Bay Area

SEQ CHAPTER Imani Vision Board Party at The MC Arts Gallery

Kwanzaa was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, in 1966. After the Watts riots in Los Angeles, Dr. Karenga searched for ways to bring African Americans together as a community.

Published

4 years ago

January 8, 2022

Oakland Post

From left: Ayana Morgan-Woodard, Chauntina Thomas holding her vision board, Oshalla Diana Marcus and Brittney Burton. (Photo by Godfrey Lee. More photos can be seen on the MC Arts and Culture Facebook page.)

By Godfrey Lee

Oshalla Diana Marcus hosted the Imani Vision Board Party at the MC Arts Gallery in Marin City on Saturday, New Year’s Day, starting the New Year celebrating the principles of Kwanzaa.

Vision boarding is a fun activity involving clipping pictures and words out of magazines to visually represent the life you want to see for yourself. Marcus wrote in her announcement that “many see vision boarding as creating art, while others see it as therapy. However, all can agree that it is fun, especially when combined with healthy traditional New Year’s Day Soul Food: rice, greens, black-eyed peas, chicken, corn bread, and a little sweet wine.”

A small group of women came to the vision board party, including Brittney Burton and Ayana Morgan-Woodard who helped Marcus organize the event. Mz. Ebony Divine McKinley said it didn’t matter how many people came. “It is not your loss; it is their loss.

They miss out on a beautiful event. Don’t take it as a failure. Just look at it as I’m giving it to you,” she said.

Marcus said that the event is an opportunity for us to model, create and imagine something in new ways, especially in our work and world. Kwanzaa was a holiday that reminds us that we can be sustainable and self-sufficient. “It is important to really understand this about our culture. So, let’s own it.” Oshalla said.

Marcus also honored the ancestors who came before us and brought us to where we are now.

Karenga combined aspects of several different African harvest celebrations, such as those of the Ashanti and the Zulu, to form the basis of the week-long holiday.

The Swahili term ‘umoja’ means ‘unity’ to strive for and maintain in the family, community, nation and race.

‘Kujichagulia’ means ‘self-determination,’ to define, name, create and speak for oneself.

‘Ujima’ means ‘collective work and responsibility,’ to build, uplifting your community together and to help one another in your community.

‘Ujama’ means ‘cooperative economics.’ Similar to Ujima, this principle refers to uplifting your community economically, and to build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.

‘Nia’ means ‘purpose’ or to collectively build and developing of the community in order to restore it to its traditional greatness.

‘Kuumba’ meaning ‘creativity,’ to use our creativity and imagination in order to make our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

‘Imani,’ the final principle, translates to ‘faith’ in the community, and “to believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, teachers, leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle,” says Karenga.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.