Berkeley

Bay Area Labor, Black Lives Matter Unite to Fight for $15/hr. and Racial Justice

Published

11 years ago

November 13, 2015

Fast-food workers, care givers, and store employees in hundreds of cities across the country walked off the job Tuesday demanding a $15-an-hour minimum wage and union rights.

In Oakland, labor movement leaders united with the Bay Area’s Black Lives Matter chapter to protest the unwillingness of Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley to drop criminal charges against the Black Friday 14, who in an act of civil disobedience shut down the West Oakland BART station in November of last year to protest the murders of Black people by police.

The 14 protesters are facing charges of trespassing and obstructing the free passage of a railway.

As hundreds of union workers rallied in front of the DA’s office on Tuesday, 14 leaders of several labor organizations staged a sit-in inside O’Malley’s office – including representatives of UNITE HERE Local 2850, SEIU Local 1021 and AFT Local 2121.

The Pastors of Oakland have also called for the charges Black Friday 14 to be dropped.

“Unions in particular are disappointed with the prosecution of the Black Friday 14 because we’d given support to O’Malley during her election,” said Sarah Norr, Operations Manager for UNITE HERE Local 2850.

“We were hopeful that she would be someone who stands up for justice, but instead she is using her position to prosecute people who are standing up for justice,” said Norr.

Last year, on Black Friday – the largest shopping day of the year – the 14 Black Lives Matter protestors chained themselves to a BART train in West Oakland as a way to show solidarity with the movement in Ferguson, Mo. and to protest state violence against people of color in the Bay Area.

Since then, BART has announced it would not be pursuing charges against the protestors but left it up to O’Malley to continue if she pleased.

“Our intention was to disrupt business as usual, to stop the flow of the economy on Black Friday and we chose West Oakland BART because of what it has represented in terms of displacement of the Black community in Oakland,” said Robbie Clark, a member of Causa Justa: Just Cause and one of the Black Friday 14.

According to Clark, there is a clear connection between the labor movement and racial justice. Whether Black people are paid fairly for their labor is tied to the difficulty they have had in accumulating and retaining wealth ever since they were enslaved.

Norr of UNITE HERE 2850 also pointed out that 90 percent of the people in her union are Black or Latino, and that they face a “double attack because they are subject to police violence and unequal treatment in the courts plus displacement because they can’t afford rents in the Bay Area.”

In May, DA O’Malley was scheduled to receive an award from the Alameda Labor Council at an awards dinner but was uninvited and not given the award because of her handling of the Black Friday 14 case, said Norr.

“We are telling Nancy O’Malley that if she has any aspirations to continue to run for office and she does not do right by the BART 14, we as labor are not going to let her get elected. We’re going to stand in her way,” said Denise Solis of SEIU USWW, who was one of those who occupied O’Malley’s office.

Following the rally at the D.A.’s office, the protestors marched to Oakland City Hall where they joined nearly a thousand union workers and labor movement leaders from across the Bay Area, demanding an increase in the minimum wage to $15-an-hour.

“While brave workers across the country are standing up and demanding $15 and a union, we need to demand racial justice,” said Solis. “They are one in the same, it’s the same fight, it’s the same communities being affected, and we are not going to stop until we all have the rights that we deserve.”

Oakland Post

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Related Topics:BART Black Friday 14 Black Lives Matter Drop the Charges Fight for 15 Nancy O'Malley SEIU Local 1021 UNITE HERE Local 2850

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Activism

Black Repertory Group Needs Volunteers to Help Shape the Next Generation of Artists and Leaders

Legendary performers such as Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover worked with and were inspired by BRG’s founders. More recently, Grammy award-winning artist Kehlani attended the Black Repertory Group Summer Day Camp for several years.

Published

1 week ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

Courtesy image.

By Sean Vaughn Scott, Special to The Post

For more than 60 years, the Black Repertory Group (BRG) has changed lives through the arts.

Founded in 1964 by educators and visionaries Birel L. Vaughn and Nora Vaughn, BRG has become one of America’s oldest continuously operating Black theater institutions. For generations, it has preserved culture, developed talent, and provided opportunities for young people to discover their voices and their potential.

The results speak for themselves.

Long before international recognition, Kehlani performed on the BRG stage. During a summer day camp production of “Princess and da Frog,” she portrayed Ray, the lovable firefly whose light guided others through the darkness. Her journey is proof that today’s camper may become tomorrow’s artist, entrepreneur, educator, or leader.

Located at 3201 Adeline St. in Berkeley, BRG continues that mission through its Youth Summer Day Camp of the Arts.

BRG is currently accepting applications and maintains an open enrollment program. Students may enroll throughout the summer as space permits and immediately become part of the BRG family.

We are also proud to be a multicultural opportunity program, welcoming children and families from all backgrounds, cultures, and communities. Through theater, music, dance, public speaking, visual arts, technical theater, and leadership development, students gain confidence, discipline, creativity, and lifelong skills.

As our programs grow, so does our need for volunteers.

We are seeking community members to assist with youth mentoring, registration, costumes, set construction, painting, props, ushering, photography, social media, marketing, technical theater, and fundraising activities. Whether you volunteer for a few hours or throughout the season, your support directly impacts the lives of young people.

BRG also partners with churches, civic organizations, alumni associations, fraternities, sororities, and community groups through theater party fundraisers, group sales, and buy-out performances. These partnerships have helped organizations raise funds while supporting arts and cultural programming.

The theater also serves as the home of the Berkeley NAACP Chapter, which meets every second Saturday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m.

For more than six decades, the Black Repertory Group has remained committed to one belief: every child deserves an opportunity to shine.

The next great artist may already be among us.

The next Kehlani may already be walking through our doors.

We invite you to volunteer, enroll, participate, and become part of the legacy.

For more information please go to www.blackrepertorygroup.com, call (510) 652-2120, or email info@blackrepertorygroup.com

Sean Vaughn Scott is the director of the Black Repertory Group.

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Bay Area

UC Berkeley Named Top Public University in the U.S. and No. 7 in the World by ‘U.S. News’

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014. “A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Photo by Keegan Houser/UC Berkeley.

The 2026 Best Global Universities rankings evaluated 2,250 research institutions from more than 100 countries

By Lila Thulin

U.S. News & World Report has ranked UC Berkeley No. 7 in its 2026 list of the best global universities, which assesses more than 2,250 research institutions worldwide.

Berkeley also claimed the honor of top public university in the U.S.

Released on Monday, the list evaluates universities from more than 100 countries on 13 metrics such as global and research reputation (as reported by academics and peers) and number of highly cited scholarly papers.

Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014.

“A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.

The rankings also assess a university’s strength in various subject areas; these assessments are separate from U.S. News’ 2026 Best Graduate Programs rankings released in April.

This year, Berkeley was named in the top three nationally in seven subject areas – environment/ecology, ecology, water resources, physics, computer science, chemistry, and engineering – and in the top five for a total of 17 subjects. Subject rankings are based heavily on scholarly publications and citations as well as reputation.

In September, U.S. News also released its 2026 Best Colleges list, in which Berkeley was also named the No. 1 public institution among American universities.

That honor joins other accolades judging campus to be the best public university in the country, such as those from Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education.

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Arts and Culture

Farwest Region Deltas Celebrate Centennial With “September Breakfast” Honoring Vivian Osborne Marsh

The region was established in 1925 under the leadership of Vivian Osborne Marsh, who became its first Regional Director. Marsh was a pioneering scholar and civic leader, earning recognition as the first Black woman to receive both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley.

Published

10 months ago

September 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Farwest Regional Director, Kimberly Usher, Mayor Barbara Lee, US Representative Lateefah Simon, and Farwest Regional Representative, Radiya Ajibade. Photo courtesy of Farwest Regional Photographer Vicki P. Love.

By Antoinette Porter

Hundreds of members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and their guests gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union at the University of California, Berkeley, to mark the 100th anniversary of the sorority’s Farwest Region.

Marsh went on to serve as Delta Sigma Theta’s 7th National President, where she launched the sorority’s National Library Project to expand access to books in underserved Black communities in the South. During her presidency, the organization also became a prominent voice in the civil rights movement, lobbying Congress to pass anti-lynching legislation.

Bak in the Bay Area, Marsh devoted her career to advancing educational opportunities, mentoring young people, and strengthening community life. That commitment continues to shape the region, which supports initiatives in education, social justice, and economic development. Current projects include raising scholarship funds for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, voter education campaigns, and health and wellness programs.

A century after its founding, the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta remains active across California and other western states, carrying forward Marsh’s vision of service and advocacy.