Bay Area
Racist Bomb Threat Forces Evacuation of North Oakland Elementary School
Chabot Elementary School in the Rockridge District of North Oakland was evacuated Tuesday after receiving a racist bomb threat and “multiple threatening emails, phone calls and social media posts,” according to statements released by the Oakland Unified School District.

By Ken Epstein
Chabot Elementary School in the Rockridge District of North Oakland was evacuated Tuesday after receiving a racist bomb threat and “multiple threatening emails, phone calls and social media posts,” according to statements released by the Oakland Unified School District.
The threats came in response to an on-campus “Playdate” organized by Chabot’s Equity and Inclusion Committee last Saturday, “which was intended to build and promote positive affinity spaces for students and families of color,” wrote OUSD Supt. Kyla Johnson-Trammell, in an email to the public-school community.
These incidents are being taken seriously by the school district and the Oakland Police Department, and the FBI is “now involved in this active investigation,” wrote the superintendent.
The bomb threat and threatening messages followed in the wake of comments by a right-wing social media commentator who denounced the school community for organizing the playdate for families of color at the school.
Chabot Elementary, situated in an affluent Oakland neighborhood, has 560 students: 46% white, 13% Hispanic or Latino, 12% Black, 6% Asian, and 1% Hawaiian. Overall, the school district’s students are 11% white, 20% Black, 46% Latino, and 10% Asian.
Mayor Sheng Thao has committed to maintaining a police presence near the school for the rest of this week, and school district and city leaders, working with the school administration, will hold a community town hall next week.
“I am outraged that our children, educators and neighbors have been targeted by malicious threats,” said Thao. “My office is in contact with Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) as we seek answers. We are monitoring the situation closely”.
District officials mobilized central office staff to offer “coordinated safety and mental health support in place” for students, families, and staff at the school.
At about 8 a.m. on Tuesday, district officials learned of the bomb threat against the school and relocated school’s students and staff to a baseball field next to the school and advised parents who were arriving to take their students home.
“Officers arrived shortly after, secured the campus and conducted a thorough bomb search, before declaring an all-clear for Chabot to reopen (Wednesday),” according to the superintendent’s statement.
The school district informed police about the threatening messages on Monday. OPD learned of the bomb threat Tuesday at about 7:30 a.m. and notified the school’s principal. Because the report came before the beginning of the school day, only about 30 students were on campus, said OPD Capt. Lisa Ausmus, quoted in Oaklandside.
Police officers and dogs from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office searched the school late Tuesday morning before announcing that the school was safe for students and staff to return.
“I will say that the (bomb threat) email has a racial undertone in it,” said Ausmus. “We’re currently investigating that right now. We have asked the FBI, and they’re going to come in and assist us with this investigation.”
Several parents who were involved in the school’s equity and inclusion group, which has been organizing the playdates for families of color at Chabot for the last few years, said that they began receiving hate emails and threats on Sunday after a flyer announcing the playdate was posted on Reddit, according to Oaklandside.
School Boardmember Sam Davis said in an interview with Oaklandside that the playdate “suddenly became a big deal” after the school district received “an inquiry from a conservative news site.”
He said the messages that were posted online about the playdate were “pretty hateful and just deeply offensive and racist. Just really awful stuff.”
In her letter to the school community, Supt. Johnson-Trammell pledged to protect Oakland students and families.
“OUSD remains, as always, committed to the physical safety and emotional well-being of our students, families and educators,” she wrote.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

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Activism
Juneteenth: Celebrating Our History, Honoring Our Shared Spaces
It’s been empowering to watch Juneteenth blossom into a widely celebrated holiday, filled with vibrant outdoor events like cookouts, festivals, parades, and more. It’s inspiring to see the community embrace our history—showing up in droves to celebrate freedom, a freedom delayed for some enslaved Americans more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

By Wayne Wilson, Public Affairs Campaign Manager, Caltrans
Juneteenth marks an important moment in our shared history—a time to reflect on the legacy of our ancestors who, even in the face of injustice, chose freedom, unity, and community over fear, anger, and hopelessness. We honor their resilience and the paths they paved so future generations can continue to walk with pride.
It’s been empowering to watch Juneteenth blossom into a widely celebrated holiday, filled with vibrant outdoor events like cookouts, festivals, parades, and more. It’s inspiring to see the community embrace our history—showing up in droves to celebrate freedom, a freedom delayed for some enslaved Americans more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
As we head into the weekend full of festivities and summer celebrations, I want to offer a friendly reminder about who is not invited to the cookout: litter.
At Clean California, we believe the places where we gather—parks, parade routes, street corners, and church lots—should reflect the pride and beauty of the people who fill them. Our mission is to restore and beautify public spaces, transforming areas impacted by trash and neglect into spaces that reflect the strength and spirit of the communities who use them.
Too often, after the music fades and the grills cool, our public spaces are left littered with trash. Just as our ancestors took pride in their communities, we honor their legacy when we clean up after ourselves, teach our children to do the same, and care for our shared spaces.
Small acts can inspire big change. Since 2021, Clean California and its partners have collected and removed over 2.9 million cubic yards of litter. We did this by partnering with local nonprofits and community organizations to organize grassroots cleanup events and beautification projects across California.
Now, we invite all California communities to continue the incredible momentum and take the pledge toward building a cleaner community through our Clean California Community Designation Program. This recognizes cities and neighborhoods committed to long-term cleanliness and civic pride.
This Juneteenth, let’s not only celebrate our history—but also contribute to its legacy. By picking up after ourselves and by leaving no litter behind after celebrations, we have an opportunity to honor our past and shape a cleaner, safer, more vibrant future.
Visit CleanCA.com to learn more about Clean California.
Activism
OPINION: California’s Legislature Has the Wrong Prescription for the Affordability Crisis — Gov. Newsom’s Plan Hits the Mark
Last month, Gov. Newsom included measures in his budget that would encourage greater transparency, accountability, and affordability across the prescription drug supply chain. His plan would deliver real relief to struggling Californians. It would also help expose the hidden markups and practices by big drug companies that push the prices of prescription drugs higher and higher. The legislature should follow the Governor’s lead and embrace sensible, fair regulations that will not raise the cost of medications.

By Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook
As a pastor and East Bay resident, I see firsthand how my community struggles with the rising cost of everyday living. A fellow pastor in Oakland recently told me he cuts his pills in half to make them last longer because of the crushing costs of drugs.
Meanwhile, community members are contending with skyrocketing grocery prices and a lack of affordable healthcare options, while businesses are being forced to close their doors.
Our community is hurting. Things have to change.
The most pressing issue that demands our leaders’ attention is rising healthcare costs, and particularly the rising cost of medications. Annual prescription drug costs in California have spiked by nearly 50% since 2018, from $9.1 billion to $13.6 billion.
Last month, Gov. Newsom included measures in his budget that would encourage greater transparency, accountability, and affordability across the prescription drug supply chain. His plan would deliver real relief to struggling Californians. It would also help expose the hidden markups and practices by big drug companies that push the prices of prescription drugs higher and higher. The legislature should follow the Governor’s lead and embrace sensible, fair regulations that will not raise the cost of medications.
Some lawmakers, however, have advanced legislation that would drive up healthcare costs and set communities like mine back further.
I’m particularly concerned with Senate Bill (SB) 41, sponsored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), a carbon copy of a 2024 bill that I strongly opposed and Gov. Newsom rightly vetoed. This bill would impose significant healthcare costs on patients, small businesses, and working families, while allowing big drug companies to increase their profits.
SB 41 would impose a new $10.05 pharmacy fee for every prescription filled in California. This new fee, which would apply to millions of Californians, is roughly five times higher than the current average of $2.
For example, a Bay Area family with five monthly prescriptions would be forced to shoulder about $500 more in annual health costs. If a small business covers 25 employees, each with four prescription fills per month (the national average), that would add nearly $10,000 per year in health care costs.
This bill would also restrict how health plan sponsors — like employers, unions, state plans, Medicare, and Medicaid — partner with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to negotiate against big drug companies and deliver the lowest possible costs for employees and members. By mandating a flat fee for pharmacy benefit services, this misguided legislation would undercut your health plan’s ability to drive down costs while handing more profits to pharmaceutical manufacturers.
This bill would also endanger patients by eliminating safety requirements for pharmacies that dispense complex and costly specialty medications. Additionally, it would restrict home delivery for prescriptions, a convenient and affordable service that many families rely on.
Instead of repeating the same tired plan laid out in the big pharma-backed playbook, lawmakers should embrace Newsom’s transparency-first approach and prioritize our communities.
Let’s urge our state legislators to reject policies like SB 41 that would make a difficult situation even worse for communities like ours.
About the Author
Rev. Dr. VanHook is the founder and pastor of The Community Church in Oakland and the founder of The Charis House, a re-entry facility for men recovering from alcohol and drug abuse.
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