Events

“Speak What You Expect,” Says Author Tawana Williams

Published

12 years ago

August 6, 2014

Born without arms and impaired use of her legs, motivational speaker and “UNarmed But Dangerous” author Tawana Williams has persevered through adversity. After doctors told her mother she wouldn’t walk or live past two weeks old, Williams not only overcame those obstacles but she surpassed them and now travels around the country sharing her story of struggle and triumph.

Since 1996, Williams has spoken at multiple churches, schools, prisons, daycares, and organizations motivating millions. She has authored five books, including “UNarmed But Dangerous,” “Mind Interrupted,” “Motivation for the Soul,” “Da-Bomb!” and “I’m Different but I Can.”

Her hope is to help others learn how to live a “no excuse” lifestyle.

As a wife, mother, author, mentor, artist, advocate, TV personality and CEO of Tawana Williams Outreach, Inc., she recently came to Oakland to give her inspiring testimony and show others that anything is possible.

From learning to tie her shoelaces, to changing her daughter’s diaper and braiding her hair, to drawing remarkable portraits all using her feet, when Williams wanted to do something she didn’t let anything stop her.

“I don’t care how hard it is, I kept trying it,” she said speaking at the Herbert Guice Academy in Oakland.

Refusing to view her physical condition as a disability, Williams has become self-sufficient and has never looked for a handout.

“I seldom think about my limitations because I’m focused on my possibilities,” she says in a statement on her website.

Using her experiences as a motivator, Williams empowered and challenged her audience to “speak what you expect” and never give up on your dreams. Her words of wisdom related to all generations and encouraged people to “make it happen for yourself.”

Having battled with a drug addiction and a stroke in which she suffered some memory loss, Williams’ motivational words resonated with those people dealing with health issues. She encouraged them saying, “Whose report are you going to believe about yourself? What do you believe about yourself?”

“Remove the word ‘try’ and say ‘do,” Williams said.

“I know that this will make lives better. It’s about being able to help people,” said Martha Brown, a member of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Oakland, who organized the speaking event.

For anyone that has not experienced Williams telling her inspiring story, her words of advice are something to live by. Reprogram your mind and tell yourself yes, she said. Be confident; stay focused with no distractions; get a mentor; and make no more excuses.

“Speak what God tells you about yourself,” Williams said. “Move in your greatness.”

For more information about Tawana Williams, visit www.tawanawilliams.com.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

Published

2 days ago

July 5, 2026

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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Arts and Culture

Prescott Circus Theatre Presents Free Summer Performance Series

Now in its 41st year, the Prescott Circus Theatre is a nationally recognized performing arts education program for Oakland youth. The circus offers safe environments that challenge Oakland youth, through circus arts training, to develop the skills and confidence to thrive on stage, in school, and in life.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

Prescott Circus showcase pathways pyramid. Photo courtesy of Prescott Circus.

By Post Staff

The Prescott Circus, Oakland’s longest-running youth circus, is returning this summer with its free shows. Join the Prescott Circus’s young stars as they share their joys and talents through stilt-dancing, tumbling, juggling, and more.

At the heart of this one-hour show, which demonstrates teamwork, pride, and joy, are Oakland Unified School District students ages 8 – 17 from more than 10 different schools

This is accomplished through no-cost school and community programs for more than 300 Oakland youth each year. Performing company members from Prescott, where the program began, perform and make appearances at as many as 40 Bay Area events each year.

The summer program is funded in part by Oakland Fund for Children and Youth, California Arts Council, Port of Oakland, and the West Davis & Bergard Foundation.

Performances will be held Tuesday, July 14, 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (ASL interpreted) and Wednesday, July 15, 11 a.m., at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. For free reservations go to

https://PrescottCircusSummerShows.eventbrite.com

For group reservations for camps, childcare centers, senior centers, go to www.prescottcircus.org

A community show will be held Saturday, July 18, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., at DeFremery Park,1651 Adeline St., Oakland.

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Activism

Inaugural Juneteenth Awards Ceremony Celebrates the Fillmore’s Black History, Leadership and Resilience

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

Published

2 weeks ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown, Pastor Emeritus of Third Baptist Church, SF Mayor Daniel Lurie. Photo by Linda Parker Pennington.

By Linda Parker Pennington

The Fillmore Community Ambassadors held its first annual Juneteenth Wesley Johnson White Horse Awards ceremony on June 19 inside the newly reopened Fillmore Heritage Center.

The event featured awards for former San Francisco mayors London Breed and Willie Brown, along with Third Baptist Church Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown.

The Koret Heritage lobby at the newly reopened center at 1330 Fillmore St. held a standing-room-only, culturally diverse and multi-generational audience while the art gallery featured photos of Fillmore community members in action, red Japanese lanterns, art and calligraphy, and Chinese artwork, giving the space a multicultural feel.

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood acknowledged that “the Fillmore community has had a difficult history. Thanks to Rev. Amos Brown’s continuous focus on accountability and resistance, you hold us accountable and continue to inspire us.”

Mahmoud is referring to the Fillmore’s Japanese residents who were forced from their homes and sent to concentration camps during World War II. Black people occupied those homes until the return of their Japanese neighbors and then gave them back, while homes that had been unoccupied were lost. The presence of the Asian community on Juneteenth is a testament to that shared history.

In receiving his honor, Amos Brown elicited a powerful spontaneous call-and-response, where members of San Francisco’s many Black churches proudly shouted out the names: “Bethel AME! Providence Baptist! Jones Memorial! Glide!”

Awards program Master of Ceremonies Shawn Richards of Brothers Against Guns warmly introduced Breed, highlighting her many accomplishments, particularly on “March 16, 2020, when she became the first mayor to shut down a major U.S. city due to COVID-19, saving thousands of lives.”

The audience was captivated by Breed’s emotional speech touching on past traumas, present conditions, and future hopes for the neighborhood where she grew up.

She recalled another trauma of the neighborhood during the City’s redevelopment era in the 1960s, where Black residents were forced to move with a promise of being able to return that was largely unfulfilled.

“We remember when this land was just a field because they bulldozed hundreds of Victorian homes that Black people owned. They built the Fillmore Center, where most Black people can’t afford to live or start their own business. But we are still here.”