Activism

COMMENTARY: Elections Are Not Popularity Contests: I Stand 2 Vote for the Best Candidate

The Formerly Incarcerated Giving Back (FIGB) refuses to be denied restorative justice: we want our voices heard. We want solutions. We want affordable housing. We want an end to violence. We have long been ignored, overlooked, and denied the benefits of democracy, but we can and must make a demand through voting.

Published

1 year ago

October 31, 2022

Oakland Post

Caption: Richard Johnson, right, with Mr. Fab at the recent election Town Hall at Dezi’s.

By Richard Johnson | Post News Group

In choosing the right person to represent an official position, you must be mindful that your choice truly mirrors your concerns, values and, of course, your wishes for the community.

Way too often we select and vote for reasons other than what is truly needed for that office. Be it palm-greasing, backdoor promises, or solely for ethnicity, we cannot afford to squander our votes. The choice should always be based on the best-qualified person to handle that position, whoever they may be. Sure, favors are expected in a lot of instances, for this is certainly the nature of politics.

However, no one should ever allow their selection to be motivated by emotions over capabilities. In your choice, it should be a prerequisite that candidates are able to deal with the job description over who they know and/or how much money they can raise.

Voting is not a popularity contest.

Choices have to be about the candidate having the correct skill set and strategic principle, thinking that can match the demands of the position. Being proficient in one area does not qualify anyone for a job. The need for qualified results is of high priority. Thus, your mindset in your choices has to match the needs at hand.

Politics are so polluted that the ones who suffer and end up down the rabbit hole lost in oblivion the most are the elderly, young, and misinformed. Ask yourself — not with your heart nor with personal gain in mind — who we need most to pull us up out of decay, hopelessness and the seemingly imminent destruction of the society that we exist in at this juncture in life.

More emphasis has to be placed on understanding what has to be done and who can best address it.

Further, we cannot rely on book knowledge alone because it takes both intellect, theoretical ideas and community input to govern. What’s learned in the classroom at times is not applicable to real-life challenges. Put it this way, if something has not worked in the past what makes you think it will work to address the future?

Our thinking must evolve with the times. Old ideas and methods must equally be updated in order to successfully correct things that have changed for the worst. We must rely on solution-based thinking that uses a logical approach to successfully deal with contradictions. This also applies to voting for measures, bills, reforms, and all things that affect our daily lives.

I am not telling you who to vote for or what policy measures to choose.

What I am recommending, however, is to always pick the best person qualified and the measure and laws that support what is needed for community progress.

Election Day is upon us now.

Go to the polls with confidence.

If not, we all suffer, and uncertainty continues to rule. Let hope and faith guide you, not indecision and misguided loyalty to a scheme based on uncertainty.

Formerly Incarcerated Giving Back (FIGB) is highly encouraging fellow members with similar backgrounds to register and vote as well as have family members do the same.

Take a selfie and contact the Oakland Post to verify that you and your extended family members have voted. This election is about better living wages, sheltering the unsheltered and stamping out injustices.

Your vote is your voice. Go to your County offices, polling places or your post office to turn in your ballot. Voteless is essentially a vote for hopelessness!

FIGB refuses to be denied restorative justice: we want our voices heard. We want solutions. We want affordable housing. We want an end to violence. We have long been ignored, overlooked, and denied the benefits of democracy, but we can and must make a demand through voting.

An example of the true power of the vote is in Ferguson, Missouri. After the killing of Michael Brown in 2014, the town got together and voted the sheriff, mayor, and police chief out of office.

So, spread the word via Facebook, Instagram, and all social media outlets.

I attended the Mr. Fab/SoulBeat Election Town Hall at Dezi’s to stand in firm solidarity to vote for freedom, justice, and equality.

FIGB has joined with our churches, community leaders, and nonprofit organizations to knock on doors, make calls and use social media to vote like our lives depended on it. Because it does.

And in this time of racism, violence, miseducation and homelessness, voting is needed more than ever.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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

Published

4 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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Activism

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

4 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.”

Oakland Post

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Activism

WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

5 days 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.