National

Black Press Called ‘Essential’ to Future Progress

Published

12 years ago

February 5, 2015

From left to right: NNPA Convention Co-Chair Terry Jones; NNPA President Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.; Bahamas Deputy Prime Minister Philip E. Davis; Convention Co-Chair Karen Carter Richards and NNPA Chairman Cloves C. Campbell (NNPA Photo by Ann Ragland)

By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief

NASSAU, Bahamas (NNPA) – A top Bahamas official praised the Black Press last week as essential to truthfully and creditably chronicling African American progress from one generation to the next.

Philip E. Davis, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Urban Development, commended the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) for 75 years of excellence.

“It goes without saying that your relevance, with time, is all the more important as the stories of struggle and sacrifice are passed on to each generation of Blacks,” he said in a speech at the NNPA mid-winter convention here. “This is essential so that our youth and future generations understand and appreciate the price of what they enjoy today.”

NNPA publishers were also greeted by Minister of Tourism Obediah H. Wilchcombe. A former journalist, Wilchcombe pledged to advertise in NNPA newspapers to help attract tourists, especially African Americans, to the Bahamas.

In his speech, Davis said, “No one has the authority to tell your story like you can so as to aptly illustrate in the words of an old African proverb: ‘Until the lions have their own historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunters.’”
Davis urged publishers to continue providing robust coverage of their communities while embracing the technology favored by young people.

“As you move to celebrate Black History Month beginning early next week, I encourage you to continue as responsible generational leaders, being the critical voice that gives the perspective that others are simply not equipped to give,” he said. “I also entreat you to embrace the technology of youth. Arming yourselves in this way will allow you to exponentially contribute to nurturing hearts and enlightening minds throughout the world.”

Davis drew a direct link between the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and recent unrest across the nation when unarmed African Americans were killed by police officers who were never prosecuted.

“Today, history screams as loudly in Ferguson [Mo.] as it did in Mississippi during the 1960s,” he said. “We must, though, be careful that the ideologies which led to our bonded and disenfranchised forebears to unrest and uprising are not used to rationalize the actions of those who resist the necessary casings of law and order.

“As journalists, your role as peacekeepers, therefore, can never be overstated. You must do all that you can to continue to be forthright and objective truth-tellers, calming the waters, while providing an accessible resource for young emerging leaders.”

Like African Americans, Davis said, the Bahamas has had its own struggles with racial tension. He said that history is “painfully punctuated with accounts of bloodshed and death, poverty and provocative policemen, incited cities and solemn cemeteries.”

He explained, “Much as that history derives from the abominable Jim Crow that survives today dressed in the fabled emperor’s new clothes.”

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Community

Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

12 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

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Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

14 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.