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Advocates Back Bill to Increase Homeownership for Black Californians

“We envision a Bay Area with thriving, healthy and resilient Black communities, where all Black residents have a home. We want a region that rebuilds Black commercial districts destroyed by highway development, regains the Black homeownership losses from the racially targeted lending schemes that drove the Great Recession, and creates the affordable housing our region has failed to deliver over the last two decades,” sand Fred Blackwell, CEO of the San Francisco Foundation and Melissa Jones, CEO of Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative.  

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Caption: Fred Blackwell, CEO of the San Francisco Foundation (SFF Foundation photo) and Melissa Jones, CEO of Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII photo).
Caption: Fred Blackwell, CEO of the San Francisco Foundation (SFF Foundation photo) and Melissa Jones, CEO of Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII photo).

By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌, ‌California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

Last week, the Bay Area Black Housing Advisory Task Force (BABHATF) —‌ a coalition of more than 40 groups with housing and community expertise — ‌‌unveiled a $500 million plan to make housing more accessible and affordable for Black families.

BABHATF is asking the region’s leaders and residents to support the “Bay Area Regional Black Housing Fund” initiative. The organization is also calling on the Legislature to include funding for the effort in this year’s state budget.

The task force is supported by Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun) who was sworn into office April 6 after winning a special election in the 11th Assembly District.

The investment “will help repair the injustices that have shaped the housing experiences of Black people in the Bay Area and in California,” BABHATF leaders said in a letter drafted to bring awareness to a problem that the group says is statewide.

“It will also create new opportunities to expand housing for Black people in places where they have largely been — and are still — excluded. Increasing Black homeownership will benefit our entire region,” said task force members Fred Blackwell and Melissa Jones in the letter.

“The work we do to reduce the rent burden for Black people will provide a way forward for the Bay Area overall,” the letter continued.

Blackwell is CEO of the San Francisco Foundation, a community nonprofit committed to advancing racial equity and economic inclusion. Jones is executive director of the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative. Her work focuses on health, social inequity, and well-being.

The task force points out that there has been no regional response to California’s housing crisis’ well-documented impact on Black communities. It believes “a targeted solution” is necessary for an “issue rooted in racial injustice,” Blackwell and Jones wrote.

The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) reports that Black homeownership rates are the lowest among California’s ethnic groups.

The Black homeownership rate was 50.98% at its peak in 2004. Since then, the homeownership rates for Black Californians have fallen at a steeper curve than those of all other racial and ethnic groups in the state.

During the early 2000s, several mortgage lenders specifically targeted Black homebuyers offering them subprime loans. High default rates on those loans contributed to the Great Recession, which began in 2007 and lasted through 2009. As a result, the Black homeownership has dropped by more than 10% since 2004 and has yet to recover, according to CalHFA.

BABHATF illustrates how affordable housing impacts Black communities throughout the state, pointing out that there is no major ethnic group over-represented in the state’s homeless population than Black people.

Various reports state that 150,000 Californians experience homelessness on any given night and nearly 40% are Black.

“We envision a Bay Area with thriving, healthy and resilient Black communities, where all Black residents have a home. We want a region that rebuilds Black commercial districts destroyed by highway development, regains the Black homeownership losses from the racially targeted lending schemes that drove the Great Recession, and creates the affordable housing our region has failed to deliver over the last two decades,” Blackwell and Jones stated.

The task force is certain that with California’s $98 billion budget surplus, there is a historic and unprecedented opportunity to help right past wrongs and invest in Black communities and housing.

The group is calling for the Legislature to include the fund in this fiscal year’s state budget. The fund will create more affordable housing with a $500 million investment that includes:

No.1: Financial support for initiatives such as down payment assistance for low- and moderate-income Black households, preserving Black housing and neighborhoods, pre-development resources for housing development by Black-led developers, and preserving cultural districts and anchor institutions.

No. 2: Community support for strengthening smaller, Black-led community groups so they can better serve the housing needs of Black communities, plus community planning to develop ideas and blueprints for future projects.

The Black community in the Bay Area has been disadvantaged in the state’s housing market for decades because of discrimination, including redlining, unequal access to wealth and good jobs, and other systemic problems.

All of these issues have been discussed in the last 12 months during meetings conducted by the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans, under Assembly Bill (AB) 3121.

BABHATF says that increased disadvantages will leave Black communities facing multiple systemic barriers leading to massive displacement in the Bay Area

“As a result, San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley each lost between 40% and 50% of their Black residents between 1990 and 2018. In Oakland alone, more than 60,000 Black residents have left. East Palo Alto had a 66% decrease. This is a profound loss,” Blackwell and Jones stated.

Efforts to combat housing across the state got a partial boost last week. Homeownership for low- and moderate-income moved closer to reality after the California Senate approved a plan to establish a $25 billion fund financed by voter-endorsed general obligation bonds.

Senate Bill (SB) 1457, authored by Majority Leader Emeritus Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), now goes to the Assembly for consideration. It establishes the California Family Home Construction and Homeownership Bond Act of 2022.

If SB 1457 is adopted by voters on the November 2022 ballot, it will authorize the $25 billion bond fund to finance homeownership opportunities and promote new home construction.

Hertzberg stated that “the underlying problem is simple: A lack of supply” and says his plan “tackles this problem head on.

“California policymakers have a responsibility to create more opportunities for first-time or left-behind homebuyers,” Hertzberg said. “Purchasing a home, attaining a middle-class lifestyle and building generational wealth cannot be accomplished without addressing the severe lack of housing production that is fueling the state’s homeownership crisis.”

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of November 27 – December 3, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 27 – December 3, 2024, 2024

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OCCUR Hosts “Faith Forward” Conference in Oakland

The conference featured Congresswoman-elect Lateefah Simon, who will begin her term representing California’s 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in January.
Simon was honored with a special recognition from OCCUR for her civic and nonprofit leadership.

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President and CEO of OCCUR addresses the audience at OCCUR Faith Forward 2024 Conference at Resurrection Church. Photo By Carla Thomas.
President and CEO of OCCUR addresses the audience at OCCUR Faith Forward 2024 Conference at Resurrection Church. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Oakland Citizens Committee for Urban Renewal (OCCUR) hosted its Faith Forward 2024 Conference on Nov. 8 at Resurrection Church in Oakland.

The conference featured Congresswoman-elect Lateefah Simon, who will begin her term representing California’s 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives in January.

Simon was honored with a special recognition from OCCUR for her civic and nonprofit leadership. During her remarks, She commended nonprofits making a difference, and shared how she looked forward to representing Oakland and surrounding areas.

Simon also encouraged attendees to continue fighting despite their concerns about the presidential election results. She also cautioned that there may be resources that are discontinued as a result.

“We know the assignment. We have many of the resources right within our own community, and we will be ok,” Simon assured the audience.

The conference led by OCCUR president, Dr. David B. Franklin, also featured panels on funding opportunities, case studies, economic development, sustainable housing solutions, and organizing for action.

“In order for organizations serving the community to thrive, everyone must collaborate, share resources, and not operate in silos,” said Franklin.

Speakers included San Francisco Foundation CEO, Fred Blackwell, San Francisco Foundation FAITHS Program Director Dr. Michelle Chambers, and Kingmakers of Oakland Founder, Chris Chatmon. Guests were briefed on how Kingmakers of Oakland has gone from a budget of zero to several million and is set to acquire 200 acres of property to expand their programs serving young boys. The leadership at the San Francisco Foundation encouraged nonprofits, churches, and community leaders to work together, especially when donations and funding numbers are lower.

Ben Bartlett of Berkeley City Council; Trevor Parham, CEO of Oakstop; and CEO of the Lao Family Community Development, Inc., Kathy Chao Rothberg, inspired attendees with stories about their journeys in the nonprofit sector.

Additional speakers included Deka Dike, CEO of Omatachi; Landis Green, CEO of DGS Strategies; Sasha Werblin, Director of Economic Development, LISC Bay Area; Oakland City Councilmember Treva Reid; Faith and Justice Organizer of East Bay Housing Organizations, Ronnie Boyd; and Todd Bendon, Executive Director of Faith in Action East Bay; among others.

The event allowed community leaders, faith-based leaders, and nonprofits to gain Insight on how to strengthen their profits financially, and communally.

OCCUR has served the community for over 70 years supporting the wellbeing of historically marginalized communities with collaborative strategies. For more information visit occurnow.org

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Activism

Richmond Seniors Still Having a Ball After 25 Years

The Senior Winter Ball is a symbol of the Commission on Aging’s broader mission of providing enriching life experiences to the local senior community, particularly those in need of them. “Besides the social activities, we focus on issues such as housing, transportation and health,” said Michelle Hayes, the commission’s chairperson. “We get things done for our senior population.”

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Myrtle Braxton (l-r), Byran H. Harris, and Michelle Hayes. Photo by Mike Kinney.
Myrtle Braxton (l-r), Byran H. Harris, and Michelle Hayes. Photo by Mike Kinney.

By Mike Kinney
The Richmond Standard

For a quarter century, seniors in the local community have had a prime location in the heart of the city to gather and celebrate the holidays.

That is courtesy of the annual Senior Winter Ball, which will mark a milestone this year when it takes place for the 25th time. The gala will run from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Richmond Memorial Auditorium.

The holiday tradition was started by the City of Richmond’s Commission on Aging in 1999 to entertain and celebrate seniors. The event also raises funds for local senior causes. Attendees wear their finest attire and enjoy dinner and dancing.

“It’s so exciting to see all of the gala attendees all dressed up and seeing their lifetime friends and making new friends as well,” said Bryan M. Harris, secretary for the Commission on Aging. “They will reminisce about old Winter Ball memories and at the same time create new ones.”

Richmond’s very own Chef Josephine Orozco of El Sol Catering will serve at this year’s anniversary dinner. The gala will also feature the band Top Shelf Classics, which plays hits from the 50s through the 80s and has been the gala’s annual performer for the last decade.

The Senior Winter Ball symbolizes the Commission on Aging’s broader mission of providing enriching life experiences to the local senior community, particularly those in need of them.

“Besides the social activities, we focus on issues such as housing, transportation and health,” said Michelle Hayes, the commission’s chairperson. “We get things done for our senior population.”

Myrtle Braxton, 97, has served on the commission for 17 years and is its current vice president. She says her goal is to increase the quality of life for seniors through safe social events.

“So many seniors are isolated and are sometimes forgotten by society,” Braxton said. “So, our commission is their advocate and makes sure they are not left behind.”

Tickets to the 25th Silver Anniversary Annual Senior Winter Ball are $45 per person or $360 for a table of eight. They are available in person via the Main Recreation office at 3230 Macdonald Ave., via email at csdregistration@ci.richmond.ca.us or by phone at 510-620-6793.

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