Community

‘Not a day off.’ — Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Oakland

Published

6 years ago

January 30, 2019

Howard Dyckoff

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday is a day off for many—but in Oakland, it’s a day on for service and activism.

A child marches as part of Monday’s Reclaim MLK event in downtown Oakland. Photo by Amir Saadiq

A Day of Activism
By Post Staff

Hundreds took to the streets on what would have been Martin Luther King, Jr.,’s 90th birthday—Monday, Jan. 21.

The Anti Police-Terror Project, a local activist group dedicated to fighting police brutality, organized the fifth annual march to “Reclaim the Radical Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”

The event began with a sunrise ceremony, followed by a march through downtown Oakland. Those marching chanted against white supremacy and racism, tying together several issues facing Oaklanders—gentrification, racial profiling, and immigrants’ rights.
APTP held “people’s assemblies” outside City Hall at Frank Ogawa Plaza, occupying the plaza for 10 hours.

This Jan. 1 marked 10 years since the killing of Oscar Grant, a young Black man wrongfully shot by a BART police officer at Fruitvale BART station. His family, and the families of other police-slain young men called for justice.

After the march, Lead to Life, an organization that buys back guns and transforms them into shovels for planting trees, joined protesters at City Hall. They melted guns in the plaza ceremoniously, casting sparks into the air as dancers wielded the shovels—now tools of life—in celebration.

Lead to Life buys back guns “to transform that which ends life into that which sustains life – to facilitate an alchemical healing process that can physically transform both our weapons and our imaginations.”

Lead to Life, a local organization, melts gun metal outside the entrance to City Hall on MLK Day turning tools of death into tools of life (shovels for tree planting) on, Monday, Jan. 21. Photo by Saskia Hatvany

Dancers wield shovels created from repurposed gun metal in front of City Hall. Photo by Amir Saadiq

A Day of Service
By Howard Dyckoff

The MLK Day of Service and holiday were celebrated by cleanup and service projects all over Oakland—two in Deep East Oakland. Over 300 volunteers showed up at MLK Shoreline Park and more than 100 volunteers focused on restoring the quality of Arroyo Viejo Park, a stone’s throw from Eastmont Mall.

Over 2,400 volunteers participated at 35 parks and recreation sites throughout the City of Oakland.

Dwayne Atkins, the organizer of the cleanup at Arroyo Viejo and co-founder of We Lead Ours (WELO), has organized volunteer days here for the last several years. “It’s important for folks to come out and to participate because it really brings the community together. It’s great to see so many families and ethnicities here, and I know Brother Dr. Martin Luther King would be smiling today,” Atkins said.

The AST Sorority was among thousands of cleanup volunteers on MLK Day. Photo by Howard Dyckoff

The project at AV included tree planting, mulching, plant pruning, removing debris from the creek, and general cleanup around the park recreation center and park parking lots. Yoon Jae, mother of two daughters, said this event would teach children to improve the environment and also to give back to communities in need. The purpose, she said, is “helping communities and teaching kids to help build a better Oakland, It’s good for them to see with their own eyes the difference we can make.”

At the MLK Shoreline, (accessible from Oakport Drive, near the Coliseum) volunteer efforts were organized by the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD), and Save the Bay, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving San Francisco Bay.

Park Naturalist Michael Charnofsky spoke with small clusters of volunteers after they registered to explain the effort and the environmental factors behind it. Pollution of the Bay is a regional problem—trash from other cities winds up here on Oakland’s Bay shores.

“Every creek that goes into the Bay is a source of trash,” Charnofsky said. “Most of the trash in the Bay comes from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. We’ve had a lot of high tides with strong winds,” he said, “and that’s blown a lot of trash into the Bay.”

Charnofsky said EBRPD expected over 250 volunteers to attend the cleanup, including families with kids and also industry groups like Kaiser Permanente and Netapp. “Its a good turnout,” he said.

Two Crocker Highlands Elementary students pick up trash at Arroyo Viejo park. Photo by Howard Dyckoff

Back at Arroyo Viejo, Atkins explained his personal mission at the park. “This park is very special to me,” he said. “I grew up near this park, I used to come here to play as a child.

When I started my first non-profit, I did my first community day camp here.

“Being on the City Parks Commission, I want to be hands-on, participating in the park. I also want to make it safe for a child to come play…too many young people have lost their lives in this park, walking through at night time. So, I think it’s important for the community to come together on this.”

Congress designated the MLK Day federal holiday as a national day of service in 1994. The MLK Day of Service is intended to empower individuals, strengthen communities and move us closer to Dr. King’s vision of a “Beloved Community.” The day is part of President Obama’s national initiative, United We Serve, which is led by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The initiative was launched by first lady Michelle Obama in 2009 as a way of meeting community needs.

Howard Dyckoff

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June 17, 2025

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IN MEMORIAM: Legendary Funk Pioneer Sly Stone Dies at 82

Sly Stone’s musical approach radically reshaped popular music. He transcended genre boundaries and empowered a new generation of artists. The band’s socially conscious message and infectious rhythms sparked a wave of influence, reaching artists as diverse as Miles Davis, George Clinton, Prince, Dr. Dre, and the Roots.

Published

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June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Sly and the Family Stone play the Opera House in Bournemouth. Mojo review. Photo by Simon Fernandez.

By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Newswire

Sylvester “Sly” Stewart—known to the world as Sly Stone, frontman of the groundbreaking band Sly and the Family Stone—has died at the age of 82.

His family confirmed that he passed away peacefully at his Los Angeles home surrounded by loved ones, after battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other health complications.

Born March 15, 1943, in Denton, Texas, Stone moved with his family to Vallejo, California, as a child. He began recording gospel music at age 8 with his siblings in a group called the Stewart Four. By his teenage years, he had mastered multiple instruments and was already pioneering racial integration in music—an ethos that would define his career.

In 1966, Sly and his brother Freddie merged their bands to form Sly and the Family Stone, complete with a revolutionary interracial, mixed-gender lineup.

The band quickly became a commercial and cultural force with hits such as “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People,” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”—all penned by Stone himself.

Their album “Stand!” (1969) and live performances—most notably at Woodstock—cemented their reputation, blending soul, funk, rock, gospel, and psychedelia to reflect the optimism and turmoil of their era.

As the 1970s progressed, Stone confronted personal demons. His desire to use music as a response to war, racism, and societal change culminated in the intense album “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” (1971). But drug dependency began to undermine both his health and professional life, leading to erratic behavior and band decline through the early 1980s.

Withdrawn from the public eye for much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Stone staged occasional comebacks. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys in 2017, and captured public attention following the 2023 release of his memoir “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”—published under Questlove’s imprint. He also completed a biographical screenplay and was featured in Questlove’s documentary “Sly Lives!” earlier this year.

His influence endured across generations. Critics and historians repeatedly credit him with perfecting funk and creating a “progressive soul,” shaping a path for racial integration both onstage and in the broader culture.

“Rest in beats Sly Stone,” legendary Public Enemy frontman Chuck D posted on social media with an illustrative drawing of the artist. “We should thank Questlove of the Roots for keeping his fire blazing in this century.”

Emmy-winning entertainment publicist Danny Deraney also paid homage. “Rest easy Sly Stone,” Deraney posted. “You changed music (and me) forever. The time he won over Ed Sullivan’s audience in 1968. Simply magical. Freelance music publicist and Sirius XM host Eric Alper also offered a tribute.

“The funk pioneer who made the world dance, think, and get higher,” Alper wrote of Sly Stone. “His music changed everything—and it still does.”

Sly Stone is survived by three children.

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Activism

Congress Says Yes to Rep. Simon’s Disability Hiring and Small Biz Support Bill

“As the first congenitally blind person to serve in Congress, I am incredibly honored to lead and excited to celebrate the House passage of the ‘ThinkDIFFERENTLY About Disability Employment Act,’” said Simon.

Published

22 hours ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12). File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

The House of Representatives unanimously passed the “ThinkDIFFERENTLY About Disability Employment Act” on June 3, marking a major win for U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) and co-sponsor Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN-08) in their bipartisan effort to promote inclusive hiring and boost small business accessibility.

The legislation establishes a federal partnership between the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the National Council on Disability to help small businesses across the U.S. hire more individuals with disabilities and provide resources for disabled entrepreneurs.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of cities, making them accessible for all will maximize local economic activity and broaden the job market to everyone who is seeking to contribute to their communities,” she continued. “Investments in business and talent in our communities shouldn’t be limited to just those who are not disabled. Full stop, period.”

Since taking office in January 2025, Simon has introduced six bills. The House has approved two of them: this measure and the “Assisting Small Businesses, Not Fraudsters Act.”

Simon, a lifelong disability rights advocate and former BART board member, has focused her career on improving access, from public transit to the job market.