Economics

Post Publisher Cobb Discusses Reparations and Politics

Published

7 years ago

April 1, 2019

Paul Cobb to Interview on SIRIUS XM’s “Inside The Issue’s,” Podcast on Channel 126, with Wilmer J. Leon, III, Ph.D.

Paul Cobb, owner and publisher of the Post News Group, will appear on SIRIUS XM’s Urban View with host Wilmer J. Leon, III, Ph.D. on Saturday, March 30, 2019, at 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

“Inside The Issues,” is a popular podcast that appears on SIRIUS XM’s Urban Channel network. The show focuses on conversation, information, inspiration, empowerment, motivation and companionship from the African-American perspective.

Dr. Wilmer J. Leon, III is known as one of the most explosive voices to be born out of the Obama era. According to Dr. Cornel West, “Wilmer Leon is one of the few Black prophetic voices in the age of Obama……courageous, visionary and consistent!”

The upcoming interview is a continuation from the previous week’s interview, where Cobb pointed out that Black America needs to authentically and organically negotiate the current political, social, and economic landscape.

Cobb’s view of reparations as a reality was very compelling, which led to this week’s continuation of the previous discussion.

This week, Cobb will congratulate the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for their genealogical gift of encoding the first Black bank deposit records of $57 million. The Freedmen’s Bank organized by the U.S. Congress never repaid those deposits owed to Black Americans.

It is estimated that one in three Black families could trace their roots to those deposit records. Cobb said he traveled to Salt Lake City and discovered that his ancestor, Robert Cobb, had deposited $200.00 in the bank branch in Georgia.

With John Collins, Cobb wrote a book manuscript “Blacks On The Money” about the Freedmen’s Bank fiasco. He said the Post will continue the series started by Collins in 2005 in their podcasts and in a special national insert showing Black families how to get a free CD of the depositors’ names.

Cobb’s and Collins’ thesis is that Congress should repay the heirs of the original owners of the deposit books in today’s dollars.

“Those payments could help repair our nation towards reparations,”.said Cobb.

People can call in with questions at 1-866-801-8255, or you can catch the podcast at wihttps://www.siriusxm.com/urbanview.

Rev. Curtis O. Robinson, Sr.

Posts by Rev. Curtis O. Robinson, Sr.

Up Next

Williams Chapel Baptist Church Celebrates 80 Years and Burns Their Mortgage

Don't Miss

Alameda County Supervisors Commend Gay Plair Cobb on 30+ Years of Dedicated Community Service

Rev. Curtis O. Robinson, Sr.

Click to comment

Activism

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses. The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Published

7 days ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, was one of the speakers at the event. Photo by Shellee Fisher Photography and Design.

By Calvin Naito, Special to The Post

On June 4, a national nonprofit named the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP) – which aims to increase public construction contracting opportunities for small and historically underutilized businesses – held a day-long event in downtown San Francisco to rally supporters and build momentum to its cause.

It was attended by more than 100 individuals from public agencies, private firms, and other organizations committed to increasing contracting opportunities with governmental agencies, thereby creating more competition and lowering public costs.

The EIP event was held the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in conjunction with BuildIT, which aims to increase contracting opportunities for LGBT-owned businesses.

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses.

The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Following the workshop, BuildIT hosted a VIP evening reception honoring EIP, whose principals – Phil Washington, John Procari, and Rick Jacobs – accepted the award.

The event also set in motion the coalition’s efforts to implement recommendations from EIP’s “Procurement for Prosperity: A Playbook.”

The Playbook is a practical guide for public agency leaders and procurement and contracting practitioners to grow the capacity of small and first-time contractors, strengthen competition, and deliver better value for taxpayers.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), a long-time EIP supporter, also told attendees, “This is about commitment. This has been a life’s work. This is a tailwind moment.”

The event’s presenting sponsor was Hub International, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the nation, which was joined by partners Travelers Insurance and the State Compensation Insurance Fund.

After the pledge-signing ceremony, attendees participated in a workshop in which they examined the policies, practices, and programs needed to meet EIP goals, learned from practitioners, and identified next steps toward utilizing the Playbook.

Ingrid Meriwether, formerly of Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services (MWIS) and current president of Hub International’s Aligned Risk Management, MWIS, described the hard-fought lessons she and her MWIS team have learned over the last three decades administering contractor development programs (CDPs) for the City and County of San Francisco, Alameda County, City of Los Angeles, LA Metro, and other municipalities.

The CDPs help small and local construction firms win public infrastructure contracts with these government agencies. The program provides bonding assistance, contract financing, technical support, training, and other services to underrepresented businesses funded by public agencies who seek greater contracting participation with these firms.

Merriwether said programs like these “break down systemic barriers, create greater fairness, and save taxpayers money by enabling more competition. The contractor development programs have, cumulatively, over two decades, helped contractors access over $1 billion in bonding, supporting over $380 million in awarded contracts, and maintaining a loss ratio 250 times lower than the industry average – while saving participating municipalities more than $27 million in contracting costs as a result of enabling more competition.”

Rick Jacobs, EIP co-founder and co-chair urged attendees make plans to meet again in the near future “to continue building on this work, share progress on organizational commitments, and discuss how we can collectively advance the goals of the EIP pledge.”

For more information on the EIP and to access a copy of the Playbook, go online to https://equityininfrastructure.org/

Calvin Naito is communications manager for Equity in Infrastructure Project.