. Kaiser Permanente is donating the mural as part of its commitment to advancing equity, inclusion and diversity in our community. The partnership with ABG Art Group and the support being provided to local Black artists will result in a dynamic display representing racial equity and justice for all.

“We are honored and excited to partner with Kaiser Permanente and curate this amazing art installation,” said Sorell Raino-Tsui, director ABG Art Group. “Kaiser Permanente has shown their deep commitment to the art community by sponsoring this piece, and I couldn’t be happier to bring two of Oakland’s best AfricanAmerican artists together to create something special.”

Artists Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith and Joshua Mays have deep ties to the Oakland community. Both have created some of the city’s most signature public art displays representing their cultural history and beliefs.

Wolfe-Goldsmith is an American painter and muralist, who is primarily self-taught. She is a large-scale muralist and has created murals throughout the United States, Costa Rica and Australia.

She is excited about the creation of the mural: “Amidst uncertainty and unrest, it is a crucial time to use art to push culture forward.”

Mays is an American painter, illustrator and muralist whose work typically features Black subjects in fantastical settings. In 2018, San Francisco Magazine named him as one of the “100 artists putting the East Bay on the map”.

Mays has created other murals in downtown Oakland and recognizes the importance of this piece: “With all that is unfolding in the landscape, I’m thrilled to use this platform to express all that is available within the current moment. I expect, through color, texture and narrative, we create a piece that reveals and transmits much needed doses of hope, perspective and possibility.”

The mural will take about two weeks to create and will remain temporarily on display in downtown for several months before it is permanently moved to the Black Cultural Zone, inside the new Liberation Park, which will showcase art that has cultural significance to the community.

Kerri Leedy is the public relations and media relations manager of Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

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Community

Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

47 minutes ago

August 15, 2026

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View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

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Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

3 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.