Commentary

COMMENTARY: A New Verse of “We Shall Overcome” in Civil Rights 2.0

If you felt more vulnerable this July Fourth, you weren’t imagining things. You had more rights last week than you did on America’s birthday. That’s thanks to the black robes of SCOTUS. With a series of 6-3 opinions, the U.S. Supreme Court showed how far the conservative court will go to protect a dwindling white majority.

Published

3 years ago

July 11, 2023

Oakland Post

SCOTUS just forced our hand. But there are more of us now. And we’re diverse.

By Emil Guillermo

If you felt more vulnerable this July Fourth, you weren’t imagining things. You had more rights last week than you did on America’s birthday.

That’s thanks to the black robes of SCOTUS.

With a series of 6-3 opinions, the U.S. Supreme Court showed how far the conservative court will go to protect a dwindling white majority.

Pretty far.

Want a website for your gay wedding? No business open to the public can be forced to do one for you. In fact, any business can now legally discriminate and exclude you, if they can show it’s a matter of their free speech versus your public accommodation. The court ruled bigoted free speech wins.

Then there’s help on student loan debt. Sorry, you have to pay up. Unless you’re like a bank that passed out bad mortgages in 2008, no one’s bailing you out.

And if you were a person of color qualified to go to an Ivy league school, the laws that might have helped last week, no longer apply. And please don’t tell us what color you are. The court has told schools to be colorblind and indifferent to race.

Justice got a little harder to achieve if you aren’t white, straight, and rich.

That’s the takeaway after the high court’s grand finale. With all the news the court’s been making on its lack of ethics involving tens of thousands of dollars from billionaire right-wing donors, the current SCOTUS has proven to be more venal, human, and political than any of us could have imagined.

It’s not the elevated dispassionate body thought to rule with a sense of high-minded legal scholarship and a healthy respect for precedent.

No, the court is right there in the swamp with everything else in DC, a SCOTUS forged by politics and bias.

And if you don’t vote, it’s the court we deserve.

Want a better SCOTUS? You’ve got to register and vote.

Now, after 50 years of progress moving toward a more just society, America has a 6-3 rollback court that we should have seen coming. It started last June with Dobbs v. Jackson and the reversal on abortion.

And now it’s unsettling other aspects of our settled lives.

They’re making us go down the mountain and climb back up, singing “We shall overcome” all over again.

Don’t Blame Asian Americans

On the big issue of affirmative action, we all need to be clear. The case of Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard University was not a victory for Asian Americans.

Despite the plaintiffs being Asian Americans in this case, most Asian Americans in this country were in favor of affirmative action.

If you want to point fingers, make sure you’ve got it pointing to the man who founded SFFA, and remains its leader. He’s not an Asian American, it’s the white man wearing the horned crown, Edward Blum.

Blum (rhymes with fume) is a non-lawyer, but a persistent anti-civil rights activist funded by the right wing, whose life is committed to filing lawsuit after lawsuit to undo the last 50 years. He’s made a career of neutering the Voting Rights Act and affirmative action.

Blum brought another case, Fisher v. University of Texas, before the high court in 2016 but lost. His error was using a white, female plaintiff to front the lawsuit. This time he found Asians rejected from Harvard and used them as his ‘yellow face’ to pit Asians (Blum) vs. Blacks and Latinix. And it worked.

Chief Justice John Robert’s opinion was just wrong, beginning with his application of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to strike down the use of race.

“The Harvard and UNC admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause,” wrote Roberts. “Both programs lack sufficiently focused and measurable objectives warranting the use of race, unavoidably employ race in a negative manner, involve racial stereotyping, and lack meaningful end points.

End points? Do you mean the meter’s running on justice and fairness and at some point racists just need to run out the clock?

The use of the Equal Protection Clause got the attention of Neal Katyal, former acting Solicitor General of the United States, who said that the Equal Protection Clause only binds state actors and not private institutions like Harvard.

So, can Harvard, a private institution, violate the Equal Protection Clause?

“Legally, that’s just impossible,” said Katyal, a law school professor of more than 20 years in an interview on MSNBC. By virtue of taking federal funds Harvard could be in violation of Title VI, a federal statute, Katyal said. “But Harvard certainly didn’t violate the Constitution.”

At least Roberts didn’t formally overturn existing laws. He just removed a key single piece from the equation — race.

But Roberts did allow for a loophole:

“Nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration or otherwise,” Roberts wrote. “In other words, the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual — not on the basis of race.”

Well of course, for one, that would be a First Amendment issue and Roberts didn’t want to mess with that.

Justice Sotomayor said it was like “putting lipstick on a pig.” But the fact is, if you want to go to Harvard, tell your story. That hasn’t changed in 50 years.

That’s how I got in.

The Power of Affirmative Action

Frankly, the ruling made me feel a little guilty. Could I have done something to save affirmative action — more than 50 years ago?

Chief Justice John Roberts was at Harvard the same time I was there. He was just a kid and robeless back in the ’70s. But my mere presence at “that school in Boston” did not persuade young Roberts of the merits of diversity or the mutual benefits of having an underprivileged Filipino kid as part of the student body.

Because I was not just there to take. I was there to give — to America’s future leaders, like Roberts, a real world understanding beyond white preppie-dom, and to help him build the kind of empathy he’d need to have as a chief justice of the United States.

Had I succeeded — had our paths crossed — maybe Roberts would not have written such a terrible opinion that set back progress in higher education nearly 50 years.

SCOTUS just forced our hand. But there are more of us now. And we’re diverse.

Get ready for Civil Rights 2.0.

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. His “Emil Amok” monologues are on YouTube and on www.amok.com.

Oakland Post

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COMMENTARY: The National Protest Must Be Accompanied with Our Votes

Just as Trump is gathering election data like having the FBI take all the election data in Georgia from the 2020 election, so must we organize in preparation for the coming primary season to have the right people on ballots in each Republican district, so that we can regain control of the House of Representatives and by doing so, restore the separation of powers and balance that our democracy is being deprived of.

Published

3 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper. File photo..

By Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper

As thousands of Americans march every week in cities across this great nation, it must be remembered that the protest without the vote is of no concern to Donald Trump and his administration.

In every city, there is a personal connection to the U.S. Congress. In too many cases, the member of Congress representing the people of that city and the congressional district in which it sits, is a Republican. It is the Republicans who are giving silent support to the destructive actions of those persons like the U.S. Attorney General, the Director of Homeland Security, and the National Intelligence Director, who are carrying out the revenge campaign of the President rather than upholding the oath of office each of them took “to Defend The Constitution of the United States.”

In California, the primary comes in June 2026. The congressional races must be a priority just as much as the local election of people has been so important in keeping ICE from acquiring facilities to build more prisons around the country.

“We the People” are winning this battle, even though it might not look like it. Each of us must get involved now, right where we are.

In this Black History month, it is important to remember that all we have accomplished in this nation has been “in spite of” and not “because of.” Frederick Douglas said, “Power concedes nothing without a struggle.”

Today, the struggle is to maintain our very institutions and history. Our strength in this struggle rests in our “collectiveness.” Our newspapers and journalists are at the greatest risk. We must not personally add to the attack by ignoring those who have been our very foundation, our Black press.

Are you spending your dollars this Black History Month with those who salute and honor contributions by supporting those who tell our stories? Remember that silence is the same as consent and support for the opposition. Where do you stand and where will your dollars go?

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Activism

Post Newspaper Invites NNPA to Join Nationwide Probate Reform Initiative

The Post’s Probate Reform Group meets the first Thursday of every month via Zoom and invites the public to attend. The Post is making the initiative national and will submit information from its monthly meeting to the NNPA to educate, advocate, and inform its readers.

Published

3 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) represents the Black press with over 200 newspapers nationwide.

Last night the Post announced that it is actively recruiting the Black press to inform the public that there is a probate “five-alarm fire” occurring in Black communities and invited every Black newspaper starting from the Birmingham Times in Alabama to the Milwaukee Times Weekly in Wisconsin, to join the Post in our “Year of Action” for probate reform.

Reporter Tanya Dennis says, “The adage that ‘When America catches a cold, Black folks catch the flu” is too true in practice; that’s why we’re engaging the Black Press to not only warn, but educate the Black community regarding the criminal actions we see in probate court: Thousands are losing generational wealth to strangers. It’s a travesty that happens daily.”

Venus Gist, a co-host of the reform group, states, “ Unfortunately, people are their own worst enemy when it comes to speaking with loved ones regarding their demise. It’s an uncomfortable subject that most avoid, but they do so at their peril. The courts rely on dissention between family members, so I encourage not only a will and trust [be created] but also videotape the reading of your documents so you can show you’re of sound mind.”

In better times, drafting a will was enough; then a trust was an added requirement to ‘iron-clad’ documents and to assure easy transference of wealth.

No longer.

As the courts became underfunded in the last 20 years, predatory behavior emerged to the extent that criminality is now occurring at alarming rates with no oversight, with courts isolating the conserved, and, I’ve heard, many times killing conservatees for profit. Plundering the assets of estates until beneficiaries are penniless is also common.”

Post Newspaper Publisher Paul Cobb says, “The simple solution is to avoid probate at all costs. If beneficiaries can’t agree, hire a private mediator and attorney to work things out. The moment you walk into court, you are vulnerable to the whims of the court. Your will and trust mean nothing.”

Zakiya Jendayi, a co-host of the Probate Reform Group and a victim herself, says, “In my case, the will and trust were clear that I am the beneficiary of the estate, but the opposing attorney said I used undue influence to make myself beneficiary. He said that without proof, and the judge upheld the attorney’s baseless assertion. In court, the will and trust is easily discounted.”

The Black press reaches out to 47 million Black Americans with one voice. The power of the press has never been so important as it is now in this national movement to save Black generational wealth from predatory attorneys, guardians and judges.

The next probate reform meeting is on March 5, from 7 – 9 p.m. PST. Zoom Details:
Meeting ID: 825 0367 1750
Passcode: 475480

All are welcome.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Community Celebrates Turner Group Construction Company as Collins Drive Becomes Turner Group Drive

The event drew family, friends, and longtime supporters of Turner Group Construction, along with a host of dignitaries. The mood was joyful and warm, filled with hugs, handshakes and belated New Year’s greetings. Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and a festive display of gourmet cupcakes as they conversed about the street sign reveal.

Published

3 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

The Turner Construction group members.

By Carla Thomas

It was a family affair on Friday, Jan. 23, at the corner of Hegenberger Road and Collins Drive in East Oakland as community members, local leaders, and elected officials gathered to celebrate the renaming of Collins Drive to Turner Group Drive. The renaming saluted the Turner Group’s 45-plus years of economic development and community investment.

Special guests included former Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, veteran broadcaster Valerie Coleman-Morris, Chevron Senior Public Affairs Representative Andrea Bailey, community leaders Cephus “Uncle Bobby” Johnson and Beatrice “Aunt Bea” Johnson of the Oscar Grant Foundation, and Oakland City Councilmembers Ken Houston, Carroll Fife, and Kevin Jenkins. Members of WEBCORE, the Nor Cal Carpenters Union, the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC), Swinerton and Alten construction companies, activists Elaine Brown and David Newton, and many others joined the celebration.

Inside the event tent, an emotional Oakland City Councilmember Ken Houston spoke of his deep connection to the Turner family.

“I grew up on the same street with the Turners,” he said. “When my father passed away, their parents and siblings embraced me like family. This is our city, and it’s an honor to name this street Turner Group Drive because of the love and effort this company and family have given. Many dreams came out of this building. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the Turners.”

Councilmember Kevin Jenkins, whose father once taught the Turner brothers, added, “Len Turner is an amazing person. He’ll help anyone.”

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee praised the company’s legacy, noting its creation of the Construction Resource Center, which trains and mentors the next generation of builders and developers through partnerships across the region. “This is a great day for Oakland and a profound acknowledgment of the Turner Group’s contribution to our community,” she said.

Fife echoed that sentiment: “This is a day for celebrating Black excellence. The Turner Group has poured into people and the community, showing us what’s possible.”

Among the many family members in attendance was the Turners’ 92-year-old patriarch, whose presence underscored the strength of the family’s legacy.

A touching highlight of the event came when Coleman-Morris was honored for her lasting mentorship of LaTanya Hawkins, now program manager of the Construction Resource Center. In 1979, Hawkins, then a fourth-grader, wrote Coleman-Morris a letter seeking advice. Coleman responded with words of encouragement that inspired Hawkins to pursue her dreams. The two stayed in touch for decades. On stage, they embraced as Coleman reflected on “the power of small acts of kindness to change a life.”

Coleman-Morris also shared reflections on leadership and community spirit, saying, “If we change the way we look at things, the things we see will change.” She then recited the Serenity Prayer, reminding the crowd, “We are a powerful community, we just need to believe it.”

Company leaders Len and Lance Turner closed the ceremony with words of gratitude and humor. Len thanked his mother, wife, family, legal team, and longtime supporters including Carson, Geoffrey Pete, and the late Dorothy King of Everett & Jones Barbecue. He also acknowledged the challenges the company had overcome, saying, “Without all of this support, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Through Turner Group Construction and the Construction Resource Center, the Turners have created new opportunities for underrepresented groups in the construction industry and continue to inspire the next generation of builders.