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Oakland City Council Votes to Save Head Start Centers On the Verge of Closure

Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, President Pro Tempore Sheng Thao, and Councilmember Carroll Fife coordinated with community members who called in to support the funding of the Head Start centers.

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Early Head Start Banners; Photo Courtesy of Early Head Start Website

The Oakland City Council passed a budget amendment to equitably reopen Head Start childcare centers in Oakland’s most underserved communities at a special meeting on September 1.

The amendment was prompted by grass roots organizations that last month put out an urgent statement demanding the protection of vitally needed services provided by the Head Start Centers.

Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, President Pro Tempore Sheng Thao, and Councilmember Carroll Fife coordinated with community members who called in to support the funding of the Head Start centers.

The Council members immediately went into action releasing an action plan to stop the planned closures of the Head Start programs, which if allowed to close, will disproportionately impact some of the most under-resourced communities in Oakland.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, working mothers have been the most impacted by cuts to the workforce resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The closures of schools and childcare centers created a scarcity in childcare providers causing childcare costs to reach an all-time high in 2020.  As California is reopening, mothers are finding it harder to rejoin the workforce due to the lack of affordable childcare.

The City Administration planned to close the Arroyo Viejo, Franklin, and Tassafaronga centers, all located in Oakland’s most underserved communities, which would have disproportionately aimed cuts at Black people, and worsen suffering in Oakland’s hardest-hit communities, low-income families, and people of color.

The planned cuts also involve inequitable layoffs of the workers and undermine the community’s economic recovery at a precarious time.

The councilmembers’ proposal will allocate funding from an excess fund to prevent the complete closure of the three Head Start Centers.

Rev. Phyllis Scott, the first female president of the Pastors of Oakland, said her organization will work with the councilmembers who want to find the funds to restore all Head Start centers to full strength.

She said, “our underserved mothers and children, which includes my granddaughter — who was born at less than two pounds — were helped by the Head Start program. Many other families need this program that our doctors also prescribe as being supportive of early childhood development.”

Vice Mayor and Councilmember At-Large Rebecca Kaplan stated, “We must prioritize equity in our city’s COVID-19 recovery plan, and allowing our most impacted communities to have vitally needed services is a high priority.

“Head Start is an important program which helps children, with lifelong positive impacts on their future, and ensures access to economic recovery for struggling working parents. The Administration’s plan to close these needed centers and lay off these essential workers, while hiding the information from the Council and the public for months, is inappropriate.”

Nikki Fortunato Bas, Council President and District 2 Representative said that most vulnerable children and families in Oakland must be supported. The Franklin Head Start Center serves a diverse community in District 2, from the Chinatown to Eastlake to San Antonio neighborhoods, and I am fighting to protect the services for these families and the jobs for the workers caring for our children.”

“Robust investment in Head Start is investment in our future; it is long-term public safety planning; it is the right thing to do,” said District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife. “Our local government cannot allow Head Start to fail. To do so would be to continue the practice of State-sanctioned discrimination that creates new racialized disparities and perpetuates existing ones… I am disheartened to find out that this urgent matter has been brewing for months and has only now come to the attention of the city’s elected leaders as a crisis to fix. As a working-class Black woman, like many of our Head Start providers, I have lived experience in needing access to affordable childcare. And as an elected official, I am committed to doing what it takes to keep our centers open, funded and accessible to the families who need them most.”

Sheng Thao, Council President Pro Tempore and District 4 Representative said that every parent knows the first five years of a child’s development have an enormous impact on the adult they will become.  “Head Start is a vital resource to the children and parents that need support.  One of my top priorities is making sure every child in Oakland has a chance to succeed.  I will continue to fight to make sure Oakland Head Start is fully funded, and Oakland children are not forgotten.”

Kimberly Jones, chief of staff for Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, provided this report.

The Oakland Post’s coverage of local news in Alameda County is supported by the Ethnic Media Sustainability Initiative, a program created by California Black Media and Ethnic Media Services to support community newspapers across California.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 9 – 15, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 9 – 15, 2025

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Black Americans Still Face Deep Retirement Gaps Despite Higher Incomes

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Debt remains a significant barrier. 63% of higher-income Black households said debt is a problem, while just 45% of non-Black households at the same income level said the same. Nearly half of upper-income Black respondents said debt affects their ability to save or live comfortably in retirement.

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By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

A report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute shows that Black Americans continue to face serious challenges in saving for retirement, even as their incomes grow.

The 2025 Retirement Confidence Survey, which included a special oversample of Black workers and retirees, found that the wealth gap remains wide at every income level. Among households earning $75,000 or more, only 33% of Black Americans reported having $250,000 or more in savings and investments, compared with 63% of non-Black Americans. Debt remains a significant barrier. 63% of higher-income Black households said debt is a problem, while just 45% of non-Black households at the same income level said the same. Nearly half of upper-income Black respondents said debt affects their ability to save or live comfortably in retirement.

While many Black Americans expressed confidence managing day-to-day budgets, fewer felt prepared to invest or plan for the long term. The study showed that Black Americans with higher incomes were less likely to have personally saved for retirement, 77%, compared with 87% of non-Black Americans. Retirement experiences also differed sharply. Forty-four percent of Black retirees said they retired earlier than planned because of a health problem or disability, compared with 32% of non-Black retirees. After leaving their main jobs, Black retirees were more likely to work for pay to make ends meet, and more often said their retirement lifestyle was worse than expected. Access to financial advice and planning remains uneven. Just 31% of Black respondents reported currently working with a financial advisor, although nearly half expect to do so in the future. Black Americans were more likely to seek help with reducing debt, creating wills or estate plans, and arranging life insurance than simply determining if they had saved enough to retire.

Researchers Craig Copeland and Lisa Greenwald wrote, “Black Americans reported disproportionately lower financial resources, and how they feel about retirement and financial security is clearly impacted by having less resources.” They continued, “In particular, Black retirees are struggling with higher likelihoods of their retirement lifestyle being worse than expected and having to retire earlier than planned because of a health problem or disability.” “Still,” the researchers concluded, “there are some modifications in the financial system that could help improve their prospects, such as increased assistance in balancing competing financial priorities like debt reduction, supporting family, and building long-term savings.”

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Scorching Heat Sparks Bipartisan Climate Alarm

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — As record-breaking heat waves sweep across the country this summer, a new national poll reveals an overwhelming majority of Americans are linking the punishing temperatures to climate change — and voicing deep concern about the government’s ability to respond.

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By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

As record-breaking heat waves sweep across the country this summer, a new national poll reveals an overwhelming majority of Americans are linking the punishing temperatures to climate change — and voicing deep concern about the government’s ability to respond.

The American Climate Perspectives Survey 2025, conducted by ecoAmerica, found that 86% of Americans say rising temperatures have increased their concern about climate change, with more than half reporting they are “a lot” more concerned. The sentiment cuts across demographic and political lines, with 97% of Democrats, 83% of Independents, and 79% of Republicans expressing heightened worry about the climate crisis. “Americans are connecting extreme heat to climate change, their health, and government inaction,” said Meighen Speiser, Executive Director of ecoAmerica.

Nearly nine in ten respondents recognize the toll heat is taking on public health, with 58% saying extreme heat affects health “a lot.” This awareness is remarkably consistent across racial, age, and income groups.  Among Black Americans, 91% said rising temperatures have intensified their concern about climate change, reflecting some of the highest concern levels among any group surveyed. Those concerns are not abstract. Decades of research by the Brookings Institution, NOAA, and others show Black communities often face the greatest exposure to extreme heat and the fewest resources to adapt. Studies have documented that historically redlined neighborhoods, where many Black Americans live, are routinely up to 10 degrees hotter than wealthier, predominantly white neighborhoods nearby.

In cities such as Atlanta and Baltimore, Black homeowners are significantly more likely to face heat risks and energy insecurity, limiting their ability to cool their homes as temperatures rise. Nationally, Black renters experience higher rates of energy insecurity, with over half struggling to afford adequate cooling during heat waves. Meanwhile, the latest study also points to a notable shift in how Americans perceive the link between climate change and extreme weather. Eighty-two percent now believe that climate change is making extreme events, such as floods, wildfires, and hurricanes, more frequent and severe, up six points since 2021. The most dramatic change is among Republicans: the share who recognize that climate change is fueling extreme weather surged 17 points over four years, from 58% in 2021 to 75% in 2025.

These findings arrive as proposals to slash funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) advance in Washington. The agencies are widely seen as the nation’s front-line defense against disasters and a critical source of weather forecasting and emergency relief. The risks are particularly acute for Black communities already facing disproportionate impacts from hurricanes and flooding, as seen in the devastation of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and more recent storms that have repeatedly displaced predominantly Black neighborhoods in the Gulf Coast and Southeast.

The survey shows Americans are not just worried about rising temperatures — they’re anxious about the government’s readiness to protect communities. Seventy-nine percent said cuts to FEMA and NOAA make them more concerned about the federal government’s ability to respond to climate impacts. That includes 92% of Democrats, 76% of Independents, and 69% of Republicans, underscoring that the anxiety is bipartisan.

Generational divides are also apparent. While 95% of young adults reported that extreme heat has boosted their concern about climate change, the figure was lower — but still significant — among adults over 65, at 70%. However, across all age groups, majorities agree that the crisis is escalating and requires immediate action. “These findings show it’s time to drop partisan politics and rather meet this moment with urgency, leadership, and protection,” Speiser said.

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