Community

Oakland Will Pilot Guaranteed Income Program

“One of my hopes in testing out a guaranteed income is that other cities would follow suit, and I’m thrilled that Oakland is among the first. I applaud Mayor Schaaf’s leadership and am looking forward to working with her to move from pilot to policy,” said former Stockton Mayor and Founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, Michael Tubbs. “By focusing on BIPOC residents, the Oakland Resilient Families program will provide critical financial support to those hardest hit by systemic inequities, including the pandemic’s disproportionate toll on communities of color.”

Published

5 years ago

March 25, 2021

Kiki

Mayor Libby Schaaf

In partnership with Family Independent Initiative and Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, Oakland Resilient Families will be among the nation’s largest efforts to determine the effectiveness of monthly unconditional payments to residents to help overcome economic instability

Oakland will host one of the largest guaranteed income pilot projects in the country to give 600 BIPOC families with low-incomes an unconditional $500 per month for at least 18 months.

“Oakland Resilient Families” is a collaboration between the Oakland-based community organization Family Independence Initiative and the national Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. The project will support 600 Oakland families while building momentum for strategies to eliminate racial disparities in economic stability, mobility, and assets through a guaranteed income.

“The poverty we all witness today is not a personal failure, it is a systems failure,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. “Guaranteed income is one of the most promising tools for systems change, racial equity, and economic mobility we’ve seen in decades. I’m proud to work with such committed local partners to build a new system that can help undo centuries of economic and racial injustice and point us all toward a more just society.”

The Oakland Resilient Families partnership is excited to announce the framework design for community feedback, with the goal of starting payments this spring and summer.

Key Points:

Who is this for? Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) (i.e. groups with the greatest wealth disparities per the Oakland Equity Index) with low incomes and at least 1 child under 18, regardless of documentation status. The term “family” is defined broadly to recognize that families come in all shapes and sizes.
How is “low-income” defined? At or below 50% of Area Median Income (about $59,000 per year for a family of 3), however half of the spots are reserved for very-lo- income families earning below 138% of the Federal Poverty Level (about $30,000 per year for a family of 3).
How are families chosen and how will they apply? Later this spring and summer, and after considerable community outreach efforts that begin with this week’s announcement, a multilingual online form will be released where families can answer a few questions to screen for eligibility. After that families are randomly selected to receive the cash payments.
How can the money be used? In any way families want. Families will receive $500 per month for 18 months, unconditionally, to use however they choose. They have the option of participating in periodic surveys and interviews, but are not required to.

When will this start? The goal is to begin payments to families this spring after incorporating more community feedback and to have the entire program up and running this summer.

Oakland Resilient Families began with a pledge to bring a guaranteed income program to Oakland when Mayor Libby Schaaf joined Mayors for a Guaranteed Income as a founding mayor in 2020. Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI) grew out of the groundbreaking Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) led by former Mayor Michael Tubbs.

MGI now convenes in dozens of cities across the country to support guaranteed income pilots. Oakland Resilient Families is not a city-run program but the partnership with MGI connects the initiative with dozens of other cities for research collaboration and technical assistance.

In preliminary results released earlier this month, gathered from Feb. 2019 to Feb. 2020, SEED found recipients obtained full-time employment at more than twice the rate of non-recipients. Recipients were less anxious and depressed, both over time and compared to the control group. They also saw statistically significant improvements in emotional health, fatigue levels and overall well-being.

The project team includes Oakland-based national non-profit Family Independence Initiative (FII) as the implementing partner and Oakland Thrives provides backbone support and coordination. FII was founded in Oakland 20 years ago with the belief that that society has underestimated the potential and resourcefulness of communities with limited income to improve their own financial and general well-being. FII uses technology to facilitate families in accessing cash and supporting one another in achieving mobility — working with over 200,000 households nationally with $140 million in unrestricted cash transfers since the pandemic reached the U.S.

“When people say ‘How do we solve poverty in America?’ The reality is that families solve poverty everyday,” said Jesus Gerena, CEO, Family Independence Initiative. “FII is proud to deepen our partnership with Oakland families in our hometown through Oakland Resilient Families.”

In partnership with local community organizations and government leaders, Oakland Resilient Families will continue incorporating community feedback on design and implementation. Opportunities will include multilingual outreach, socially distanced in-person and online presentations, tabling at community events, and focus groups with eligible families compensated for their time.

“As a Council representative for East Oakland, an area that faces many challenges including economic disparities and historic underinvestment, I am excited to see this innovative program come to Oakland,” said Councilmember Loren Taylor. “While traditional outreach often comes up short – failing to effectively engage those with the most need, I am ready to help lead a more effective community engagement process to bring hope and relief to those who have not had the chance to benefit from the same prosperity and opportunities in Oakland.”

Oakland Resilient Families is 100% funded through philanthropic donations anchored by an investment from Blue Meridian Partners’ Place Matters portfolio, which aims to improve economic and social mobility in communities across the US through investments both in place-based partnerships and in supports to catalyze their success.

For more information visit www.oaklandresilientfamilies.org

Kiki

Posts by Kiki | Website

Up Next

Church, Health Groups Providing COVID-19 Vaccines in San Francisco

Don't Miss

Gov. Newsom Nominates Rob Bonta as Next Attorney General

Kiki

Click to comment

Arts and Culture

COMMENTARY: Black Music is the Sound of Black Freedom: Let Us Reclaim Both This Juneteenth

Black Music Month started when Black Music Association members Ed Wright, Kenny Gamble and his wife, journalist and radio host Dyanna Williams were able to persuade President Jimmy Carter to establish the observation on June 7, 1979.

Published

1 day ago

June 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Robert Johnson (1911-1938) is thought of as the godfather of blues music, especially Delta blues. The 29 songs recorded by him during his short life have been of massive inspiration to guitarists and musicians over the last 80 years. Public domain photo.

By Wanda Ravernell

Black Music Month and Juneteenth are inextricably linked – Black music is the sound of our freedom.

From the plaintive moans of the enslaved Africans’ ‘sorrow songs,’ to the fields of Civil War battle where Black soldiers picked up abandoned bugles, to the upright piano played in juke joints on Saturday night and churches come Sunday morning, our ancestors’ innovation in the face of want, fear, degradation, and hopelessness has yielded genres of music imitated ’round the world.

In 2000, Congress made it official. In 2009, Pres. Barack Obama changed the name to African American Music Heritage Month and in 2023, Pres. Joe Biden changed it back to Black Music Month, two years after he declared Juneteenth a national holiday, the result of a movement led by Opal Lee.

Our ancestors battle for freedom over these last 400 years and the music that allowed them expression of their humanity deserved to be honored.

But we may be losing sight of the value of their sacrifices.

‘Sing a Song Full of the Faith That the Dark past Has Taught Us…’

Along with the long-known exploitation of Black musicians whose recordings were stolen by record companies, the commercialization of Juneteenth feels like another kind of theft.

I had never heard of Juneteenth until I moved to the Bay Area from my hometown of Philadelphia. I didn’t know it was one of many freedom festivals celebrated by descendants of enslaved people in the United States.

Emancipation Day was Jan. 1 in Pennsylvania, April 16 in Wash., D.C., May 20 in Florida, and Aug. 8 in Kentucky. But Juneteenth, June 19, has the most renown, known in Texas as the ‘colored peoples’ Fourth of July.’

It was marked by parades, beauty pageants, rodeos, backyard barbecues and church picnics.

Yes, church.

The formerly enslaved began the day praying in thanks for their freedom just as they had prayed for Jubilee – the day of freedom – when they had chains on their feet and hands. They ‘testified’ about their past suffering and how they had managed to overcome.

And they sang.

Although, we will not hold it this year, Omnira Institute’s Juneteenth Ritual of Remembrance recalled this part of Juneteenth with prayers in the languages of the African captives. In the middle of the ceremony, a soloist would lead us in singing “Many Thousand Gone” while we took turns reciting portions of the Emancipation Proclamation, the news of freedom that took more than two years to reach Texas – two months after the Civil War ended.

“Many Thousand Gone” was famously recorded by Black luminary Paul Robeson in 1947:

“No more auction block for me,

No more, no more

No more auction black for me

Many thousand gone.”

Other verses refer to the ‘pint of salt’ and the ‘driver’s lash,’ the realities of enslavement that they had survived.

‘Sing a Song Full of the Hope That the Present has Brought Us’

All of the genres of African American music have at their root songs like that, the essence being, as Stevie Wonder, wrote, “the joy inside our pain.” So Black music is not just music. It is our story, our history, our very strength.

During the Civil Rights Movement, which peaked 100 years after slavery ended, the people testified that it was the freedom songs – based on spirituals – that gave them the heart to march, face attack dogs, fire hoses, beatings, and shootouts with vigilantes.

The music reminded them that power was in the people. That music, our music, can do so again. We don’t have to accept the commodification of the products of our culture.

The power of those songs is showing a resurgence across the South as we battle again for the right to self-determination through the ballot box.

Those songs are the voices of our ancestors, voices forged in their blood, their sweat, their tears, joy and, above all, faith. Those songs, those prayers live in our blood and our very breath.

This Juneteenth, let us reclaim those holy voices expressed in Black music for ourselves. It is our birthright. It can neither be bought nor sold. No more. Never again.

Wanda Ravernell is the executive director of Omnira Institute, sponsor for 18 years of the Juneteenth Ritual of Remembrance and Oakland’s 11^th Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival, which will take place on Sept. 12.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 3 – 9, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 3 – 9, 2026

Published

1 day ago

June 9, 2026

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.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

#NNPA BlackPress

Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled

BLACKPRESS USA NEWSWIRE — “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”
The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

1 day ago

June 8, 2026

Oakland Post

By National Women’s Law Center

The National Women’s Law Center released its annual State Child Care Assistance Policies report, finding that the number of children placed on waiting lists for federally funded child care assistance nearly doubled between 2024 and 2025 — and that number has only continued to grow.

The report serves as a key resource for state lawmakers, advocates, and policymakers by tracking state child care assistance policies and identifying where states are strengthening support for families and early educators — or falling behind.

“This deeply troubling increase in the number of children on child care waiting lists is the result of a failure to invest in this crucial sector,” said Karen Schulman, senior director of state child care policy and author of the report. “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”

Key findings in the report related to waiting lists for child care assistance include:

• 17 states had waiting lists or a freeze on intake for child care assistance in February 2025, up from 13 states in February 2024.

• Approximately 106,700 children nationwide were added to waiting lists between February 2024 and February 2025, bringing the total to 225,500 children in February 2025 — a 90 percent increase compared to February 2024.

• The numbers climbed even further between February 2025 and summer/fall 2025, with more than 175,000 additional children added to state waiting lists in just a few months — a 78 percent increase.

• At least seven states newly began placing families on waiting lists or freezing intake, while at least 10 additional states saw their waiting lists grow, after February 2025.

The report also includes state-by-state data on key child care assistance policies, including income eligibility limits, parent copayments, provider payment rates, and eligibility policies for parents searching for work.

Click the link to learn more: Warning Signs: State Child Care Assistance Policies 2025.

The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.