Bay Area

IN MEMORIAM: Frankie Jacobs Gillette

Born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1925, Frankie Jacobs Gillette was the third of three daughters and a son born to the late Natalie Taylor Jacobs and Frank Walter Jacobs. In 1932, her father, a Baptist minister, was called from Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, to Messiah Baptist Church in Bridgeport, Conn., where Frankie attended local public schools. She was a graduate of Hampton University and Howard University, where she received a Master of Social Work degree.

Published

2 years ago

March 19, 2022

Oakland Post

Frankie Jacobs Gillette

April 1, 1925 – February 26, 2022

Frankie Jacobs Gillette, beloved aunt, friend, retired social worker and educator, entered into eternal rest on Feb. 26, 2022, in San Francisco, California, after a brief illness.

Born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1925, Frankie was the third of three daughters and a son born to the late Natalie Taylor Jacobs and Frank Walter Jacobs. In 1932, her father, a Baptist minister, was called from Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, to Messiah Baptist Church in Bridgeport, Conn., where Frankie attended local public schools. She was a graduate of Hampton University and Howard University, where she received a Master of Social Work degree.

Frankie’s social work career began with community organizations in Illinois, New Jersey and Michigan. In California, Frankie was a federal government administrator implementing War on Poverty programs operated through the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity/Community Services Administration.

Frankie grew up in the church and was a faithful supporter of her church home in San Francisco, Bethel A.M.E. Church. In 2010, she was honored as “Christian Woman of the Year.” Frankie was an active parishioner until her death, and was instrumental in church improvement activities, fundraising initiatives, and the installation of an elevator on the church grounds.

Frankie’s local community involvement was extensive and frequently honored. She shared her fundraising and mentoring talents freely. Notable activities included: Commissioner, San Francisco Human Rights Commission; Member, San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau; Chairperson, San Francisco-Abidjan Sister City Committee; and Trustee, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. She was most proud to be a founding Board Director of the Museum of the African Diaspora (MOAD).

On the national level, Frankie was National President (1983-1987) of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. During her tenure, Frankie was recognized by Ebony magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential Black Americans” for 1984. Frankie also held life memberships in the NAACP, the National Council of Negro Women, the Links, Inc., and Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.

Frankie was preceded in death by her parents, three siblings and her loving husband and true soulmate of 46 years, Maxwell C. Gillette. Married in 1976 by distinguished theologian Howard Thurman, they lived their lives guided by his admonition to “ask what makes you come alive and go do it.”

She will be lovingly missed by her two nieces, Renata Henry, and Karen Sarjeant (Larry), her grandnieces Kiera Henry, Nicole Henry, and Shani Sarjeant, and her grandnephew, Omari Sarjeant, and several nieces and nephews in the Bay Area and throughout the world.

A memorial service will be held at Bethel AME Church, 916 Laguna St., San Francisco (415) 921-4935 on March 26, 2022, at 1 p.m. COVID-19 safety protocols will be observed; masks and proof of vaccination are required.

Please consider memorial contributions in Frankie’s honor to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and/or the Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco.

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Bay Area

Writer Marc Spears Honored in Oakland

Bay Area leaders and key notables in the city of Oakland congratulated Marc Spears, NBA writer for Andscape/ESPN for receiving the 2023 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Media Award

Published

10 hours ago

September 28, 2023

Oakland Post

Bay Area leaders and key notables in the city of Oakland congratulated Marc Spears, NBA writer for Andscape/ESPN for receiving the 2023 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Media Award. The event was held at Hiiiwav, a new location at 2781 Telegraph in Oakland recently purchased by Grammy Award-winner Bosko Kante and his wife Maya Kante. Pictured here, left to right, are Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce President Cathy Adams, Chef David Lawrence, Marc Spears, and Nola Turnage of Okta, Inc. Photo courtesy of Cathy Adams.

Bay Area

Justice for Jose Alejandro Zavala Aguilar — Family Seeks Justice for Murdered Son

Jose Alejandro Zavala Aguilar was a vibrant, charismatic 27-year-old. On the evening of Nov. 18, 2020, Jose was brutally murdered in the 5700 block of Trask Street.

Published

13 hours ago

September 28, 2023

Oakland Post

Jose Alejandro Zavala Aguilar. Courtesy photo.

Special to The Post

Jose Alejandro Zavala Aguilar was a vibrant, charismatic 27-year-old. On the evening of Nov. 18, 2020, Jose was brutally murdered in the 5700 block of Trask Street.

His family remembers him as a noble young man, who loved soccer and the Chivas de Guadalajara team, was caring, responsible and always grateful to everyone who touched his life. Studying to be a welder at Chabot College so that he could open a mechanical and welding workshop, his promising life was cut tragically short.

His family said, “The impact of the death of our son left us with a deep feeling of emptiness. Since 18-Nov-2020, all the members of the Zavala Aguilar family have mutilated our souls, causing a lot of sadness, fear, courage and frustration in all emotional, psychological, physical and financial aspects to the point of not wanting to do basic and simple things like eating and sleeping as well as not knowing anything about continuing to work for our desires.”

The Family Support Advocates join with Jose Alejandro Zavala Aguilar’s grieving family and loved ones in their pursuit of justice.

Anyone in the community with information about Jose’s murder is asked to contact the Homicide Section at (510) 238-3821 or the TIP LINE at (510) 238-7950. CrimeStoppers of Oakland is offering a reward for an arrest in this case. #JusticeforJose.

FAMILY SUPPORT ADVOCACY TASK FORCE

The mission of the Family Support Advocacy Task Force, a committee of the Violence Prevention Coalition, is to advocate for local, state and federal policies and legislation to enhance and expand support to families and friends of those who experienced violence; for more compassionate and transparent communication between law enforcement and the district attorney with the family of homicide victims and to push for the elimination of all violence, but particularly gun violence and homicides.

Arts and Culture

Berkeley’s Black Repertory Theater to Hold Fundraiser for Youth Programs

The Bay Area Jazz Society will hold a fundraiser and CD listening party to raise funds for youth programs at Berkeley’s Black Repertory Theater (BBRT), the only Black-owned-and-operated theater in the East Bay.

Published

1 day ago

September 27, 2023

Oakland Post

Larriah Jackson from ‘The Voice” will be one of the guest artists at the fundraiser for the Berkeley Black Repertory Group. Courtesy photo.

By Clifford Williams
Special to The Post

The event will take place at the BBRT on Sunday, Oct. 8 from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. at 3201 Adeline St., Berkeley, CA. Tickets are $25. The master of ceremonies will be KPFA’s Afrikahn Jamal Davis.

Many artists featured in “The Sounds of Oakland: Music from the Streets” compilation CD will perform with special guests including Larriah Jackson from “The Voice” Niecy ‘Living Single’ Robinson, one of the Bay Area’s most popular vocalists and Derick Hughes, who sang with Roberta Flack for many years, taking the place of Donnie Hathaway.

Other artists attending include Donnie Williams from “American Idol,” (the same year Jennifer Hudson and Latoya London appeared), and Williams’ sister, Terrill Williams. There will be live performances with food and drink for everyone, and the CD will be playing in the lobby when the performers take a break.

BBRT has had limited programming during and throughout the pandemic and is now struggling to regain continual of operations. Bay Area Jazz Society Executive Director Paul Tillman Smith, has an extensive background in theatre, starting with a stint as musical director for the Oakland Ensemble Theater’s Melvin Van Peebles play, “Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death,” featuring television star Ted Lange of the “Love Boat,” as director.

Tillman Smith is also the co-producer, along with Norman Connors, Levi Seacer Jr., and Nelson Braxton for the new Bay Area CD ‘The Sounds of Oakland: Music from the Streets.” Other artists listed on the CD may be in attendance, including Lenny Williams, Derick Hughes, and Lady Bianca to meet and greet guests.

The Berkeley chapter of the NAACP will also support the fundraiser.

The first 20 individuals attending the fundraiser will receive a free copy of the CD. Thirty percent of the CD sales will go into a fund to help aging artists who don’t have a pension and, in many cases, no social security.

For more information regarding the fundraiser and how to obtain tickets, contact Paul Tilman Smith at 510. 689.3332, or Bayjazz@gmail.com.