Activism

Virtual Town Halls Addressing Black Mental Health on June 16 and June 23

“The community can’t wait any longer. We’ve been waiting for officials to do something since 2014,” said Pamela Emerson, co-chair of OFH’s Black Mental Initiative. “Think how many more people will die in the next three years while we wait! This is literally a life and death situation!

Published

4 years ago

June 4, 2022

Oakland Post

Pamela Emerson is a co-founder of the Oakland Frontline Healers’ Black Mental Initiative. Photo by Pamela Emerson.

By Tanya Dennis

When facing a need for health care, mental health evaluation or a mental health crisis, people of Asian, American Indian or Latinx descent in Alameda County have access to culturally relevant help at the American Indian Health Center, Asian Health Services, or La Clinica de La Raza.

African Americans have no such similar resource.

To address that issue, Oakland Frontline Healers (OFH) and the Bay Area Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) are hosting two virtual Town Halls on Thursday, June 16 and Thursday June 23 at 6 p.m. regarding “the State of Emergency” declared by Black and Brown leaders after 132 homicides occurred in Oakland in 2021.

The Town Halls will provide an opportunity for county, city, state, and federal officials to convene with OFH and ABPsi and other community activists to hear their plan to establish two African American healing hubs, and an African American healing center.

The proposed hubs would be in donated office space within OFH existing businesses to offer weekly patient appointments and emergency visits. If the hubs — at True Vine Ministries in West Oakland and East Bay Collective in East Oakland — are funded they could be operational within 30 days.

For months, OFH and the Bay Area Chapter of ABPsi have worked to create an immediate and long-term plan to complement Alameda’s County Behavioral Health’s plan which is still three to four years from reality.

The hubs will require $9 million a year to operate, and the center $18 million. Construction costs of the center have yet to be determined, as it will require the purchase of land for a 30,000-square-foot facility and architectural plans to determine costs.

“OFH is taking action now, and we need our public officials to assist us. We have the plan, the services, and the personnel, all we need is funding. More policing is not the answer. We must heal Oakland,” Emerson said.

Dr. Lawford Goddard, the project leader for the Bay Area Chapter of ABPsi’s explained that there were two ‘lanes’ to this African American Mental Health initiative.

“One lane is in response to the ‘state of emergency’ of mental health in the African American community,” Goddard said. “These healing hubs would provide immediate mental health services to African Americans in need of healing…… This effort is community-driven and seeks funding from the state, the federal government, foundations, corporations and private Black investors and businesspersons. “

The second lane of the initiative is the establishment of the African American Wellness Hub Complex which is based on the original proposal submitted to Alameda County Behavioral Health.”

After the planning phase it will require about three years of construction.

“If funded we could have our hubs operational in 30 days,” Emerson said. “The problem is, in Alameda County’s plan, no money has been allocated for services, just construction. We need services, and we are ready and able to provide those services, but we need funding.”

Emerson is hopeful that the Supervisors will understand how vital culturally congruent mental health services are if there is any hope of ending violence in Oakland.

“What we hope to achieve with the Town Halls is everyone walks away acknowledging that violence in our community is a mental health issue, that lack of resources and opportunity exacerbates the problem, and most important, our officials walk away knowing they have people with the skills, knowledge, and expertise to help them produce solutions,” Emerson said.

“We want to be their partners, but we can’t partner until we know each other’s intent, abilities, and capacity. Attending our Town Hall on the 16th or 23rd of June will be a great way to start the process.”

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

9 hours ago

December 25, 2025

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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Lu Lu’s House is Not Just Toying Around with the Community

Wilson and Lambert will be partnering with Mayor Barbara Lee on a toy giveaway on Dec. 20. Young people, like Dremont Wilkes, age 15, will help give away toys and encourage young people to stay in school and out of trouble. Wilkes wants to go to college and become a specialist in financial aid. Sports agent Aaron Goodwin has committed to giving all eight young people from Lu Lu’s House a fully paid free ride to college, provided they keep a 3.0 grade point average and continue the program. Lu Lu’s House is not toying around.

Published

5 days ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Tania Fuller Bryant, Zirl Wilson, Dremont Wilkes, Tracy Lambert and Dr. Geoffrey Watson. Courtesy Oakland Private Industry

Special to the Post

Lu Lu’s House is a 501c3 organization based in Oakland, founded by Mr. Zirl Wilson and Mr. Tracy Lambert, both previously incarcerated. After their release from jail, they wanted to change things for the better in the community — and wow, have they done that!

The duo developed housing for previously incarcerated people, calling it “Lu Lu’s House,” after Wilson’s wonderful wife. At a time when many young people were robbing, looting, and involved in shootings, Wilson and Lambert took it upon themselves to risk their lives to engage young gang members and teach them about nonviolence, safety, cleanliness, business, education, and the importance of health and longevity.

Lambert sold hats and T-shirts at the Eastmont Mall and was visited by his friend Wilson. At the mall, they witnessed gangs of young people running into the stores, stealing whatever they could get their hands on and then rushing out. Wilson tried to stop them after numerous robberies and finally called the police, who Wilson said, “did not respond.” Having been incarcerated previously, they realized that if the young people were allowed to continue to rob the stores, they could receive multiple criminal counts, which would take their case from misdemeanors to felonies, resulting in incarceration.

Lu Lu’s House traveled to Los Angeles and obtained more than 500 toys
for a Dec. 20 giveaway in partnership with Oakland Mayor Barbara
Lee. Courtesy Oakland Private Industry,

Wilson took it upon himself to follow the young people home and when he arrived at their subsidized homes, he realized the importance of trying to save the young people from violence, drug addiction, lack of self-worth, and incarceration — as well as their families from losing subsidized housing. Lambert and Wilson explained to the young men and women, ages 13-17, that there were positive options which might allow them to make money legally and stay out of jail. Wilson and Lambert decided to teach them how to wash cars and they opened a car wash in East Oakland. Oakland’s Initiative, “Keep the town clean,” involved the young people from Lu Lu’s House participating in more than eight cleanup sessions throughout Oakland. To assist with their infrastructure, Lu Lu’s House has partnered with Oakland’s Private Industry Council.

For the Christmas season, Lu Lu’s House and reformed young people (who were previously robbed) will continue to give back.

Lu Lu’s House traveled to Los Angeles and obtained more than 500 toys.

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Desmond Gumbs — Visionary Founder, Mentor, and Builder of Opportunity

Gumbs’ coaching and leadership journey spans from Bishop O’Dowd High School, Oakland High School, Stellar Prep High School. Over the decades, hundreds of his students have gone on to college, earning academic and athletic scholarships and developing life skills that extend well beyond sports.

Published

5 days ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

NCAA football history was made this year when Head Coach from Mississippi Valley State, Terrell Buckley and Head Coach Desmond Gumbs both had starting kickers that were Women. This picture was taken after the game. Courtesy photo.

Special to the Post

For more than 25 years, Desmond Gumbs has been a cornerstone of Bay Area education and athletics — not simply as a coach, but as a mentor, founder, and architect of opportunity. While recent media narratives have focused narrowly on challenges, they fail to capture the far more important truth: Gumbs’ life’s work has been dedicated to building pathways to college, character, and long-term success for hundreds of young people.

A Career Defined by Impact

One of his most enduring contributions is his role as founder of Stellar Prep High School, a non-traditional, mission-driven institution created to serve students who needed additional structure, belief, and opportunity. Through Stellar Prep numerous students have advanced to college — many with scholarships — demonstrating Gumbs’ deep commitment to education as the foundation for athletic and personal success.

NCAA football history was made this year when Head Coach from
Mississippi Valley State, Terrell Buckley and Head Coach Desmond
Gumbs both had starting kickers that were women. This picture was
taken after the game.

A Personal Testament to the Mission: Addison Gumbs

Perhaps no example better reflects Desmond Gumbs’ philosophy than the journey of his son, Addison Gumbs. Addison became an Army All-American, one of the highest honors in high school football — and notably, the last Army All-Americans produced by the Bay Area, alongside Najee Harris.

Both young men went on to compete at the highest levels of college football — Addison Gumbs at the University of Oklahoma, and Najee Harris at the University of Alabama — representing the Bay Area on a national level.

Building Lincoln University Athletics From the Ground Up

In 2021, Gumbs accepted one of the most difficult challenges in college athletics: launching an entire athletics department at Lincoln University in Oakland from scratch. With no established infrastructure, limited facilities, and eventually the loss of key financial aid resources, he nonetheless built opportunities where none existed.

Under his leadership, Lincoln University introduced:

Football
Men’s and Women’s Basketball
Men’s and Women’s Soccer

Operating as an independent program with no capital and no conference safety net, Gumbs was forced to innovate — finding ways to sustain teams, schedule competition, and keep student-athletes enrolled and progressing toward degrees. The work was never about comfort; it was about access.

Voices That Reflect His Impact

Desmond Gumbs’ philosophy has been consistently reflected in his own published words:

“if you have an idea, you’re 75% there the remaining 25% is actually doing it.”
“This generation doesn’t respect the title — they respect the person.”
“Greatness is a habit, not a moment.”

Former players and community members have echoed similar sentiments in public commentary, crediting Gumbs with teaching them leadership, accountability, confidence, and belief in themselves — lessons that outlast any single season.

Context Matters More Than Headlines

Recent articles critical of Lincoln University athletics focus on logistical and financial hardships while ignoring the reality of building a new program with limited resources in one of the most expensive regions in the country. Such narratives are ultimately harmful and incomplete, failing to recognize the courage it takes to create opportunity instead of walking away when conditions are difficult.

The real story is not about early struggles — it is about vision, resilience, and service.

A Legacy That Endures

From founding Stellar PREP High School, to sending hundreds of students to college, to producing elite athletes like Addison Gumbs, to launching Lincoln University athletics, Desmond Gumbs’ legacy is one of belief in young people and relentless commitment to opportunity.

His work cannot be reduced to headlines or records. It lives on in degrees earned, scholarships secured, leaders developed, and futures changed — across the Bay Area and beyond.