Bay Area

Opinion – COVID-19 and the Black Business Community

Published

6 years ago

May 7, 2020

We’ve heard it, perpetually-year after year, decade after decade, generation after generation—the African American community is the most maligned and underrepresented population per capita, in US history. Notwithstanding a legacy of accomplishment despite excessive personal attack; academic achievement despite underfunded institutions, freedom despite mass imprisonment, and human survival despite genocide: the African American business community must and will survive.

We are presently facing the direst human contagion of the last century; a novel corona virus, COVID-19, threatens to destroy the African American community. We have not faced a medical battle of this proportion–nearly 75,000 Americans have died in less than 100 days–since the 1918 Spanish Flu decimated the US population by some 200,000 fatalities. How did America become the greatest and wealthiest nation on the planet following that epic health crisis? The likely answer is on the backs of African Americans, Spanish Americans, Asian Americans and Native Americans—the collective peoples of color.

Where is the documented history of our survival and wealth building since that time, save the unthinkable assassinations wrought from Jim Crow and Civil Rights eras?

Despite the unthinkable assassinations that occurred during the Jim Crow and Civil Rights eras, and with some atrocities still occurring, we must and will survive. As we rise from this present-day annihilation, we further resolve [that] our economic vitality will not be held hostage nor lay in a perpetual state of weakened life support. As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. declared in his 1963 March on Washington speech when he said, “we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check…America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’ But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.”

And still today, the wealth inheritance for the African American community whether held back, denied, stolen or misappropriated is still past due.

Our survival is part of a continuum. The African American [Black Business] community will again create its own funding vehicles following the successful footsteps of many history-making and successful businesspersons such as Madame C.J. Walker – First female African American millionaire and inventor; Arthur George “A.G.” Gaston – Noted hotelier and entrepreneur; John H. Johnson – Founder and Publisher of Ebony Magazine; Sheila Johnson – Co-Founder of Black Entertainment Television Network, first African American female billionaire, hotelier and Oprah Winfrey – Billionaire media mogul and philanthropist.

We must and we will survive by following their examples of self help and mutual support.

Cathy Adams, President of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (www.oaacc.org) states, “The African American business community will survive this health crisis but the degree of our recovery will be determined by the financial resources and healthcare services made available. Before we were staring COVID-19 in the face, the Black community was swimming upstream against a current of inequities and insufficient services to balance the quality of life across racial demographics. Nonetheless, we have pushed forward. The goal now is to recover, equally, during and on the other side of this debilitating economic and health crisis.”

Sandra Varner

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Activism

OP-ED: AB 1349 Puts Corporate Power Over Community

Since Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged in 2010, ticket prices have jumped more than 150 percent. Activities that once fit a family’s budget now take significant disposable income that most working families simply don’t have. The problem is compounded by a system that has tilted access toward the wealthy and white-collar workers. If you have a fancy credit card, you get “presale access,” and if you work in an office instead of a warehouse, you might be able to wait in an online queue to buy a ticket. Access now means privilege.

Published

4 days ago

January 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

By Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

As a pastor, I believe in the power that a sense of community can have on improving people’s lives. Live events are one of the few places where people from different backgrounds and ages can share the same space and experience – where construction workers sit next to lawyers at a concert, and teenagers enjoy a basketball game with their grandparents. Yet, over the past decade, I’ve witnessed these experiences – the concerts, games, and cultural events where we gather – become increasingly unaffordable, and it is a shame.

These moments of connection matter as they form part of the fabric that holds communities together. But that fabric is fraying because of Ticketmaster/Live Nation’s unchecked control over access to live events. Unfortunately, AB 1349 would only further entrench their corporate power over our spaces.

Power over live events is concentrated in a single corporate entity, and this regime operates without transparency or accountability – much like a dictator. Ticketmaster controls 80 percent of first-sale tickets and nearly a third of resale tickets, but they still want more. More power, more control for Ticketmaster means higher prices and less access for consumers. It’s the agenda they are pushing nationally, with the help of former Trump political operatives, who are quietly trying to undo the antitrust lawsuit launched against Ticketmaster/Live Nation under President Biden’s DOJ.

That’s why I’m deeply concerned about AB 1349 in its current form. Rather than reining in Ticketmaster’s power, the bill risks strengthening it, aligning with Trump. AB 1349 gives Ticketmaster the ability to control a consumer’s ticket forever by granting Ticketmaster’s regime new powers in state law to prevent consumers from reselling or giving away their tickets. It also creates new pathways for Ticketmaster to discriminate and retaliate against consumers who choose to shop around for the best service and fees on resale platforms that aren’t yet controlled by Ticketmaster. These provisions are anti-consumer and anti-democratic.

California has an opportunity to stand with consumers, to demand transparency, and to restore genuine competition in this industry. But that requires legislation developed with input from the community and faith leaders, not proposals backed by the very company causing the harm.

Will our laws reflect fairness, inclusion, and accountability? Or will we let corporate interests tighten their grip on spaces that should belong to everyone? I, for one, support the former and encourage the California Legislature to reject AB 1349 outright or amend it to remove any provisions that expand Ticketmaster’s control. I also urge community members to contact their representatives and advocate for accessible, inclusive live events for all Californians. Let’s work together to ensure these gathering spaces remain open and welcoming to everyone, regardless of income or background.

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

Published

2 weeks ago

January 2, 2026

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post

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Big God Ministry Gives Away Toys in Marin City

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grow up.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

From top left: Pastor David Hall asking the children what they want to be when they grow up. Worship team Jake Monaghan, Ruby Friedman, and Keri Carpenter. Children lining up to receive their presents. Photos by Godfrey Lee.

By Godfrey Lee

Big God Ministries, pastored by David Hall, gave toys to the children in Marin City on Monday, Dec. 15, on the lawn near the corner of Drake Avenue and Donahue Street.

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Around 75 parents and children were there to receive the presents, which consisted mainly of Gideon Bibles, Cat in the Hat pillows, Barbie dolls, Tonka trucks, and Lego building sets.

A half dozen volunteers from the Big God Ministry, including Donnie Roary, helped to set up the tables for the toy giveaway. The worship music was sung by Ruby Friedman, Keri Carpenter, and Jake Monaghan, who also played the accordion.

Big God Ministries meets on Sundays at 10 a.m. at the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA Their phone number is (415) 797-2567.