Activism

COMMENTARY: “COVID-19 and White Supremacy, Creating Our New Normal”

We must rescue and refine the best of Black ways. Look at our historical grandeur. We once imagined the great Step Pyramid before there was a pyramid. How did we do that? Black people lived through over four hundred years of rabid, hostile, savage, dehumanization yet never became rabid, hostile, savage dehumanizing people. Our way, our worldview, our narrative, our normativity is what allowed us to do this. This is what we need to revisit.

Published

4 years ago

May 5, 2022

Oakland Post

Dr. Wade Nobles

Black Mental Health pt. 2

By Tanya Dennis

With the global COVID-19 pandemic, we knew the world would never be the same. For some, COVID-19 has provided an opportunity to correct a society filled with bias, inequality, and meanness.

For Dr. Wade Nobles, long-time scholar/activist, and co-founder of the Association of Black Psychologists, “This is our time of reckoning. It is a time to redo what we have always done, sometimes under the radar, always in opposition to white supremacy. This is the time for Black people to interlock, reconnect and heal our community without European influence.”

Dr. Nobles, the Bay Area Chapter of the Association of Black Psychologists, and Oakland Frontline Healers are bringing together the best minds and calling on every sector to join them in the development of African American Wellness Hubs and an African American Healing Center in Oakland.

“Restoring wellness is to make the whole well. It is to connect everything and everyone in life affirming ways throughout the entire African world. Our way of being well and whole were well established in our past. In the past we gathered and found solutions collectively. Remember rent parties, Sunday church special offerings to send a child off to college or visiting the sick and shut in? These are our examples. In our way, personhood, familyhood, neighborhood, peoplehood, all the “hoods” are of equal importance. We can’t have a sick community and think our people will be well.”

Nobles and colleagues, after surveying and talking with Black people in Black communities across the nation, designed a detailed written plan for an African American Wellness Hub Complex. They envision a hub that is linked spiritually and psychologically, as a place where wellness and wholeness is real and ethnically authentic. Nobles said, “In many places our children are failing in school, many of our children are feeling they have no value, are being demeaned and assaulted. We need to take charge of these places. If teachers don’t love our children, they cannot ignite in them a desire to know and a passion for learning. If law enforcement doesn’t have high regard and deep respect for Black people, they will never understand that to ‘serve and protect’ means to be life affirming in what they do.”

“A big part of our new normal is to have in our thought, beliefs, and behavior the best of our wisdom, traditions and restorative practice available. This means to have in place living learning laboratories that are unapologetically devoted to our wellness, e.g., a wellness hub complex with healing centers. To have an exceptional and extraordinary place to bring people together and take them from hostile angry dis-at-ease producing places to places where we can work in harmony, create in dignity, and live to inspire life and ways of being that is affirming.”

Alameda County has stepped forward and is committed to establishing a Black Mental Health facility in partnership with the Association of Black Psychologists. The Association is grateful to Alameda County but notes four or five locations are necessary considering the amount of damage and illness that needs to be undone in the Black community.

Nobles says, “We must create a space, place and time that is guided by an African American wellness narrative that is awe-inspiring.” As an example of how important space is, he notes, “We tried to escape the blight and poverty of the inner city and move out to the suburbs, but all we did was go from inner city hostility to outer city hostility in the white enclave. At least in the inner city, our children didn’t lose their point of reference of belonging in the neighborhood or church. Healing spaces and places must be grounded in life affirming worldview and culture.”

“We must rescue and refine the best of Black ways. Look at our historical grandeur. We once imagined the great Step Pyramid before there was a pyramid. How did we do that? Black people lived through over four hundred years of rabid, hostile, savage, dehumanization yet never became rabid, hostile, savage dehumanizing people. Our way, our worldview, our narrative, our normativity is what allowed us to do this. This is what we need to revisit. We need a wellness place in our Black community where people can ‘imagine the better.’ A place where we can dismantle the ill and wrongfulness and recreate a vibrant affirming life spirit.”

Dr. Nobles says, “our new normal is the old African normal, where Black people inspired greatness just by living well and whole. Black people are a people of caring, sharing and daring. Our way was to care for our people, to share what we have, and to dare to be free. Our history records us having sacred places in nature where we would go to recreate our spirit of wellness. We need those places today and that’s why we need an African American Wellness Hub and healing centers.”

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‘Hire Oakland’ Job Fair Draws 2,000, Connecting Residents to Immediate Job Opportunities

Oakland’s Hire Oakland job fair, hosted by Mayor Barbara Lee’s office, connected over 2,000 job seekers with employers, highlighting a strong demand for quality jobs and career pathways in the city.

Published

2 hours ago

May 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Left to right: Yawo Tekpa, OPIC Manager, One Stop Operator; Sofia Navarro, Deputy City Administrator; and Ray Lankford, CEO of the Oakland Private Industry Council. Photo by Jonathan Fitness Jones.

By Post Staff

The Office of Mayor Barbara Lee, in partnership with the City of Oakland and regional employers, hosted a successful Hire Oakland job fair this week at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, bringing together job seekers and employers for a day focused on opportunity, connection, and economic mobility.

With more than 2,000 RSVPs, the event on Wednesday reflected strong demand across Oakland for access to quality jobs and career pathways. Attendees participated in on-site recruitment, application support, and hands-on workshops designed to help job seekers navigate hiring processes and prepare for interviews.

Over the course of the day, employers and community partners engaged directly with residents in a welcoming, high-energy environment centered on opportunity and hope. Participating employers included EBMUD, Samuel Merritt University, the City of Oakland, BART, PG&E, AC Transit, East Bay Regional Parks District, Southwest Airlines, FedEx, and many others offering immediate openings and career pathways across sectors.

Workforce development partners Oakland Private Industry Council (OPIC) and Lao Family Community Development provided connections to résumé support, interview coaching, and individualized job search assistance throughout the event.

The strong turnout underscores a clear reality: Oakland residents are eager for pathways into meaningful work, and sustained investment in youth and workforce programs is essential.

That is why Mayor Lee has prioritized relaunching the Oakland Police Cadet Program and the Mayor’s Youth Employment and Education Program (MYEEP)—ensuring young people have early access to paid work experience, mentorship, and long-term career pathways, according to a City press statement.

“The turnout shows what we already know—Oaklanders are ready to work, ready to grow, and ready to build their futures here at home,” said Lee. “When we connect people directly to employers and invest in young people early, we are not just filling jobs—we are changing lives and strengthening our city’s future.”

The Hire Oakland job fair is part of the City’s broader effort to strengthen workforce pipelines, expand access to good-paying jobs, and ensure Oakland residents are first in line for local opportunity.

About Hire OaklandHire Oakland is a citywide workforce initiative led by the Office of Mayor Barbara Lee in partnership with City departments, workforce development organizations, and regional employers. The program connects Oakland job seekers to real-time hiring opportunities, training resources, and career pathways.

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Cassie ‘Mama C’ Lopez Honored as Oakland’s Mother of the Year

Cassandra “Mama C” Lopez, a dedicated parent, teacher, and activist, was honored as Oakland’s Mother of the Year for her unwavering commitment to community and justice.

Published

2 hours ago

May 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Cassandra Lopez, known as “Mama C,” is surrounded by family, friends, and neighbors at Oakland’s annual Mother of Year celebration at the Morcom Rose Garden, Saturday, May 9. Photo by Mateenah Floyd-Okanlawon.

By Ken Epstein

The City of Oakland recognized Cassandra, “Mama C,” Lopez – parent, teacher, community activist, and justice warrior – as Oakland’s Mother of the Year in a celebration at Oakland’s Morcom Rose Garden on Mother’s Day weekend.

Long recognized as a leader in her community, she was nominated by District 3 City Councilmember Carroll Fife to receive the city’s 73rd annual Mother of the Year award.

Speaking at the crowded ceremony on Saturday, May 9, where Mama C received roses and a proclamation from Mayor Barbara Lee, Fife said she felt honored to nominate Lopez, an “amazing woman – a hell-raising humanitarian, for the energy, the passion, but most of all the love for community” that makes her one of those “exceptional women whose lives, exemplify love, sacrifice, leadership, and unwavering commitment to the family and community they serve.”

Cassie Lopez was born in 1945 to Pauline and Calvin Weaver, a family that had left Florida and Jim Crow for the east side of Detroit. From an early age, she was instilled with a sense of Black awareness, love, and the importance of community in the face of hardships, including poverty, freezing winters, low pay, and slum landlords.

Fifty-five years ago, she married Juan Lopez. The couple has three children and has lived for decades in a neighborhood on the edge of downtown Oakland near Mosswood Park.

Said her husband, Juan, “Mama C has been a selfless mother of our own children, and she also became a teacher. Our home became a second home for many young people. For some, it was refuge from difficult home situations, and for others, a safe place to hang out.

“Throughout the years, Mama C was sometimes a foot soldier and other times a leader, immersed in some of the biggest national and citywide struggles of the day,” Juan said. “But less known to many is the role she played day in and day out where the rubber hits the road.

“For 35 years, she has shepherded the Mosswood Park and Recreation Center – through its good and bad times. If the Center exists (and thrives) today, it has to do with Mama C, working alongside neighbors, center directors, community advisory council, and when necessary, community coalitions, city officials, the religious community, and the labor movement.”

Said Mateenah Floyd-Okanlawon, “I am an old friend of my sister here. We met in 1970 in the sugarcane fields of Cuba, where we were helping the Cuban government harvest their sugar. We have been friends ever since. She has always been someone who does not give in to despair.”

David Johnson, an educator in Oakland, was one of the neighborhood children who grew up in the community created by Mama C and her family

“Cassandra Lopez is a beacon of light, full of compassion. She has dedicated her life to quality education to the poor and working class,” serving for 40 years as a Spanish teacher in Oakland schools, he said.

“She has dedicated her life to speak truth to power, justice to the silent, and as a member of the community, she advocates for programs and resources,” he said.

In her remarks, Mama C recognized the influence and power of all mothers. “Together, we all stand on the backs of our mothers. Mothers play a special role in society. We give when we have almost nothing left to give. We hurt when some people don’t see the hurt and the pain that our families endure. But we keep on moving forward.”

Looking at what African Americans, other people of color and working people face in the country today, she said, “We are deserving of the very best because our hands, our bodies produce the wealth of world, and yet we get the least. We see our country wholesale being stolen away from us, and we are told to grin and bear it. We’re not bearing it; we’re fighting against it.”

Continuing, she said, “There’s enough wealth in this world that there should be no hunger in the world. There should be nobody without a decent place to live. Nobody should be sleeping on the street. Teachers should get the freedom to be creative and tell the stories that exist in this nation that make us strong and great.

“We have a lot to do. We cannot despair. We cannot run. People are learning, and together, collectively, we can do it.”