Bay Area leaders and key notables in the city of Oakland congratulated Marc Spears, NBA writer for Andscape/ESPN for receiving the 2023 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Media Award. The event was held at Hiiiwav, a new location at 2781 Telegraph in Oakland recently purchased by Grammy Award-winner Bosko Kante and his wife Maya Kante. Pictured here, left to right, are Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce President Cathy Adams, Chef David Lawrence, Marc Spears, and Nola Turnage of Okta, Inc. Photo courtesy of Cathy Adams.

Special to The Post

Jose Alejandro Zavala Aguilar was a vibrant, charismatic 27-year-old. On the evening of Nov. 18, 2020, Jose was brutally murdered in the 5700 block of Trask Street.

His family remembers him as a noble young man, who loved soccer and the Chivas de Guadalajara team, was caring, responsible and always grateful to everyone who touched his life. Studying to be a welder at Chabot College so that he could open a mechanical and welding workshop, his promising life was cut tragically short.

His family said, “The impact of the death of our son left us with a deep feeling of emptiness. Since 18-Nov-2020, all the members of the Zavala Aguilar family have mutilated our souls, causing a lot of sadness, fear, courage and frustration in all emotional, psychological, physical and financial aspects to the point of not wanting to do basic and simple things like eating and sleeping as well as not knowing anything about continuing to work for our desires.”

The Family Support Advocates join with Jose Alejandro Zavala Aguilar’s grieving family and loved ones in their pursuit of justice.

Anyone in the community with information about Jose’s murder is asked to contact the Homicide Section at (510) 238-3821 or the TIP LINE at (510) 238-7950. CrimeStoppers of Oakland is offering a reward for an arrest in this case.  #JusticeforJose.

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Oakland Post: Week of September 20 – 26, 2023

FAMILY SUPPORT ADVOCACY TASK FORCE

The mission of the Family Support Advocacy Task Force, a committee of the Violence Prevention Coalition, is to advocate for local, state and federal policies and legislation to enhance and expand support to families and friends of those who experienced violence; for more compassionate and transparent communication between law enforcement and the district attorney with the family of homicide victims and to push for the elimination of all violence, but  particularly gun violence and homicides.

By Clifford Williams
Special to The Post

The Bay Area Jazz Society will hold a fundraiser and CD listening party to raise funds for youth programs at Berkeley’s Black Repertory Theater (BBRT), the only Black-owned-and-operated theater in the East Bay.

The event will take place at the BBRT on Sunday, Oct. 8 from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. at 3201 Adeline St., Berkeley, CA. Tickets are $25. The master of ceremonies will be KPFA’s Afrikahn Jamal Davis.

Many artists featured in “The Sounds of Oakland: Music from the Streets” compilation CD will perform with special guests including Larriah Jackson from “The Voice” Niecy ‘Living Single’ Robinson, one of the Bay Area’s most popular vocalists and Derick Hughes, who sang with Roberta Flack for many years, taking the place of Donnie Hathaway.

Other artists attending include Donnie Williams from “American Idol,” (the same year Jennifer Hudson and Latoya London appeared), and Williams’ sister, Terrill Williams. There will be live performances with food and drink for everyone, and the CD will be playing in the lobby when the performers take a break.

BBRT has had limited programming during and throughout the pandemic and is now struggling to regain continual of operations. Bay Area Jazz Society Executive Director Paul Tillman Smith, has an extensive background in theatre, starting with a stint as musical director for the Oakland Ensemble Theater’s Melvin Van Peebles play, “Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death,” featuring television star Ted Lange of the “Love Boat,” as director.

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Tillman Smith is also the co-producer, along with Norman Connors, Levi Seacer Jr., and Nelson Braxton for the new Bay Area CD ‘The Sounds of Oakland: Music from the Streets.” Other artists listed on the CD may be in attendance, including Lenny Williams, Derick Hughes, and Lady Bianca to meet and greet guests.

The Berkeley chapter of the NAACP will also support the fundraiser.

The first 20 individuals attending the fundraiser will receive a free copy of the CD. Thirty percent of the CD sales will go into a fund to help aging artists who don’t have a pension and, in many cases, no social security.

For more information regarding the fundraiser and how to obtain tickets, contact Paul Tilman Smith at 510. 689.3332, or Bayjazz@gmail.com.