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Standing Tall: Willie Long and The Mare Island Original 21ers

Published

7 years ago

July 10, 2018

Oakland Post

A Powerful Firsthand Account of Courage, Activism, and Social Justice in California During the 1960s

By Joe Fisher

“Standing Tall: Willie Long and The Mare Island Original 21ers, a new book by Jake Sloan, is an inspiring, sometimes firsthand account of historic events in the Civil Rights Movement that took place at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1960s.

In this educational book, Sloan recounts his role as one of the Mare Island Original 21ers, an activist group of 25 African American men working at the huge shipyard at the time, eight of whom, including Sloan, lived in Richmond.

As a pipefitter, he worked side by side with other men who suffered under organized, systematic, and, sometimes, unconscious discriminatory working conditions in hiring, training, promotions, and equal pay opportunities that had existed for decades at the shipyard.

Now, Sloan has written an outstanding tribute book to celebrate the important story of those unsung heroes, a story long untold, because of the great need for secrecy when it first unfolded.

According to Sloan, this activist group was led by Willie Long, a World War II veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor. Long was an excellent pipefitter who had worked for more than 14 years without a promotion, all the while watching other African American workers suffer similar racial discrimination as well.

By filing an historic racial discrimination complaint, the group that became known as Mare Island Original 21ers peacefully stood up for not only their own civil rights, but for all of the more than 1,000 other African Americans working at the naval shipyard at the time, many of whom were opposed to such direct action.

The complaint was filed in November 1961 with the President’s Committee for Equal Employment Opportunity identifying nine areas of discriminatory practices at the shipyard.

Due to the bravery and activism of the Mare Island Original 21ers, they were successful in helping improve equal opportunity practices at the shipyard over the years and possibly helped influence the Civil Rights Act, the creation of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and other affirmative action benefits for African Americans across the United States.

According to Sloan, “The Original 21ers’ legacy of courage, activism, and social justice continues to protect workers of all colors and impact labor laws in California and beyond even today. In honor of the many brave men in our group who have passed away since our work together in 1961, I have made it my life’s focus to carry forward those principles of fairness and equality in my labor management relations work.”

Sloan is the founder and president of Davillier-Sloan, Inc., one of the leading labor management consulting firms in California, and he has been dedicated to protecting the rights of workers in the construction industry for more than 50 years. He holds a Master’s degree in History from San Francisco State University. Sloan was recently honored with a special speaking engagement at the 2018 Global Hero Round Table, often called the “TED Talks of Heroism,” at the Marines Memorial in San Francisco.

To hear Sloan talk about the book in a recent interview, visit https://bit.ly/2JeGpL6. For more background and current information about the Mare Island Original 21ers, visit www.mareisland21ers.com.

“Standing Tall: Willie Long & The Mare Island Original 21ers” can be purchased from Amazon.

Oakland Post

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Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

6 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

11 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

12 months ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.