Bay Area

Oakland Black Pride Hosts Events Celebrating Black Queerness

At the close of Pride Month, Oakland Black Pride held their third annual Black Pride Festival from June 28 to July 2 at various places across the city as well as online.

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Oakland Post

Oakland Black Pride Barbecue last Sunday, attendees spent time playing kickball or dancing, seen above. Photo by Daisha Williams.

By Daisha Williams

Post Staff

At the close of Pride Month, Oakland Black Pride held their third annual Black Pride Festival

from June 28 to July 2 at various places across the city as well as online.

Under the leadership of founder Olawya Austin, the nonprofit is dedicated to enhancing the lives

of Black people within the LGBTQ+ community by creating spaces for them to be celebrated,

providing a break from racism, homophobia, transphobia, and/or sexism that they face in the

outside world.

Austin pointed out that Black people have been involved in the Pride movement since the very

beginning. Marsha P. Johnson, a Black woman, was one of the leading figures in the

Stonewall Riots in New York in 1969. Unfortunately, Black voices have often been

overshadowed by white in LGBTQ+ spaces, which is why spaces and organizations like Oakland Black Pride are so important.

“There’s still anti-Blackness in those spaces as well, so we have to create these things for

ourselves in order for us to get the things that we need. And that’s in the spirit of how it all

started 54 years ago and it’s exactly why it started,” said Austin.

“I think that a lot of celebrations that I see, they’ve forgotten about the roots of Pride and that’s

the difference between what our organization does and a lot of the Pride events we see around

the nation.”

This year’s Oakland Black Pride Festival consisted of eight events, each of them purposely different so there really was something for everyone.

It kicked off last Thursday night with a benefit dinner highlighting chefs who don’t have many

opportunities to climb up in the restaurant industry, a reminder for them and the guests that

people from their communities are talented, even if it isn’t showcased in the larger world.

For those 21+, there was the Queer Pub Crawl that toured four Black, queer-friendly local bars. And more suitable for younger members of the community, there was the Queer Expo which had a “Kidz Korner” and more than 50 vendors.

The expo, which Alyah Baker, an Oakland Black Pride board member, says is one of

her favorite parts of the festival brought “together several dozen different businesses from the

community and it’s an opportunity for these businesses to gain support and traction … I think it

also offers something different, a lot of Pride parties are evening events so it’s nice to see more

daytime events that are accessible for all different members of the community.”

The Expo was the first Oakland Black Pride that Mini Verna attended, and she enjoyed herself. “There’s a deep desire for space that’s just joyfully queer and comfortable and I think that’s what was created,” Verna said. “I think that’s what happens when spaces are created by BIPOC or LGBTQIA people in mind … these spaces are for cultivation, connection and pollination.”

The festival closed out July 2 with an afternoon cookout open only to members of the queer

community. Everything about the cookout signified that it was a safe space, from signage

promoting love and respect to the way people were dressed.

Aasha, one of the vendors said: “I had a friend who doesn’t usually express themself in their

queer embodiment, and they came fully decked out, like a crop top and a skirt and I was just like

‘You’re so beautiful!’”

The feeling of comfort and ease was not unique to Aasha, as many attendees appeared to have

similar experiences. Showing up in your own skin is hard and uncomfortable for a lot of people,

but the fact that so many people were able to in this space shows how well-cultivated it was.

Though several of the events of the festival cost money, organizers are working very hard to

make these spaces accessible to everyone who needs them. There are often extra tickets that are

donated by those who have the means to do so.

“No one will ever be turned away,” Austin said. “We don’t ‘gatekeep’ in such a way that will

exclude the community.”

In addition to the annual festival, Oakland Black Pride organizes events during other parts

of the year such as the Springboard Program, and the QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, and

Indigenous, People of Color) Monthly Social Circle.

Oakland Black Pride collaborates with organizations with similar missions. One is

GetSomeJoy, a creative wellness agency that focuses on mental health, grief therapy, and coping with sadness, which is incredibly useful for those navigating racism, homo/transphobia in their everyday lives or simply anyone who wants to get some joy in their lives. You can find

information about them on their website getsomejoy.com

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Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

Published

17 hours ago

June 20, 2025

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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Juneteenth: Celebrating Our History, Honoring Our Shared Spaces

It’s been empowering to watch Juneteenth blossom into a widely celebrated holiday, filled with vibrant outdoor events like cookouts, festivals, parades, and more. It’s inspiring to see the community embrace our history—showing up in droves to celebrate freedom, a freedom delayed for some enslaved Americans more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

Published

2 days ago

June 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Wayne Wilson, Public Affairs Campaign Manager, Caltrans

By Wayne Wilson, Public Affairs Campaign Manager, Caltrans

Juneteenth marks an important moment in our shared history—a time to reflect on the legacy of our ancestors who, even in the face of injustice, chose freedom, unity, and community over fear, anger, and hopelessness. We honor their resilience and the paths they paved so future generations can continue to walk with pride.

As we head into the weekend full of festivities and summer celebrations, I want to offer a friendly reminder about who is not invited to the cookout: litter.

At Clean California, we believe the places where we gather—parks, parade routes, street corners, and church lots—should reflect the pride and beauty of the people who fill them. Our mission is to restore and beautify public spaces, transforming areas impacted by trash and neglect into spaces that reflect the strength and spirit of the communities who use them.

Too often, after the music fades and the grills cool, our public spaces are left littered with trash. Just as our ancestors took pride in their communities, we honor their legacy when we clean up after ourselves, teach our children to do the same, and care for our shared spaces.

Small acts can inspire big change. Since 2021, Clean California and its partners have collected and removed over 2.9 million cubic yards of litter. We did this by partnering with local nonprofits and community organizations to organize grassroots cleanup events and beautification projects across California.

Now, we invite all California communities to continue the incredible momentum and take the pledge toward building a cleaner community through our Clean California Community Designation Program. This recognizes cities and neighborhoods committed to long-term cleanliness and civic pride.

This Juneteenth, let’s not only celebrate our history—but also contribute to its legacy. By picking up after ourselves and by leaving no litter behind after celebrations, we have an opportunity to honor our past and shape a cleaner, safer, more vibrant future.

Visit CleanCA.com to learn more about Clean California.

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OPINION: California’s Legislature Has the Wrong Prescription for the Affordability Crisis — Gov. Newsom’s Plan Hits the Mark

Last month, Gov. Newsom included measures in his budget that would encourage greater transparency, accountability, and affordability across the prescription drug supply chain. His plan would deliver real relief to struggling Californians. It would also help expose the hidden markups and practices by big drug companies that push the prices of prescription drugs higher and higher. The legislature should follow the Governor’s lead and embrace sensible, fair regulations that will not raise the cost of medications.

Published

2 days ago

June 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook. Courtesy of Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook.

By Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook

As a pastor and East Bay resident, I see firsthand how my community struggles with the rising cost of everyday living. A fellow pastor in Oakland recently told me he cuts his pills in half to make them last longer because of the crushing costs of drugs.

Meanwhile, community members are contending with skyrocketing grocery prices and a lack of affordable healthcare options, while businesses are being forced to close their doors.

Our community is hurting. Things have to change.

The most pressing issue that demands our leaders’ attention is rising healthcare costs, and particularly the rising cost of medications. Annual prescription drug costs in California have spiked by nearly 50% since 2018, from $9.1 billion to $13.6 billion.

Some lawmakers, however, have advanced legislation that would drive up healthcare costs and set communities like mine back further.

I’m particularly concerned with Senate Bill (SB) 41, sponsored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), a carbon copy of a 2024 bill that I strongly opposed and Gov. Newsom rightly vetoed. This bill would impose significant healthcare costs on patients, small businesses, and working families, while allowing big drug companies to increase their profits.

SB 41 would impose a new $10.05 pharmacy fee for every prescription filled in California. This new fee, which would apply to millions of Californians, is roughly five times higher than the current average of $2.

For example, a Bay Area family with five monthly prescriptions would be forced to shoulder about $500 more in annual health costs. If a small business covers 25 employees, each with four prescription fills per month (the national average), that would add nearly $10,000 per year in health care costs.

This bill would also restrict how health plan sponsors — like employers, unions, state plans, Medicare, and Medicaid — partner with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to negotiate against big drug companies and deliver the lowest possible costs for employees and members. By mandating a flat fee for pharmacy benefit services, this misguided legislation would undercut your health plan’s ability to drive down costs while handing more profits to pharmaceutical manufacturers.

This bill would also endanger patients by eliminating safety requirements for pharmacies that dispense complex and costly specialty medications. Additionally, it would restrict home delivery for prescriptions, a convenient and affordable service that many families rely on.

Instead of repeating the same tired plan laid out in the big pharma-backed playbook, lawmakers should embrace Newsom’s transparency-first approach and prioritize our communities.

Let’s urge our state legislators to reject policies like SB 41 that would make a difficult situation even worse for communities like ours.

About the Author

Rev. Dr. VanHook is the founder and pastor of The Community Church in Oakland and the founder of The Charis House, a re-entry facility for men recovering from alcohol and drug abuse.