Economics

Community Groups Break Ground on Center for Job Training and Restorative Justice

Published

6 years ago

December 8, 2017

The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Restaurant Opportunities Center United (ROC United) held a groundbreaking rally and press conference Wednesday to announce the construction of Restore Oakland, a community advocacy and training center in the Fruitvale neighborhood of East Oakland.

Restore Oakland is designed to mobilize Bay Area community members to transform the current economic and justice systems and make a safe and secure future possible for themselves and for their families.

“We’re thrilled to break ground on a project born out of our dream for an Oakland where everyone belongs and thrives,” said Zachary Norris, executive director of Ella Baker Center.

“Restore Oakland will work toward one Oakland where zip codes no longer determine how we live and each resident can access dignity, hope, and opportunity,” he said.

“In a community where mass incarceration and economic injustice are harming our families, loved ones, and neighbors, Restore Oakland will be one central space where everyone can dream, organize, and act—together,” said Liam Chinn, executive director of Restore Oakland.

The center will offer:

Job training and placement – hands-on training through Colors Restaurant and placement services to help workers advance to livable-wage jobs;
Business incubation – support working people to incubate and launch their own worker-owned food enterprise;
Restorative justice – serve as a neighborhood space where community members can resolve and heal from conflict, offering an alternative to punishment and incarceration; and,
Community and economic power building – community organizing and community self-determination to drive investment in jobs, housing, and education.

Founding organizations Ella Baker Center and ROC United are working in partnership with Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, Community Works West, Causa Justa/Just Cause, Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY), La Cocina, and many other local groups to establish the Restore Oakland center, located at the corner of International Boulevard and 34th Avenue.

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Business

Black Business Summit Focuses on Equity, Access and Data

The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship. Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.

Published

4 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA), answers questions from concerned entrepreneurs frustrated with a lack of follow-up from the state. January 24, 2024 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, Lost Angeles, Calif. Photo by Solomon O. Smith

By Solomon O. Smith, California Black Media

The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship.

Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA) was a guest at the event. He told attendees about his department’s efforts to increase access for Black business owners.

“One thing I’m taking away from this for sure is we’re going to have to do a better job of connecting through your chambers of all these opportunities of billions of dollars that are coming down the pike. I’m honestly disappointed that people don’t know, so we’ll do better,” said Omishakin.

Lueathel Seawood, the president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of San Joaquin County, expressed frustration with obtaining federal contracts for small businesses, and completing the process. She observed that once a small business was certified as DBE, a Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, there was little help getting to the next step.

Omishakin admitted there is more work to be done to help them complete the process and include them in upcoming projects. However, the high-speed rail system expansion by the California High-Speed Rail Authority has set a goal of 30% participation from small businesses — only 10 percent is set aside for DBE.

The importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in economics was reinforced during the “State of the California Economy” talk led by author and economist Julianne Malveaux, and Anthony Asadullah Samad, Executive Director of the Mervyn Dymally African American Political and Economic Institute (MDAAPEI) at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Assaults on DEI disproportionately affect women of color and Black women, according to Malveaux. When asked what role the loss of DEI might serve in economics, she suggested a more sinister purpose.

“The genesis of all this is anti-blackness. So, your question about how this fits into the economy is economic exclusion, that essentially has been promoted as public policy,” said Malveaux.

The most anticipated speaker at the event was Janice Bryant Howroyd known affectionately to her peers as “JBH.” She is one of the first Black women to run and own a multi-billion-dollar company. Her company ActOne Group, is one of the largest, and most recognized, hiring, staffing and human resources firms in the world. She is the author of “Acting Up” and has a profile on Forbes.

Chairman of the board of directors of the California African American Chamber of Commerce, Timothy Alan Simon, a lawyer and the first Black Appointments Secretary in the Office of the Governor of California, moderated. They discussed the state of Black entrepreneurship in the country and Howroyd gave advice to other business owners.

“We look to inspire and educate,” said Howroyd. “Inspiration is great but when I’ve got people’s attention, I want to teach them something.”