Hiram Phodes Revels, Taking The Seante Seat Page 2
Warriors and Chase Hosted Black Excellence Celebration
Cal AG Wants FDA Standards for Menthol Cigarettes Finalized...Page 3.
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Nipsey Hussel’s Legacy Honored By Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame Page 5
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
postnewsgroup.com
59th Year, No. 10
Weekly Edition. Edition. Aug. 24-30, 2022
Rev. Ken Lackey’s Tiny Homes Lifts Homeless Preacher, builder says he’d rather see a sermon than hear one, any day
Left to right; Dr. Rudy Besikof, Laney College President, Dr. Becky Opsata, Laney College Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Dettie Del Rosario, Laney College Acting Vice President of Administrative Services, Dr. Marion Hall, Acting Vice President of Student Services. Photo by Jonathan Fitness Jones.
Laney Offers “Fall Is Free” – Free Tuition, Free Textbooks, Free Lunch and More for the Fall 2022 Semester
Laney College is offering new and continuing students the “Fall is Free” program for those who complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) application or the California Dream Act application, and there are no
minimum or maximum units required. Students can take any of the college’s 130 programs along with in-person, hybrid or online classes. International students are not eligible for the program. In addition to free tuition, the
program covers textbook costs and the college’s student health fees. Students will also receive free bus passes, free lunch on campus, free weekly produce boxes and Chromebooks and Continued on Page 10
Open Letter to Candidates on Endorsements and Solutions From Paul L. Cobb, Publisher
The Post will make free editorial space available for any candidate running for Mayor, City Council, School Board and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors if you have a plan, a solution or some answers to the problems facing Oakland and the county. We are especially seeking your solution strategies for homelessness, crime and hate violence, affordable housing, economic and business opportunities for women and minorities and environmental condi-
tions. We expect you to use your campaign funds to introduce yourselves and educate the voters about your views and history of experiences and service. We also expect you to support, patronize and utilize minority media and other minority businesses and services as you conduct your campaigns. Space will be provided based upon proposed solutions, not on ads purchased. There will be no connection with endorsements by the Post and any amounts expended for advertisements. Please do not send us negative remarks about your opponents to be published in the Post. If you want to engage in
negative campaigning and/or diatribes against the incumbent or any out-going official, you should pay for that kind of messaging and clearly indicate your identity with those charges. Since you have announced your intention to seek our approvals, then honor and respect us and the voters with your solutions. In these troublous times with our streets teeming with thousands of homeless people and with fear gripping all of us from home invasions, driveby shootings, smash-and-grab robberies and a short-handed police force, we need leaders who are unafraid to support inContinued on Page 10
Part 1- Tiny Homes, a Heavy Lift, to lighten the load By Paul Cobb
Rev. Ken Lackey, like Jesus, his biblical idol who was trained as a child to be a carpenter, also sees his mission, to be the second-coming fulfillment of Jesus’ work here in Oakland and other Bay Area cities as a carpenter to build homes for the lost, the least, the lonely, the hungry and those that have been left behind. He, too, began his work and calling as a teenage construction worker to do the heavylifting task of building homes. In fact, he’s been accustomed to heavy lifting since his days as a U.S. Olympic weightlifting hopeful with the support of Muhammad Ali and the Hyatt Corporation. Even though he has built more than 150 tiny homes from his own earnings, his ministry and several individual donors,
he now wants to do more. “With a serious effort of prayerful togetherness, we can help end homelessness for the vast majority of those living in these encampments on our sidewalks, under freeways and other abandoned locations,” he confidently proclaims. He has asked the Post News Group to become his media partner to help recruit volunteers and to reach out to more than 400 houses of worship and
the other hundreds of neighborhoods and communitybased organizations. His plan of establishing an extensive network of resource means stems back to the days when he first started laying out his strategy with the late David Glover, the former Director of OCCUR (Oakland Citizens Committee for Urban Renewal). While the Post was interContinued on Page 10
Small Businesses are Community Lifelines
Community Advocates Against SB 357 Claim Bill is Stealth Maneuver to Decriminalize Pimping By Tanya Dennis
The Post is retracting a statement in last week’s article entitled “Love Never Fails Leads Activists and Community in Request to Repeal SB357 that Decriminalizes Loitering,” attributed to Love Never Fails CEO Vanessa Russell. Russell who cited a 100% increase in prostitution since the bill was passed six weeks ago, was misquoted as saying there has been a 100% increase in prostitution arrests. The Post regrets the error.
Sarai Mazariegos, founder of the FREED Collective.
Vanessa Russell, CEO of Love Never Fails.
ment based on how they dress or their profession. SB 357 repeals the crime of loitering with the intent to commit prostitution. The bill is also known Six weeks ago, Gov. Gavin as the “Walking While Trans” Newsom signed the Safer law. Streets for All Act, designed The previous law, penal to protect all people from dis- code section 653.22, had been criminatory arrests and harass- used to criminalize Black and
trans individuals in public spaces. In response to a sustained campaign by Black and Brown trans women and sex workers, the state legislature passed SB 357. Sarai Mazariegos, founder of the FREED Collective, says “SB 357 is a stealth maneuver to decriminalize pimping and
purchasing sex acts.” FREED, which stands for Freedom for Real Equality, End Demand, is a collective that was formed to educate, equip and strengthen local communities in exposing the real impact of commercial sex industries on individuals, families and neighborhoods. In Oakland, most of those in the sex trade are young, female, Black, Brown, Asian, poor — and pimped. Last week, a sex worker was murdered on “the Blade,” an area in Oakland popular for sex trafficking, and police safely located two missing Oakland teenagers, one emerging from the Extended Stay in Alameda on Saturday afternoon. Vanessa Russell, CEO of Continued on Page 10
Councilmember Reid speaks with Tarlok Singh, owner of 7 Day Tire and Auto Shop during a District 7 merchant walk. By Treva Reid
As a small business owner, I know that small businesses are truly the lifeblood of our community. With the recent closures of corporate retailers like Walgreens and Walmart in East Oakland last year, many residents were left with limited options to access fresh produce. Thankfully our mom-and-pop neighborhood grocers stepped up to provide much-needed services and jobs.
Opinion I’ve talked to many small business owners across our city, and they want what all Oaklanders want — more public safety resources to prevent break-ins and robberies, and safe, clean streets to create a healthy environment for both customers and employees. In my first four months as the District 7 Councilmember, Continued on Page 10