City Government

Council May Address Racial Discrimination Highlighted in New Race and Gender Disparity Study

Emphasizing the importance of the work on the disparity study, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas told the Oakland Post that the study will allow the City to figure out how to address the “systemic racial discrimination that exists” within the constraints of current laws limiting solutions to discrimination.

Published

5 years ago

January 22, 2021

Kiki

Loren Taylor

Nikki Fortunato Bas

Black people make up 25% of Oakland’s population. Women make up approximately 50%. That means that all of the statistics below should be 25% or above for Black businesses and 50% for women-owned businesses. Instead, this is what we see.

In construction prime contracts in the period from 2011 to 2016, African Americans earned a total of 2.07% of the contracts and a total of 1.13% of the money.
Women-owned businesses received 2.07% of the construction prime contracts and a total of 2.05% of the money.
African-American owned companies earned 1.43% of professional services prime contracts and 1.46% of the money.
Women-owned businesses received 10.36% of professional services prime contracts and 9.8% of the money.
For goods and commodities, African Americans received zero percent of the prime contracts and none of the money.
Women-owned business enterprises received 7.96% of the goods and commodities prime contracts and a total of 9.02% of the money.

As an administrative report to the City Council states, “The City of Oakland is a key player in the Oakland economy through its multi-million dollar purchasing and contracting activities, grants, and informal procurements” and plays a major role to reduce or enforce discrimination in the economic life of the city and its residents.

“The disparity study is incredibly important because it formally documents what many Oaklanders have known to be true – that Black-owned and women-owned businesses face significant structural and institutional barriers that keep them from accessing their “fair share” of City contracting opportunities,” said Councilmember Loren Taylor in an interview with the Oakland Post.

This study is also important because it creates concrete statistics so the city can go to court to defend race-conscious strategies to address these issues, he said.

Taylor continued:

“Discrimination by race and gender are embedded in the very fabric of how we operate as an institution, whether we acknowledge it or not. Government institutions in liberal Bay Area are not immune.”

He quoted Race and Equity Director Darlene Flynn, who says, “If your outcomes are racist, then the system that created those racist outcomes is racist as well.”

“Without a deliberate focus on eliminating race and gender inequity, we perpetuate the same disparities,” said Taylor,

While the discrimination may not be fully conscious or intentional, the effect is devastating.

“Black contractors missed out on tens of millions of dollars during the study period based on their relative availability to do the work,” said Taylor. “Those tens of millions of dollars equate to businesses that didn’t survive, jobs that didn’t get created, and Black and Latino communities that didn’t see the millions of additional dollars that would have otherwise cycled through Black and Brown communities.”

Taylor is proposing three ordinances that will be discussed and acted on by councilmembers in coming weeks.

Among the proposals are detailed changes so that minority trucking companies get city contracts, changing the rules so small businesses become more competitive with larger ones and making it harder for non-Oakland large businesses to call themselves “local businesses.”

She said she would like the City to hold a Zoom roundtable to involve a broad section of the Oakland community to raising the visibility of these issues and craft solutions.

The City hired Mason Tillman Associates in 2017 to complete the study for a total cost of $590,036.25. Required by the City Charter, this is the first study since 2008 examining all prime contracts between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2016. The consulting firm contacted all companies the city hired during this period to learn about the subcontracts they used to determine if they were awarded to minority-owned businesses. The 302-page study also examined the practices impacting who gets contracts and makes recommendations for the future.

For a copy of the disparity study go to Oakland Race and Equity Disparity Study

Kiki

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Activism

Post Newspaper Invites NNPA to Join Nationwide Probate Reform Initiative

The Post’s Probate Reform Group meets the first Thursday of every month via Zoom and invites the public to attend. The Post is making the initiative national and will submit information from its monthly meeting to the NNPA to educate, advocate, and inform its readers.

Published

4 hours ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) represents the Black press with over 200 newspapers nationwide.

Last night the Post announced that it is actively recruiting the Black press to inform the public that there is a probate “five-alarm fire” occurring in Black communities and invited every Black newspaper starting from the Birmingham Times in Alabama to the Milwaukee Times Weekly in Wisconsin, to join the Post in our “Year of Action” for probate reform.

Reporter Tanya Dennis says, “The adage that ‘When America catches a cold, Black folks catch the flu” is too true in practice; that’s why we’re engaging the Black Press to not only warn, but educate the Black community regarding the criminal actions we see in probate court: Thousands are losing generational wealth to strangers. It’s a travesty that happens daily.”

Venus Gist, a co-host of the reform group, states, “ Unfortunately, people are their own worst enemy when it comes to speaking with loved ones regarding their demise. It’s an uncomfortable subject that most avoid, but they do so at their peril. The courts rely on dissention between family members, so I encourage not only a will and trust [be created] but also videotape the reading of your documents so you can show you’re of sound mind.”

In better times, drafting a will was enough; then a trust was an added requirement to ‘iron-clad’ documents and to assure easy transference of wealth.

No longer.

As the courts became underfunded in the last 20 years, predatory behavior emerged to the extent that criminality is now occurring at alarming rates with no oversight, with courts isolating the conserved, and, I’ve heard, many times killing conservatees for profit. Plundering the assets of estates until beneficiaries are penniless is also common.”

Post Newspaper Publisher Paul Cobb says, “The simple solution is to avoid probate at all costs. If beneficiaries can’t agree, hire a private mediator and attorney to work things out. The moment you walk into court, you are vulnerable to the whims of the court. Your will and trust mean nothing.”

Zakiya Jendayi, a co-host of the Probate Reform Group and a victim herself, says, “In my case, the will and trust were clear that I am the beneficiary of the estate, but the opposing attorney said I used undue influence to make myself beneficiary. He said that without proof, and the judge upheld the attorney’s baseless assertion. In court, the will and trust is easily discounted.”

The Black press reaches out to 47 million Black Americans with one voice. The power of the press has never been so important as it is now in this national movement to save Black generational wealth from predatory attorneys, guardians and judges.

The next probate reform meeting is on March 5, from 7 – 9 p.m. PST. Zoom Details:
Meeting ID: 825 0367 1750
Passcode: 475480

All are welcome.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Community Celebrates Turner Group Construction Company as Collins Drive Becomes Turner Group Drive

The event drew family, friends, and longtime supporters of Turner Group Construction, along with a host of dignitaries. The mood was joyful and warm, filled with hugs, handshakes and belated New Year’s greetings. Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and a festive display of gourmet cupcakes as they conversed about the street sign reveal.

Published

4 hours ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

The Turner Construction group members.

By Carla Thomas

It was a family affair on Friday, Jan. 23, at the corner of Hegenberger Road and Collins Drive in East Oakland as community members, local leaders, and elected officials gathered to celebrate the renaming of Collins Drive to Turner Group Drive. The renaming saluted the Turner Group’s 45-plus years of economic development and community investment.

Special guests included former Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, veteran broadcaster Valerie Coleman-Morris, Chevron Senior Public Affairs Representative Andrea Bailey, community leaders Cephus “Uncle Bobby” Johnson and Beatrice “Aunt Bea” Johnson of the Oscar Grant Foundation, and Oakland City Councilmembers Ken Houston, Carroll Fife, and Kevin Jenkins. Members of WEBCORE, the Nor Cal Carpenters Union, the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC), Swinerton and Alten construction companies, activists Elaine Brown and David Newton, and many others joined the celebration.

Inside the event tent, an emotional Oakland City Councilmember Ken Houston spoke of his deep connection to the Turner family.

“I grew up on the same street with the Turners,” he said. “When my father passed away, their parents and siblings embraced me like family. This is our city, and it’s an honor to name this street Turner Group Drive because of the love and effort this company and family have given. Many dreams came out of this building. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the Turners.”

Councilmember Kevin Jenkins, whose father once taught the Turner brothers, added, “Len Turner is an amazing person. He’ll help anyone.”

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee praised the company’s legacy, noting its creation of the Construction Resource Center, which trains and mentors the next generation of builders and developers through partnerships across the region. “This is a great day for Oakland and a profound acknowledgment of the Turner Group’s contribution to our community,” she said.

Fife echoed that sentiment: “This is a day for celebrating Black excellence. The Turner Group has poured into people and the community, showing us what’s possible.”

Among the many family members in attendance was the Turners’ 92-year-old patriarch, whose presence underscored the strength of the family’s legacy.

A touching highlight of the event came when Coleman-Morris was honored for her lasting mentorship of LaTanya Hawkins, now program manager of the Construction Resource Center. In 1979, Hawkins, then a fourth-grader, wrote Coleman-Morris a letter seeking advice. Coleman responded with words of encouragement that inspired Hawkins to pursue her dreams. The two stayed in touch for decades. On stage, they embraced as Coleman reflected on “the power of small acts of kindness to change a life.”

Coleman-Morris also shared reflections on leadership and community spirit, saying, “If we change the way we look at things, the things we see will change.” She then recited the Serenity Prayer, reminding the crowd, “We are a powerful community, we just need to believe it.”

Company leaders Len and Lance Turner closed the ceremony with words of gratitude and humor. Len thanked his mother, wife, family, legal team, and longtime supporters including Carson, Geoffrey Pete, and the late Dorothy King of Everett & Jones Barbecue. He also acknowledged the challenges the company had overcome, saying, “Without all of this support, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Through Turner Group Construction and the Construction Resource Center, the Turners have created new opportunities for underrepresented groups in the construction industry and continue to inspire the next generation of builders.