Community

OP-ED: OG Told Me with Paul Cobb

Published

13 years ago

August 29, 2013

“Read. Read any and everything. Newspapers. Billboards. Dictionaries and comic books. And write. Write your thoughts and ideas about what the words mean because it gives you the intellectual discipline.”

Paul Cobb was born on the basement floor of a building on Pine and 7th st in West Oakland. As a kid, he worked as a shoeshine boy. His customers were the gentlemen who traveled across the country, working on the cars of the Transcontinental Railroad; the Pullman Porters.

“The Porters would travel all around the country,” Cobb said, as he sat in the conference room of The Post Newsgroup’s office in downtown Oakland. “And by the time (the Pullman Porters) got to Oakland, they’d have newspapers from all around the country!”

He was fascinated with reading about how African Americans lived all across America.

“I used to cut and collect Mastheads (the title of a newspaper or magazine at the head of the front or editorial page), like some kids would collect baseball cards,” he laughed as he told the story. “People would think I was crazy when I talked about it!”

Cobb progressed from working as a shoeshine boy in front of the grocery store his parents owned, to obtaining his own paper route; and eventually to working for local publications.

Paul Laurence Dunbar Cobb was born to be a writer; his mother made sure of that when she named him after the famous African American poet.

His writing ability took him from the Lower Bottoms neighborhood in West Oakland to Selma, Alabama; where he served as an usher and journalist as he marched right behind Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

He has the photo to prove it.

In March of 1965, Cobb marched, camped and conversed with King and his cadre of Civil Rights Activists.

“I met (James) Baldwin at the march in Selma!” Cobb leaned forward in his chair as he exclaimed. Cobb says that Ralph Abernathy joked with him, “you’re more excited to meet James than you are to meet MLK!”

He was.

He had met Dr. King in Oakland before, but he had never met Baldwin.

A year later, while attending Howard University’s Law School, Cobb wrote an article on Baldwin. Cobb speaks highly of his time at Howard, but his stint was short lived.

Cobb, Marion Berry (former DC Mayor), and Topper Carew (TV producer, Martin and other shows) were students and friends on Howard’s campus. The trio organized a successful bus faire strike, and later a political protest that wasn’t as successful. Cobb says the administration at Howard wasn’t pleased with the political stance he had taken, and asked that he discontinue attending classes at the University.

But that didn’t stop Cobb from reading and writing.

“I never took a single course in journalism,” says Cobb, who now owns the Post News Group.”I’m not bragging, I’m lamenting.”

Cobb says that he relies on his childhood experiences with the newspaper industry for his business savvy and writing skills.

When asked the question: given his life experiences, what would he tell a young person to help them along their life’s path… OG TOLD ME:

“Reading is a discipline for the mind. It is the best self-confidence builder,”Cobb said. He inhaled, sat back in his chair, exhaled and then continued: “incorporating the wisdom of what you’ve read, and communicating it bewilders people.”

He advised me that, “If you put the time in, one hour a day, it will redound to your benefit.”

He concluded by saying,

“You know how some people say, ‘don’t mess with that cat on the chessboard cause he’s that vicious’— well I’m like that on the Scrabble Board. ‘Cause I play with the same attitude as the gangs on the street in the turf.”

He pounded the table with his right fist, “that is my board.”

Courtesy of Pendarvis Harshaw at OG Told Me.

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Related Topics:March on Washington OGToldMe Paul Cobb Pendarvis Harshaw

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Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

18 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

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Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

20 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.