Activism

Successful 1-Day Strike Was Only First Step, Activists Say

Hundreds of longshore worker and school activists in a variety of organizations who participated in the one-day strike on Friday, April 29 are developing plans to build their movement by expanding outreach in the community and increasing pressure on the politicians and billionaires who speak with the authority of big money.

Published

4 years ago

May 13, 2022

Oakland Post

Timothy “Akaamka” Killings. Photo courtesy of Mr. Killings.

By Ken Epstein

Following a historic one-day strike of teachers and Port workers at the end of April, a coalition of labor and community activists continues to gather steam against the billionaire takeover of public Port of Oakland property and the giveaway of public school property to corporate interests.

Walter Riley. Photo courtesy of Mr. Riley.

Divya Farias, a special education teacher in Oakland and member of the steering committee of the new coalition, Schools and Labor Against Privatization (S.L.A.P.), says she looks forward to building on the results of the strike.

“It was really successful; we shut all the schools and the Port,” she said. “It was historic to have this united action between teachers, the ILWU, and parents,’’ she added, emphasizing the participation of parents and the “solidarity among different unions that came together at the S.L.A.P. rally against privatization (at City Hall).”

Some activists are hopeful that the Oakland City Council will listen to the outcry from constituents who are demanding that the Council place a measure on the ballot that allows voters to decide whether they want to spend over $1 billion in public money for John Fisher’s new A’s stadium and massive real estate development.

Parents, teachers and school advocates are working with schools that are facing school closures this year and next year to enhance community wide understanding that neighborhood schools, even ones that are not large, are necessary to the survival of working-class Black and Latinx neighborhoods.

Others are focusing on a statewide campaign to pressure political leaders who talk liberal but whose actions instead create a commitment to austerity, the sell-off of public assets and backing the Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team (FCMAT), which is a state-funded unaccountable agency that is going around California closing schools and cutting public school funding.

Farias said she saw amazing examples of solidarity in the strike: school workers in AFSCME and SEIU 1021 joined teachers to picket at schools. “Some principals joined teachers on the picket lines, including the president of the administrators’ union.”

“Longshore workers heading to work respected the (community) picket lines (on Friday evening), and for hours we were able to shut down the Port, the economic engine of the Bay Area,” she said.

“It was (also) exciting that parents supported the strike. We really need to grow that solidarity,” Farias said, adding that more and more students are getting involved.

The strength of the movement is the “public alliance between teachers and longshore workers,” she said.

Next steps are to broaden and deepen the movement: “There has to be a greater understanding that the agenda of privatization is the driving force behind the school closures,” she continued.

Farias also emphasized that the fight ahead will not be easy. Though the movement is stronger and has had some victories, she said, “I don’t think school closures are going to go away anytime soon. We’re trying to slow or stop a train that has been on the tracks for a long time now.”

Timothy “Akaamka” Killings, a school employee and S.L.A.P. steering committee member, also viewed the strike as a major step forward for the anti-privatization movement.

“We’ve connected the two struggles: the longshore workers against privatization of the Port of Oakland and the teachers and community against school closures and consolidations,” he said. “In terms of teachers pushing back against the district, and the community being involved in the struggle and being able to get the word out about what’s going on, it’s been a success.”

Killings said there is still much to be done to educate people to understand pro-corporate talking points that are spread by corporate media, that there are too many schools, that the district is broke, that school closures are the way to support higher quality education for Oakland’s under-served students.

Next steps include more outreach and education, actions to get more people involved and finding school board candidates who will fight against school closures to run in the November election, he said.

“The billionaires and the politicians are learning that this is not going to be as easy as they thought it would be. There is going to be a fight,” Killings said.

Civil rights attorney Walter Riley, a community activist and longtime political leader in Oakland, chaired a S.L.A.P. forum on April 30 where local candidates were interviewed about where they stood on school closings and the stadium/real estate project at the Port of Oakland.

“Our job is outreach. I see it as my job to do more outreach, to get greater community participation, to work with people to mobilize to fight these powerful interests that are operating in Oakland,” said Riley.

He said the focus of the candidate forum was to inform the candidates about the positions of the movement and learn from the candidates what they think. “We put them on notice that there is a movement and that we’re organizing.”

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COMMENTARY: The National Protest Must Be Accompanied with Our Votes

Just as Trump is gathering election data like having the FBI take all the election data in Georgia from the 2020 election, so must we organize in preparation for the coming primary season to have the right people on ballots in each Republican district, so that we can regain control of the House of Representatives and by doing so, restore the separation of powers and balance that our democracy is being deprived of.

Published

15 hours ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper. File photo..

By Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper

As thousands of Americans march every week in cities across this great nation, it must be remembered that the protest without the vote is of no concern to Donald Trump and his administration.

In every city, there is a personal connection to the U.S. Congress. In too many cases, the member of Congress representing the people of that city and the congressional district in which it sits, is a Republican. It is the Republicans who are giving silent support to the destructive actions of those persons like the U.S. Attorney General, the Director of Homeland Security, and the National Intelligence Director, who are carrying out the revenge campaign of the President rather than upholding the oath of office each of them took “to Defend The Constitution of the United States.”

In California, the primary comes in June 2026. The congressional races must be a priority just as much as the local election of people has been so important in keeping ICE from acquiring facilities to build more prisons around the country.

“We the People” are winning this battle, even though it might not look like it. Each of us must get involved now, right where we are.

In this Black History month, it is important to remember that all we have accomplished in this nation has been “in spite of” and not “because of.” Frederick Douglas said, “Power concedes nothing without a struggle.”

Today, the struggle is to maintain our very institutions and history. Our strength in this struggle rests in our “collectiveness.” Our newspapers and journalists are at the greatest risk. We must not personally add to the attack by ignoring those who have been our very foundation, our Black press.

Are you spending your dollars this Black History Month with those who salute and honor contributions by supporting those who tell our stories? Remember that silence is the same as consent and support for the opposition. Where do you stand and where will your dollars go?

Oakland Post

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Activism

Congresswoman Simon Votes Against Department of Homeland Security, ICE Funding

“They need accountability. Republicans already gave these agencies an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration enforcement, funding they have used to conduct raids at schools, separate families, and deploy a masked paramilitary who refuse to identify themselves on American streets. This bill gives them more funding without a single reform to stop unconstitutional, immoral abuses,” she said.

Published

16 hours ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12). File photo.

By Post Staff

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) released a statement after voting against legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which supports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB).

“Today, I voted NO on legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security through Feb. 13, 2026.

“ICE and CBP do not need more funding to terrorize communities or kill more people,” she said in the media release.

“They need accountability. Republicans already gave these agencies an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration enforcement, funding they have used to conduct raids at schools, separate families, and deploy a masked paramilitary who refuse to identify themselves on American streets. This bill gives them more funding without a single reform to stop unconstitutional, immoral abuses,” she said.

“The American people are demanding change. Poll after poll of Americans’ opinions show overwhelming support for requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras and prohibiting them from hiding their faces during enforcement actions. This is the bare minimum transparency standard, and this funding legislation does not even meet this low bar,” Simon said.

“Republicans in Congress are not serious about reining in these lawless agencies. Their refusal to make meaningful changes to the DHS funding bill has consequences that go beyond immigration enforcement. TSA agents who keep our airports safe and FEMA workers who help our communities recover from disasters are stuck in limbo due to Republican inaction.

“The Constitution does not have an exception for immigrants. Every person on American soil has rights, and federal agencies must respect them. The East Bay has made clear at the Alameda County and city level that we will hold the line against a violent ICE force and support our immigrant communities – I will continue to hold the line and our values with my votes in Congress.”

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Activism

Post Newspaper Invites NNPA to Join Nationwide Probate Reform Initiative

The Post’s Probate Reform Group meets the first Thursday of every month via Zoom and invites the public to attend. The Post is making the initiative national and will submit information from its monthly meeting to the NNPA to educate, advocate, and inform its readers.

Published

16 hours ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) represents the Black press with over 200 newspapers nationwide.

Last night the Post announced that it is actively recruiting the Black press to inform the public that there is a probate “five-alarm fire” occurring in Black communities and invited every Black newspaper starting from the Birmingham Times in Alabama to the Milwaukee Times Weekly in Wisconsin, to join the Post in our “Year of Action” for probate reform.

Reporter Tanya Dennis says, “The adage that ‘When America catches a cold, Black folks catch the flu” is too true in practice; that’s why we’re engaging the Black Press to not only warn, but educate the Black community regarding the criminal actions we see in probate court: Thousands are losing generational wealth to strangers. It’s a travesty that happens daily.”

Venus Gist, a co-host of the reform group, states, “ Unfortunately, people are their own worst enemy when it comes to speaking with loved ones regarding their demise. It’s an uncomfortable subject that most avoid, but they do so at their peril. The courts rely on dissention between family members, so I encourage not only a will and trust [be created] but also videotape the reading of your documents so you can show you’re of sound mind.”

In better times, drafting a will was enough; then a trust was an added requirement to ‘iron-clad’ documents and to assure easy transference of wealth.

No longer.

As the courts became underfunded in the last 20 years, predatory behavior emerged to the extent that criminality is now occurring at alarming rates with no oversight, with courts isolating the conserved, and, I’ve heard, many times killing conservatees for profit. Plundering the assets of estates until beneficiaries are penniless is also common.”

Post Newspaper Publisher Paul Cobb says, “The simple solution is to avoid probate at all costs. If beneficiaries can’t agree, hire a private mediator and attorney to work things out. The moment you walk into court, you are vulnerable to the whims of the court. Your will and trust mean nothing.”

Zakiya Jendayi, a co-host of the Probate Reform Group and a victim herself, says, “In my case, the will and trust were clear that I am the beneficiary of the estate, but the opposing attorney said I used undue influence to make myself beneficiary. He said that without proof, and the judge upheld the attorney’s baseless assertion. In court, the will and trust is easily discounted.”

The Black press reaches out to 47 million Black Americans with one voice. The power of the press has never been so important as it is now in this national movement to save Black generational wealth from predatory attorneys, guardians and judges.

The next probate reform meeting is on March 5, from 7 – 9 p.m. PST. Zoom Details:
Meeting ID: 825 0367 1750
Passcode: 475480

All are welcome.