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Oakland Frontline Healers Launches Black Mental Health Initiative

“There are few places for Black folks to go when they’re in crisis, and available services are hard to access. When in crisis, people must trust the person offering assistance, and in the Black community its usually a person who doesn’t look like them. Despite best of intentions, not everyone can relate to our experience with America,” says Dr. Tony Jackson of Pranamind and President of the Bay Area Association of Black Psychologists.

Published

2 years ago

April 15, 2022

Oakland Post

Dr. Noha Aboelata of ROOTS and Dr. Tony Jackson of Pranamind and President of the Bay Area Association of Black Psychologists.

Black Mental Health: Part 1

By Tanya Dennis

April 2020, Oakland Black nonprofits and medical doctors formed a collaborative organization entitled Oakland Frontline Healers (OFH) to address the COVID-19 pandemic and its detrimental effects in the Black community. Oakland Frontline Healers ran toward the problem, providing PPE, testing, vaccines and services. Committed to providing the best knowledge and service, OFH member Umoja Health stopped giving the Johnson and Johnson vaccine because of its lack of efficacy after 60 days.

“We are unapologetically Black in all that we do,” says Daryle Allums, founder of OFH. “We are from the hood and for the hood, committed to healing our people during stressful times and hardships.”

As Oakland Frontline Healer members distributed food, housing vouchers, COVID-19 home test kits and other living essentials, reports of escalating violence and mental health episodes caused members to assess their next frontline mission. Black Mental Health won overwhelmingly.

“We got youngsters out here wilding out, and we can’t let the police be the only solution,” says Allums, adding that “We’re also addressing violence. Soon Oakland will see more of Adamika Village and Men of Influence’s Credible Messengers patrolling the flatlands.”

OFH members have been meeting with the Bay Area Association of Black Psychologists, and with the aid of Dr. Noha Aboelata of ROOTS, are creating holistic approaches to bringing solid, ethnically sensitive mental health services with fast response. As usual, securing funding is the number one obstacle, number two is finding enough qualified practioners. Dr Aboelata mused that “Developing a training program for more Black service providers is something we must consider.”

OFH hopes to establish two African American healing hubs, in West and East Oakland. They are also working on a larger center that will take years because of its complexity and scope, being led by the Association of Black Psychologists. The Black Mental Health Coalition project will address needs of people not on the County of Alameda’s radar.

“Currently the only place the County offers mental evaluations is in Santa Rita jail, and to be seen by a therapist, your illness must be severe. That profile misses 75% of Black people that could use some help with their stress or crisis. Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome is real, and COVID-19 has exacerbated the problem,” says, Tanya Dennis, lead facilitator of OFH.

“There’s unspent money at the State and County level, and Federal money is also available,” says Dennis. “We’re approaching these agencies for funding, but our first step is getting community support. Black folks can do that by telling us what they need.”

Dennis is requesting the public go to the OFH website and fill out their Black Mind survey, so leaders know what authentic, relevant service looks like. When the coalition presents to the County, State and Feds the Black collective voice must be heard. United, African Americans can get what has so long been denied, mental health care culturally sensitive and restorative.

Go to Oaklandfrontlinehealers.org to take the survey and opportunity to tell your story.

Interview with Karyn Tribble, Alameda County Behavorial Health and Dr. Noha Aboelata

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

18 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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1 week ago

April 19, 2024

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Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.

Published

1 week ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

By Post Staff

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.

His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.

Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.

At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.

The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.

Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”

After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”