Activism

NAACP Convention in L.A. Addresses Racial Scandal Consuming Host City

For the last two weeks, the Los Angeles City Council has been embroiled in a scandal centered around the release of a recorded conversation involving former City Council President Nury Martinez, City Councilmembers Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo and former L.A. County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera in which disparaging comments were made about several groups including Blacks, Mexicans, LGPTQIA+, as well as several individuals, including Bonin, who is white, and his adopted son Jacob, who is Black.

Published

3 years ago

November 6, 2022

Oakland Post

California Hawaii NAACP President Rick Callender Esq. (left), California State University Los Angeles Dean of College of Ethnic Studies Dr. Julianne Malveaux, and Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin at a fireside chat event at the California Hawaii NAACP State Conference Convention on Oct. 22, 2022. Photo by Maxim Elramsisy.

By Maxim Elramsisy | California Black Media

The California Hawaii Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) hosted elected officials, activists, organizers, faith leaders, and entertainers at its 35th Annual State Convention held in Los Angeles from Oct. 21-23, 2022.

Workshops and discussions were held that covered pressing issues confronting African American and other communities of color in California and Hawaii.

Activities included “Stop the Hate” and discrimination training, a health forum, a reparations town hall, an economic development panel discussion, workshops for youth and college-aged members, an environmental justice workshop and the Annual Gwen Moore Utilities Workshop.

The convention highlight was a fireside chat featuring Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin, NAACP California Hawaii President Rick Callender Esq., and the dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at California State University Los Angeles, Dr. Julianne Malveaux, on Saturday night.

“The attitude that they had of contempt and racism did not surprise me,” Bonin said. “This was about the three of them holding power…They said, because I voted with Marqueece [Harris-Dawson], Curren [Price Jr.] and my other colleagues, I was the fourth Black member…

“They went after the organization that Karen Bass founded, The Community Coalition, which is based on a Black-Brown coalition. They went after KIWA, the Korean Immigrant Worker Association, which is based on multiracial collaboration.

“They were against the idea of people working together, their whole thing was about division. Their whole thing was for them to win. Somebody else had to lose.”

Martinez and Herrera resigned within days after the meeting tape was leaked, but despite public outrage and pressure from across the political spectrum, including Pres. Joe Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Cedillo and De León are refusing to step down.

“One of the things that I think we should be actually calling for is the official censure of these offending Council members, and we need to take away their pay,” said Callender. “If they want to sit there, if they want to do something, they should do it without receiving any money… They refuse to resign, refuse to pay them… They took Mark Ridley-Thomas’ pay the exact same way.”

(Ridley-Thomas is a former state assemblyman and senator who served on the L.A. City Council representing the 10^th District from 2020 until his expulsion earlier this year after federal corruption charges were brought against him in 2021.)

“We’re literally looking at every possible thing,” said Bonin. “There is no one on the Council who wants them there.”

The President awards dinner honored the activism and achievements of high-performing members and NAACP branches. Honorees included D’Adrea Davie of Stockton, a real estate agent and advocate for building generational wealth, and Yusef Miller of San Diego, a leader of the Racial Justice Coalition.

Jeanette Ellis-Royston of Pomona, an appointee of the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission, was also honored for her volunteer work. The Butte County, Hayward and San Francisco NAACP branches were honored for their advocacy and programming.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump gave the keynote address at a youth-focused dinner Friday night. Crump has a national reputation as an advocate for social justice and is known for his representation of clients like the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Daunte Wright and Jacob Blake who were all unjustly killed or seriously injured in encounters with law enforcement officers. The Rev. Al Sharpton calls him “Black America’s Attorney General.”

The NAACP was founded in 1909 in response to the ongoing violence against Black people around the country. The NAACP is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation. There are over 2,200 units and branches across the nation with over 2 million activists.

Its mission is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.

More information about the NAACP California State Conference is available at www.CAHINAACP.org

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

4 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.