Gov. Newsom Signs Legislation Funding Nation’s First Black Women’s Think Tank... P5
The. St. Augustine Movement (1963-1964) Page 2
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Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
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House Our Unhoused Now
Kaplan to WNBA:
Bring New Team Here!
Oakland Vice-Mayor Rebecca Kaplan
By Post Staff
Oakland Vice-Mayor Rebecca Kaplan will introduce a resolution on Sept. 20, 1:30 p.m. to the Oakland City Council urging the Women’s National Basketball Association (“WNBA”) to approve the City of Oakland as the home for a new WNBA Team. The WNBA has discussed plans to expand the number of WNBA teams on its roster for the past number of years. Kaplan said, “the City of Oakland must make it clear that not only are we supportive of bringing a WNBA Team to Oakland but are excited to be partners and collaborators with the WNBA during the expansion. This resolution, therefore, extends our strong support towards this effort and urges the WNBA to make Oakland the home for a WNBA team.” When asked by the Post whether she had heard that San Francisco might be a potential WNBA competitor, even though Oakland started first with its bid, Kaplan said, “Oakland is ideally suited for a WNBA team because of our fervent and rooted fanbase, existing arena space and shared core values with the WNBA. The Bay Area has the fourth-highest number of WNBA fans among U.S. markets without a WNBA team — 418,816 WNBA fans, higher than eight current markets with a WNBA team. More than a half milContinued on Page 10
Mayor Libby Schaaf, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Fred Kelly, Oakland Dept. of Transportation. Photo by Jonathan “Fitness” Jones.
Buttigieg Tours Oakland, Addresses Historic Segregation and Inequity in Transit to Congressperson Lee By Brandon Patterson
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited Oakland last Friday as part of a national tour to cities receiving funding from a federal grant program aimed at increasing transportation equity and improving infrastructure in disinvested communities. Buttigieg was joined by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Mayor Libby
Schaaf and Oakland-area transit officials on a bus tour of sites and streets where the money would be spent. Last year Oakland received $14.5 million in funding for the city’s Reconnecting the Town project. The project, which will build bus lanes, bike lanes, and make physical infrastructure improvements around the city, aims to improve connectivity between West Oakland, Old Oakland, Chinatown and the waterfront, address inequities
in transportation infrastructure and access, and encourage walking, biking, and greater use of public transit, among other goals, according to the city’s website. The federal grant will pay for 44% of the roughly $33 million project, according to CBS News. “After decades of racist planning, disinvestment, and unjust transit policy—across the country and right here in Continued on Page 10
Holy Names University Awards Oakland Teachers With TuitionFree Teaching Credentials By Post Staff
This fall, Holy Names University (HNU) will award fulltuition scholarships to 20 Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) teachers who have demonstrated a commitment to Oakland’s students. Recipients of HNU’s Urban Educators Project scholarship have pledged to teach in OUSD schools for the next five years. Working with OUSD, HNU’s Urban Educators Project strives to increase the number of fully credentialed teachers in urban schools, address the ongoing teacher shortage in the Bay Area, and increase the pool of teachers of color.
Dr. Kimberly Mayfield Teachers who work in historically under-resourced schools with low teacher retention are prioritized for this scholarship. “By removing the financial barrier to receiving a teach-
ing credential, we hope to improve student success and disrupt inequity in urban school systems,” said Dr. Kimberly Mayfield, HNU’s Dean of the School of Education and Liberal Arts and VP for External Relations and Strategic Partnerships. “We have this incredible opportunity to increase the diversity of our local teachers and make sure Oakland students see themselves reflected in the classroom,” she said. OUSD Chief Talent Officer, Tara Gard, is thrilled with the HNU investment. “Our District Strategic Plan Continued on Page 10
OUSD is No Longer Publishing Its COVID Data By Zack Haber
The Oakland Unified School District is no longer publishing data this school year to inform students, staff, parents and the public about positive COVID cases in schools. “The district is responding to all positive cases of which we are notified,” wrote OUSD spokesperson John Sasaki in an email to the Post News Group. “However, consistent with state and county guidance, we are no longer aggregating and cleaning the data in the same way we were last year.” During last school year, OUSD, along with neighboring school districts, published regularly updated dashboards that informed the public about positive COVID cases both
59th Year, No. 13
Weekly Edition. Edition. Sept. 14-20, 2022
In an email, Berkeley Unified School District spokesperson Trish McDermott wrote that her district continues to “share our case count information with our community on our dashboard to inform their own choices about masking and testing.” Spokesperson Keziah Moss wrote that the San A worn down social distancing sign Leandro School District sits on the ground near the entrance has “continually operof an OUSD school on Aug. 29. Photo ated with full transparby Zack Haber. ency with our staff and families.” Moss called district wide and in individual the publicly accessible COschools. While OUSD has re- VID data “helpful to everyone tired its COVID dashboard, as we monitor health and wellthe Alameda, Berkeley, Em- ness in our schools.” eryville, and San Leandro In an interview with the Unified School Districts are Post News Group, OUSD continuing to update theirs. parent Innosanto Nagara ex-
pressed frustration about the dashboard’s removal, and also cast doubt on the adequacy of OUSD’s process of testing, and collecting COVID data. “Without the dashboard I have no idea how many students have COVID,” said Nagara. “But it’s not just the dashboard that’s gone. Basically the whole system of monitoring, testing, and reporting is gone too.” According to Nagara, last school year his son was tested for COVID twice a week at the school he attends, Melrose Leadership Academy, but that practice has ended. “Before this school year started our school sent out an email saying you could come pick up a test,” said Nagara. To read the full story, go to postnewsgroup.com
Greg Hodge, a mayoral candidate, long time West Oakland resident and parent who lives near several homeless encampments wants “equity-based” solutions around Secretary Buttigieg’s and Gov. Newsom’s recent statements on displacements and homelessness. By Gregory Hodge
Housing is a human right. In the wealthiest region in the wealthiest country, our shortcoming is obvious to anyone who has taken just one walk around the Town. The moral issue of our time is our failure as a society to provide housing decent enough for human beings, for all our neighbors.
Commentary The sad truth is that despite protests, lawsuits, and direct action, the key element for solving the housing crisis is still being largely ignored by our city and state authorities. As a mayoral candidate, I urge us all to listen to the needs and Continued on Page 10
Queen Elizabeth II, Wore the Heavy Crown’s Legacy By Rev. Dr. Martha Taylor
The world continues to mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away at the age of ninety-six years. Queen Elizabeth II reigned for 70 years and seven months as queen. What a life, what a legacy, what a history. Most of us canQueen Elizabeth II. Photo cournot deny, that she had a certain tesy of Credit Dreamstime beautiful grandmotherly look; the twinkle in her eyes and her walk that showed the signs of aging. The Queen was a fashion icon in her dress attire with matching hat, gloves, pocketbook, and her Anello & Davides comfy shoes that she had a staffer to “break” the shoes in by wearing them first. Queen Elizabeth II’s life was not all glamour, high tea, and royalty. What gets lost in the conversation is that the royalties had family drama and a checkered past that included being a family of colonizers who pilfered from the indigenous peoples of Asia and Africa. Some of the jewels in the Queen’s crown were allegedly stolen from South Africa in 1905. Two of the jewels are the diamond from India and the Great Star of Africa, each estimated to be worth about $400 million. Since her death, the peoples are asking for the jewels be returned. Megan Markle, the wife of Prince Harry was subjected to being ostracized and treated with cruelty. Prince Harry, the Queen’s grandson, expressed frustration saying he stepped back from his royal duties to protect his family from the toxic environment created by the press in the UK and the family failed to show support when the media launched racially laced insults at Megan. No matter how much money one may have, fame, fortune, and riches cannot shield bad human behavior. Yet, it is this quote “Truth crushed to earth will rise again.” The truth of legacies eventually rises long after the deceased is buried. No lie can live forever. Eventually the truth about the monarchy is going to be uncovered and justice will prevail. Let us turn our attention to the Black Queens in our communities; Black Grandmothers are the grand great quintessential Black Queens. When you think of grandmothers, what comes to Continued on Page 10