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Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
Simply the Best
60th Year, No. 19
Weekly Edition. Edition. May 24 - 30, 2023
postnewsgroup.com
SEE STORY ON PAGE 9
Geoffrey Pete went to City Hall to appeal the city Planning Commission’s approval of the high-rise development that threatens the closure of his 44-year historic cultural mecca. Photo by Jonathan ‘Fitness’ Jones.
Community Opposes High Rise Development That Threatens Geoffrey’s Inner Circle
By Ken Epstein SEE STORY ON PAGE 10 Congresswoman Barbara Lee
SEE STORY ON PAGE 2
New Poll Shows U.S. Rep. Singer Tina Turner, 83, and athlete, actor and activist Jim Brown, 81, Barbara Lee in Statistical Dead died last week. They both reached the pinnacle of the professions and universally considered “the best” among the world’s greatest Heat in Race for U.S. Senate were achievers. See stories on pages 9 and 2, respectively. Nine Arrested in Connection to Nearly Three Dozen Robberies
By Kim Armstead In recent weeks, the City of Oakland has been terrorized by violent individuals wreaking havoc and committing robberies upon unassuming community members. The Oakland Police Department (OPD) is investigating several different robbery series citywide, where robbery crews are brazenly victimizing individuals at alarming rates. To date, there has been a 7% increase in robberies over this same time last year. On May 21, 2023, OPD Officers spotted a vehicle wanted in connection with one of the above-
mentioned series and tracked the vehicle to the 100 block of 14th Street. Multiple occupants exited the vehicle and went into a nearby establishment. Officers methodically coordinated a plan before entering the location. As officers arrived, the vehicle in front of the establishment took off at a high rate of speed. OPD’s helicopter (ARGUS) monitored the vehicle and tracked it to the area of 6th Avenue and E. 15th Street. Four occupants exited the vehicle and fled on foot. Officers quickly responded, and following a foot pursuit, safely took
those individuals into custody. Additionally, five individuals were safely taken into custody at the establishment. Due to the phenomenal work and collaborative effort of officers assigned to Patrol, the Community Resource Section, ARGUS, officers working violence suppression, and our Criminal Investigation Division, a total of nine individuals, ranging in age from 12 to 17 (three females, six males), eight of whom are Oakland residents, were arrested for robbery. Currently, this group is connected to 35 reported robberies.
The areas impacted by this crew: Rockridge, Uptown, Trestle Glen, Grand Lake, Bella Vista, Acorn, Adams Point, Longfellow, Northgate, Fruitvale, Ivy Hill, Chinatown, Temescal and Mosswood. OPD investigators continue their tireless, yet diligent work in identifying cases associated with this crew. These investigations are ongoing. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the Oakland Police Department Robbery Section at (510) 238-3326. Kim Armstead is the public information officer for the Oakland Police Department.
Rise in Abductions of Black Girls in Oakland Alarms Sex-Trafficking Survivors
Oakland District 7 Councilmember Treva Reid provided early support for state Senator Steven Braford’s ‘Ebony Alert’ Bill, which would improve official response to reports of missing Black youth. Official photo. By Tanya Dennis Within the last 30 days there have been seven attempted kidnappings or successful abductions of Black girls in Oakland. Survivors of human trafficking who are now advocates are not surprised. Nor were they surprised that the police didn’t respond, and parents of victims turned to African American community-based organizations like Adamika Village and Love Never Fails for help. Advocates say Black and Brown
girls disappear daily, usually without a blip on the screen for society and government officials. Perhaps that will change with a proposed law by state Senator Steven Bradford’s Senate Bill 673 Ebony Alert, that, if passed, will alert people when Black people under the age of 26 go missing. According to the bill, Black children are disproportionately classified as “runaways” in comparison to their white counterparts which means fewer resources are dedicated to finding them.
Tierra Leonard, 16, was abducted at gunpoint on Lakeshore Ave. in Oakland on April 29, 2023. Nola Brantley of Nola Brantley Speaks states, “America’s wider culture and society has consistently failed to address the abduction and kidnapping of Black girls in Oakland and across the country, and this lack of concern empowers and emboldens predators.” Brantley, a survivor of human trafficking has been doing the work to support child sex trafficking victims for over 20 years, first as the director for the Scotlan Youth and Family Center’s Parenting and Youth Enrichment Department at Oakland’s DeFremery Park, and as one of the co-founders and executive
director of Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting and Serving Sexually Exploited Youth (MISSSEY, Inc.) “It really hit home in 2010,” said Brantley, “before California’s Welfare Institution Code 300 was amended to include children victimized by sex trafficking.” Before that law was amended, she had to vehemently advocate for Black and Brown girls under the age of 18 to be treated as victims rather than criminalized. Brantley served hundreds of Black and Brown girls citing these Continued on page 10
the city’s Black Arts Movement
An outpouring of community supporters — young, old, jazz lovers, environmentalists and committed Oakland partisans— spoke out at a recent Planning Commission hearing to support Geoffrey Pete and his cultural center — The Inner Circle — an historic Oakland landmark whose future is threatened by a proposed skyscraper that out-oftown-developer Tidewater Capital wants to build in the midst of
and Business District (BAMBD).
City Council chambers were
full for the May 17 Planning Com-
mission hearing, and almost all the 40 speakers who had signed
up to make presentations talked about the importance of the Inner Circle as part of Oakland and
Geoffrey Pete as a stalwart community and business leader who has served the city for decades.
The speakers argued passionContinued on page 10
‘Strong Like Bamboo’ Stories of AAPI Resilience at Oakland Asian Cultural Center
Oakland Asian Cultural Center Courtesy Wikipedia By Emil Guillermo During the pandemic, I was in a group of Asian American storytellers based in the Bay Area on a weekly Zoom call when six Korean American women were killed in what has come to be known as the Atlanta Spa killings in March of 2021. From that point on, the storytellers of Asian American Storytellers in Action (ASIA) realized we all had stories of discrimination and hate worth sharing. The group’s discussion through
the pandemic has resulted in “Strong Like Bamboo: Stories of Resilience for Healing in the Era of Anti-AAPI Violence,” a community event Sunday May 28 at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center from 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. “I asked myself ‘how do we heal?’ How do we respond to the crises we’re going through,” said Nancy Wang, a psychotherapist as well as an ASIA member and a founder of Eth-Noh-TEC, a storyContinued on page 10
SAVE THE DATE
Thursday, June 8th, 2023, 1-2:45 pm Oakland Temple of the LDS Church, Visitors Center 4766 Lincoln Ave., Oakland, CA 94602 ICAC is bring together the faith community, public officials, non-profit organizations, Foundations and BayArea Interfaith Councils. We will Honor Elder Jay Pimentel, Area Communication Director North America West Area, for his many years of service. Now, Elder Jay Pimentel is appointed over Europe.
Special Guests:
Eric Patterson, Ph.D., Religious Freedom Institute, Washington DC Mike Pappas, Executive Director, San Francisco Interfaith Council Rev. Will McGarvey, Executive Director of the Contra Costa Interfaith Council Rabbi Jacqueline Mates-Muchin, Senior Rabbi, Temple Sinai Oakland Arron Reaven, NO COAL IN OAKLAND Rev. Ken Chambers, President of the Interfaith Council of Alameda County For More info Go to interfaithac.org