Community

Faith Leaders to End Gun Violence Convene at White House

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy announced on June 25 a Surgeon General’s Advisory on Firearm Violence, declaring “firearm violence in America to be a public health crisis.”

Published

2 years ago

July 18, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland pastors at the White House to End Gun Violence. (L-R) Pastors Darnell Hammock, Bishop Keith Clark, Pastor Michael Wallace, and Pastor Zachary Carey. Photo courtesy of ION (Impact Oakland Now).

Oakland Pastors join in to show leadership on public safety responses

Special to The Post

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy announced on June 25 a Surgeon General’s Advisory on Firearm Violence, declaring “firearm violence in America to be a public health crisis.”

A Surgeon General’s Advisory is a public statement that calls the American people’s attention to an urgent public health issue. This advisory is the first publication from the Office of the Surgeon General dedicated to gun violence, and it outlines the devastating and far-reaching consequences that firearm violence poses to the health and well-being of the country.

The advisory states since 2020, firearm‑related injury has been the leading cause of death for U.S. children.

On June 26, Live Free CA Clergy Table served as co-conveners of a National Clergy Emergency Strategic Planning Meeting at the White House with Gregory Jackson, Jr., special assistant to the President and deputy director of The Office of Gun Violence Prevention and Rev. Thomas Bowen, senior advisor for Public Engagement for the White House and over 40 faith leaders from around the country to begin the process of developing a wholistic plan of action.

Local clergy leaders Pastor Michael W. Wallace, Pastor Zachary Carey, Bishop Keith Clark of Impact Oakland Now (ION), and Pastor Darnell Hammock of Oakland and Pastor Les Simmons of Sacramento participated in the meeting.

Pastor Wallace spoke at the White House meeting to emphasize the importance of getting the resources to trusted and credible leaders and organizations in the most vulnerable communities and accentuating the critical role of the Black Church and that it must be included in the strategy.

“For the Black Church remains the trusted voice with trusted information and proven leadership in addressing the critical issues facing our communities,” he said.

After years of heavy lifting, relentless organizing, and unwavering advocacy through LIVE FREE, under the national leadership of Pastor Mike McBride, the proper designation of gun violence has taken place. These clergy leaders share the belief that a meaningful public health approach is critical to prevent gun violence and brings together a wide-range of experts across various disciplines—including researchers, advocates, legislators, community-based organizations, faith leaders and others—in a common effort to develop, evaluate, and properly implement equitable, evidence-based solutions to this national crisis.

Pastor Wallace of Oakland says, “the Live Free CA Table is fully committed to working to alleviate the Gun Violence Crisis in America that is having a devastating impact on our children, families, congregations and communities.”

Wallace further states, “This historic announcement by the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Advisory that “Firearm Violence: A Public Health Crisis in America” will cause a major shift in the approach to stop gun violence and the allocation of resources to directly address the real root causes to help to alleviate this crisis.”

Studies have shown that such high levels of exposure to firearm violence for both children and adults give rise to a cycle of trauma and fear within our communities, contributing to the nation’s mental health crisis.

This Advisory describes the public health crisis of firearm violence in America and describes strategies for firearm injury and violence prevention, with a focus on the health and well-being of children, families, and communities.

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Arts and Culture

COMMENTARY: Black Music is the Sound of Black Freedom: Let Us Reclaim Both This Juneteenth

Black Music Month started when Black Music Association members Ed Wright, Kenny Gamble and his wife, journalist and radio host Dyanna Williams were able to persuade President Jimmy Carter to establish the observation on June 7, 1979.

Published

1 day ago

June 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Robert Johnson (1911-1938) is thought of as the godfather of blues music, especially Delta blues. The 29 songs recorded by him during his short life have been of massive inspiration to guitarists and musicians over the last 80 years. Public domain photo.

By Wanda Ravernell

Black Music Month and Juneteenth are inextricably linked – Black music is the sound of our freedom.

From the plaintive moans of the enslaved Africans’ ‘sorrow songs,’ to the fields of Civil War battle where Black soldiers picked up abandoned bugles, to the upright piano played in juke joints on Saturday night and churches come Sunday morning, our ancestors’ innovation in the face of want, fear, degradation, and hopelessness has yielded genres of music imitated ’round the world.

In 2000, Congress made it official. In 2009, Pres. Barack Obama changed the name to African American Music Heritage Month and in 2023, Pres. Joe Biden changed it back to Black Music Month, two years after he declared Juneteenth a national holiday, the result of a movement led by Opal Lee.

Our ancestors battle for freedom over these last 400 years and the music that allowed them expression of their humanity deserved to be honored.

But we may be losing sight of the value of their sacrifices.

‘Sing a Song Full of the Faith That the Dark past Has Taught Us…’

Along with the long-known exploitation of Black musicians whose recordings were stolen by record companies, the commercialization of Juneteenth feels like another kind of theft.

I had never heard of Juneteenth until I moved to the Bay Area from my hometown of Philadelphia. I didn’t know it was one of many freedom festivals celebrated by descendants of enslaved people in the United States.

Emancipation Day was Jan. 1 in Pennsylvania, April 16 in Wash., D.C., May 20 in Florida, and Aug. 8 in Kentucky. But Juneteenth, June 19, has the most renown, known in Texas as the ‘colored peoples’ Fourth of July.’

It was marked by parades, beauty pageants, rodeos, backyard barbecues and church picnics.

Yes, church.

The formerly enslaved began the day praying in thanks for their freedom just as they had prayed for Jubilee – the day of freedom – when they had chains on their feet and hands. They ‘testified’ about their past suffering and how they had managed to overcome.

And they sang.

Although, we will not hold it this year, Omnira Institute’s Juneteenth Ritual of Remembrance recalled this part of Juneteenth with prayers in the languages of the African captives. In the middle of the ceremony, a soloist would lead us in singing “Many Thousand Gone” while we took turns reciting portions of the Emancipation Proclamation, the news of freedom that took more than two years to reach Texas – two months after the Civil War ended.

“Many Thousand Gone” was famously recorded by Black luminary Paul Robeson in 1947:

“No more auction block for me,

No more, no more

No more auction black for me

Many thousand gone.”

Other verses refer to the ‘pint of salt’ and the ‘driver’s lash,’ the realities of enslavement that they had survived.

‘Sing a Song Full of the Hope That the Present has Brought Us’

All of the genres of African American music have at their root songs like that, the essence being, as Stevie Wonder, wrote, “the joy inside our pain.” So Black music is not just music. It is our story, our history, our very strength.

During the Civil Rights Movement, which peaked 100 years after slavery ended, the people testified that it was the freedom songs – based on spirituals – that gave them the heart to march, face attack dogs, fire hoses, beatings, and shootouts with vigilantes.

The music reminded them that power was in the people. That music, our music, can do so again. We don’t have to accept the commodification of the products of our culture.

The power of those songs is showing a resurgence across the South as we battle again for the right to self-determination through the ballot box.

Those songs are the voices of our ancestors, voices forged in their blood, their sweat, their tears, joy and, above all, faith. Those songs, those prayers live in our blood and our very breath.

This Juneteenth, let us reclaim those holy voices expressed in Black music for ourselves. It is our birthright. It can neither be bought nor sold. No more. Never again.

Wanda Ravernell is the executive director of Omnira Institute, sponsor for 18 years of the Juneteenth Ritual of Remembrance and Oakland’s 11^th Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival, which will take place on Sept. 12.

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Oakland Post: Week of June 3 – 9, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 3 – 9, 2026

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1 day ago

June 9, 2026

Oakland Post

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Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled

BLACKPRESS USA NEWSWIRE — “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”
The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

2 days ago

June 8, 2026

Oakland Post

By National Women’s Law Center

The National Women’s Law Center released its annual State Child Care Assistance Policies report, finding that the number of children placed on waiting lists for federally funded child care assistance nearly doubled between 2024 and 2025 — and that number has only continued to grow.

The report serves as a key resource for state lawmakers, advocates, and policymakers by tracking state child care assistance policies and identifying where states are strengthening support for families and early educators — or falling behind.

“This deeply troubling increase in the number of children on child care waiting lists is the result of a failure to invest in this crucial sector,” said Karen Schulman, senior director of state child care policy and author of the report. “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”

Key findings in the report related to waiting lists for child care assistance include:

• 17 states had waiting lists or a freeze on intake for child care assistance in February 2025, up from 13 states in February 2024.

• Approximately 106,700 children nationwide were added to waiting lists between February 2024 and February 2025, bringing the total to 225,500 children in February 2025 — a 90 percent increase compared to February 2024.

• The numbers climbed even further between February 2025 and summer/fall 2025, with more than 175,000 additional children added to state waiting lists in just a few months — a 78 percent increase.

• At least seven states newly began placing families on waiting lists or freezing intake, while at least 10 additional states saw their waiting lists grow, after February 2025.

The report also includes state-by-state data on key child care assistance policies, including income eligibility limits, parent copayments, provider payment rates, and eligibility policies for parents searching for work.

Click the link to learn more: Warning Signs: State Child Care Assistance Policies 2025.

The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.