Activism
Former Prisoners Offer Training to Youth on How to End Hostilities on the Streets
“…we need to use all forms of street credibility that we have to seek an end to these hostilities and work with the Post, the Chaplains, AASEG and the many Formerly Incarcerated groups to get the community involved with us to help end these hostilities, said Minister King X, also known as Pyeface.”
An exclusive interview with Minister King X with the Post Staff and Richard Johnson
Minister King X, also known as Pyeface, said he was inspired by Richard Johnson’s call to the community to have former gang leaders and formerly incarcerated persons to spread the word through our networks with the message that these shootings and violence activities will unwittingly play into the hands of those who want to incarcerate them as the only solution.
“We need to be smart about how to resolve our various problems by not using guns,” he told the Post.
He told Johnson and Jonathan Jones from the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) that he wants the youth, gang members and the Oakland Chaplains “to hear my story on how I wound up in the (California) Youth Authority (CYA) and did five years in federal prison for a bank robbery charge.”
“I served over 20-plus years in prison. I was a foot soldier in the beginning, upholding what I perceived as my principles and morals when I thought cleaning up my own mess was something honorable.
“Then it backfired on me when I was charged for possession of a prison-made weapon and was sent to solitary confinement, and I was subjected to a prison validation based upon false confidential information for a few more years.”
Despite his rude awakening, he said he was the youngest Black to join and help organize the California Prisoners’ Hunger Strikes at the same time that there were also elder prisoners held in solitary confinement for decades because of following the custom of settling their own quarrels among each other and other oppressed groups.
“And, while I was in Pelican Bay, I petitioned to establish an ‘anti-hostility’ campaign to promote the Agreement to End All Hostilities (AEH) inside and outside of California prisons.
“I then, through K.A.G.E. Universal, began to work inside the prison with other elders to organize an agreement to end all hostilities,” Minister King X said.
“That’s why we need to use all forms of street credibility that we have to seek an end to these hostilities and work with the Post, the Chaplains, AASEG and the many Formerly Incarcerated groups to get the community involved with us to help end these hostilities.”
While the shooting was occurring in East Oakland at the Sojourner Truth School site Minister King X said the Oakland Unified School District had given his organization a contract to teach the AEH curriculum within the 4th module of their afterschool program.
He also said the Comcast Rise program decided to help promote their AEH agenda via a 90-day campaign on all of their social media platforms.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024
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.
Activism
Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties
Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
By Post Staff
Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.
His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.
Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”
Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.
At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.
The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.
Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.
In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”
Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”
After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”
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