Activism

Rep. Barbara Lee Invites Pastor Michael McBride to State of the Union Address

Rep. Barbara Lee was joined by Pastor Michael McBride, a Bay Area native, national faith leader, and racial justice activist, as her guest to President Biden’s State of the Union Address to Congress on Tuesday, February 7. “I can think of no better guest for this year’s State of the Union than the East Bay’s own Pastor Mike McBride, who has dedicated himself to the fight for racial justice and Black liberation through faith, education, advocacy, and community building,” said Rep. Lee.

Published

3 years ago

February 15, 2023

Oakland Post

Pastor Michael McBride leads Berkeley’s The Way Christian Center. Web site photo

“I can think of no better guest for this year’s State of the Union than the East Bay’s own Pastor Mike McBride, who has dedicated himself to the fight for racial justice and Black liberation through faith, education, advocacy, and community building,” said Rep. Lee. “As someone who has been at the forefront of the movement for community violence prevention and ending police brutality, his presence is particularly poignant as the national discussion on reform continues following the death of Tyre Nichols. Voices like his are critical as we reflect on our future and what is needed in the East Bay and across the country.”

“I am honored to join my Congresswoman Barbara Lee as her guest at the State of the Union,” said McBride who is lead pastor of The Way Christian Center in Berkeley. “I am a survivor of police violence and an advocate for reimagining public safety. Far too many of us know the trauma daily encounters of violence have on our collective psyche. Now is the time to move beyond rhetoric, symbolism, and incrementalism.

“We have models that can reduce harm and disproportionate contact with Black community members while also helping to dramatically reduce gun violence in our neighborhoods. We cannot be stuck in a daily cycle of police abuse and state violence that ruins lives.

“As I listen with my Congresswoman to the remarks of President Biden, I am hoping to hear a serious and urgent plan to tackle this issue. LIVE FREE invites Congress, mayors, and city councils who have the power to reimagine community safety to lean in on behalf of its most venerable citizens in the spirit of equity and justice. We can have peace in our time – if we choose it,” McBride said.

Michael McBride (known as “Pastor Mike”) is a native of San Francisco and has been active in ministry for over 20 years. Pastor McBride’s commitment to holistic ministry can be seen through his leadership roles in both the church and community organizations. A graduate of Duke University’s Divinity School, with a Master of Divinity with an emphasis in Ethics and Public Policy, McBride founded The Way Christian Center in West Berkeley, where he presently serves as the Lead Pastor.

McBride is the executive director of LIVE FREE USA, a national nonprofit that sees a world where every person is safely and peacefully connected to community. He is a national leader in the movement to implement public health and community-centered gun violence prevention programs, which have contributed to a 50% reduction in gun-related homicides in Oakland and many other cities across the country.

He is a co-founder of the Black Church PAC and the National Black Brown Gun Violence Prevention Consortium, which work to center Black and Brown gun violence prevention practitioners and scale up life-saving interventions related to urban and communal violence.

Regarded as a national faith leader, active in the Ferguson uprisings of 2014 and many subsequent uprisings, he helps bridge, train, and support millennials and religious institutions working on racial justice and Black liberation.

Pastor McBride has served on a number of local and national task forces with the White House and Department of Justice regarding gun violence prevention, boys and men of color, and police-community relationships.

In 2016, he was appointed as an Advisor on President Obama’s Faith-Based Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He has been a frequent contributor to the New York Times, the Washington Post, MSNBC, CNN, the Huffington Post, and many other media outlets providing commentary on issues related to faith and racial justice.

This report comes from Rep. Barbara Lee’s Media Relations Office.

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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.