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Cal Black Chamber of Commerce’s Biz Summit 2022 Offers Opportunities to Bid on Contracts

“The Economic Summit was created to bring ‘change makers’ together with minority-owned businesses with a mission to create meaningful economic opportunities to increase spending with small businesses and strengthen the conversation of small business diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Jay King, the president and Chief Executive Officer of California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌, California Black Chamber of Commerce.

Published

2 years ago

September 26, 2022

Oakland Post

The California Black Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Inc. was created as a public charity dedicated to education, training, community growth, and youth entrepreneurial development.

Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌ ‌|‌ ‌California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

The California Black Chamber of Commerce Foundation Inc. (CALBCCF) is offering “game-changing opportunities” for mini micro, micro, and small business proprietors of the state at the Economic Business and Roundtable Statewide Summit 2022.

Under the theme, “Pitch Your Business,” the summit is scheduled to be held in Sacramento on Friday, Sept. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Embassy Suites Sacramento Riverfront Promenade.

Jay King, the president and Chief Executive Officer of CALBCC, said the Economic Summit provides a different outlook and “a bold new journey into the ecosystem of business and how it’s effectively done.”

Startups or established businesses attending the summit will be able to present their services to potential clients on the spot or set up a bidding process in the near future. Interested individuals will be able to explore employment opportunities at the two-day event.

“This is not the same format that it has been in the past,” King told California Black Media. “We’ve been working with California Transportation (Caltrans) and DGS (California Department of General Services), to identify contracts that smaller firms can bid for and win if not at the summit days afterward. We will have workshops but all of them are interactive.”

A workshop on how to pitch a bid will be held on the first day of the summit. The pitch presentation is scheduled to be done in front of a panel of corporate judges with the hope of winning investment capital.

The next day, the participants will pitch their business concept with a chance to land $50,000 in capital. Two second-place winners will receive $25,000 each, and 10 functional businesses each have a chance at $10,000 in cash prizes.

“We are only awarding businesses in the state that have done all the hard work. It’s difficult running a small business,” King said. “Because small businesses are micro (a business that makes less than $100,000 per year) or mini micro (less than $35,000 per year), especially in the Black sector, it’s extremely difficult. About 96% of the African American businesses fit that description.”

The Economic Summit will feature Black chambers of commerce from across the state, including operations from Los Angeles, Fresno, Bakersfield, San Francisco, Oakland, and San Diego.

Wells Fargo, Lyft, UC Davis Health, the city of Sacramento, the Department of General Services, and the Black Small Business Association are Economic Summit sponsors.

The Summit is also set up to assist interested homebuyers. King said attendees will have a chance to see if they qualify for a home loan.

The summit will feature guest speakers Chris Horton, National Black Entrepreneur Project, Ann Tompkins, Director of Professional Services at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis); and Mike Condrin, Chief Operation Officer at UC Davis.

The California Black Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Inc. was created as a public charity dedicated to education, training, community growth, and youth entrepreneurial development. Its mission starts with educating local and state-wide communities about the importance of financial literacy.

“We believe in diversity, equity, and inclusion,” King said. “We are not excluding any business sector, racial groups, or White, Asian, Latinos business chambers. We know that they have the same challenges. We (CALBCC) are putting on display [an Economic Summit] that we would like to see from other chambers and entities across the state when we talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion. This means everybody to us.”

For more information about the Economic Business Summit, registration, and hotel accommodations, contact Angela Lowe of the California Black Chamber of Commerce at (916) 467-8878 or visit cbcc@calbcc.org.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

7 days 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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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

7 days 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.”

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WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

1 week 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.