Activism
California Black Clergy, Political Leaders Condemn Racism in Ukraine
CBC members Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-13), Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations; Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY-05); Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA-37), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations; and Rep. Stacey E. Plaskett (VI-At Large) signed the letter, which was sent on March 4.
![Congressmembers condemn treatment of people of African and Asian descent trying to escape Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. From l-r: Rep. Barbara Lee; Rep. Joyce Beatty; Rep. Gregory W. Meeks and Rep. Karen Bass.](https://www.postnewsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/blacks-ukraine-treatment-featured-web.jpg)
By Tanu Henry, California Black Media
“There were many persons of color living in the Ukraine, enjoying, working and going to school. The Russian invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, made a major change,” read a letter shared with parishioners and friends of St. Paul African Methodist Church in San Bernardino via e-mail.
“For those persons of color, an additional crisis has emerged, the added burden of racism. As these people flee to the bordering countries, they are being met with open hostility,” the letter continued.
The Rev. Steven Shepard, pastor of St. Paul’s, forwarded the letter, which called on AME Church members around the globe to support a student from the Ivory Coast who was seeking asylum in Ukraine until the war broke out. Shepard encouraged church members to stand with “our African brothers and sisters” and to condemn the racism in Ukraine.
The young woman had to wait for nearly 24 hours in frigid weather, hungry and cold, before crossing the Ukrainian-Polish border.
The letter Shepard shared was among hundreds of thousands, perhaps more, of videos, letters, memes, photos and other media sent around the world highlighting racism in Ukraine on two fronts.
First, the way Ukrainian citizens were treating people from Africa, the Caribbean and other people of African descent as people clamored to board trains and buses escaping the advancing Russian military.
“We write with concern regarding the treatment of people of African and Asian descent who are trying to flee Ukraine,” members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) wrote to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, asking for her to push back on the discriminatory incidents being reported.
CBC members Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-13), Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations; Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY-05); Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA-37), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations; and Rep. Stacey E. Plaskett (VI-At Large) signed the letter, which was sent on March 4.
“Thank you for clarifying that the borders of the European Union are open to everyone fleeing the war in Ukraine,” the lawmakers continued. “Nonetheless, numerous press and social media reports indicate that many Black families, immigrants from the African diaspora and other people of color are subject to discriminatory or inhumane treatment as they seek to flee Ukraine for the safety of other European countries.”
“We applaud that you have publicly rejected discriminatory treatment of refugees,” they continued. “We ask for more information about how European Union institutions and its member states are working to implement equitable and humane policies and procedures towards refugees. We further ask that a representative of the Commission brief us on the progress of these efforts.”
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said the racist actions of Ukrainian citizens violated international treaties.
“All who flee a conflict situation have the same right to safe passage under U.N. convention and the color of their passport or their skin should make no difference,” he said.
African leaders, commentators, civil rights leaders, public figures and mass media personalities also spoke out against racist coverage of the war in the media as well.
“This isn’t a place, with all due respect like Iraq or Afghanistan. This is a relatively civilized, relatively European — I have to choose those words carefully, too — city where you wouldn’t expect that or hope that it’s going to happen,” said CBS News Correspondent Charlie D’Agata, reporting from Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
D’Agata, who has since apologized for that comment, has been widely criticized for his bias.
Comedian Trevor Noah also reacted to D’Agata’s comments. “Here’s the thing. Beyond the racism. You do realize, until recently, fighting crazy wars was Europe’s thing. That is all of European history. They even had something called ‘the Hundred Years War,’” he said.
“I don’t know about you, but I was shocked to see how many reporters around the world, by the way, seem to think it’s more of a tragedy when white people have to flee their countries,” Noah said.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of July 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 24 – 30, 2024
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Activism
Oakland Post: Week of July 17 -23, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 17 -23, 2024
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Activism
Community Celebrates Historic Oakland Billboard Agreements
We, the Oakland Billboard Economic Development Coalition, which includes Oakland’s six leading community health clinics, all ethnic chambers of commerce, and top community-based economic development organizations – celebrate the historic billboard agreements approved last year by the Oakland City Council. We have fought for this opportunity against the billboard monopoly, against Clear Channel, for five years. The agreements approved by Council set the bar for community benefits – nearly $70 Million over their lifetime, more than 23 times the total paid by all previous Clear Channel relocation agreements in Oakland combined.
![The Oakland Billboard Economic Development Coalition.](https://www.postnewsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/economic-development-corporation-featured-web.jpg)
Grand Jury Report Incorrect – Council & Community Benefit
We, the Oakland Billboard Economic Development Coalition, which includes Oakland’s six leading community health clinics, all ethnic chambers of commerce, and top community-based economic development organizations – celebrate the historic billboard agreements approved last year by the Oakland City Council. We have fought for this opportunity against the billboard monopoly, against Clear Channel, for five years. The agreements approved by Council set the bar for community benefits – nearly $70 Million over their lifetime, more than 23 times the total paid by all previous Clear Channel relocation agreements in Oakland combined.
Unfortunately, a recent flawed Grand Jury report got it wrong, so we feel compelled to correct the record:
- Regarding the claim that the decision was made hastily, the report itself belies that claim. The process was five years in the making, with two and a half years from the first City Council hearing to the final vote. Along the way, as the report describes, there were multiple Planning Commission hearings, public stakeholder outreach meetings, a Council Committee meeting, and then a vote by the full Council. Not only was this not hasty, it had far more scrutiny than any of the previous relocation agreements approved by the City with Clear Channel, all of which provide 1/23 of the benefits of the Becker/OFI agreements approved by the Council.
- More importantly, the agreements will actually bring millions to the City and community, nearly $70M to be exact, 23 times the previous Clear Channel relocation agreements combined. They certainly will not cost the city money, especially since nothing would have been on the table at all if our Coalition had not been fighting for it. Right before the decisive City Council Committee hearing, in the final weeks before the full Council vote, there was a hastily submitted last-minute “proposal” by Clear Channel that was debunked as based on non-legal and non-economically viable sites, and relying entirely on the endorsement of a consultant that boasts Clear Channel as their biggest client and whose decisions map to Clear Channel’s monopolistic interests all over the country. Some City staff believed these unrealistic numbers based on false premises, and, since they only interviewed City staff, the Grand Jury report reiterated this misinformation, but it was just part of Clear Channel’s tried and true monopolistic practices of seeking to derail agreements that actually set the new standard for billboard community benefits. Furthermore, our proposals are not mutually exclusive – if Clear Channel’s proposal was real, why had they not brought it forward previously? Why have they not brought it forward since? Because it was not a real proposal – it was nothing but smoke and mirrors, as the Clear Channel’s former Vice President stated publicly at Council.
Speaking on behalf of the community health clinics that are the primary beneficiaries of the billboard funding, La Clinica de la Raza CEO Jane Garcia, states: “In this case, the City Council did the right thing – listening to the community that fought for five years to create this opportunity that is offering the City and community more than twenty times what previous billboard relocation agreements have offered.”
Oakland Billboard Economic Development Coalition
Native American Health Center | La Clínica de la Raza | West Oakland Health Center |
Asian Health Services | Oakland LGBTQ Center | Roots Community Health Center |
The Unity Council | Black Cultural Zone | Visit Oakland |
Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce | Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce | Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce |
Oakland Latino Chamber of Commerce | Building Trades of Alameda County | (partial list) |
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