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HED: My Sister’s Keeper Helps to Build Up Bay Area Black Women

The African American Cultural Center on Fulton Street was the site of the fourth annual My Sisters Keepers, By All Means Necessary conference this past weekend, which brought together local and national figures to talk to young women about being assets to the local and national Black communities.

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Activist Tamika Mallory, Tina Brown of My Sister’s Keeper and Kyra Kyles with YR Media. Photo by Lee Hubbard
Activist Tamika Mallory, Tina Brown of My Sister’s Keeper and Kyra Kyles with YR Media. Photo by Lee Hubbard

By Lee Hubbard

Tina Brown was born and raised in San Francisco’s Western Addition. She had a troubled childhood, which led to her being a runaway, incarceration in Juvenile Hall and becoming a teenage mother.

Bad choices in life led to bad relationships and an unstable life situation. But things would change—with a brush with the law as an adult—that would change her life around.

Brown got a mentor, got a job and it helped her turn her life around. She became a productive citizen and an activist for young Black women.

“I began interacting with young girls and we started doing weekly meetings with young ladies aged 12 to 17,” said Brown. “We were able to talk about what’s going on in the community and their lives.”

This was the start of My Sister’s Keeper, a non-profit organization that Brown started, based in San Francisco. The organization deals with improving the lives of young Black girls through mentoring, training and exposure.

“It started out as a way to speak out to heal the trauma inside of me,” continued Brown. “I would go to these Black women conferences in Atlanta, Los Angeles and Miami and I noticed that nothing was really happening in the Bay or San Francisco.”

The African American Cultural Center on Fulton Street was the site of the fourth annual My Sisters Keepers, By All Means Necessary conference this past weekend, which brought together local and national figures to talk to young women about being assets to the local and national Black communities.

More than one hundred people were at the all-day conference. People on hand included national grassroots activists such as Tamika Mallory, Angela Davis and Dr. Syleecia Thompson, an educator and host of a Fox Soul television show.

Mallory calls herself a street politician and she came to fame during the George Floyd protest, where she gave an impassioned plea against racism and the fight for Black liberation from white supremacy in front of millions of television viewers.

“I came to this conference to share my work on how we are working politically and how we can find ways to be connected and empowered,” said Mallory.

She hosts a national podcast called Street Politicians on the iHeart network, with her co-host Mysonne.

“Black women are left out of positions of power, often because we are women,” continued Mallory. “But we need to speak up.”

“Every generation has its way of expressing itself,” said Mallory. “We as leaders need to create inclusive spaces,” so people will communicate the issues. There is still work that needs to be done, and it will take a united front to make things happen, she says.

“We need to help to liberate our Black men and help them to lead, so we can fight together,” continued Mallory.

A men’s panel also came to address the ladies. This included San Francisco hip-hop producer and activist Herm Lewis, Bishop Keith Clark from World Assembly Church in Oakland and Hakeem Brown, a city council member from Vallejo, California.

Bridgette Leblanc, a local businesswoman and vice chair of the San Francisco Black Chamber of Commerce was also present. She said women need to look more into business and then join organizations like the chamber which help to incubate and develop them.

She said that as an organization, the chamber helps to bring Black business to San Francisco and to make sure Black businesses get a share of the money coming into San Francisco.

“It’s not easy being a leader, but [we] have to move into [these positions] to make things happen,” said Leblanc.

Other women who spoke at the conference included Gina Fromer, head of the San Francisco Children’s Council, Dr. Ramona Bishop, the founder of Elite Public Schools in Vallejo and Cloey Hewlett, the California Commissioner of Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.

“People got a lot of value out of the conference,” said Brown. “It brought mentorship, sisterhood and a lot of activity that people can build upon to initiate action and change.”

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of March 13 – 19, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 13 – 19, 2024

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Oakland Post: Week of March 6 – 12, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 6 – 12, 2024

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Who are the Alameda County District 4 Supervisor Candidates’ Top Campaign Contributors?

Below, we’ve listed each candidate’s 10 highest campaign contributors. For Miley, two of his top campaign donors also bought their own advertisements to support him and/or oppose Esteen through independent expenditures. Such expenditures, though separate from campaign donations, are also public record, and we listed them. Additionally, the National Organization of Realtors has spent about $70,500 on their own independent expenditures to support Miley.

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Jennifer Esteen. (Campaign photo) and Supervisor Nate Miley. (Official photo).
Jennifer Esteen. (Campaign photo) and Supervisor Nate Miley. (Official photo).

By Zack Haber

Nate Miley, who has served on Alameda County’s Board of Supervisors since 2000, is running for reelection to the District 4 supervisor seat.

Jennifer Esteen, a nurse and activist, is seeking to unseat him and become one of the five members of the powerful board that sets the county’s budget, governs its unincorporated areas, and oversees the sheriff, Alameda Health System, and mental health system.

District 4 includes most of East Oakland’s hills and flatlands beyond Fruitvale, part of Pleasanton and unincorporated areas south of San Leandro like Ashland and Castro Valley.

Voting is open and will remain open until March 5.

In California, campaign donations of $100 or more are public record. The records show that Miley has received about $550,000 in total campaign donations since he won the previous District 4 election in March 2020. Esteen has raised about $255,000 in total campaign donations since she started collecting them last July. All figures are accurate through Feb. 20.

While Miley has raised more money, Esteen has received donations from more sources. Miley received donations of $100 or more from 439 different sources. Esteen received such donations from 507 different sources.

Below, we’ve listed each candidate’s 10 highest campaign contributors. For Miley, two of his top campaign donors also bought their own advertisements to support him and/or oppose Esteen through independent expenditures. Such expenditures, though separate from campaign donations, are also public record, and we listed them. Additionally, the National Organization of Realtors has spent about $70,500 on their own independent expenditures to support Miley.

Nate Miley’s top campaign contributors:

The California Apartment Association, a trade group representing landlords and investors in California’s rental housing business, has spent about $129,500 supporting Miley’s election bid through about $59,500 in ads against Esteen$55,000 in ads supporting Miley, and $15,000 in campaign donations.

The independent expenditure committee Preserve Agriculture in Alameda County has spent about $46,025 supporting Miley through about $27,200 in their own ads, and $18,825 in donations to his campaign. Preserve Agriculture has supported reelection efforts for former Alameda County DA Nancy O’Malley, and Sheriff Greg Ahern, a republican. It’s received funding from ChevronPG&E, and a the California Apartment Association.

Organizations associated with the Laborers’ International Union of North America, or LiUNA, have donated about $35,000 in total. Construction and General Laborers Local 304, a local chapter of the union representing which represents over 4,000 workers, donated $20,000.

Laborers Pacific Southwest Regional Organizing Coalition, which represents 70,000 LiUNA members in Arizona, California, Hawaii and New Mexico, donated $15,000.

William ‘Bill’ Crotinger and the East Oakland-based company Argent Materials have donated $26,000. Crotinger is the president and founder of Argent, a concrete and asphalt recycling yard. Argent’s website says it is an eco-friendly company that diverts materials from landfills. In 2018, Argent paid the EPA $27,000 under a settlement for committing Clean Water Act violations.

Michael Morgan of Hayward, owner of We Are Hemp, a marijuana dispensary in Ashland, has donated $21,500.

Alameda County District 1 Supervisor David Haubert has donated $21,250 from his 2024 reelection campaign. He’s running unopposed for the District 1 seat.

SEIU 1021which represents over 60,000 workers in local governments, non-profit agencies, healthcare programs, and schools in Northern California, has donated $20,000.

UA Local 342, which represents around 4,000 pipe trades industry workers in Contra Costa and Alameda counties, donated $20,000.

The union representing the county’s deputy sheriffs, Deputy Sheriff’s Association of Alameda County, has donated $17,000.

Becton Healthcare Resources and its managers have donated $14,625. Becton’s mission statement says it provides “behavioral health management services to organizations and groups that serve the serious and persistent mentally ill population.”

Jennifer Esteen’s top campaign contributors:

Mary Quinn Delaney of Piedmont, founder of Akonadi Foundation, has donated $20,000. Akonadi Foundation gives grants to nonprofit organizations, especially focusing on racial justice organizing,

Bridget Galli of Castro Valley has donated $7,000. Galli is a yoga instructor and a co-owner of Castro Valley Yoga.

Rachel Gelman of Oakland has donated $5,000. Gelman is an activist who has vowed to redistribute her inherited wealth to working class, Indigenous and Black communities.

California Worker Families Party has donated $5,000. The organization’s website describes itself as a “grassroots party for the multiracial working class.”

David Stern of Albany has donated $5,000. Stern is a retired UC Berkeley Professor of Education.

Oakland Rising Committee—a collaborative of racial, economic, and environmental justice organizations—has donated about $3,050.

Fredeke Von Bothmer-Goodyear, an unemployed resident of San Francisco, has donated $2,600.

Robert Britton of Castro Valley has donated $2,500. Britton is retired and worked in the labor movement for decades.

Progressive Era PAC has donated about $2,400. Its mission statement says it “exists to elect governing majorities of leaders in California committed to building a progressive era for people of color.”

East Bay Stonewall Democrats Club has donated $2,250. The club was founded in 1982 to give voice to the East Bay LGBTQIA+ communities.

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