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Community Leaders Plan $100 Million Investment in East Oakland

A new philanthropic partnership is kicking off a $100 million plan to invest $100 million to enhance the quality of life in a 40-by-40 block area of East Oakland. Rise East is a collective impact initiative that grew out of a community-led vision to develop a Black Cultural Zone in East Oakland almost 10 years ago.

Published

8 months ago

August 31, 2023

Oakland Post

Rise East is a joint effort between the 40x40 Council and Oakland Thrives, which is a network composed of resident leaders, major employers, and representatives of large public agencies, including the City of Oakland and Oakland Unified School District.

By Post Staff

A new philanthropic partnership is kicking off a $100 million plan to invest $100 million to enhance the quality of life in a 40-by-40 block area of East Oakland.

Rise East is a collective impact initiative that grew out of a community-led vision to develop a Black Cultural Zone in East Oakland almost 10 years ago.

The effort is led by community members who were born and raised in East Oakland and is designed to keep Black families in the area and lead to the return of families who were displaced due to economic barriers and systemic disinvestment.

This privately funded initiative will focus on an East Oakland community known as the “40×40,” which runs from Seminary Avenue to the Oakland-San Leandro border and from MacArthur Boulevard to the Bay. This area is home to the largest concentration of Black residents (over 30,000) who remain in Oakland flatland neighborhoods today.

“As young people raised in the area and now serving as leaders, our vision is for a robust and vibrant renaissance in legacy Black communities; vibrant, thriving Black arts, cultural, and commercial areas in a thriving economy and ecosystem powered by collective efforts that assures our inalienable human right to love, health, wellness, belonging, power, safety, and self-determination,” said Carolyn (CJ) Johnson, CEO of the Black Cultural Zone and member of the 40×40 Council, speaking at a press conference Thursday announcing the initiative.

Rise East is a joint effort between the 40×40 Council and Oakland Thrives, which is a network composed of resident leaders, major employers, and representatives of large public agencies, including the City of Oakland and Oakland Unified School District.

“Kaiser Permanente is a proud co-founding member of Oakland Thrives, whose goal is to make Oakland the healthiest city in the nation. We are honored to support the transformational work of Rise East, which will help us realize this shared vision,” said Colin Lacon, East Bay Public Affairs director, Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

Oakland Thrives is working to raise $50 million in local funding, which will be matched by national philanthropic organization Blue Meridian Partners for a total of $100 million in new investment for East Oakland.

Rise East strategies will be implemented over 10 years, beginning in 2024, and fundraising will continue as the work unfolds. More information can be found at www.riseeast.org.

“I applaud the East Oakland community leaders and everyone that has been working tirelessly toward the Rise East initiative and securing this investment in East Oakland,” said Mayor Sheng Thao in a press statement.

“My Administration is committed to working in partnership with this coalition to ensure the resources needed for the health and vitality of our East Oakland residents are provided to address historic inequities and ensure current residents continue to call this community their home,” she said.

Rise East is guided by a 10-Year Plan, which includes a five-part strategy to improve schools, boost economic opportunity, and improve health and wellbeing at the individual, household, neighborhood, and systemic level.

“More than 400 residents contributed their ideas to the plan,” said Oakland Thrives CEO Melanie Moore. “Data on the particular challenges facing East Oakland’s Black community ultimately led participants to make the decision to focus on Black children and families in the 40×40 area as the starting place for this effort.”

Speakers at the press conference at the East Oakland Youth Development Center included East Oakland residents, members of the 40×40 Council, Mayor Sheng Thao, OUSD Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell, and representatives from Oakland Thrives and Kaiser Permanente.

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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

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April 26, 2024

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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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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.”