Celebrate Living Legend, Dr. Joe L. Smith ... see page 4
OUSD Educator Nina Meeks, Hard Work Leads to Success ... see page 7
CA Health Advocates Focus on Mental Health, Education ... see page 2
Citing DeSantis “Racist Policies,” Alpha Phi Alpha Pulls Convention from FL ... see page 8
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
60th Year, No. 28
Weekly Edition. Edition. July 26 - August 1, 2023
postnewsgroup.com
Interview Panel Nominates Two New Members to Oakland Police Commission
City, Community Ask Holy Names Trustees to Use $55 Million Donation as Specified by Donor – to Support Young Teachers in Training
Judge denies preliminary injunction seeking to block commission appointments
Will HNU follow through on AG Bonta’s letter to continue funding scholarships for former students?
President Biden’s decision to establish the national monument is seen as crucial to acknowledging and preserving the painful history of racial violence in the United States. Photo credit Mark Mahoney / Dream In Color Photography for the NNPA. Pictured (left to right): Jeanine Hawk, HNU’s former vice president of finance and administration, City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan and Steve Borg, chair of HNU’s Board of Trustees. By Ken Epstein When Oakland’s Holy Names University closed abruptly in May with only a few months’ warning, about 100 students in teacher training programs were left scrambling for new schools to attend and trying to figure out how to pay for another university if they cannot continue to receive the HNU scholarship funds that had covered about half of their tuition.
HNU’s Board of Trustees, which continues to exist despite the closure and sale of the university campus, had promised students and the public that the administration would guarantee that students’ transitions to other universities would be seamless but then laid off most staff, leaving many students without support. Seeking to maintain their scholarships and continue as teachers,
Biden Pays Tribute to Emmett Till; Acknowledges the Vital Role of the Black Press in the Civil Rights Movement
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire
Recognizing the country’s painful racial history and honoring the legacy of Emmett Till, President Joe Biden signed a proclamation on Tuesday designating a national monument spanning two states to memorialize Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Bradley. A distinguished audience included Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., President & CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Associa-
tion (NNPA), as well as several members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Chair Steven Horsford, Minority Whip James Clyburn, and Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson. Till, a 14-year-old Black teenager from Chicago, was tragically murdered in Money, Mississippi, on August 28, 1955, after being accused by a white woman of whistling at her. His brutal killing became a Continued on page 10
Barbara Lee: “Gun Violence is a Public Health Emergency”
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, left, endorses former Assemblymember Sandré R. Swanson’s campaign for the state Senate. Photo by CJ Jones.
California School Employees Support Sandré Swanson for State Senate
Special to The Post
The California School Employees Association (CSEA), AFL-CIO announced their endorsement of Sandré R Swanson for the California State Senate 7th District. CSEA represents approximately 254,000 classified employees in California’s public schools and community college systems. David Schapira, CSEA, director of Governmental Relations, in his letter to former Assemblymember Swanson said, “It is my pleasure to inform you that your candidacy for election to the California State Senate has been
endorsed by this statewide organization. “CSEA’s endorsement is based upon your support for public education and labor issues of importance to classified employees.” Schapira continued. “Our dedicated members serve public education as instructional aides, peace officers, secretaries, groundskeepers, food service, transportation, and maintenance personnel as well as in other important classifications. As equal partners in California’s vast public education system, the contributions of classified employees are immeaContinued on page 10
U.S. Rep Barbara Lee U.S. Barbara Lee introduced the “Gun Violence as a Public Health Emergency Act,” which would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate with the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to produce an annual report on gun violence, its public health effects, and action taken by the federal government. This report will help inform policymakers at every level on how to respond to gun violence and further inform a collective public health approach to ending gun violence. Specifically, this legislation calls on the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to publish: • Data on national firearm deaths and injuries disaggregated by
age, sex, gender, location, type of violence, and type of firearm. • Information on the types of programs used to respond to and reduce gun violence and their effectiveness. • Data on federal funding and frequency of research relating to gun violence. “The lack of comprehensive firearms data severely hamstrings efforts to curb the growing threat of gun violence,” Lee said in a statement. The Recognizing Gun Violence as a Public Health Emergency Act directs the Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to produce an annual report on gun violence, its public health effects, and actions taken by the federal government to elevate gun violence as a public health emergency. “Gun violence impacts all communities, and the government must better deploy resources and evidence-based solutions – and this bill is a step in the right direction,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee in her statement that cited in 2022 that 44,357 died and 40,000 more were injured due to gun violence.
Karely Ordaz (left) is chief of staff for the Unity Council. Unity Council web site photo. Wilson Riles Jr. is a former Oakland City Councilmember. File photo. By Post Staff A city interview panel selected two finalists this week to serve on the Oakland Police Commission: former Oakland City Councilmember Wilson Riles Jr. and Karely Ordaz, currently an alternate commission member. Ordaz serves as chief of staff at the Unity Council in the Fruitvale District. Riles, a councilmember from 1979 to 1992, is an active social justice leader, recognized for his support for affordable housing, leadership in the anti-apartheid
movement, and involvement with urban farming. The panel’s recommendations will be forwarded to the City Council, which will vote on the two selections in September, and the new commissioners will begin serving in October. Current Police Commission Chair Tyfahra Milele, who had applied for another term, received zero votes from the nine-member Selection Panel. Meanwhile, an Alameda County Superior Court Judge this week Continued on page 10
State Superintendent Thurmond Forcibly Removed from School Board Meeting
Supt. Of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond spoke to reporters after he had been asked to leave the Chino Valley school board meeting. By California Black Media Last week, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond was removed from a Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education meeting after speaking out against a policy requiring school staff to notify parents if their child identifies as transgender. Thurmond was invited to the meeting by students concerned about the policy.
“I come before you as a parent tonight but we can debate all of the laws and all of the policies and practices, I ask you to consider this: that nearly half of students who identify as being LGBTQ+ are considering suicide,” The New York Post reported. “The policy that you consider tonight not only may fall outside of the laws that respect privacy and safety for our students but may put Continued on page 10
Lend-A-Hand Volunteers Tell Students “We’ve Got Your Back Packs” Special the Post
Volunteers stuffed 5,500 backpacks to be given away at schools. Photo by Auintard Henderson.
On July 22, Lend A Hand Foundation (LAHF) held its annual Stay-in-School supply-packing event at Oakland’s Cypress Mandela Training Center in East Oakland. Now in its 26th year of providing as many basic needs as possible to children, youth, and families, LAHF was able to secure funding to support 23 schools and over 10,000 students in Oakland. LAHF recruited dozens of volunteers who packed 5,500 supply
kits that will be delivered by August 1. In honor of its 25th anniversary last year, LAHF was able to provide school supplies to over 25,000 students in Oakland attending 52 schools. The Educational Supply Program began in 1999 with 200 kits and to date, LAHF has provided close to 150,000 supply kits all because of its cherished supporters. Many corporate and other volunteers came out to lend a hand Continued on page 10
Lend-A-Hand founder, Dee Johnson (center in white tee), with some of the event’s dozens of volunteers and supporters. Photo by Auintard Henderson.