Activism

Rally Against Hate, Plan to Reopen Businesses in Downtown Oakland

With COVID, urban riots, and racist attacks, the question that comes to mind is whether we have lost Chinatown.

Published

3 years ago

May 14, 2021

Carl Chan, president of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, Greg McConnell, president of the Jobs and Housing Coalition, and Rick da Silva stand in front of the Pacific Renaissance Plaza. The plaza has been boarded up whenever there have been protests and has spent a lot of time under wraps this past year. Photo by Mimi Rohr

Drive through downtown Oakland and you get the impression that the city has been lost. Part of that is due to COVID-19. For the past 18 months, we have been on lockdown. People have not been meeting face to face. Instead, we are Zoomers.

As we come out of the pandemic and venture outside, we notice there is another reason that cities look like ghost towns. Storefronts are boarded up and often tagged with graffiti. Many people we have talked to say the appearance of downtown Oakland is depressing. Some say it looks as though the urban rioters who took advantage of peaceful protests have won. They own the streets because Oakland has surrendered.

Ride through Oakland Chinatown and you see the same images. As we enter post-COVID status, residents and visitors are confronted with boarded-up storefronts and the impression that, save a few markets, Chinatown is not open for business.

Unfortunately, in addition to the pandemic and urban riots, Chinatown must deal with a recent spate of racist attacks on Asians. These attacks against Asians are happening in urban areas throughout the country, but they are particularly challenging for Oakland Chinatown residents and businesses.

With COVID, urban riots, and racist attacks, the question that comes to mind is whether we have lost Chinatown. The resounding answer from Chinatown leaders is “No, We Have Not!”

On May 11, Carl Chan and Rick da Silva of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce (Chinatown Chamber), took Mimi Rohr and Greg McConnell of the Jobs and Housing Coalition (JHC) on a tour of Chinatown to see first-hand what is going on in the community. We saw boarded-up storefronts and fewer people on the streets.

When I asked Chan whether the business was down, he indicated that it was, but he also said with absolute certainty “Chinatown will come back. Chinese people are resilient, and they do not surrender”.

Chan and da Silva went on to say that the Chinatown Chamber is going to lead a bold program to Onboard Chinatown. “We want to bring life back to our area and we cannot do that if people think everything is closed down. We want all of Oakland to come and support Chinatown. For that to happen, we need to restore normality and a feeling of safety by having the streets again filled with people bustling along.”

JHC stands in solidarity with timber Chinatown Cha. We encourage the entire city to do the same. Chinatown is the fourth-highest revenue producer for Oakland. Tax revenues derived from Chinatown pay for many of the services that Oakland needs to survive.

But more important than just the financial loss to Oakland, if we lose Chinatown, we lose a piece of Oakland. Supporting Chinatown is imperative in a city that prides itself on racial diversity and openness to all people.

On May 15, the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce is holding a “Unite Against Hate March and Rally” at the Pacific Renaissance Plaza, 388 9th St., in Oakland Chinatown. In addition to an expression to reject hate, Chan and Silva will announce their Onboard Chinatown program.

JHC will be there to help. We encourage all residents, businesses, and nonprofit groups in Oakland to join in the struggle against hate and help reclaim the city by onboarding our businesses. We call on the Oakland City Government to provide public-safety protection for the residents of Chinatown and everyone throughout the city of Oakland. If we are to onboard, the city must make sure we can do so safely.

We hope Chinatown’s leadership will help bring Oakland back from the problems we have endured from the pandemic, riots that followed peaceful protests, and racial hatred. JHC stands with leaders like Chan and da Silva and together we will reopen our city and restore normalcy and safety.

Greg McConnell is president of the Job and Housing Coalition

and Carl Chan is president of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce

Mia Lane

Posts by Mia Lane

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Activism

WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

11 hours 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.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland’s ‘Green the Church,’ Others, Host a Climate Revival

On April 20, Oakland’s Green The Church California (GTC) and the Center For Food, Faith and Justice will celebrate Earth Day and present a Climate Revival event titled “Growing Healthy Communities From Soil To The Soul” at McGee Avenue Baptist Church at 1640 Stuart St, Berkeley, CA. The day will include inspiring talks, interactive workshops, networking opportunities, and a special panel on Food Sovereignty and Global Food Resilience.

Published

14 hours ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

The revival will take place at McGee Avenue Baptist Church in Berkeley on April 20. Courtesy image.

Growing Healthy Communities from Soil to the Soul in Berkeley

By Y’Anad Burrell

The day will include inspiring talks, interactive workshops, networking opportunities, and a special panel on Food Sovereignty and Global Food Resilience.

The keynote speaker is Rev. Danté R. Quick, PhD, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, N.J. Quick is well known in the Bay Area, having served for more than 10 years as pastor of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Vallejo, CA.

Green The Church, founded in 2010 by Rev. Dr. Ambrose Carroll, Sr., and headquartered in Oakland, helps galvanize Black churches and their local communities and leaders to address issues critical to populations historically disengaged from conversations around pollution and health, climate change, and sustainability and energy efficiency.

The organization collaborates with major environmental, sustainability, food security, faith, and community-based non-profit organizations, and is committed to “creation justice”—care and justice for God’s people and the planet—and building the Beloved Community.

Environmental justice has long been a pressing concern for communities of color who bear the brunt of pollution and ecological degradation. Climate change exacerbates these issues, disproportionately impacting vulnerable communities. Recognizing this urgency, Black churches across the country are taking action.

With deep roots in the African American community and its commitment to social justice, the Black Church has become an essential advocate for sustainable practices and policies.

Over the past 14 years, in a powerful collaboration with significant environmental, sustainability, food security, faith, and community-based non-profit organizations, GTC has created a cadre of Black churches engaging in the environmental justice, climate, and sustainability movement.

GTC presently works with more than 1,000 pastors and congregations across the U.S., and groups in the Bahamas, Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK, showing that we can make a difference together.

The partnership between environmental justice advocates and the Black Church extends beyond individual congregations. Green The Church provides resources and support for faith communities seeking to address climate change and promote environmental justice.

Through collaboration, initiatives such as energy efficiency programs, solar installations, and environmental education have been implemented in Black churches nationwide. These efforts reduce the carbon footprint and save money on energy bills, benefiting the congregations and their communities.

The involvement of the Black Church in the fight against climate change is not just a participation, it’s a powerful message that galvanizes action across communities.

By integrating environmental justice into their ministry, Black churches are demonstrating that addressing climate change is not only a matter of science but also of social and moral responsibility, inspiring change at a grassroots level.

For more information, go to: www.greenthechurch.org.