Activism

Higher Ground NDC to Sponsor MLK Jr. Day of Service in East Oakland’s Sobrante Park and Brookfield Neighborhoods

Higher Ground has partnered with community-based programs that will be on hand to provide valuable resources including a food giveaway, the City’s Stop Waste Program, designed to help people with gardening and growing their own food, and the Sobrante Park Leadership Council who assist residents in organizing and protecting their streets. COVID testing will also be available during the event.

Published

2 years ago

January 18, 2022

Oakland Post

More than 170 volunteers will come together to provide service to various projects within the Sobrante Park and Brookfield neighborhoods in East Oakland.

By Clifford L. Williams

Higher Ground Neighborhood Development Corporation (NDC) will once again participate in its 15th Annual Martin Luther King Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at 10495 Edes Avenue in Oakland.

More than 170 volunteers will come together to provide service to various projects within the Sobrante Park and Brookfield neighborhoods in East Oakland.

Event organizers will spend the morning planting trees, community cleanup and beautification, and mural painting. There will also be resource tables, a food giveaway, Warriors’ giveaways, food trucks, and entertainment.

“This event started as a community garden with the after-school program at Madison Park Academy,” said Khariyyah Shabazz, event organizer and deputy executive director of Higher Ground. “We are now coordinating 10+ on-going projects year-round, working with 15+ community partners to make these types of programs a success.”

“Each year, our goal is to build awareness of the issues within deep East Oakland. These service days are one of many direct responses from community engagement circles and focus groups to find a solution to long-standing environmental issues and struggles that plague East Oakland, which include clean air, debris removal and illegal dumping. These solutions, coming directly from community members, are coming to surface which allows us to plant more trees and clean up our neighborhoods.”

“This news comes in the wake of recent accomplishments lead by our nonprofit group made up of small businesswomen, comprised of young, gifted, and Black, Oakland natives.”

Recent accomplishments of Higher Ground are:

Opening an Adult Wellness Center in West Oakland.
Serving as a distance learning HUB for OUSD during the pandemic.
Becoming a key partner implementing the bike enrichment program for Brookfield and Sobrante Park youth as a member of TCC, a multimillion-dollar project funded by the City of Oakland geared toward increasing health and wellness among young Black and Brown children in the City of Oakland.
Continuing to partner with neighboring organizations to lead service projects throughout the city even through the pandemic of 2020.
Celebrating a 10-year anniversary of providing paid internships for middle and high school youth through our workforce development program.

Higher Ground is proud to host this year’s MLK Day of Service in partnership with Roots Health Clinic, African American Sports and Entertainment Group (which was recently tapped by the Oakland City Council to purchase the Oakland Coliseum), Planting Justice, Scraper Bike team, Athenian High, District 7 City Councilmember Treva Reid, Madison Park Academy, Brookfield Elementary, Service for Peace, Golden State Warriors, City of Oakland, Alpha Phi Alpha, Bay Area Air Quality Management, and Sobrante Park Leadership Council, as well as its Resident Action Council.

To learn more about how to get involved with the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, contact Ms. Shabazz at 510-415-9271 or visit www.highergroundndc.com.

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Activism

Calif. Anti-Sex Trafficking Advocates Discuss Competing Bills, Strategies

Advocates from across California are challenging state officials and community leaders to support legislation that provides resources and services for survivors and victims of human trafficking, as well as assistance as they transition back into civil society.  Some of those advocates are also calling for more effective state policy to curtail trafficking, a crime that has an outsized impact on Black children, particularly girls.

Published

1 day ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

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By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Some of those advocates are also calling for more effective state policy to curtail trafficking, a crime that has an outsized impact on Black children, particularly girls.

According to the FBI, a report covering a two-year period found Black children accounted for 57% of all juvenile arrests for prostitution. In addition, 40% of sex trafficking victims were Black and 60% of those victims had been enrolled in the foster care system.

“It is time to hold the perpetrators who take advantage of our children accountable,” said the Rev. Shane Harris, a San Diego-based activist, former foster youth and founder of the Peoples Association of Justice Advocates, (PAJA), a national civil rights organization and policy think tank.

“It is time to send a thorough message that if you seek to buy a child for sex, you will pay the highest criminal penalties in this state,” added Harris who was speaking at a rally at the State Capitol earlier this month. Harris was speaking in support of Senate Bill 1414, authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (D-Bakersfield), which calls for people who buy sex from minors to be punished with a felony. The punishment includes a two-year prison sentence and a $25,000 fine.

Harris said the PAJA is the only civil rights organization in the state that supports SB 1414.

Harris urged other Black-led groups who favor anti-trafficking legislation more focused on criminal justice reforms (as opposed to stiffer penalties), to “join the movement.”

Many of those civil rights groups fear that SB 1414 could lead to the incarceration of more Black youth.

Those sentiments were echoed in a panel discussion organized by Black women advocates on April 26 to examine the cause and effects of human trafficking in California’s Black communities. The virtual event was hosted by the Forgotten Children, Inc, a faith-based nonprofit that advocates for survivors and victims of human trafficking through anti-trafficking campaigns and initiatives.

Panelists shared the psychological impact of sexual exploitation on youth and children in the long term.

Author and educator Dr. Stephany Powell shared statistics and information revealing that African American women and girls are the most trafficked nationwide.

Powell, who serves as the senior advisor on law enforcement and policy at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation said that national data indicates that sex trade survivors are disproportionately women of color. She stated that male survivors often go unnoticed because boys rarely report trafficked crimes.

Powell said that decriminalizing prostitution in California could increase human trafficking. She argued that Senate Bill 357, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), which was signed into law in 2022 and legalized loitering for prostitution, caused a surge in street-level prostitution.

Panelist and psychologist Dr. Gloria Morrow shared opposing views on decriminalizing prostitution. She said that decriminalizing prostitution could help survivors gain access to state resources and support.

Despite opposing views, Powell and Morrow agree that the Black community needs resources and educational programs to address human trafficking.

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Obituary: Social Justice Leader, the Rev. Cecil Williams, Passes at 94

On April 22, community leader and social justice advocate Reverend Cecil Williams died at his home in San Francisco surrounded by his loved ones, according to his family. He was 94 years old.

Published

1 day ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

The Rev. Cecil Williams, civil rights activist and social justice leader was the head pastor of San Francisco’s non-denominational GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church.

By California Black Media

On April 22, community leader and social justice advocate Reverend Cecil Williams died at his home in San Francisco surrounded by his loved ones, according to his family.

He was 94 years old.

The reverend was a civil rights leader who advocated for the equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the Bay Area.

Williams was the head pastor of the non-denominational GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church. The church welcomed individuals from the queer community and people struggling with homelessness, housing instability and substance use disorder (SUD).

Through his work, Rev. Williams attracted national attention. Prominent political and cultural leaders such as Maya Angelou, Bono, Oprah Winfrey, and Bill Clinton all attended church services at Glide.

Congressmember Barbara Lee (D-CA-12) said she is deeply saddened about the passing of her dear friend.

“The Reverend changed the lives of millions through radical love, support, inclusivity, and a commitment to service to the most marginalized,” Lee said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said that the reverend inspired people across California to embody the values of generosity and acceptance.

Rev. Williams was, “a visionary leader whose legendary compassion and love for his community transformed the lives of people from all walks of life,” Newsom said.

Rev. Williams served as the chief executive officer of the Glide Foundation until his retirement in 2023.