Gus Newport: A Soldier for Justice
By Kathryn Kasch
One year ago, on June 12, 2023, my husband of 35 years was picked up by a van at our house in Oakland. It was the last time I saw him alive. The van was owned by Owl Transport, a company used by the Department of Veterans Affairs. It was to take my husband to the San Francisco VA Medical Center to see about getting a new hearing aid. Eugene “Gus” Newport was 88
years old and wheelchair-bound because he had lost a leg in 2021, but my husband remained as active as I had always known him, forever engaged in civil rights and community develop.m.ent work, just as he had been as mayor of Berkeley from 1979 to 1986. Gus had a busy week ahead of him: on June 16 he was going to be interviewed for a film about his friendship with Malcolm X; on the
following day he was scheduled to fly to Atlanta for a weekend board meeting. Within a half hour of leaving the house, a San Francisco Fire Department ambulance was called to 8th and Harrison streets because Gus was unconscious. When they arrived at San Francisco General Hospital, Gus’s cell phone, wheelchair and tote bag had all gone missContinued on page 8
Kathryn Kasch and Gus Newport. Courtesy photo.
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
61st Year, No. 23
Weekly Edition. Edition. June 5 - 11, 2024
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Congresswoman Barbara Lee Statement on 80th Anniversary of D-Day
Rev. Chambers says, “ICAC’s mission is to ‘just serve’ the unhoused and communities in need.” Photo courtesy ICAC.
ICAC Invites Community to Benefit from Safe Car Park Program
iStock image.
Oakland Students Find Learning and Classroom Disparities in New Report
By Magaly Muñoz
The Oakland-based student pro-
gram, Energy Convertors, released
their yearly report on learning proficiency and classroom management for the 2023-2024 school year.
Fellows in the program found that
students in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) believed they were proficient in English and math curriculum, when in fact they were not.
Energy Converters fellows sur-
veyed 353 OUSD high school students (1% of all OUSD students) asking questions based on how they felt they were doing in their classes, how teachers were conveying proficiency goals to them, and whether teachers were keeping a conducive classroom environment. The report, titled “Demanding Proficiency over Pageantry,” found that 3 out of 4 students surveyed believed that they were reading on Continued on page 8
Grieving & Growing: A Healing Garden in West Oakland is Helping Bereaved Loved Ones Glow Again
Courtesy of Chanae Pickett By Chanae Pickett As a natural order of the human condition, we cannot escape death. Akin to life and living, death and dying are a part of our journey as spiritual beings having a human experience here on Earth. One thing we know for certain is that we will all lose someone we love or someone who loves us. And, yet still, as natural as death is, the pain and sorrow we endure when losing loved ones is beyond compare and often ridden with heaviness, regret, despair, confusion, guilt, and selfblame. And when our loved ones are taken from us before their predestined time as a result of excessive use of police force, gun violence, homicide, suicide, among other unanticipated traumatic encounters,
our shock, bereavement, and grief reactions become compounded, exacerbated and challenging to weather. Is it possible to heal from the suffering that comes with grief and loss, which often feels endless, cyclical, and labyrinthine? Is there a way out? A way through grief? While serving as a Psychiatric and Psychological Care Specialist in the United States Air Force, I evaluated, counseled, and intervened with patients at the Travis Air Force Base who were deemed a danger to themselves and others. These experiences profoundly shaped my understanding of mental health. Despite my background as a Mental Health Technician, the sudden loss of my younger brother to suicide following our father’s unjustified killing by police while unarmed with his hands up in a church parking lot left me with feelings of professional failure and personal shame. These tragedies forced me to reevaluate my priorities, leading me to focus more on making a genuine difference in grief processing, community building, and communal healing. Driven by my brother Immanuel aka Apollo’s artistic legacy, ancesContinued on page 8
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By Post Staff
Lt. Col. Garvin A. Tutt was a Buffalo soldier in the 92nd infantry. Photo courtessy Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Washington, D.C. – Representative Barbara Lee (CA-12) released the following statement on the 80th anniversary of D-Day. “80 years ago, one of the largest invasions in historical warfare—and the start to the end of World War II—took place. Today, we look back to the over 2,400 American lives lost on the beaches of Normandy, remember their stories, and honor their immense bravery. “My father, Lt. Col. Garvin A. Tutt, was a Buffalo soldier in
the 92nd infantry, a racially segregated and Black-only division that was instrumental in the success of Normandy and the Allied advance. Today and every day, I think of him and all of the brave servicemembers who sacrificed for our country, even when our country didn’t love them back. “D-Day will forever live on in history. May we honor their lives and all who have served by investing in veterans’ health care, economic security, and opportunity when they return home.”
The 2022 Richmond Juneteenth Parade passes through the Juneteenth Freedom Underpass Mural at S. 37th St. en route to the festival grounds at Nicholl Park. Richmond Standard photo.
Juneteenth ‘Round the Bay
By Post Staff Juneteenth is upon us, and it seems that since it achieved status as a federal holiday, the celebration is being held in different places, and where it’s been well established, activities have expanded from one day in length to two or three. Below are just few of the places that will be celebrating. Take your pick! Oakland: Established by Hella Creative, the Oakland Museum of California is hosting Hella Juneteenth: The
More Segregated Than Deep South: ACLU Releases Report on Calif. Public Schools ... see page 2
Cookout. This year’s theme, the cookout, was chosen because of the significance “the cookout” holds in Black culture. Tickets are $10 for people over 12 and you can prepurchase a cookout plate for $25 on the OMCA website. Day: Wed., June 19 Time: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Place: Oakland Museum, 1000 Oak St. Price: $10 For more info, go to https://muContinued on page 8
The Interfaith Council of Alameda County (ICAC) will hold a meeting to announce a faithbased expansion of overnight safe car parking for unhoused families on Thursday, June 13, 2024, from 1-2 p.m. at Williams Chapel Baptist Church located at 1410 10th Avenue in Oakland. The ICAC President, Rev. Ken Chambers, announced that Williams Chapel, pastored by Rev. Kenneth Anderson, and members of ICAC, has also planned to open an overnight safe car parking program and day center to provide unhoused neighbors and families with wrap-around services. Rev. Chambers said additional support for the program will also come from Bishop Bob Jackson, Pastor of Acts Full Gospel Church and Pastor Phyllis Scott, head of the Oakland Police Chaplaincy Program. Chambers said, “ICAC’s goal is to just serve Oakland by helping to make the community surrounding 10th Avenue and International Boulevard both welcoming and safe.” David Longhurst, a member of Oakland Temple LDS Church and an ICAC board member, said “We can make the city of Oakland safer, one block at a time, by connecting our community and neighbors.”
Chambers said ICAC has a $450,000 grant commitment from the City of Oakland and a $2.5M grant request has been presented to Nate Miley, President of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors President Nate Miley to cover and expand ICAC’s Safe Car Park Program located at West Side Missionary Baptist Church to additional locations including Center Street Baptist Church, Taylor Memorial United Methodist Church, Corinthians Baptist Church, Allen Temple Baptist Church, Acts Full Gospel Church, and other congregations. Dr. Ken Chambers said he and ICAC are assisting congregations on how to receive a one-time $5,000 grant. “ICAC has plans for several tiny homes with kitchens, living space and bathrooms that we hope will become available this fall in partnership with the State, County and City of Oakland.” Chambers is appealing to the public to help with transitioning the unhoused populations into tiny homes or affordable housing. “If you or anyone you know is living out of a car and needs a safe place to park overnight, visit interfaithAC.org, call 510-2396881, or stop by the ICAC hub at 732 Willow Street, Oakland, CA 94607 between the hours of 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.”
Rev. Chambers says, “ICAC’s mission is to ‘just serve’ the unhoused and communities in need.” Photo courtesy ICAC.
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