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Higher Ground NDC to Sponsor MLK Jr. Day of Service in East Oakland’s Sobrante Park and Brookfield Neighborhoods

Higher Ground has partnered with community-based programs that will be on hand to provide valuable resources including a food giveaway, the City’s Stop Waste Program, designed to help people with gardening and growing their own food, and the Sobrante Park Leadership Council who assist residents in organizing and protecting their streets. COVID testing will also be available during the event.

Published

2 years ago

January 18, 2022

Oakland Post

More than 170 volunteers will come together to provide service to various projects within the Sobrante Park and Brookfield neighborhoods in East Oakland.

By Clifford L. Williams

Higher Ground Neighborhood Development Corporation (NDC) will once again participate in its 15th Annual Martin Luther King Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at 10495 Edes Avenue in Oakland.

More than 170 volunteers will come together to provide service to various projects within the Sobrante Park and Brookfield neighborhoods in East Oakland.

Event organizers will spend the morning planting trees, community cleanup and beautification, and mural painting. There will also be resource tables, a food giveaway, Warriors’ giveaways, food trucks, and entertainment.

“This event started as a community garden with the after-school program at Madison Park Academy,” said Khariyyah Shabazz, event organizer and deputy executive director of Higher Ground. “We are now coordinating 10+ on-going projects year-round, working with 15+ community partners to make these types of programs a success.”

“Each year, our goal is to build awareness of the issues within deep East Oakland. These service days are one of many direct responses from community engagement circles and focus groups to find a solution to long-standing environmental issues and struggles that plague East Oakland, which include clean air, debris removal and illegal dumping. These solutions, coming directly from community members, are coming to surface which allows us to plant more trees and clean up our neighborhoods.”

“This news comes in the wake of recent accomplishments lead by our nonprofit group made up of small businesswomen, comprised of young, gifted, and Black, Oakland natives.”

Recent accomplishments of Higher Ground are:

Opening an Adult Wellness Center in West Oakland.
Serving as a distance learning HUB for OUSD during the pandemic.
Becoming a key partner implementing the bike enrichment program for Brookfield and Sobrante Park youth as a member of TCC, a multimillion-dollar project funded by the City of Oakland geared toward increasing health and wellness among young Black and Brown children in the City of Oakland.
Continuing to partner with neighboring organizations to lead service projects throughout the city even through the pandemic of 2020.
Celebrating a 10-year anniversary of providing paid internships for middle and high school youth through our workforce development program.

Higher Ground is proud to host this year’s MLK Day of Service in partnership with Roots Health Clinic, African American Sports and Entertainment Group (which was recently tapped by the Oakland City Council to purchase the Oakland Coliseum), Planting Justice, Scraper Bike team, Athenian High, District 7 City Councilmember Treva Reid, Madison Park Academy, Brookfield Elementary, Service for Peace, Golden State Warriors, City of Oakland, Alpha Phi Alpha, Bay Area Air Quality Management, and Sobrante Park Leadership Council, as well as its Resident Action Council.

To learn more about how to get involved with the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, contact Ms. Shabazz at 510-415-9271 or visit www.highergroundndc.com.

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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

Published

6 days ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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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

6 days 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.”

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WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Juanita Matthews

Sister Juanita Matthews

55 Years with Oakland Public School District

The Teacher, Mother, Community Outreach Champion, And Child of God

Juanita Matthews, better known as “Sister Teacher,” is a walking Bible scholar. She moved to California from the great state of Arkansas in 1971. Sister Teacher has a passion for teaching. She has been a member of Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church since 1971. She followed her passion for teaching, and in 1977 became the lead teacher for Adult Class #6. Her motto still today is “Once My Student, Always My Student”.

Beyond her remarkable love for the Lord, Sister Teacher has showcased her love for teaching by working for the Oakland Unified School District for 55 years, all but four of those years spent at Emerson Elementary and Child Development School. She truly cares about her students, making sure they have the tools/supplies needed to learn either at OUSD or Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

She’s also had a “Clothes Closet Ministry” for 51 years, making sure her students have sufficient clothing for school. The Clothes Closet Ministry extends past her students, she has been clothing the community for over 50 years as well. She loves the Lord and is a servant on a mission. She is a loving mother to two beautiful children, Sandra and Andre. This is the impact this woman of God has on her church and the community.