Activism

COMMENTARY: The Vote to Deny the Deniers

There is no doubt that Joe Biden was elected in 2020. By any legitimate measure, the vote has withstood challenges and been upheld. Yet, when voters were asked, “Do you believe Joe Biden was legitimately elected president back in 2020?” Sixty-three percent of voters said yes. And a whopping 34% said no.A third of voters are election deniers, all according to a CNN exit poll.

Published

1 year ago

November 15, 2022

Oakland Post

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. His web show is on www.amok.com

By Emil Guillermo

Congressional elections remind us why we live where we live. At least in the Bay Area.

California, a safe Blue zone for the Senate, is a super-solid Blue when it comes to the Bay Area.

You won’t see Alameda’s Barbara Lee sweating the midterms.

She sought a 12th term this week and it was practically automatic.

She won in 2020 with over 92% of the vote, and this year anyone running against her is considered a masochist in need of a landslide.

That’s good for Lee and her constituents. No one is going to chase out your rep.

But is that good for democracy? Wouldn’t a little competition help sometime? Bite your tongue.

Let Lee die in Congress if she wants. She’s represented the East Bay well.

It’s the 434 other House seats we’ve got to worry about.

And that’s the problem. We’re good about Alameda County. But the country?

Republicans could easily wrest away the majority in the House with dozens of seats considered coinflips.

And in the Senate, it would take just one seat to flip for Republicans to gain control.

As I write, the results are still trickling in.

But the first national exit polls tell you why our democracy is in trouble.

There is no doubt that Joe Biden was elected in 2020. By any legitimate measure, the vote has withstood challenges and been upheld.

Yet, when voters were asked, “Do you believe Joe Biden was legitimately elected president back in 2020?”

Sixty-three percent of voters said yes.

And a whopping 34% said no.

A third of voters are election deniers, all according to a CNN exit poll.

On top of that, when asked “Democracy in the U.S. is…”

“Somewhat threatened,” said 33% in the exit poll.

But “Very threatened,” was the sentiment of 37%.

Seventy percent of the voters sensed some threat.

Voters know something is wrong. Let’s hope they voted to deny the deniers.

Fighting Lies, Denials and Misinformation

As America voted, it’s a little more than a week after the SCOTUS affirmative action hearing.

But why bury a good wedge when it’s still hot?

Democracy deniers out there aren’t ready to quit a little fear-mongering to rile up the conservative base.

One Asian American voter brought to my attention a flyer used in the closing days of the campaign.

The hit piece screams the claim “Joe Biden and Left-Wing officials are engaged in widespread racial discrimination against WHITE and ASIAN AMERICANS.”

It’s 100% false but backed up by out-of-context headlines from right-wing news sources.

But the hit piece shares the formula put forth by anti-civil rights activist Ed Blum, the mastermind behind the Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) attack on race-conscious admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina.

And since they’ve ridden this from the lower courts all the way to the Supreme Court for years, other conservative anti-civil rights folks are willing to steal the approach.

People like the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant advisor Stephen Miller.

He’s proudly started something called America First Legal, a right-wing group intending to be the conservative answer to the American Civil Liberties Union.

No one will ever mistake the ACLU with this new-fangled AFL which believes that spreading lies as truth under the guise of free speech is part of the American way.

Sounds like good ole Republican rhetoric.

But the AFL is sending out this racist propaganda piece to voters mostly on East Coast.

Will it be a thing going forward? Asian Americans being allied with whites in all things regarding race?

It’s pure misinformation used to split apart our BIPOC diversity coalitions and deny all of us a true sense of democracy.

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. See his show on www.amok.com

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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

Published

6 days ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

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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

7 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.”

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WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

1 week 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.