Activism

A Call to Action: Fight to Help the Homeless Get Off the Streets and Into Housing Now

Published

4 years ago

April 9, 2020

Carroll Fife and Rev. Jeremy J. McCants, MDiv.

We are in a critical, yet transformative time in human history right now. As a result of COVID-19, the very systems we depend on are being stretched to capacity. Some have failed altogether.

There is a silver lining. Inequities in health care, food, public education, housing, political and penal systems have made us rely on each other in ways many of us have not done in the past. These times are testing the weak points on our collective networks and challenging us to rise to the occasion of the day.

In a popular biblical story, God told one of his faithful followers, Joshua, that he and his people should migrate to Canaan as a place of refuge from the wilderness. The scouts who went to check out the city found that it was barricaded and no one could get in or out. Wealthy aristocrats and people with means had misused the land’s resources and built a great wall to protect themselves from have-nots.

Some of Joshua’s friends were scared of this migration and some didn’t believe they truly deserved to live in such a place. But God reminded Joshua that he would care for his people and gave him instructions on how to get in. He was told to bring spiritual teachers with noisemakers and march around the walls of the fortified city once every day for six days.

On the seventh day, when the noisemakers blew the whistle, actually ram’s horns, the people would know to turn up. That action would bring down the walls of Jericho.

Even before the coronavirus highlighted the weaknesses and oppressive inequity of capitalism, vulnerable people knew of high walls. The fortified walls of racism, classism, ageism, sexism and ableism, are all fortified by a spirit of greed and toxic independence that must end so we all can thrive.

We the people, in order to form a more perfect union, must reimagine justice, insure tranquility, provide for the most marginalized, and promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity in reality and not rhetoric.

Therefore, on Saturday, April 11, the Oakland Black Housing Union along with faith leaders, allied communities and service providers will ride to call attention to the lack of urgency to get people OFF THE STREETS. The majority of Oakland’s homeless population are Black people, and on a good day, homelessness means a death sentence for many of them. An immediate migration is needed to get people into housing for the safety of all.

In a show of unity and love, we will practice social distancing in our vehicles and circle the walls of the hotels that have been commissioned to provide space to house the homeless during this pandemic. We will continue these actions until we see change. We are urging Governor Newsom, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, and local elected officials to move with the urgency this moment calls for.

We will ride around these hotels, sounding off that our electeds must do more to flatten the curve of COVID-19. If they don’t do their jobs, we will.

Carroll Fife is director of Carroll Fife, Director Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE).

Rev. Jeremy J. McCants is an associate minister at the historic Allen Temple Baptist Church in East Oakland.

Carroll Fife and Rev. Jeremy J. McCants, MDiv.

Posts by Carroll Fife and Rev. Jeremy J. McCants, MDiv.

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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

Published

5 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

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.

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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.

Published

16 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

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.”

Oakland Post

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Activism

WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

2 days ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Juanita Matthews

Sister Juanita Matthews

55 Years with Oakland Public School District

The Teacher, Mother, Community Outreach Champion, And Child of God

Juanita Matthews, better known as “Sister Teacher,” is a walking Bible scholar. She moved to California from the great state of Arkansas in 1971. Sister Teacher has a passion for teaching. She has been a member of Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church since 1971. She followed her passion for teaching, and in 1977 became the lead teacher for Adult Class #6. Her motto still today is “Once My Student, Always My Student”.

Beyond her remarkable love for the Lord, Sister Teacher has showcased her love for teaching by working for the Oakland Unified School District for 55 years, all but four of those years spent at Emerson Elementary and Child Development School. She truly cares about her students, making sure they have the tools/supplies needed to learn either at OUSD or Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

She’s also had a “Clothes Closet Ministry” for 51 years, making sure her students have sufficient clothing for school. The Clothes Closet Ministry extends past her students, she has been clothing the community for over 50 years as well. She loves the Lord and is a servant on a mission. She is a loving mother to two beautiful children, Sandra and Andre. This is the impact this woman of God has on her church and the community.