Activism

COMMENTARY: The World Needs More Voices of Peace and Love

In these times, our focused attention on life and death history in the world can only be interrupted by more history. That’s what happened when we paused last week for a major breakthrough for democracy in America. Ketanji Brown Jackson is the new 116th Associate Supreme Court Justice of the United States.

Published

4 years ago

April 19, 2022

Oakland Post

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He does a talk show on www.amok.com

Emil hosts “Emil Amok’s Takeout,” at 2 p.m. Pacific on Facebook; his YouTube Channel; and Twitter. Catch the recordings on www.amok.com.

By Emil Guillermo

The killing will not be paused for the holy days.

And so, the cities of Bucha and Kramatorsk and Mariupol must be top of mind as the war crimes and atrocities committed by Russia in Ukraine command the focus of the free world.

It’s the kind of violence that overshadows all. Not just globally, but in our nation and cities. Six people were killed in Sacramento in a nightclub shooting two weeks ago. Didn’t hear about it? Too local compared with tens of thousands of people killed in Ukraine. Not unless it’s a subway shooting in New York. And then the media capital can’t resist.

In these times, our focused attention on life and death history in the world can only be interrupted by more history.

That’s what happened when we paused last week for a major breakthrough for democracy in America.

Ketanji Brown Jackson is the new 116th Associate Supreme Court Justice of the United States.

The Good History

By a 53-47 vote, the high-water mark of bipartisanship in our dismally divided country, Jackson has been confirmed by the Senate and will take Justice Stephen Breyer’s seat upon his retirement this June.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D.-Ill.) set the scene before the historic vote.

Of 115 who served on the court, there have been just five women, two Blacks, and no Black women, said Leahy.

It was the definition of the privilege of white supremacy in our history.

No one has looked like Ketanji Brown Jackson Not on the highest court in the land.

Durbin added more historical context. When the Supreme Court first met in the Capitol in 1801, he pointed out there were 1 million enslaved people in a nation of 5 million people. And neither Blacks nor white women had a constitutional right to vote. Black women had no place in the court, and could only come in at night to clean, he said.

Durbin briefly touched on the evolution of America, from the bloody Civil War to the decades-long efforts to break down racial barriers.

And now a new chapter.

“And that chapter begins with three letters, KBJ,” said Durbin. “Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the highest court in the land.”

Durbin then recalled how in that week, 54 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King was shot and killed in Memphis. He quoted from King’s speech at the Mason Temple on April 3, 1968: “I’ve looked over and I’ve seen the promise land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promise land.”

And now, in a way, we have. But we have still some work to do.

Oakland Remembers April 4

If you were at an Oakland Public Library on April 4, you know Dr. King was remembered for another speech he gave in 1967. At New York City’s Riverside Church, King delivered words that merged the peace movement with the Civil Rights Movement.

King was concerned that Blacks and whites were fighting and dying together in Vietnam “for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools.”

And then he connected violence there with the violence at home.

“I knew I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today — my own government,” said King. “I cannot be silent.”

We need that voice again today.

King called for a “genuine revolution of values,” a call for “world-wide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one’s tribe, race, class, nation.” It is “a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all men.” And King saw it not as a sign of weakness, but one that has “become an absolute necessity for the survival of man.”

Where are the voices for peace and love today?

At some point, fighting wars with sanctions has nothing to do with peace, and everything to do with a more acceptable instrument of war. Will sanctions get Putin to peace talks? Not before he shells entire towns and kills thousands of people.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is arming up Ukraine, feeding a DIY war that it insists it isn’t fighting. Is it enough to say the West is less irrational than Putin?

Maybe this Easter, we’ll hear more people talk about MLK’s anti-war speech.

Yes, Vietnam is not Ukraine. But U.S. restraint is motivated by avoiding boots on the ground. Not about avoiding needless death. Just this week tens of thousands have died in Ukraine. There are the mass graves in Bucha. The missile attack of the train station in Kramatorsk. The near destruction of the city of Mariupol with the civilian death toll estimated in the thousands.

The holy days are upon us. We must begin to hear voices for peace.

Note: Emil hosts “Emil Amok’s Takeout,” at 2 p.m. Pacific on Facebook; his YouTube Channel; and Twitter. Catch the recordings on www.amok.com.

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The Ladies of Delta Sigma Theta Hold Day of Advocacy at the Capitol in Sacramento

A member of the “Divine Nine,” Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., was founded on Jan. 13, 1913, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The organization was established by 22 women who sought to shift the group’s focus from social activities to public service, academic excellence, and social activism.

Published

4 days ago

May 17, 2026

Oakland Post

Sen. Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro) presents a Senate resolution to the Delta Theta Sigma Sorority Farwest Region at the State Capitol on May 4. Photo courtesy of the Senate Rules Committee.

By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media

On May 4, members of the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., convened at the California State Capitol for the organization’s 23rd annual Delta Days in Sacramento.

The two-day advocacy event brings together chapters from across California to engage directly in the legislative process, connect with lawmakers, and advocate for policies impacting Black communities.

Members of the sorority were honored on the Senate floor by Sen. Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro), who is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta.

Richardson welcomed the Farwest Region during the presentation of a Senate resolution recognizing outgoing Regional Director Kimberly Usher for her leadership and service.

“In addition to the Far West Region, we are led by a fearless leader, regional director Kimberly Usher. She has now served her full term of what’s allowed,” Richardson said. “We are going to be having our regional conference, but we wanted to give it to her here, officially recognizing her service.”

The resolution was co-authored by Richardson and fellow members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) and Delta Sigma Theta, Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego) and Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom (D-Stockton).

Usher has served in the leadership role since 2022.

“We are founded on sisterhood that is deeply rooted in scholarship, service, and social action,” said Weber Pierson, a member of the Gamma Alpha chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

“Today, we continue a legacy of empowering communities and upholding the high cultural, intellectual, and moral standards established by our founders over a century ago,” she added.

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Rep. Kamlager-Dove Introduces Bill to Protect Women in Custody After Reports Detailing Miscarriages and Neglect

The Pregnant Women in Custody Act would expand safeguards beyond the federal prison system to include women detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The proposal follows reports of pregnant women being shackled, denied medical care and suffering miscarriages while in immigration detention.

Published

4 days ago

May 17, 2026

Oakland Post

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By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37) on May 7, reintroduced updated legislation aimed at strengthening protections and healthcare standards for pregnant and postpartum women held in federal custody, including in immigration detention facilities.

The Pregnant Women in Custody Act would expand safeguards beyond the federal prison system to include women detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The proposal follows reports of pregnant women being shackled, denied medical care and suffering miscarriages while in immigration detention.

The legislation builds on a bipartisan version previously passed by the House during the 117th Congress. The updated bill includes new standards for healthcare access, mental health and substance use treatment, high-risk pregnancy care, family unity protections and increased federal oversight.

“Proper pregnancy care is a human right, regardless of your immigration or incarceration status,” Kamlager-Dove said in a statement. “It’s unacceptable that there are virtually no legal safeguards for pregnant women in federal custody.”

The bill would also limit the use of restraints and restrictive housing for pregnant women, improve data collection on maternal health in custody and require additional staff training and enforcement measures.

Supporters of the measure said the legislation is intended to address long-standing concerns about maternal healthcare and safety in detention settings, particularly for Black women and low-income women who are disproportionately impacted by incarceration and health disparities.

“Pregnant women in custody should never be subjected to dangerous and inhumane treatment that threatens their health, dignity, or the well-being of their babies,” said Patrice Willoughby, chief of policy and legislative affairs for the NAACP and a longtime public policy and government affairs strategist, in a statement.

A 2021 report estimated there are about 58,000 admissions of pregnant women into U.S. jails and prisons each year. Kamlager’s statement also cited a recent investigation by NBC News and Bloomberg Law that identified allegations of severe mistreatment or medical neglect involving at least 54 pregnant women or families in county jails between 2017 and 2024.

Federal policy under the Department of Homeland Security restricts the detention of pregnant, postpartum and nursing immigrants except in extreme cases. However, the agency reported that ICE deported 363 pregnant, postpartum or nursing women between January 2025 and February 2026, including 16 recorded miscarriages during that period.

The bill is cosponsored by several House Democrats and backed by organizations including the NAACP and the Vera Institute of Justice.

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OPINION: The Fire of Oakland’s Justin Jones

Jones made headlines three years ago when he was one of a pair of Justins. Along with fellow State Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), he fought their removal from the state house in Tennessee and won reinstatement. Now, Pearson is running for Congress and Jones is still fighting for all of us.

Published

4 days ago

May 17, 2026

Oakland Post

Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville). File photo.

By Emil Amok Guillermo

You may know Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville).

He grew up in Oakland and the East Bay. His mother is Filipino. You can tell by his full name Justin Shea Bautista Jones.

His father is African American.

He is fighting for all of us.

Now, Pearson is running for Congress and Jones is still fighting for all of us.

The recent 6-3 Supreme Court decision barring the use of race in drawing congressional districts marks a major turning point in U.S. history.

The decision took away the Voting Rights Act’s power to assure minority voices were both heard and represented.

“What we’re seeing now is this new Jim Crow system in which Black and Brown communities are without voice in our political process,” he told Fredricka Whitfield on CNN last weekend.

“That’s a canary in the coal mine for the rest of the nation. If they come for one of us, they’re coming for all of us, and some of my message to America is that the South is the front line of democracy,” Jones said. “They are dismantling multi-racial democracy here in the South, in states like Tennessee and Louisiana. But they aren’t going to stop here.”

That’s why Jones said we have to start paying attention to the South, and start helping them fight back there,” he said.

“I want to be clear that this terror, this type of system they’re enacting, are the same systems my grandparents told me about who grew up in Tennessee, a system where people like me couldn’t even be in political office. That’s the time they’re bringing us back to and I’m not sounding the alarm to be alarmist. But I am sounding it because we’ve seen this before in our history.”

Jones talked about Reconstruction and about what happened between the end of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1960s, when there was no Black political representation.

It’s a rebellion to keep our democracy going forward, he said.

“Stand with us and help us fight back against this extremist power grab — this racist power grab against our vision of a multi-racial democracy,” Jones added.

“While there is a litigation strategy, it’s important to maintain what he called a “movement strategy” that leads to the largest voter mobilization and registration that has ever been seen in the South,” he encouraged.

In 2026.

“Tennessee is an oppressed state,” Jones said. “It’s a state where one in five Black voters can’t vote because of felony disenfranchisement. It is where you can use a gun permit to vote, but you can’t use a student ID card to vote.

That’s the Asian American African American voice of Justin Jones.

Read his words for inspiration.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a veteran journalist, commentator, and comic stage monologist. His new show “69, Emil Amok: Anchorman—The News Made Me Do It,” is at the San Diego Fringe at New Destiny/Lincoln Park, 4931 Logan Ave. Ste. 102. May 14-23, at various times. Get tickets here.