North Oakland Baptist Church Needs Help to Prevent Foreclosure Sale North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Sylvester Rutledge with family and church members out side the church.
By Carla Thomas North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church (NOMBC) located at 1060 32nd St. is the second old-
est Black church in Oakland, at 118 years. Having served the community for nearly 32 years, Reverend Sylvester Rutledge leads the church as its 5th pastor. For Rutledge, it has been an honor to lead a congregation, share his faith and be a resource for the community. The church shepherds 65 units of senior housing, feeds the homeless three times a week and has assisted some of the most vulnerable citizens of the city. Now, Rutledge is in need of the community’s help to save the
church from a forced courthouse sale on March 17. Currently the church owes $43,000 in back taxes owed on the parking lot on an adjacent property bought by the church. The church has been unable to make the payments. With a two-week deadline, the situation has placed a high level of stress on church members and its leadership. Rutledge, age 86, explained that prior to becoming pastor, houses on the property were removed to create a parking lot, with
taxes exempted. While paying annual city taxes, church administrators believed all taxes were current, until the County advised the church they were in arrears by 5 years. Rutledge says church administrators worked with the county to get the bill reduced but COVID interrupted some of the communications and processes. “With offices closed and no continuity during the pandemic, it created more barriers than solutions,” said Rutledge. With no alternatives, the
church is hoping to raise the funds needed to keep the church. Without a church home, dozens of congregants would be displaced. For Dr. Wayne E. Gaddis, president of the California Missionary Baptist Church State Conference, Sylvester Rutledge Manor 3255 San the matter is both urgent and per- Pablo Avenue, Oakland sonal. “Last August, our Califorout about NOMBC’s crisis last nia Missionary Baptist Church week. Conference anniversary celebra“We cannot afford to lose antion was held at North Oakland other Black church. We’ve set up Missionary Baptist Church bedonation accounts through Givlify cause our conference was birthed Continued on page 10 there,” said Gaddis who just found
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
60th Year, No. 8
Weekly Edition. Edition. February 22 - 28, 2023
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‘Barbara Lee Speaks for Me’ Rallying Call as Congresswoman Kicks Off Senate Run
Holy Names University campus. Photo courtesy of HNU archives.
Does Holy Names University Need to Close Down? HNU’s Bond-Holder Says ‘No’ Congresswoman Barbara Lee kicks off her campaign for the U.S.
By Ken Epstein
When the Holy Names University Board of Trustees declared in December 2022 that the college was closing, they said they could not afford to remain open and were under pressure to repay a recent $50 million loan. However, the lender, Preston Hollow Community Capital (PHCC), is saying something quite different. In a recent letter to City of Oakland officials, the lender wrote: “It is important that we make two things abundantly clear. 1) HNU decided, on its own and over PHCC’s objections, to close down – despite the fact that we have expressed a clear and ongoing commitment to help them overcome their challenges; and 2) PHCC is committed to doing everything it can to keep this campus as an institution of higher education rather than watch it be bought and sold to the highest bidder for some other purpose,” including “potentially for luxury real estate develop-
ment.” In the letter, Preston Hollow describes itself as “a leading social impact investor in the United States. We invest in and assist projects of significant social and economic importance to local communities.” For example, in January they created a project to assist Howard University, assist the historically Black college, in Wash., D.C., with a $300 million tax-exempt bondfinancing arrangement. In its letter to Oakland officials, Preston Hollow reached out to work with the city to save the campus as a center for higher education in Oakland. “Please accept this letter as the beginning of a line of dialogue between PHCC and Oakland city leaders,” the letter said. “We are committed to working with you collaboratively – and hopefully with HNU’s collaboration as well.” Some people in the Oakland community are questioning whethContinued on page 10
Senate at rally at Laney College on Oakland. Photo by Carla Thomas By Carla Thomas Congresswoman Barbara Lee, a longtime advocate for social justice and civil rights, kicked off her Senate campaign at Laney College on Saturday, February 25. Nearly 1,000 supporters, waving green and gold flags, banners, and pom-poms of support chanted “Barbara Lee speaks for me.” Lee decided to run for Senate when Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced on February 14 that she would not seek another term in 2024. Speakers in support of Lee included San Francisco Mayor London Breed, State Controller Malia Cohen, and California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond among others. “We are here because we know what she is capable of,” said Breed. “Today is the beginning. Folks are already trying to write her off, but we’re gonna fight for her every day. We’re gonna raise the money, get communities to vote. This is the beginning of the future for the next generation, and we need her
voice.” Lee took the stage glowing with happiness, wearing a winter white blazer bearing her sorority pin, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., one of the Divine Nine historically Black fraternal organizations. She talked about her two sheroes: her mother Mildred Parish Massey and Shirley Chisolm, the first Black woman to run for the U.S. presidency. “My mother always taught me that justice was possible if the courageous were willing to fight,” she said. With the support of the NAACP, a teenaged Lee became San Fernando High School’s first Black cheerleader after initially being rejected. As a student at Mills College, Lee was a part of history while working for Shirley Chisholm on her 1972 presidential campaign. “Shirley taught me courage and endurance,” Lee said. At age 76, Lee has exhibited just that. In her record as a conContinued on page 10
Attorney Walter Riley
Pamela Drake
By Post Staff
that will continue to move the city out of the long shadow of federal oversight, scandal, coverups and into an era of accountability and transparency between the community and the police department,” said Saabir Lockett of East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, quoted by NBC Bay Area. Speakers at Tuesday’s rally did not offer specific reasons why they felt the chief needed to be dismissed, but said they believe the mayor’s actions pave a path to accountability for the entire police department. “Our community needs changes; they need reform,” said Kenneth Tang with APEN Action Oakland, quoted by NBC. “They want to see improvement in their communities and accountability is the first step to ensure public servants are being accountable for.” Walter Riley, an Oakland civil rights attorney, said the opposition to the mayor was fueled by people who were upset that she had won the election and hoped to
Community Rally Backs Mayor Sheng Thao’s Firing of OPD Chief Armstrong
Supporters of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao held a rally this week praising the mayor for firing OPD Chief LeRonne Armstrong and for demonstrating her firm commitment to implement constitutional policing in Oakland that protects all its residents. Thao has faced protests by the chief’s backers when the chief was placed on administrative leave with pay and then fired several weeks ago, after investigators found he had failed to hold an officer accountable for misconduct. After being placed on administrative leave with pay, the chief had spoken at rallies denouncing the federal court-appointed overseer and said that he made no mistakes in his handling of a police misconduct case. Speakers at the rally on Tuesday, which included Oakland’s Chinatown community and the Oakland Progressive Alliance, said the firing was necessary if Oakland hopes to end 20 years of federal oversight of its police department. “We stand with the actions
Continued on page 10
Alameda County Supervisors Will Allow Tenant Eviction Protections to Expire at End of April Oakland’s eviction moratorium remains in effect for local residents
By Post Staff
Landlords Protest Eviction Moratorium at the Alameda County Board of Supervisors meeting, Feb. 27, 2023. Photo courtesy of Yahoo.com.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors this week refused to review the county’s ongoing eviction moratorium, which means the pandemic-passed tenant protections will expire at the end of April. Supervisors also voted down three tenant protection bills backed by pro-tenant groups. Dozens of landlords and tenant activists showed up Tuesday for the board meeting with competing demands, where supervisors
said there was no point in discussing whether to lift the moratorium since a ban could go into effect only a few days before the current moratorium is set to expire on April 29. Board members also rejected three tenant protection ordinances, which had appeared likely to pass before recent changes in the composition of the board. Supervisors said they sought to balance the concerns of landlords upset by the almost three-year eviction ban and desperate needs ‘
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CalHFA Announces Mortgage Relief... Page 3
of tenants struggling to survive in the midst of rampant inflation and high rents. “We need to focus on the future and what that looks like, instead of continuing to stay in the ring and battling it out on this issue,” said Supervisor Keith Carson, quoted by Bay City News Group (BCN) online. Supervisor David Haubert had supported ending the moratorium but said there was little reason to vote on it at this late date. “Now it seems rather moot
if we put this item on a future agenda,” Haubert said, quoted by BCN. There are reports across the Bay Area of a large upsurge in eviction lawsuits after pandemic tenant protections came to an end. However, eviction protections remain in effect in Oakland, which will continue at least through March; San Leandro, with eviction safeguards lasting until next February; and Berkeley, with protections for many renters until the end of August.
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California Black Media Political Briefs... Page 5