Activism

Poor People’s Campaign Urges Community to Vote in Upcoming Elections

Published

4 years ago

March 5, 2020

Oakland’s Poor People’s Campaign teamed up with student and community volunteers to host a teach-in discussing voting, housing community, and education — all hot button issues for Oakland in the upcoming elections. About 200 people attended the Feb. 24 event at the Laney College Forum.

“We believe that people should not live or die from poverty in the richest nation ever to exist,” said Kimberly King, professor at Laney College and member of the Peralta Federation of Teachers. Her statement is from one of the 12 principles of The Poor People’s Campaign — a revival of the movement for economic justice started in 1968 and championed by Martin Luther King Jr.

The teach-in tackled the subjects of campaign financing, fake news and the importance of voting in the 2020 local elections, and featured topics such as “The Billion Dollar Disinformation Campaign to re-elect the president,” “Racist Origins of the Electoral College,” and “The connection among basic needs, voting, and capitalism.”

Mom4Housing co-founders Misty Cross and Dominique Walker spoke of their struggles with homelessness, and their fight to secure housing after occupying a vacant home owned by real estate giant Wedgewood.

“Whether we start making up our own policies, make petitions, whether we got to go door to door….we’ve got to show this city,” said Cross.

With support from nonprofit Oakland Community Land Trust, Moms4Housing said they are currently still in negotiations with the Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and Wedgewood in a bid to purchase the property.

Teach-in attendees at the Laney College forum on Feb. 24. Photo by Saskia Hatvany.

Mike Hutchinson, a former sports coach who is running for District 5 Oakland school board seat in November, urged the audience to inform themselves and participate in local elections.

“A lot of people have not realized that public education has been under attack,” said Hutchinson, who pointed to the Oakland Unified School District’s gradual replacement of public schools with privatized charter schools. A 2018 report by In the Public Interest (ITPI), an independent research center, found that OUSD has the highest concentration of charter schools in the state at 30% — which has attracted a slew of pro-charter, big-money investments in the form of campaign donations.

“It’s really about money. When we say privatize, what it means is they want to profit out off of our education system,” said Hutchinson. “I want to encourage everyone in here not just to vote and really not just to get involved in the campaign of someone you believe in, but to actually look into running for office yourself.”

In November, five out of eight Oakland city council member seats are up for election, along with four of the seven school board seats.

The Peralta Community College District, which encompasses Laney, Merritt, Alameda and Berkeley City Colleges, is facing its own crisis as the threat of a state takeover has prompted the district to cut 6% of classes from the 2020 spring schedule, with more to come in the fall.

The cuts are expected to disproportionately affect part-time workers, who make up a majority of the District’s faculty and have prompted faculty outcry.

“There is plenty of wealth in our society for everyone to have a quality education…for everybody to have a home to live in,” said King. “We the people need to get our so-called elected leaders to represent the community we live in.”

For more information about the Poor People’s Campaign, visit www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/

Saskia Hatvany

Posts by Saskia Hatvany

Up Next

Coronavirus: What Older Adults Need to Know

Don't Miss

Henry Delton Williams — Costume Designer to Motown’s Greatest Performers

Saskia Hatvany

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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

Published

4 days ago

April 19, 2024

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

Activism

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

4 days 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.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

5 days ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Juanita Matthews

Sister Juanita Matthews

55 Years with Oakland Public School District

The Teacher, Mother, Community Outreach Champion, And Child of God

Juanita Matthews, better known as “Sister Teacher,” is a walking Bible scholar. She moved to California from the great state of Arkansas in 1971. Sister Teacher has a passion for teaching. She has been a member of Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church since 1971. She followed her passion for teaching, and in 1977 became the lead teacher for Adult Class #6. Her motto still today is “Once My Student, Always My Student”.

Beyond her remarkable love for the Lord, Sister Teacher has showcased her love for teaching by working for the Oakland Unified School District for 55 years, all but four of those years spent at Emerson Elementary and Child Development School. She truly cares about her students, making sure they have the tools/supplies needed to learn either at OUSD or Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

She’s also had a “Clothes Closet Ministry” for 51 years, making sure her students have sufficient clothing for school. The Clothes Closet Ministry extends past her students, she has been clothing the community for over 50 years as well. She loves the Lord and is a servant on a mission. She is a loving mother to two beautiful children, Sandra and Andre. This is the impact this woman of God has on her church and the community.