Activism

COMMENTARY: The Vote to Deny the Deniers

There is no doubt that Joe Biden was elected in 2020. By any legitimate measure, the vote has withstood challenges and been upheld. Yet, when voters were asked, “Do you believe Joe Biden was legitimately elected president back in 2020?” Sixty-three percent of voters said yes. And a whopping 34% said no.A third of voters are election deniers, all according to a CNN exit poll.

Published

3 years ago

November 15, 2022

Oakland Post

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. His web show is on www.amok.com

By Emil Guillermo

Congressional elections remind us why we live where we live. At least in the Bay Area.

California, a safe Blue zone for the Senate, is a super-solid Blue when it comes to the Bay Area.

You won’t see Alameda’s Barbara Lee sweating the midterms.

She sought a 12th term this week and it was practically automatic.

She won in 2020 with over 92% of the vote, and this year anyone running against her is considered a masochist in need of a landslide.

That’s good for Lee and her constituents. No one is going to chase out your rep.

But is that good for democracy? Wouldn’t a little competition help sometime? Bite your tongue.

Let Lee die in Congress if she wants. She’s represented the East Bay well.

It’s the 434 other House seats we’ve got to worry about.

And that’s the problem. We’re good about Alameda County. But the country?

Republicans could easily wrest away the majority in the House with dozens of seats considered coinflips.

And in the Senate, it would take just one seat to flip for Republicans to gain control.

As I write, the results are still trickling in.

But the first national exit polls tell you why our democracy is in trouble.

There is no doubt that Joe Biden was elected in 2020. By any legitimate measure, the vote has withstood challenges and been upheld.

Yet, when voters were asked, “Do you believe Joe Biden was legitimately elected president back in 2020?”

Sixty-three percent of voters said yes.

And a whopping 34% said no.

A third of voters are election deniers, all according to a CNN exit poll.

On top of that, when asked “Democracy in the U.S. is…”

“Somewhat threatened,” said 33% in the exit poll.

But “Very threatened,” was the sentiment of 37%.

Seventy percent of the voters sensed some threat.

Voters know something is wrong. Let’s hope they voted to deny the deniers.

Fighting Lies, Denials and Misinformation

As America voted, it’s a little more than a week after the SCOTUS affirmative action hearing.

But why bury a good wedge when it’s still hot?

Democracy deniers out there aren’t ready to quit a little fear-mongering to rile up the conservative base.

One Asian American voter brought to my attention a flyer used in the closing days of the campaign.

The hit piece screams the claim “Joe Biden and Left-Wing officials are engaged in widespread racial discrimination against WHITE and ASIAN AMERICANS.”

It’s 100% false but backed up by out-of-context headlines from right-wing news sources.

But the hit piece shares the formula put forth by anti-civil rights activist Ed Blum, the mastermind behind the Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) attack on race-conscious admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina.

And since they’ve ridden this from the lower courts all the way to the Supreme Court for years, other conservative anti-civil rights folks are willing to steal the approach.

People like the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant advisor Stephen Miller.

He’s proudly started something called America First Legal, a right-wing group intending to be the conservative answer to the American Civil Liberties Union.

No one will ever mistake the ACLU with this new-fangled AFL which believes that spreading lies as truth under the guise of free speech is part of the American way.

Sounds like good ole Republican rhetoric.

But the AFL is sending out this racist propaganda piece to voters mostly on East Coast.

Will it be a thing going forward? Asian Americans being allied with whites in all things regarding race?

It’s pure misinformation used to split apart our BIPOC diversity coalitions and deny all of us a true sense of democracy.

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. See his show on www.amok.com

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

3 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.