Dis Terrence Wilson Opens Four Seasons Artists’ 23-24 Concert Season... see page 5
Gen. Charles Quinton Brown, Jr., New U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman ... see page 2
Parents and Youth Host Candidate Forum for District 5 OUSD Board Representative ... see page 3
A Ban on Book Bans: California Is Second State in U.S. to Pass Law... see page 2
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
Weekly Edition. Edition. October 4 - 10, 2023
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Laphonza Butler Becomes California’s Newest U.S. Senator Replacing the Late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Butler Becomes the 3rd Black Woman to Serve in Upper Chamber
60th Year, No. 38
Local Leaders Remember Sen. Dianne Feinstein
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12)
U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, Sen. Ed Markey, Colleagues Urge BidenHarris Administration to Enact Laphonza Bulter was the president of Emily’s List. Wikimedia Comprehensive Fentanyl Harm Commons photo. Reduction Strategy By Lauren Victoria Burke, Flanked by Senate Majority LeNNPA Newswire contributor
Two days after California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that Laphonza Butler would fill the U.S. Senate seat of the late Dianne Feinstein, the new senator was sworn in on Capitol Hill by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.
ader Chuck Schumer and California Sen. Alex Padilla as she took the
oath, Butler than received a round of applause by senators of both parties.
After the swearing-in, President
Joe Biden called Butler to congra-
Special to The Post
and publicly announce a national
Congresswoman Barbara Lee
fentanyl harm reduction strategy
(D-MA) Tuesday led 18 of their
public health infrastructure and
Harris administration to develop
Continued on page 8
(CA-12) and Sen. Ed Markey
specifically focused on enhancing
colleagues in urging the Biden-
addressing the collateral conse-
At the August 2016 unveiling of a statue honoring Tony Bennett, the singer of the iconic song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” California Sen. Dianne Feinstein spoke to longtime city resident Will Ussery. According to photographer Conway Jones Jr., Feinstein, 83 at the time, playfully revealed to Ussery the ‘secret’ of her age. Feinstein, San Francisco’s first woman mayor, passed away last week. She was 90. Photo by Conway Jones.
Rise East Project: Part 3
Continued on page 8
Rest in Power: California The Black Cultural Zone’s Pivotal Role in Rebuilding Black Leaders Pay Tribute Oakland’s Black Community to Sen. Dianne Feinstein By Tanya Dennis
Sen. Dianne Feinstein passed away on Sept. 28 in Wash., D.C. She will be buried on Oct. 5. California Black Media file photo.
By Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media Condolences and tributes poured in from California’s Black community after the passing of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Lawmakers, business leaders, and political service orga-
nizations expressed their condolences and sympathy to family, friends, and staff of U.S. Sen. Feinstein, 90, who died of natural causes in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 28. On Friday, in a statement, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said, Continued on page 8
Editor’s Correction: Sojourner Truth Manor Tenants Organize In an article in last week’s edition on conditions facing tenants at Sojourner Truth Manor in North Oakland, the Oakland Post inadvertently failed to include comments submitted by HumanGood, the nonprofit company that manages the property and other sites in Oakland. The Post regrets the error and is offering the company space to present its response to tenant concerns. In addition, here is the statement HumanGood staff submitted last week: “Our residents and team members are our highest priority, and we understand concerns regarding communication and security due to reports of increased crime activity. Before
we took over management last October, the community was in need of serious repairs and rehabilitation, and we continue to hold resident meetings with translators available to share information and updates and answer questions. “Our team is working with regulatory agencies to conduct repairs in the community room and its adjacent areas, and we look forward to more rehabilitation projects in the future to help improve the community. Going forward, our team will help ensure that progress on our work is shared more often with our residents to help address any questions or concerns they may have.”
Between 1990 and 2020, Oakland lost nearly half of its Black population due to economic and social forces. East Oakland, once a middle-class community, is now home to mostly Black families living in poverty. In 2021, 314 Oakland residents died from COVID-19. More than 100 of them, or about 33.8%, were Black, a high rate of death as Blacks constitute only 22.8% of Oakland’s population. This troubling fact did not go unnoticed by City and County agencies, and the public at large, ultimately leading to the development of several community organizations determined to combat what many deemed an existential threat to Oakland’s African American residents. Eastside Arts Alliance had already proposed that a Black Cultural Zone be established in Deep East Oakland in 2010, but 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic galvanized the community. Demanding Black legacy preservation, the Black Cultural Zone
CEO of Black Culture Zone Carolyn Johnson, a native from Deep East Oakland is making the change she wishes to see in her community and in her people. Black Culture Zone has created a power base of Black folks making a difference in Deep East Oakland. Photo by Kumi Rauf. (BCZ) called for East Oakland to be made an “unapologetically Black” business, commercial, economic development community. Established initially as a welcoming space for Black art and
culture, BCZ emerged into a community development collective, and acquired the Eastmont police substation in Eastmont Town Center from the City of Oakland in 2020. Once there, BCZ immediately
Special to The Post
nal courtrooms. I’m looking forward to creating a dual diagnosis Court to further expand our commitment to justice with compassion.” Starting this week, Felony Drug Court will now be heard every Monday. Because of the expansion of Felony Drug Court, all misdemeanor Drug Court cases have been moved to Thursdays. “The additional days for the calendar became necessary as referrals to Felony Drug Court increased because of recent policy changes,” said Masanao Morimoto, who heads the DA’s Collaborative Courts and Diversion Programs Unit. “Those policies include revising the list of eligible
began combating the COVID-19 pandemic with drive-thru PPE distribution and food giveaways. BCZ’s Akoma Market program allowed businesses to sell their products and wares safely in a COVID-compliant space during the COVID-19 shutdown. Currently, Akoma Market is operated twice a month at 73rd and Foothill Boulevard and Akoma vendors ‘pop up’ throughout the state at festivals and communitycentered events like health fairs. “Before BCZ existed, East Oakland was a very depressing place to live,” said Ari Curry, BCZ’s chief experience officer and a resident of East Oakland. “There was a sense of hopelessness and not being seen. BCZ allows us to be seen by bringing in the best of our culture and positive change into some of our most depressed areas.” The culture zone innovates, incubates, informs, and elevates the Black community and centers it in arts and culture, Curry went on. Continued on page 8
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price Leads Expansion of Drug Courts & Collaborative Courts Calendar
Alameda County D.A. Pamela Price. File photo.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price announced Tuesday the expansion of Drug Court as part of the Alameda County Superior Court’s Collaborative Courts calendar. “There is a growing body of evidence that shows public safety is improved when courts adopt best practices and a meaningful understanding of substance use disorders,” said DA Price. “The bottom line is Collaborative Courts work,” Price continued. “Here in Alameda County, and throughout the state, treatment courts are producing better outcomes than traditional crimi-
offenses and abrogating the automatic exclusion of defendants with ‘strike’ priors from Drug Court.” Also, arraignment and pretrial departments are no longer allowed to block referrals to Drug Court. Instead, members of the Collaborative Courts & Diversion Programs Unit are tasked with assessing all referred defendants to determine if they are amenable and suitable for treatment. All of these improvements were made in close collaboration with the Alameda County Superior Court, Alameda County Dept. of Behavior Health, the Alameda County Public Defender’s office and the Alameda County Probation Dept.