Activism

Community Day Staff Fear School Site May Be Slated for Housing Development

“Board President Gary Yee has been open about his desire to look at the Community Day School site as a possible location for the creation of educator housing,” Sasaki wrote in an email to The Oakland Post. “He continues to explore that idea.” Yee visited the site during school hours on February 25. Joshua Simon, whose work history includes real estate development and consulting for non-profit organizations, accompanied him.

Published

4 years ago

March 20, 2022

Zack Haber

Caption: A sign outside of Community Day School's campus. Photo by Zack Haber on March 6.

By Zack Haber

Staff who work at Community Day School, which Oakland Unified School District’s Board has scheduled for closure at the end of the academic year, expressed frustration to The Oakland Post about the possibility of the site’s campus being developed into housing. According to OUSD Director of Communication John Sasaki, Board president Gary Yee has been looking to develop the site.

Yee visited the site during school hours on February 25. Joshua Simon, whose work history includes real estate development and consulting for non-profit organizations, accompanied him.

Yee did not respond to two emails requesting his comment on this story that included questions related to his visit to the school. Simon stated that he did not join Yee during the site visit in any professional capacity.

“As a person with a career of working on nonprofit community benefit projects, I am often asked for my advice,” he wrote in an email to The Oakland Post. “In this case, I had no advice to give. I met with Mr. Yee as a private citizen.”

Community Day School Administrative Assistant Sandra Backer said neither Yee nor Simon signed into the school’s visitor logbook. Staff members objected to the duo coming onto campus unannounced and without signing in during school hours.

“It was very disrespectful and showed a disregard for the policy and safety of our school,” said Vernon ‘Trey’ Keeve III an English teacher at Community Day School. “If you’re visiting a public-school ground, the first thing you should do is sign in.”

Rachel Machtinger, a therapist who works at the school said she “felt angry about them thinking they were just entitled to come onto the campus unannounced.”

In an email Yee sent to Community Days’ principal, which was then forwarded to staff, Yee apologized and stated, “It was insensitive of me to come during the school day and without letting you know in advance.”

Keeve speculated that Yee was checking out the land for a possible development project. This upset Keeve, in part because Yee had not visited the school in recent months as the board was considering whether or not to close the school.

“It felt like a blatant slap in the face,” Keeve said. “So, he has time to come by and survey the land but he doesn’t have time to visit us and see the work we do here? When you consider where our campus is located, it would be a great view if anything gets built there?”

Community Day sits in Oakland’s Leona Heights neighborhood, which features a park in a densely forested redwood groove.

To create housing on its 17-acre campus, Community Day would first have to be closed. Staff and a student at the school have spoken out recently against their school’s planned closure, saying that the site serves a unique purpose that can’t be replaced. Community Day is the only school in Oakland where expelled students can attend in person as they work to clear their expulsion with the district.

To lease or sell Community Day’s campus for housing, the district would also need to form a new 7-11 Committee of community members who would then have to declare its campus as surplus property. There is a recent history of the district forming such a committee, declaring OUSD property as surplus, and then leasing property for housing.

A 7-11 Committee was formed in 2019 and met from May through December of that year. In 9-1 and 6-4 decisions, that committee voted to declare two vacant OUSD properties, a former adult school and a former child development center, as “surplus.” On June 30 of last year, OUSD’s Board then voted 5-2, with Yee voting yes, to lease these properties for 65 years to Eagle Environmental Construction Inc., a private company that plans to construct market rate units, a job training site for residents, and subsidized housing. The lease stipulates at least half of housing units will be set aside for OUSD employees. Members of Oakland Education Association and SEIU Local 1021 spoke out against the lease during that meeting.

Machtinger, along with Keeve, expressed displeasure at the idea of turning Community Day’s campus into housing and coupling that plan with educator housing. Machtinger felt that profit could be a main motivating factor in such a development.

“It feels dubious to me because it’s such attractive real estate,” she said.

Keeve felt that creating educator housing wouldn’t address the root cause of teachers not making a livable wage in Oakland.

“If there’s ever something capitalism would do, it would be to create ‘teacher housing,’” they said. “Teachers should just be paid a livable wage for the places they live in. It seems like a weird band-aid to put on that gaping wound.”

Keeve said they thought living in “teacher housing” would make it difficult to create a separation between work and leisure. They wouldn’t want to live around a group of people who do the same job as them because it would remind them of work.

“I love my colleges and collaborating with other educators while I’m at work,” they said. “But I also create boundaries.”

These days, the future of Community Day remains unclear, Yee has not publicly declared any plans to pursue housing on the site, and Keeve remains focused on teaching.

“Right now, I just want the students to have a good time and get the things they need before the school year ends, and this place could close down,” they said.

Recently, thousands of community members have been pushing back against school closures in Oakland, including Community Day’s. Since five Board directors, including Yee, voted to formally request the district recommend a list of schools for consolidation in mid-January, they’ve seen pushback from staff, parents, students and community members in the form of protests, teacher and student walkouts, a hunger strike, and over a thousand e-comments and comments against closures before and during meetings.

The community has specifically objected to the closures disproportionate effect on Black and Latinx students. Two Board directors, Mike Hutchinson and VanCedric Williams, have also repeatedly voted against closures. During meetings last month, despite the pushback, the board voted to close, merge or downsize 11 schools over the next two years and then voted against a resolution to delay considering closures set to occur at end of this school year for an additional year.

After the votes, pushback has continued in the hopes that school closures still can be stopped. On March 5, hundreds took to the streets to protest the planned closure of Oakland schools. Oakland’s Education Association is also continuing to pursue legal action to stop the closures by filing an unfair labor practice charge accusing the district of violating a deal they reached in 2019 that requires a one year engagement process before any closures can occur.

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At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses. The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Published

7 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, was one of the speakers at the event. Photo by Shellee Fisher Photography and Design.

By Calvin Naito, Special to The Post

On June 4, a national nonprofit named the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP) – which aims to increase public construction contracting opportunities for small and historically underutilized businesses – held a day-long event in downtown San Francisco to rally supporters and build momentum to its cause.

It was attended by more than 100 individuals from public agencies, private firms, and other organizations committed to increasing contracting opportunities with governmental agencies, thereby creating more competition and lowering public costs.

The EIP event was held the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in conjunction with BuildIT, which aims to increase contracting opportunities for LGBT-owned businesses.

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses.

The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Following the workshop, BuildIT hosted a VIP evening reception honoring EIP, whose principals – Phil Washington, John Procari, and Rick Jacobs – accepted the award.

The event also set in motion the coalition’s efforts to implement recommendations from EIP’s “Procurement for Prosperity: A Playbook.”

The Playbook is a practical guide for public agency leaders and procurement and contracting practitioners to grow the capacity of small and first-time contractors, strengthen competition, and deliver better value for taxpayers.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), a long-time EIP supporter, also told attendees, “This is about commitment. This has been a life’s work. This is a tailwind moment.”

The event’s presenting sponsor was Hub International, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the nation, which was joined by partners Travelers Insurance and the State Compensation Insurance Fund.

After the pledge-signing ceremony, attendees participated in a workshop in which they examined the policies, practices, and programs needed to meet EIP goals, learned from practitioners, and identified next steps toward utilizing the Playbook.

Ingrid Meriwether, formerly of Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services (MWIS) and current president of Hub International’s Aligned Risk Management, MWIS, described the hard-fought lessons she and her MWIS team have learned over the last three decades administering contractor development programs (CDPs) for the City and County of San Francisco, Alameda County, City of Los Angeles, LA Metro, and other municipalities.

The CDPs help small and local construction firms win public infrastructure contracts with these government agencies. The program provides bonding assistance, contract financing, technical support, training, and other services to underrepresented businesses funded by public agencies who seek greater contracting participation with these firms.

Merriwether said programs like these “break down systemic barriers, create greater fairness, and save taxpayers money by enabling more competition. The contractor development programs have, cumulatively, over two decades, helped contractors access over $1 billion in bonding, supporting over $380 million in awarded contracts, and maintaining a loss ratio 250 times lower than the industry average – while saving participating municipalities more than $27 million in contracting costs as a result of enabling more competition.”

Rick Jacobs, EIP co-founder and co-chair urged attendees make plans to meet again in the near future “to continue building on this work, share progress on organizational commitments, and discuss how we can collectively advance the goals of the EIP pledge.”

For more information on the EIP and to access a copy of the Playbook, go online to https://equityininfrastructure.org/

Calvin Naito is communications manager for Equity in Infrastructure Project.

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Oakland Museum Presents Landmark Retrospective Celebrating Beloved Bay Area Artist Mildred Howard

“Poetics of Memory” coincides with a year of major recognition for Howard. In 2026, she received the California Arts Council’s 50th Anniversary Award, honoring artists whose work has shaped California’s cultural and civic life, as well as the Museum of the African Diaspora’s Artist Impact Award. In 2025, she was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in recognition of her transformative contributions to American cultural life.

Published

7 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Mildred Howard. Photo by Christine Cueto for the Oakland Museum of California, 2025.

Special to The Post

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) opened “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory,” the first major museum survey of Bay Area artist Mildred Howard, on June 12.

The exhibition spans five decades of Howard’s influential work, bringing together immersive installations, found-object sculptures, archival materials, and new commissions that explore memory, identity, and power in American life.

Howard was born in San Francisco in 1945 and raised in the East Bay, where she went on to study Afro-Haitian dance, make and sell clothing, and experiment with collage and sculpture.

Her multimedia art practice emerged from these experiences, later becoming associated with West Coast conceptual art, San Francisco funk, and a vibrant community of artists like Oliver Jackson, Betye Saar, and Raymond Saunders. Since the 1970s, she has used found materials and family stories to explore memory—both individual and collective.

At OMCA, visitors enter “Poetics of Memory” through a series of intimate galleries featuring Howard’s early mixed-media pieces and sculptures, along with a large video projection of a number of her public artworks.

Together, they emphasize Howard’s interest in everyday objects as powerful carriers of individual and shared stories. Highlights include collages that remix images of the artist herself; found-object sculptures like The History of the United States with a few Parts Missing (2007) that address omissions in dominant narratives; and public works like “Locks and Keys for Harry Bridges” (2001) that transform urban space into a meditation on access and labor.

This culminates in a richly detailed “studio” environment, where works in progress, archival exhibition flyers, historic photographs of Howard and her community, postcards from fellow artists, and other materials offer insight into her creative process and daily life.

The exhibition then opens into a high-ceilinged, dramatically lit space that brings together Howard’s signature immersive installations. On one end, “Crossings” (1997/2026) – a field of hundreds of ceramic eggs leading to an ornate mirror – suggests cycles of birth, motherhood, and transition, while drawing on the emotional echoes of the Middle Passage. On the other end, “Blackbird in a Red Sky” (a.k.a. “Fall of the Blood House”) (2002) – a red glass shack bordered by a pond – also uses reflection and transparency to draw viewers into the work and prompt consideration of themes of identity and home.

Howard’s newest video installation, “Moving Stills” (2026), repurposes never-before-seen family footage she took as a teenager on a train trip to the American South. Projected onto cascading layers of translucent fabric that stretch across an entire gallery wall, the piece immerses viewers in a layered meditation on memory, migration, and time.

The “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory” exhibit will be on display through Oct. 11 at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland, CA 94612. Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Fridays to 9 p.m.

This story is sourced from the Oakland Museum of California press office.

Oakland Post

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Stop the Hate Symposium Brings Oakland Together Through Dialogue, Partnership, and Community Healing

More than a meeting and panel discussion, the annual symposium serves as a powerful example of what can happen when neighbors, community leaders, and organizations choose conversation over division, and unity over silence.

Published

7 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Speakers and guests at the annual ‘Stop the Hate Symposium posed with Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council ambassadors. Photo by Marcus Calloway.

By Dr. Maritony Jones, Special to The Post

With the purpose of creating safer, stronger, and more inclusive communities, and in partnership with the Oakland Private Industry Council and other community organizations, the Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council (OCIC) hosted the ‘Stop the Hate Symposium’ on June 13 at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center.

The free event featured keynote speakers, breakout sessions, cultural programming, creating a space where people from many backgrounds sat together with a shared purpose.

The turnout itself reflected the urgency and importance of the topic. The room was packed with community members eager not only to listen, but also to participate. Throughout the event, speakers shared data, personal experiences, research, and practical solutions designed to address hate, violence, social inequity, and community safety.

The keynote panel featured respected leaders and advocates, including Ray Bobbitt, founder of the African American Sports & Entertainment Group (AASEG); Ryan Takemiya from RAMA; Caheri Gutierrez from the Unity Council; honorary guest speaker Oakland City Councilmember at-Large Rowena Brown and City Councilmember Charlene Wang; representatives for Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon, with Gia Vang of NBC serving as moderator.

The symposium also offered multiple breakout sessions that addressed issues affecting communities across Oakland and Alameda County:

Session 1, 2, 3: Building Safer and More Inclusive Communities, led by Pastor Raymond Lankfort, CEO of Oakland Private Industry Council (OPIC), Jessica Kang, research manager for Stop AAPI Hate, Kara Guerra of The Unity Council, and Gabriela delaRiva of the Spanish Speaking Citizens Foundation
Session 4: Talk Story: Collective Healing and Relationship Repair, presented by Ryan Takemiya, executive director of RAMA
Session 5: Sexual Violence Prevention, presented by Tunisia Owens, interim deputy director of Realized Potential
Session 6: Violent Attacks on Teens, presented by MaryAnn Alvarado, program manager of Youth Alive

Every session contributed to an important truth: meaningful change begins within communities, through honest dialogue and a willingness to work together.

One of the strongest themes to emerge from the day was the need to create more conversations and stronger partnerships—not just during times of crisis, but consistently and intentionally. Relationships among organizations, neighborhoods, and community leaders often operate behind the scenes but are not always highlighted or celebrated.

Bobbitt spoke powerfully about this issue, noting that partnerships and relationships often go unrecognized despite being essential to community progress. He pointed to examples such as the partnership between OPIC and OCHIC, emphasizing that these collaborations deserve more visibility, investment, and expansion.

Perhaps his most memorable message resonated deeply throughout the room. Bobbitt explained that when a grandparent is attacked or harmed, the impact extends beyond race or ethnicity because today’s families and communities are increasingly multicultural and interconnected.

“We are not going to see our grandparents as just Latino, Asian, Caucasian, or African American,” he shared in essence. “We are going to see them simply as our grandparents.”

Those words reflected the heart of the symposium. Hate may target one group, but pain and loss are felt by everyone. Likewise, healing and progress are shared responsibilities.

For more information about the Stop The Hate Program visit the website: https://www.oaklandchinatownchamber.org/stop-the-hate (or) https://oaklandpic.or