Community
To Fulfill MLK’s Dream for Economic Justice, Co-ops Like Mandela Grocery May be Answer
With 11 years of business growth, Mandela Grocery is leading the way to help form new worker co-ops in Oakland. Last spring, Mandela Grocery facilitated a 12-week, on-the-job training with founding members of the DEEP Grocery Cooperative in East Oakland. Additionally, Mandela Grocery is supporting a local Black-owned delivery service, Piikup, transition to worker ownership.
“The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” was the official name for 1963’s March on Washington. Throughout his activist life, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. saw economic justice as the most important problem facing Black people in America. Most dire, the affliction of unemployment among Black youth.
Mandela Grocery Cooperative, West Oakland’s worker-owned grocery store with an average worker age of 30, challenges the unemployment problem and lack of dignified jobs head on.
With 11 years of business growth, Mandela Grocery is leading the way to help form new worker co-ops in Oakland. Last spring, Mandela Grocery facilitated a 12-week, on-the-job training with founding members of the DEEP Grocery Cooperative in East Oakland. Additionally, Mandela Grocery is supporting a local Black-owned delivery service, Piikup, transition to worker ownership.
Worker co-ops are the more imaginative approach to job creation, offering guaranteed jobs and self-determination. Workers form and join cooperatives to own and manage the business themselves.
Since the start of the pandemic and racial justice actions of 2020, Mandela Grocery has seen a sharp increase in sales and loyal customers seeking to support local, Black-owned businesses. Worker co-ops are beacons of community development offering positive psychological and social benefits plus local economic change.
In his essay, “The Cooperative Alternative,” the late Dennis Terry, Mandela Grocery’s first retiree, wrote that among the many ideals cooperatives aspire to, worker cooperatives “build community instead of abandoning it” and “promote worker solidarity instead of divisiveness.”
We need not compete for jobs as we struggle to build our communities. We must create meaningful jobs ourselves so that competition for dignified work becomes obsolete.
Mandela Grocery’s vision responds to Dr. King’s call for creative job expansion: Jobs for the people in the neighborhood. Jobs that build income, skills and community amenities. Jobs that function for our neighbors. Cooperative jobs can be jobs in various industries that are complementary and essential such as groundskeeping, design and building, food production and food distribution.
Dr. King created a blueprint for jobs creation in his proposal for guaranteed jobs:
- The development of skills and education are outcomes and not prerequisites of the jobs program.
- The jobs are producing community and public services that are in short supply and benefit the most vulnerable.
- The job program guarantees income for individuals and families that have unmet needs.
The dignity of workers is the basis of worker cooperatives. Worker co-ops live the promise of Dr. King’s vision for economic justice. “The dignity of the individual will flourish when the decisions are in [their] own hands, then [they] have the means to seek self improvement,” said Dr. King.
Over 50 years ago, Dr. King clarified a path for economic justice rooted in cooperative values. In the wake of 2020, it is time to align our actions with these values, guaranteeing dignified work now, and for generations to come.
Visit Mandela Grocery at 1430 7th St. in West Oakland. Order online www.mandelagrocery.coop/order.
Bay Area
Zefer O’Neal Ward, 105
Zefer O’Neal Ward transitioned from this life on Feb. 19. She was 105 years old. A native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Zefer was the sixth of George and Zora O’Neal’s 14 children. Her joy of singing began at home at the tender age of 4 by being placed on a table and being asked to sing a song. By age 13, she was a member and directress of the youth choir at St. Paul Baptist Church. Zefer attended Merrill High School and Arkansas State College in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
By Post Staff
Zefer O’Neal Ward transitioned from this life on Feb. 19. She was 105 years old. A native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Zefer was the sixth of George and Zora O’Neal’s 14 children. Her joy of singing began at home at the tender age of 4 by being placed on a table and being asked to sing a song. By age 13, she was a member and directress of the youth choir at St. Paul Baptist Church. Zefer attended Merrill High School and Arkansas State College in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
In 1945, Zefer made her home in Oakland, California, where she established deep roots. It was in 1950 that she married the late William “Bill” Ward. That same year, she joined Downs Memorial Methodist Church under the esteemed leadership of Rev. Roy C. Nichols, where her angelic voice soon became a cornerstone of the church’s 8:30 a.m. worship service.
She went on to lend her voice and talents to various choirs in the church including the gospel choir and the formulation of the children’s choir under the guidance of the late Rev. Amos Cambric Jr.
Zefer’s gift of song extended far beyond the walls of her church. For decades, she brought solace and inspiration to countless souls through her performances at funerals, weddings, concerts, conventions and church programs throughout the Bay Area.
Her unparalleled artistry even graced the ears of the late Robert F. Kennedy during a performance at the University of California, Berkeley. To quote her, “I have been involved with singing all my life. Singing is a joy for me. Every time I sing, I pray that I will bring joy to someone. I know that the Lord has used me to touch and bless someone … singing is my life, my joy.”
Surviving Zefer are her two children; Norma Ward-Sledge, CEO and co-founder of Progressive Transitions, Inc. a program in Oakland that has become a beacon of hope for women and families affected by domestic violence and human trafficking; and William Wilson, of Raleigh, North Carolina, a retired business owner. She also leaves behind her sister Minnie O’Neal of Dupont, Washington, two grandsons both of Raleigh, North Carolina and a host of nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests contributions be made to Progressive Transitions, Inc., an organization that Zefer passionately supported.
There will be a “Memorial Tribute to Zefer” at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 1 at Downs Memorial United Methodist Church, 6026 Idaho St. in Oakland.
A follow-up event, “Celebrating the Legacy of Lady Z,” will be held on June 22 at Z Café, 2735 Broadway Oakland at 2 p.m.
Please RSVP for this event via text or call (510) 917-0666.
Community
Gov. Newsom Issues Proclamation Declaring Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide
Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared April 24 as “a day of remembrance of the Armenian genocide.” This proclamation marks the first holiday honoring the victims and survivors of the systemic genocide of the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire on the same day in 1915. The genocide targeted Armenians, who were a minority group that were forcefully deported and killed in the early 20th century.
By California Black Media
Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared April 24 as “a day of remembrance of the Armenian genocide.”
This proclamation marks the first holiday honoring the victims and survivors of the systemic genocide of the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire on the same day in 1915. The genocide targeted Armenians, who were a minority group that were forcefully deported and killed in the early 20th century.
“We honor the strength and resilience of the Armenian people, who have built new lives and thriving communities in all corners of the globe,” the proclamation stated.
The genocide resulted in the deaths of over 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children. This great loss suffered by the community led to the displacement and deportation of many families, many of whom settled in California for refuge.
The declaration noted that the state government is committed to protecting the safety and wellbeing of the Armenian community. The state government has taken action to address racial, ethnic, and religious hate through reinforced security at houses of worship, and cultural centers. The state has also implemented a comprehensive “Stop the Hate” program that promotes tolerance and support for victims. An anonymous hotline and internet resource have also been set up to report for victims and witnesses of hate acts.
The California Armenian Legislative Caucus Foundation sponsored an educational lunch to commemorate the 109th anniversary of the genocide.
Community
Gov. Newsom, Attorney General Bonta Back Bill to Allow California to Host Arizona Abortion Care
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced last week that they are backing a bill introduced by the state legislative women’s caucus that would allow Arizona-based doctors to provide abortion care in California to patients from Arizona. Senate Bill (SB) 233 was authored in response to the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision on April 9 that an 1864 ban on abortion in the state is enforceable.
By California Black Media
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced last week that they are backing a bill introduced by the state legislative women’s caucus that would allow Arizona-based doctors to provide abortion care in California to patients from Arizona.
Senate Bill (SB) 233 was authored in response to the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision on April 9 that an 1864 ban on abortion in the state is enforceable. The bill also aims to counter growing support for anti-abortion legislation in states with Republican-majority legislatures since Roe v. Wade was overturned, according to supporters.
“California will not sit idly by. We’re urgently moving legislation to allow Arizona doctors to provide safe and reliable reproductive care to Arizonans here in California,” Newsom said.
Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), chair of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus said that abortion bans are based on laws that set women back to a time when they had limited human rights.
“Anti-abortion forces have resurrected a dead law passed at a time when women couldn’t vote and husbands beating their wives was lawful,” Skinner said.
On April 24, the Arizona House of Representatives voted to repeal the 1864 abortion ban. It now moves to the Arizona Senate for deliberation.
-
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