Oakland High Wins State Title By Carla Thomas
The team’s entire Oakland High roster (*1st-team all-OAL; ** 2nd team) includes: Da’Sean Armstrong, Rohm Neal, Josh Clark**, Zaymani “Money” Williams*, Jordan Spencer, Jimon Campbell, Marcel Macon Bennett, Anthony Lacy, Te’Shawn Gamble*, Noah-Alan Ragasa, Will Tidwell, Zaymani Mitchell, Pierre Stevenson, Desmond West, James Fitzgerald, Ja’shaun Jackson, Erick Jackson, Couraji West, Dillan Cooper, Terrence Roquemore, Lorenzo Arroyo Garcia, Jaylon King. Coach: Orlando Watkins.
The Oakland High School varsity basketball team took the state championship on Friday, March 11 in Sacramento at Golden Arco 1 Center. The team’s 59-43 victory over Buena High School of Ventura in the CIF Division 3 championship game was the highlight of a fivegame winning spree. It is the first time in the Wildcats history that Oakland High’s team has had this victory. “I am so proud of the team,” said Wildcats Head Coach Orlando Watkins. “They put in the work and worked together, and now they’ve made history.” Watkins couldn’t be more proud of how the team’s accomplishment. Notable were teammates Money Williams scoring 22 points, Anthony Lacy scoring nine points and seven rebounds; Te’Shawn Gamble’s brought in
nine points, and Josh Clark had eight points,. When the team fell short of winning the OAL (Oakland Athletic League) title, Watkins said he could feel the team shift and build momentum toward success. Many of the team members and coaches are still letting the win sink in. “I don’t think it has really sunk in yet,” said Assistant Coach Eric Van Laeken. “Winning the state championship was amazing. I’ve been coaching middle and high schoolers since I graduated from college in 1996. This championship means a lot. It was our goal to win, and we actually pulled it off.” Oakland High School’s Athletic Director Jonas Perez said the team’s work ethic was the key to their success. “I saw the hard work these individuals put in every day from the beginning. Some Continued on page 12
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
60th Year, No. 11
Weekly Edition. Edition. March 15 - 21, 2023
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NOMBC Saved - Pastor Sylvester Rutledge Gives Thanks
distributing marketing materials offering the campus for sale. Responding to Kaplan’s offer to collaborate with HNU to save the campus for educational purposes, Hawk replied, “At this point it is unclear to HNU how the City of Oakland can assist with the process of achieving the objectives of obtaining the highest and best use of the HNU property for public good.”. “Nevertheless, if the city is aware of any interested acquirer or successor entity, please provide that information to Mike Taquino
Ad created by CBRE Marketing. Family and members gather outside North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church. Front row, from left to right: Timothy Rutledge Jr., grandson of Pastor Sylvester Rutledge; his daughter, J.M. Hale; First Lady Audrey Golden Rutledge, and Pastor Rutledge. Back row from left to right: church members Chavonne Robinson, Clarence Wells of the Golden Light Ministries feeding program, and the pastor’s son Timothy Rutledge Sr. Photo by Carla Thomas. By Carla Thomas Dr. Sylvester Rutledge, pas-
tor of North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church (NOMBC)
expressed his thanks for the out-
pouring of support from his peers, pastors of different denominations
and elected officials in the community.
“My family, my wife, and con-
gregation are so grateful,” said Rutledge who has pastored the
church for over 40 years. “We understand the old saying that a closed mouth doesn’t get fed. If you need help, you need not be embarrassed. “Thanks to the pastors and elected officials and churches who have gathered to help us. Now we’re able to continue on with our programming and partner with other churches. It’s also been amazing to have support sent from Congresswoman Barbara Lee and
Alameda County Supervisors Nate Miley and Keith Carson.” Pastor Rutledge and NOMBC have been providing space free of charge to families unable to pay for funeral services and has often guided younger pastors in the city. “It’s kind of like in life, if you do good for somebody, at some point somebody will do good for you and apparently it came around, it was my turn.” Continued on page 12
Holy Names University Hires Real Estate Firm to Sell Campus for High-End Housing
By Ken Epstein
Leaving many students, faculty and Oakland residents feeling betrayed, Holy Names University’s leadership is aggressively moving ahead with plans to sell the 60acre campus in the Oakland hills for high-end private residences and have not been willing to work with city leaders and other universities that are reaching out to save
Steven Borg, Chairperson, Holy
the site as a center for higher edu- Names University cation. or to me,” she wrote. In a reply to a recent letter to She added that HNU had sent Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan, letters to Historically Black ColJeanine Hawk, HNU’s vice presileges and Universities (HBCUs) so dent for finance and administra- see if they might be interested in tion, wrote that HNU has already establishing a campus on the West placed the property on the market Coast. through real estate broker, Mike The CBRE Group, Inc. is the Taquino at CBRE marketing, to world’s largest commercial real Continued on page 12 market the property and is already
Oakland teachers rally for new contract, Wednesday, March 15, 2023. Photo courtesy of OEA.
Oakland Teachers Ramp Up Strike Readiness
By Ken Epstein In an escalation of labor pressure, hundreds of teachers boycotted district-organized Professional Development (PD) sessions, instead attending a mass, Oakland Education Association (OEA) rally this week at Lake Merritt to demand the Oakland Unified School District begin bargaining “in good
faith” for a new union contract. The rally Wednesday afternoon was held at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater, across from the Oakland Museum. Chairing the rally, OEA Vice President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer said the union has been trying to negotiate for months with the school district for a new contract
but has not received responses to its demands for “dignity, respect in the workplace … for a living wage (and)… for student supports and community schools.” “Oakland has been bargaining with OUSD for safe and racially just community schools,” she said. “We are here today to demand that OUSD bargain with us in good
faith.” OEA Interim President Ismael Armendariz said, “Today, we took a step in having a labor action; we walked out on our [professional development]. That is an escalation.” “OUSD has been bargaining with OEA since October,” he continued. “We have a 51-member
bargaining team that spent hours crafting [21] bargaining proposals. OUSD has come to the table with two unserious proposals and zero counter [proposals].”
Criticizing the district’s ap-
proach to bargaining in public, he
said, “We cannot bargain on Face-
book Live; we are going to bargain at the table.”
He accused the district of
spreading “fear, uncertainty and
doubt to divide us as workers,” which is a “boss tactic,” adding that the district is talking about a budget crisis, even though it has received $66 million from the state to develop community schools. “There is always a budget crisis when we’re bargaining,” Armendariz said. OEA is getting ready to take a vote to see if members are prepared Continued on page 12