Events

Kamala Harris Rally in Oakland Draws 20,000

Published

7 years ago

February 1, 2019

Kamala Harris returned to her birth place to kick off her campaign for the US presidency with some hometown flair. The Clouds cleared for a rally that drew an estimated 20,000 people to Oakland’s City Hall on Sunday, Jan. 27, the crowd overflowing out to Broadway and E. 14th street.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff introduced Harris after a musical interlude with Oakland’s own Samba Funk band and the Skyline High School Band. The National Anthem was sung by Bay Area Inter-Faith Choir.

Schaaf said she met Harris in her youth—their parents were friends. Schaaf spoke about Harris’s leadership at SF MOMA in establishing an art program in West Oakland. “Before anyone was watching, Kamala was fighting for the people, and that is why she is the leader this country needs,” Schaff enthusiastically told the assembly.

Kamala Harris’ campaign kickoff rally in Oakland on Jan. 27, 2019, drew over 20,000 people—about 5,000 more than President Obama’s campaign launch attracted. Photo by Amir Saadiq

Kamala Harris, currently the junior senator from California told her hometown supporters: “I am so proud to be a daughter of Oakland.” Her parents—a father from Jamaica and a mother from India—met at UC Berkeley and were part of the Civil Rights movement. She added, “We were raised in a community where we were taught to…be conscious and compassionate about the struggles of all people.”

Her campaign slogan, “Kamala Harris for the people” came from her first days in court as a DA. Her experience in that position taught her about flaws in the criminal justice system, she said. Now, she added, “‘For the people’ meant fighting for middle class families who had been defrauded by banks and were losing their homes by the millions in the Great Recession.”

Harris listed several issues facing the working class today that her campaign will address: the income gap across both gender and race lines, over-incarceration of Black men, affordable housing, the opioid crisis, and “age-old forms of hate”—racism, sexism, and homophobia.

An enthusiastic crowd greets Kamala Harris as she kicks off her campaign for the US presidency on Jan. 27, 2019. Photo by Amir Saadiq

Harris acknowledged that Climate change is real and a serious problem, bringing floods and drought to the heartland. “We will act on science facts, not science fiction,” she said.

Harris called out current government leadership for hurting the American people. “We have leaders who attack public schools and vilify public school teachers—that’s not our America. When bankers who crashed our economy get bonuses but workers who brought our country back can’t even get a raise—that’s not our America. And when American families are barely living paycheck to paycheck, what is this administration’s response? Their response is to try to take away health care from millions of families,” she said. She also promised Medicare for all and a big middle class tax cut, paying for it by reversing the Trump tax giveaway.

Yet she insisted that we not allow the current state of affairs divide us as a country. “Our United States of America is not about us versus them. It’s about ‘We the People’!” she said, garnering energetic applause, and continued, “And in this moment, we must all speak truth about what’s happening. “

Then she said “I stand you before to announce my candidacy,” and the crowd again erupted into cheers and applause.

“I am running to fight for an America where economy works for people and you only have to work one job to pay the bills. I’m running to fight for an America where no mother or father has to teach their son that people may stop him, arrest him, chase him, or kill him, because of his race.

“Its up to us, each and every one of us…we have the power of the people,” Harris concluded. “We can achieve the dreams of our parents and grandparents. We can reclaim the American dream for every person in this country. So lets do this! And let’s do it together!”

Howard Dyckoff

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

Published

2 days ago

July 5, 2026

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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Arts and Culture

Prescott Circus Theatre Presents Free Summer Performance Series

Now in its 41st year, the Prescott Circus Theatre is a nationally recognized performing arts education program for Oakland youth. The circus offers safe environments that challenge Oakland youth, through circus arts training, to develop the skills and confidence to thrive on stage, in school, and in life.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

Prescott Circus showcase pathways pyramid. Photo courtesy of Prescott Circus.

By Post Staff

The Prescott Circus, Oakland’s longest-running youth circus, is returning this summer with its free shows. Join the Prescott Circus’s young stars as they share their joys and talents through stilt-dancing, tumbling, juggling, and more.

At the heart of this one-hour show, which demonstrates teamwork, pride, and joy, are Oakland Unified School District students ages 8 – 17 from more than 10 different schools

This is accomplished through no-cost school and community programs for more than 300 Oakland youth each year. Performing company members from Prescott, where the program began, perform and make appearances at as many as 40 Bay Area events each year.

The summer program is funded in part by Oakland Fund for Children and Youth, California Arts Council, Port of Oakland, and the West Davis & Bergard Foundation.

Performances will be held Tuesday, July 14, 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (ASL interpreted) and Wednesday, July 15, 11 a.m., at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. For free reservations go to

https://PrescottCircusSummerShows.eventbrite.com

For group reservations for camps, childcare centers, senior centers, go to www.prescottcircus.org

A community show will be held Saturday, July 18, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., at DeFremery Park,1651 Adeline St., Oakland.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Inaugural Juneteenth Awards Ceremony Celebrates the Fillmore’s Black History, Leadership and Resilience

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

Published

2 weeks ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown, Pastor Emeritus of Third Baptist Church, SF Mayor Daniel Lurie. Photo by Linda Parker Pennington.

By Linda Parker Pennington

The Fillmore Community Ambassadors held its first annual Juneteenth Wesley Johnson White Horse Awards ceremony on June 19 inside the newly reopened Fillmore Heritage Center.

The event featured awards for former San Francisco mayors London Breed and Willie Brown, along with Third Baptist Church Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown.

The Koret Heritage lobby at the newly reopened center at 1330 Fillmore St. held a standing-room-only, culturally diverse and multi-generational audience while the art gallery featured photos of Fillmore community members in action, red Japanese lanterns, art and calligraphy, and Chinese artwork, giving the space a multicultural feel.

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood acknowledged that “the Fillmore community has had a difficult history. Thanks to Rev. Amos Brown’s continuous focus on accountability and resistance, you hold us accountable and continue to inspire us.”

Mahmoud is referring to the Fillmore’s Japanese residents who were forced from their homes and sent to concentration camps during World War II. Black people occupied those homes until the return of their Japanese neighbors and then gave them back, while homes that had been unoccupied were lost. The presence of the Asian community on Juneteenth is a testament to that shared history.

In receiving his honor, Amos Brown elicited a powerful spontaneous call-and-response, where members of San Francisco’s many Black churches proudly shouted out the names: “Bethel AME! Providence Baptist! Jones Memorial! Glide!”

Awards program Master of Ceremonies Shawn Richards of Brothers Against Guns warmly introduced Breed, highlighting her many accomplishments, particularly on “March 16, 2020, when she became the first mayor to shut down a major U.S. city due to COVID-19, saving thousands of lives.”

The audience was captivated by Breed’s emotional speech touching on past traumas, present conditions, and future hopes for the neighborhood where she grew up.

She recalled another trauma of the neighborhood during the City’s redevelopment era in the 1960s, where Black residents were forced to move with a promise of being able to return that was largely unfulfilled.

“We remember when this land was just a field because they bulldozed hundreds of Victorian homes that Black people owned. They built the Fillmore Center, where most Black people can’t afford to live or start their own business. But we are still here.”