Activism

Rev. Ken Lackey’s Tiny Homes Lift Homeless

Rev. Ken Lackey has asked the Post News Group to become his media partner to help recruit volunteers and to reach out to more than 400 houses of worship and the other hundreds of neighborhoods and community-based organizations. His plan of establishing an extensive network of resource means stems back to the days when he first started laying out his strategy with the late David Glover, the former Director of OCCUR (Oakland Citizens Committee for Urban Renewal).

Published

2 years ago

August 27, 2022

Oakland Post

“With a serious effort of prayerful togetherness, we can help end homelessness for the vast majority of those living in these encampments on our sidewalks, under freeways and other abandoned locations,” Rev. Ken Lackey confidently proclaims.

Preacher, builder says he’d rather see a sermon than hear one, any day

Part 1- Tiny Homes, a Heavy Lift, to Lighten the Load

By Paul Cobb | Post News Group

Rev. Ken Lackey, like Jesus, his biblical idol who was trained as a child to be a carpenter, also sees his mission, to be the second-coming fulfillment of Jesus’ work here in Oakland and other Bay Area cities as a carpenter to build homes for the lost, the least, the lonely, the hungry and those that have been left behind.

He, too, began his work and calling as a teenage construction worker to do the heavy-lifting task of building homes.

In fact, he’s been accustomed to heavy lifting since his days as a U.S. Olympic weightlifting hopeful with the support of Muhammad Ali and the Hyatt Corporation.

Even though he has built more than 150 tiny homes from his own earnings, his ministry and several individual donors, he now wants to do more.

He has asked the Post News Group to become his media partner to help recruit volunteers and to reach out to more than 400 houses of worship and the other hundreds of neighborhoods and community-based organizations. His plan of establishing an extensive network of resource means stems back to the days when he first started laying out his strategy with the late David Glover, the former Director of OCCUR (Oakland Citizens Committee for Urban Renewal).

While the Post was interviewing him and one of his partners, Dr. Maritony Yamot, about a recent donation of 200 acres of land in Manteca, California, he also received a request to accept the use of property in East Oakland to build tiny homes.

His basic single-story models are 8×20 feet with kitchen, bathroom and electrical facilities. They are built with wheels which makes them mobile to allow them to be moved and placed on gravel-covered lots with electrical, plumbing and sewage connections. The homes, once located, will be jacked and leveled to allow for a skirt-like border around the base. All of this for approximately $25,000.

“I plan to hire and train the formerly incarcerated and those homeless persons who want to work to earn,” he said, and that one of his many adaptable models of tiny homes can be built in less than 30 days. He challenged the Oakland Post to utilize a network of OCCUR, Pastors of Oakland, Oakland Chaplaincy, Friendship Christian Center, AASEG, The Oakland Private Industry Council, Holy Names University, The Formerly Incarcerated Giving Back G.I.V.E and the Market Street SDA church to join with him to build 200 homes by Christmas. “We want partners who want to ‘just serve others.’”

“We need to recruit volunteers and community-based groups; choose people who want to win and overcome their situations. I have used my physical and spiritual eyes to help me navigate. Now we will need to involve some of them in EBT (Emotional Brain Training) and other educational classes and services to guide them through our five-year program, which, if they observe the rules and protocols of respect, they can choose to sell their home at the end of the five-year program. This approach was patterned after the Delancey Street model that values work and cooperation.”

Next week Part 2 – How to build & establish entrepreneurial opportunities from these Tiny Homes Gated Communities. Lackey’s Center for the Perfect Marriage.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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

Published

10 hours 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.

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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

21 hours 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.”

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Activism

WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

2 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.