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IN MEMORIAM: Charlene Mitchell, Civil Rights Activist and 1st Black Woman to Run for President, Dies at 92

In her 1968 run for president, Mitchell’s slogan was “Black and White Unite to Fight Racism, Poverty, and War!” She and her running mate made it to the ballot in only four states and won just over 1,000 votes, the New York Times reports, but her candidacy put a new face on the Communist Party, which was struggling under the weight of repression from the federal government.

Published

3 years ago

January 3, 2023

Oakland Post

Charlene Mitchell. Wikipedia image.

By Brandon Patterson

Civil rights activist Charlene Mitchell, a long-time Communist Party leader and freedom fighter, passed away in Manhattan, New York, on Dec. 14, 2022. She was 92.

As the Communist Party’s nominee in 1968, Mitchell was the first Black woman to run for president, ahead of Shirley Chisolm who became the first Black woman to seek the nomination for a major party —the Democratic Party — in 1972.

Mitchell was also known for her leadership in the campaign to free Angela Davis when Davis was arrested in 1969.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1930, Mitchell moved to Chicago with her family at age 9, where they settled down in the Cabrini Green housing project, then a mix-raced housing complex and “a center of left-wing politics,” according to the New York Times.

Her father worked as a Pullman porter and was active in the labor movement, so she was exposed to the Black civil rights struggle from a young age. At 13, Mitchell joined the local youth branch of the Communist Party, helping to lead a student protest against segregated seating at a local theater.

In the 1960s, she moved to Los Angeles, where she founded an all-Black chapter of the Communist Party. Mitchell stressed the need for solidarity with oppressed people around the world, and traveled the world meeting with leftists in Europe, South America, and South Africa, the Grio reported. Notably, she was among the first Americans to speak out against the incarceration of Nelson Mandela and anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa.

“Having known Charlene Mitchell through political victories and defeats, through personal tragedies and triumphs, I can say with confidence that she is the person to whom I am most grateful for showing me a life path,” activist Angela Davis, a professor at UC Santa Cruz, told the New York Times. Davis continued: “I don’t think I have ever known someone as consistent in her values, as collective in her outlook on life, as firm in her trajectory as a freedom fighter.”

Mitchell would eventually split from the Communist Party in the 1980s but would support several other anti-racist political organizations, including the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism and the National Alliance Against Racial and Political Repression.

“Black Lives Matter and modern Black feminism stand on the shoulders of Charlene Mitchell,” Erik S. McDuffie, a professor of African American studies at the University of Illinois, told the New York Times.

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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.