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Community Concern Grows Over Fate of Geoffrey’s and Black Arts District

At stake for many people in Oakland, who spoke with the Post about what this vote could mean for the city’s future, is whether the culture and heritage of Oakland’s Black community will be honored and maintained and whether Geoffrey’s club will be allowed to flourish in an economic environment that is hostile to small business and in which everything is subservient to gentrification and the interests of corporate market-rate real estate interests.

Published

4 months ago

January 2, 2024

Oakland Post

By Ken Epstein

Many members of the Oakland community are expressing worry and anger in the wake of the Oakland City Council meeting last week, where council members came up with a tie vote on whether to protect Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, a longtime entertainment venue and cultural institution at 410 14^th St., from the construction of a 27-story, high-end residential tower within inches of his building.

Now, the City Charter allows Mayor Sheng Thao to attend the next council meeting, Jan. 16, to break the tie vote, if she chooses to intervene.

The conflict over Geoffrey’s and the Black Arts district only reached the Oakland City Council Dec. 17 after working its way through the city’s planning process for several years.

As a result of decisions of the city’s planning staff and Planning Commission, which according to many observers tilt heavily in favor of huge corporate developers, the planning commission had approved two alternative development proposals submitted for the same site by San Francisco-based developer Tidewater Corporation, one for an office tower and another for a residential tower.

At the Council, following hours of debate and many speakers, most of whom were strongly in favor of Geoffrey and opposed to Tidewater’s proposals, council members voted unanimously to uphold Geoffrey’s first challenge to the Office Tower and split their votes on whether to approve the second proposal for a residential development.

The city attorney’s office ruled that there was in effect a tie vote. Therefore, according to the attorney, Mayor Sheng Thao was eligible but not required to break the tie at the next council meeting.

Tina Muriel, speaking at the council meeting on behalf of Geoffrey’s, presented a series of flaws in Tidewater’s proposal for the development. She explained that Geoffrey’s is identified as a national historic resource, with a designation similar to Coit Tower and the Painted Ladies in San Francisco. The city is supposed to protect and preserve such historic resources, which Oakland has not done. She also demonstrated that part of Tidewater’s proposal would require making alterations to Geoffrey’s building, which he has not agreed to do. Further, dozens of studies indicate that residential development drives out entertainment venues, a problem for which other cities have instituted safeguards preventing residential development in close proximity to entertainment.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

1 day ago

April 26, 2024

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

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1 week ago

April 19, 2024

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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

1 week 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.”