Commentary

COMMENTARY: Robert F. Smith’s Morehouse and the call for self-sufficiency

SOUTH FLORIDA TIMES — Dozens of white parents were recently accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to get their children into Ivy League universities. Such luxury is not available to African Americans, even if they were so inclined. Elijah Dormeus’ father died when he was 7 and he and his eight siblings were raised by a single mother in Harlem, N.Y., USA TODAY reported. His student loan debt to attend Morehouse College totaled $100,000. Brandon Manor also owed $100,000 and John Cooper, $98,000. But their loans will be paid off because another rich person saw a different way to use his wealth.

Published

6 years ago

June 12, 2019

Mohamed Hamaludin

By Mohamed Hamaludin

Dozens of white parents were recently accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes to get their children into Ivy League universities. Such luxury is not available to African Americans, even if they were so inclined. Elijah Dormeus’ father died when he was 7 and he and his eight siblings were raised by a single mother in Harlem, N.Y., USA TODAY reported. His student loan debt to attend Morehouse College totaled $100,000. Brandon Manor also owed $100,000 and John Cooper, $98,000. But their loans will be paid off because another rich person saw a different way to use his wealth.

Robert F. Smith, 56, whose fortune, at $5 billion, makes him the richest African American — and one of only two African American billionaires – the other being retired basketball player Michael Jordan – was delivering Morehouse’s commence address on May 19 when he suddenly announced that he will pay off the debt of the entire class, which could be up to $40 million.

The Detroit Free Press reported that, in 2017, the average student debt at Morehouse, the Atlanta-based men’s college, where tuition, room and board cost about $48,000, is $31,833 and eight in 10 students have loans. The New York Times reported that, overall, African American graduates owe about $7,400 more than whites. Citing a report from the Brookings Institution, the paper said that, four years after graduation, African Americans still owe an average of $53,000 or twice as much as whites.

Forbes magazine put the number of billionaires in the U.S. at 585 with a total net worth of $2.4 trillion. Andres Viglucci reported in The Miami Herald that “30 fulltime resident billionaires — one of the highest concentrations in the world” live in Miami-Dade and “occupy the top of the pyramid atop deep and widespread poverty, a small and shrinking middle class and a large workforce dependent on poorly paid service jobs.” Viglucci was citing a report, “Toward a More Inclusive Region,” co-authored by urbanist Richard Florida and New York University professor Steven Pedigo for the Miami Urban Future Initiative think tank at Florida International University. The researchers found that the rich-poor gap is worse only in New York City and on par with Panama and Colombia.

Those wealthy people do nothing to help the communities that offer them an oppor tunity to shelter their assets due to Florida’s generous property safeguard laws.

But then Smith seems to have been made from a different mold. He grew up in a predominantly African American community in Colorado, his parents high school principals with doctorates. Wikipedia says that as an infant his mother took him to the March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. The New York Times reported that when he was a child she was sending monthly checks of $25 to the United Negro College Fund.

Smith studied chemical engineering at Cornell University and business administration at Columbia University. After a variety of jobs in finance and technology, he founded Vista Equity Partners in 2000, specializing in buying and selling software companies and managing assets totaling $46 billion. His growing wealth did not pull him from his community but, rather, sharpened his interest in the economic condition and educational opportunities of African Americans.

But his Morehouse gesture is not without critics. “The penny-pinching parents wonder where’s their reward for driving their cars until the vehicles have to be towed off the road,” Michelle Singletary commented in The Washington Post. “What do they get for forgoing expensive vacations so that they could put money in a … college savings plan, thereby eliminating or greatly reducing the need for them or their children to take out student loans?”

Anand Giridharadas, author of “Winners Take All,” told The New York Times that donations such as Smith’s “can make people believe that billionaires are taking care of our problems and distract us from ways in which others in finance are working to cause problems like student debts or the subprime crisis on a epically greater scale than this gift.”

Both may have a point and perhaps Smith should instead have followed the lead of Oprah Winfrey and help those who cannot afford loans or are in danger of dropping out of college. Winfrey donated $1 million to Morehouse 30 years ago to establish a scholarship fund in her name; it has since grown to $12 million.

Still, because of Smith, Elijah Dormeus can now focus on helping his younger brother, Jeremiah, pay for college. Brandon Manor can widen his medical school search and John Cooper can pursue his plan to attend law school.

And Smith had a challenge for the students: “Let’s make sure every class has the same opportunity going forward, because we are enough to take care of our own community. We are enough to ensure we have all of the opportunities of the American dream and we will show it to each other through our actions and through our words and through our deeds.”

Dormeus, for one, plans to do just that. He is hoping to create a foundation to help people pay off their debts and get into college, USA TODAY reported.

This article originally appeared in the South Florida Times

Mohamed Hamaludin

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Alameda County

Council Approves Budget to Invest in Core City Services, Save Fire Stations, Invest in Economic Development

I am most proud of our ability to fund these critical city services without the use of one-time fixes. We are still suffering the consequences of last year’s budget, where a majority of the Council, myself not included, chose to incorporate anticipated proceeds from the sale of the Coliseum to fund essential services. Since the sale has still not yet been completed, the lack of funds led to drastic cuts in city services, including the temporary closure of fire stations, staff layoffs, and the cancellations of many service contracts.

Published

17 hours ago

June 14, 2025

Oakland Post

District 4 Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran. Photo courtesy City of Oakland.

By Janani Ramachandran, District 4 Oakland City Councilmember

On Wednesday, June 11, City Council took a bold step to prioritize investing in essential city services to get our beautiful Town back on track. As Chair of the Finance Committee, I am proud to have led a collaborative process, alongside Councilmembers Rowena Brown, Zac Unger, and Charlene Wang, to develop a set of amendments to the proposed FY 2025-2027 budget which passed successfully with a vote of 6 – 1. Despite facing a $265 million structural budget deficit, we were able to restore funding to ensure that all 25 fire stations remain open, fund 5 police academies, invest millions of dollars to combat illegal dumping and sideshow prevention, improve our permitting processes, fund a “business incentives” program to revitalize our commercial corridors, improve upon our homelessness prevention work, amplify the city’s anti-trafficking programs, re-instate our tree services division, staff up our Auditor’s office – all while preventing any layoffs of city staff, keeping our senior centers and after-school programs open, and crisis services like MACRO funded.

Our budget comes in response to the widespread and consistent calls from across Oakland’s diverse communities asking us to prioritize funding solutions to the issues that have most directly impacted our residents’ safety and quality of life. Our priorities are also inspired by our belief that Oakland is on the way not only to financial recovery, but also to global recognition. Oakland can attract and preserve businesses of all sizes with safer, cleaner streets. We can and will have more large-scale festivals that celebrate our culture, concerts that uplift our incredible local musicians, conferences that attract patrons from across the world, and award-winning restaurants that top national charts. We are on our way to rebuilding a thriving economy and having a cultural renaissance will create more jobs for Oaklanders while also generating more revenue for the City through sales and business taxes.

I am grateful for the close partnership with our new Mayor Barbara Lee, and know that she shares our values of ensuring we are prioritizing keeping Oakland’s residents safe, our streets clean, and our businesses prosperous in an open and fiscally responsible manner. I am also thankful to our City Administrator, Jestin Johnson, and former Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins’ efforts to produce the initial proposal that our Council budget team used as a starting point for our amendments, and for their shared commitment to transparency and ethical government. I am especially grateful for every resident that took the time to make their voice heard throughout this rigorous budget process. I have no doubt that we are on the verge of true change, and that together we will bring Oakland back to being the world-class city I know it can be.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Learning Life’s Lessons

Since his release over five years ago, Richard has committed himself to making a difference, particularly by reaching out to women and families who lack the presence of a father or husband. He knows he cannot undo the years lost behind prison walls, but he is determined to use his past to build a better future for others. His story mirrors that of many who have walked a similar path. Yet, it remains uniquely his own – a testament to the power of change, resilience, and the belief that even from tragedy, something good can emerge.

Published

18 hours ago

June 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Richard Johnson and son Fati. Courtesy photo.

“California’s three-strike laws gave me 2 life sentences for drug possession. After serving 28 years, mostly in solitary confinement, I am free to lead a movement to get the formerly incarcerated to give back.”

By Richard Johnson

I have written this book in hopes of being able to help others from not traveling down the path that leads to imprisonment or a cemetery. At the very beginning of writing this book, it began as a message to my son Fati Yero Gaidi, who was only two years old at the time that I was given two life sentences in prison for drug possession, under the newly implemented three-strikes-you-out law. The more that I wrote, the book began to evolve beyond its intended purpose for my son; it became something that any and everyone could utilize on their separate journeys through life challenges that we encounter. The book helped me put my thoughts, reasoning, perceptions, and views on display, while opening doors that, for the most part, were closed. The book can be purchased via Amazon. Learning life lessons.

About the Author

By Post staff

Richard “Razor” Johnson, 74, is a man whose life journey is marked by hard-earned wisdom, redemption, and an unshakable commitment to guiding the next generation. Once sentenced to life under California’s Three Strikes Law, he was released through what he calls nothing short of divine intervention. His time behind bars, particularly in Pelican Bay State Prison, gave him a new raw and unfiltered understanding of life’s hardest truths.

With the realization that time is precious and the future is shaped by the lessons we learn, Richard writes with urgency and purpose. His book—a 300-page labor of love—is dedicated to young men who may not have a father to teach them the meaning of life’s most important words. Through definitions filled with wisdom, experience, and deep personal insight, he offers direction to those who find themselves lost, just as he once was.

His words are not just lessons; they are a call to action. He hopes that by investing in young minds with wisdom and insight, they will be better equipped to navigate life’s trials, learn from their mistakes, and find their path to success. Richard “Razor” Johnson writes not just to be heard, but to help – because he knows firsthand that sometimes guidance can make all the difference.

Post publishers Paul and Gay Cobb visited Johnson in San Quentin and attended his graduation while he was in prison. He became a columnist with the Post News Group and has continued his advocacy for the formerly incarcerated by urging them to “give something back”. Johnson says he will be speaking at prisons, colleges, and media outlets to help organize voter registration and community service projects.

Oakland Post

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Activism

LA to the Bay: Thousands Protest in Mission District Against Immigration Raids, Travel Bans

Activists and allies alike gathered outside of the 24th Street Mission BART Station and City Hall to denounce the increased immigration raids happening in L.A. and Donald Trump’s decision to send hundreds of National Guard members to control protesters.

Published

19 hours ago

June 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Protestors walking the streets of San Francisco’s Mission District. Thousands of people walked in a protest against the increased immigration raids across the country and unrest in Los Angeles. Photo by Magaly Muñoz

By Magaly Muñoz

Thousands of people walked the streets of San Francisco’s Mission District Monday evening in protest of the recent ICE raids across California, and the escalating tensions brought by military intervention in Los Angeles over the last week.

San Francisco non-profit Mission Action announced the protest plan Sunday night and led the amped crowd in cheers against anti-immigrant hate.

“La gente unida, no será vencida!” and “Move ICE, get out the Bay” chants were heard for a mile from 24th Street to 16th Street Mission BART and back around towards Valencia Street.

District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder attended the evening protest and applauded the community for their resilience in the streets over the last two days.

Protestors holding a Mexican flag for a rally in San Francisco. Thousands of people gathered at 24th Street Mission BART Station to participate in a protest about the increased immigration raids across the country. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

“It’s up to every single legislator [to stand up for the community], but first and foremost, the people, you all are gonna be the ones to make sure that Trump, ICE, and the military do not set foot in the Mission,” Fielder said to the crowd.

Fielder, along with two other Supervisors, also spoke at a press conference earlier in the day in front of City Hall with other officials and community leaders about the travel ban that went into effect last Wednesday and the immigration arrests from the week before. Speakers also denounced the more than 150 arrests made by local police during a protest Sunday night.

District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton said it was the public’s moral obligation to disobey unjust laws.

A protester holding an upside-down American flag at an anti-ICE and travel ban press conference in front of San Francisco City Hall. Thousands of people marched through the Mission District to protest against the increase in immigration raids across the state. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

“The systemic oppression that has taken place now in the U.S. to remove our constitutional rights to assemble, to protest, to fight against moral and unjust rules and policies is put in place to tear us apart and to promote fear in everyone,” Walton said.

Around 15 people were detained by ICE at the immigration court last week, and at least half a dozen more by the time this story was published, immigration lawyers reported.

A new travel ban has also barred people from 12 countries, mostly from Africa and the Middle East, because the Trump administration said they “pose a very high risk to the United States.”

Community leaders said this action is continued discrimination against Black and Middle Eastern immigrants who are seeking opportunities in America.

An immigration lawyer urged people at the press conference to stay calm and meet peacefully because federal officials were going to be looking for reasons to escalate the tensions and arrest residents for simply attending protests.

“We have to remind ourselves; we all have a history. Our families survived discrimination before,” she said. “We will survive this, too. So long as we don’t let them divide us. Let’s fight this together.”