BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
Weekly Edition February 25 - March 3, 2026, 2026
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63rd Year, No. 8
Mayor Barbara Lee Congratulates Figure Skater Alysa Liu on Olympics Victories
From left: H. Geoffrey Watson, MD; Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, and Imhotep. Courtesy photos. Left: District 3 City Councilmember Carroll Fife. Right: Dr. Brandi T. Sommers, producer of the Black New Deal report for the City of Oakland. File and courtesy photos.
New Report on ‘Racialized Discriminatory Municipal Policies’ in Oakland Shows How Displacement, Gentrification and Segregation Affect African Americans
By Ken Epstein
The City Council’s Life Enrichment Committee this week heard a new report, “Black New Deal – Racial Impact Analysis,” on the effects examining “racialized discriminatory municipal policies, including … displacement through eminent
domain, lost wealth due to segregation, depreciated property values, redlining and gentrification,” which make Oakland one of the two mostgentrified cities in the United States. Detailing the negative effects of current policies on Oakland’s African American community, the Continued on page 8
Race & Equity Department Seeks to Embed ‘Fairness and Justice into Everything the City Does’
Before she went to the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, figure skater Alysa Liu visited the Oakland Mayor at City Hall. Courtesy photo. Special to The Post The Bay Area’s own Alysa Liu brought home gold medals figure skating from the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan last week. Upon her return Monday night, she was greeted by gold balloons and a tinsel curtain when she walked up the jet bridge to the terminal. The 20-year-old daughter of a Chinese dissident whose immigrant experience began as a busboy in an Oakland restaurant became interested in figure skating when he took her to see Olympian Michelle Kwan at a skating event. Mayor Lee’s statement follows. “As Mayor of Oakland, I am so proud of Alysa Liu - the first American woman to win Olympic gold in figure skating in 24 years, and an ex-
ample of the greatness The Town produces. She studied at the acclaimed Oakland School of the Arts; is often spotted dining in Chinatown with her friends and practiced feverishly for the last two years at the Oakland Ice Center. Alysa came to visit me at City Hall last August - her first time in the building - and she was excited to be there. Little did she know I was the one fan-girling over her. Alysa embodies everything we love about Oakland - the heart, the determination, the refusal to back down - and she has shown young people right here in our city, and across the world, what becomes possible when you commit fully to your dream. The City is planning a celebration. Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee’s press office provided this statement.
The department was established in 2016 by former Councilmember Desley Brooks
Darlene Flynn has been director of the Department of Race and Equity since 2016. Courtesy photo. By Ken Epstein The Oakland City Council this week heard a report about the ongoing work of one of the city’s smallest departments, the Department of Race and Equity, which carries a huge responsibility, to “embed fairness and justice into everything the city does.”
With only three staff members, the work is headed by Darlene Flynn, who was hired as the department’s first director in 2016. The effort to pass the ordinance creating the department was led by former District 6 Councilmember Desley Brooks. Flynn came to Oakland from Seattle, where she oversaw the city’s groundbreaking race and equity department for 10 years. Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting of the Council’s Life Enrichment Committee at the request of Councilmember Rowena Brown, Flynn explained that the department’s work “is sometimes about individual transactions, projects, programs, but it also has an overarching purpose to actually change the culture and the way the city approaches everything that it does,” which is gradual work that cannot be accomplished overnight. The goal, she said, “was to embed equity procedures into the framework into the work that the city already does.” Lacking staff and resources, Race
From Egypt to Oakland, Black Doctors Have Been Part of the Healing Arts for Centuries
By H. Geoffrey Watson, MD Special to The Post
When I graduated from medical school in 1982, I raised my hand and repeat the Hippocratic Oath. I was told that Hippocrates was the father of medicine, apparently a Greek physician living approximately 370 years before Christ in Greece. It was known that Hippocrates traveled to Egypt to research historic data and to investigate and care for a variety of diseases. In “Blacks and Science,” histo-
Community Leader Wilson Riles Has Returned Home Following Hospitalization
iStock.
Walmart Agrees to $100M Settlement Over Allegations of Wage Deception for Wilson Riles. File photo. Delivery Drivers By Post Staff
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The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with the Federal Trade Commission and a bipartisan group of attorneys general from California, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin alleged in a complaint filed this week that Walmart showed drivers in its Spark Driver delivery program inflated base pay and tip amounts, and deceived customers by falsely claiming that 100% of customer
tips would go to drivers. In a multistate settlement that was reached, Walmart will pay $79 million to drivers nationwide for lost compensation. In addition, the company is paying a total of $11 million to the states and an additional $10 million to the FTC, which will be used to provide refunds to customers. Walmart will also have to operate an earning verification program and submit an annual report to the FTC for the next 10 years to ensure that drivers are being paid what they were Continued on page 8
Reporter Dennis: “Angelique, please share with the public how you came involved in probate reform.” Faucette: “I did not begin this journey as a policy activist. I began as a filmmaker. “Across the United States, thousands of elderly citizens quietly disappear from public view, not because they have passed away, but because they have been placed inside abusive conservatorships and guardianships that can isolate them from the very people who love them most. “For many Americans, these systems remain poorly understood. They were originally created to protect vulnerable adults who could no longer make decisions for themselves. Yet families and advocates across the nation are increasingly raising concerns about oversight, transparency, and accountability. Behind closed doors, seniors can lose control over finances, medical care, relationships, and even their
own voices. There is a sickening formula for what occurs; isolate, over-medicate, steal the estate, retaliate against the elder and those who fight for them and cremate to hide the evidence of abuse. “As CEO and producer of Archangel Films LA, and later the founder of Elderly Lives Matter USA, my work centered on respect for others and exposing truth that elevates human dignity. Film taught me that stories have power when people are willing to confront uncomfortable realities. Dennis: “So how did you get involved in their issue?” Faucette: “That understanding would eventually lead me into one of the most difficult battles of my life: fighting for the human, civil, constitutional, and ADA rights of my second mother, Nichelle Nichols, beloved worldwide for portraying Lt. Uhura on “Star Trek.” She gave me away in marriage to my husband, she loved me and claimed me publicly ‘like a daughter.’
“Before her passing, Nichelle personally and fervently asked me to fight for her rights if anyone attempted to harm her or place her in circumstances against her will. Years earlier, in 2013, she had been placed in a rest home against her wishes, a situation she ultimately escaped from. Her experience opened my eyes to how easily autonomy can be challenged, even for someone known and respected around the world. “What I came to understand is that this issue is not limited to any one community, but it is often under-discussed within the African American community, where conversations about elder rights, legal control, and guardianship rarely reach the public spotlight. Many families do not realize how quickly legal authority can shift, or how difficult it can be to restore a loved one’s independence once systems are set in motion. “Through Elderly Lives Matter USA, I have worked alongside
families, advocates, and professionals nationwide who have witnessed similar patterns. These are not isolated incidents. They are stories repeated across states and courtrooms, leaving families exhausted and elders feeling unseen. These stories are vicious, horrific, degrading, some violent, some even being deprived of food or water to hasten their deaths. “The impact extends beyond the elderly themselves. Advocates, many now entering their 50s and 60s, often face emotional, financial, reputational strain, RICO-style gang stalking, and getting beaten up by the authorities while trying to protect loved ones. The very act of speaking up can carry personal risk, yet silence carries a greater one.” Dennis: “Thank you for joining our coalition here at the Post. What else are you doing?” Faucette: “My work today bridges filmmaking, advocacy in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., and policy. Sharing elder rights stories
By Post Staff
rian Ivan Van Sertima reveals that Hippocrates sought out the technology utilized by Egypt because of their expertise in medicine, architecture, communications, and anthropology. Imhotep and Dr. Daniel Hale Williams In 1862, grave diggers found the first scientific work of medical significance related to medical diagnosis, health, and surgery. The documents were on papyrus papers and represented a logical and highly organized work by a master Continued on page 8
Community leader Wilson Riles, who was a member of the Oakland City Council for 13 years and currently serves on the Oakland Police Commission, was recently hospitalized with a massive stroke and is now home and recuperating, according to his family. Riles, 79, suffered the stroke a few weeks ago and was admitted to Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland and is now recuperating at home. He is not speaking at present but is alert and communicating, said his
wife, Patricia St. Onge. The family requests that friends and associates contact the family before visiting Riles at home. Riles, who was born in May 1946, is a politician and community activist who served as a member on the Oakland City Council from 1979 to 1992 representing District 5. While in office, he supported the development of affordable housing in the downtown area, implemented funding for school programs and defeated the building of a private detention facility that was proposed to be set up in Oakland. He also was a leader in the Oakland anti-apartheid movement and fought for a nuclear-free zone ordinance. Riles is the son of Wilson Camanza Riles, (1917-1999) who was State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the first African American ever to be elected to a California statewide office. In 1968, Riles earned his bachelor’s degree in math and psycholContinued on page 8
Probate Reform Advocate Angelique Faucette Joins Post’s Coalition
Angelique Faucette. Courtesy photo. By Tanya Dennis The Post Newspaper formed the National Probate Reform Coalition formed at the beginning of this year to address nationwide abuse occurring in probate court. Last Friday, the Post added a new thought leader to their planning committee, nationally known film maker Angelique Faucette.
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is a foundation, but it also fuels legislative conversations and efforts toward stronger federal protections that prioritize transparency, dignity, and the given Constitutional rights of every American in our nation. “This is not simply an elder issue. It is a human rights issue. “As America’s population ages, the question before us is urgent: will we build systems that truly protect our elders, or allow them to disappear in plain sight? “The elderly built our communities. Protecting their freedom, voice, and dignity is not only a legal responsibility, but also a moral one.” National Probate Reform Coalition Zoom meetings are on the first Thursday of each month and all citizens are welcome to join. Meeting ID: 825 0367 1750 Passcode: 475480