Dis After Deep Federal Cuts, California Lawmakers Push for Oakland Director Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’ Still a Winner Full Restoration of Medi-Cal Benefits ... see page 2 with Four Oscars at 98th Academy Awards ... see page 2
Lois Mailou Jones: Painting a Legacy of Culture, Pride, and Power... see page 4
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Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
63rd Year, No. 11
Weekly Edition March 18 - 24, 2026
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Councilmember Zac Unger, Mayor Lee Introduce Law to Strengthen Illegal Dumping Enforcement
From left: Mario Wagner, National Association of Minority Contractors, NorCal; Cathy Adams, president, Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce; Derek Barnes, CEO of the East Bay Rental Housing Association; Len Turner of the Construction Resource Center. Courtesy photos.
New Measure Would Increase Fines, Penalties for Dumping; Crack Down on Transporting Waste in Vehicles without License Plates AASEG Members Ray Bobbitt, Samantha Wise, Jonathan Jones and Castlemont High School Students and Faculty/Staff.
Inspiring Oakland’s Future: AASEG Hosts Castlemont Architecture Students at the Coliseum Complex
Equity on Paper vs. Equity in Practice: Oakland’s Moment of Truth on Disparities in City Contracts
Special to The Post
This commentary was submitted by the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of business organizations. Oakland has always been a city of resilience, culture, and innovation. But it is also a city that has had to confront hard truths, especially about who benefits from public investment and who gets left behind. The recently released disparity study confirms what many of us in construction, business, and the workforce development community have known for years: access to public contracting opportunities has not been equal. For local businesses, especially small, minorityowned firms, the system has too
often created barriers rather than pathways. Now, we have a choice. We can treat this study like so many before it, something acknowledged, discussed, and ultimately shelved. Or we can use it as a blueprint for action, accountability, and measurable change. Right now, the question is simple: Will the City of Oakland act with urgency, or will we continue to accept incremental progress while entire communities are left out of the local economy? The Stakes: More Than Contracts This conversation is not just about contracts. It is about people. It’s about Oakland residents who want to work, build, and inContinued on page 10
Special to the Post The ordinance announced by District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger (left) and Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee (right) double the fines for the first illegal dumping offense from $750 to $1500. Courtesy photo. Special to The Post District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger, along with Mayor Barbara Lee, on Tuesday announced an ordinance to combat illegal dumping. This ordinance will create greater penalties for dumping, including for vehicle owners who allow their vehicle to be used to
dump. The ordinance will also create a new law, making transporting waste in a vehicle without a license plate an offense. “I am incredibly proud to introduce this ordinance to strengthen illegal dumping enforcement,” said Unger. “This ordinance is the culmination of months of work by Continued on page 10
District 5 Councilmember Noel Gallo Has Long Record of Fighting Illegal Dumping
OPINION:
McClymonds High in West Oakland Faces ‘Racial Disparities and Systemic Neglect’
In a powerful demonstration of its long-standing commitment to Oakland and the next generation of leaders, the African American Sports & Entertainment Group (AASEG) once again welcomed students and faculty from Castlemont High School’s architecture program to the Coliseum Complex on March 5 as part of its annual educational field trip program. It’s fifth year, AASEG partners with students enrolled in Castlemont’s Sustainable Urban Design Academy (SUDA) to provide realworld learning experiences that connect Oakland’s youth with the city’s most important civic spaces. In the annual visit, students explore
the iconic Coliseum site while imagining how it could evolve to serve future generations. This year’s visit marks the beginning of a semester-long project for SUDA students titled “Reimagining the Coliseum.” Throughout the term, students will develop innovative design concepts that envision how the Coliseum property could be transformed in the future to better serve Oakland’s residents, families, and businesses. Their creative work will culminate in a 3D Design Showcase on May 27, where students will present their architectural models and concepts to family members, teachers, and community supportContinued on page 10
Celebrating 10 Years of Youth Leadership: East Oakland Students Present Solutions to Gun Violence at Milestone Exhibition
Noel Gallo (front left) and his volunteer clean up crew. Courtesy photo. By Post Staff
School and community members are hopeful that a campus renovation can revitalize McClymonds High School and attract more students. Credit: Pete Rosos By Ben “Coach” Tapscott McClymonds High School and West Oakland are facing racial disparities and systemic neglect. I’d like to see State Superintendent of Instruction Tony Thurmond and State Attorney General Rob Bonta come do an investigation of discrimination against African American students in the Oakland Unified School District. We have had promises from school district officials about renovations and repairs at McClymonds for years. But nothing happens. Other Oakland high schools have been upgraded – Fremont, Oakland Technical, Oakland High, Skyline and Castlemont – but McClymonds is still waiting. Every other high school in Oakland has had some improvements, and some of them have had major renovations. It’s plain discrimination how they’re treating the kids at McClymonds. (In 2023-24, 71.7% of McCly-
monds students were African American, 14% Latino and 2.3% white. By comparison, in OUSD overall, 20% were African American, 50.2% were Latino and 10.1% white, according to state data.) One issue at McClymonds has to do with heat and hot water. The district came over in the middle of the night and removed one of our three boilers and took it to another school. McClymonds is a big old school, one of the oldest in the city, and if one of the boilers went out, we knew we could still count on the other two. Now, if one goes out, we will not be able to heat the school, and the classroom will be very cold. Further, there is no hot water in the bathroom sinks, which affects all 17 bathrooms in the school. Officials say they don’t want warm water because students could get scalded, but it’s easy to permanently adjust the water temperature. Another issue is the lack of a working scoreboard in the school’s
Continued on page 10
Oakland District 5 Councilmember Noel Gallo has been leading and organizing community cleanups for many years – actively working not only to reduce trash on the streets, but also advocating to improve systems to stop people from dumping in Oakland. This work has included
collaboration with community groups, neighbors, churches and more, including Faith in Action East Bay, Block by Block Organizing Network and more. Councilmember Gallo’s organized cleanups have also provided opportunities for people to get involved in bettering their neighborhoods, as well as for those working off citations.
Gun Violence Law at 10: Atty Gen. Bonta Releases Toolkit Marking Restraining Order Anniversary
California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Courtesy of the Office of the Attorney General Facebook page. By Oakland Post Staff SACRAMENTO — Marking a decade since California’s Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO) law took effect, Attorney General Rob Bonta on March 18 unveiled a package of new tools aimed at helping law enforcement and communities more ef-
fectively use the measure to prevent shootings and suicides. The GVRO law, often referred to as the “red flag” law, allows law enforcement officers, family members and other eligible individuals to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from people deemed to pose a significant danger to themselves or others. Since California enacted the policy in 2016, similar laws have been adopted in 20 other states. “I was proud to be an original cosponsor of the bill that established California’s Gun Violence Restraining Order law,” said Bonta. “That legislation was introduced within one week of a mass shooting that devastated the UC Santa Barbara community, committed by a young man who was eligible to purchase firearms despite significant warning signs of dangerousness. The GVRO
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Lodestar Community Public Schools students and staff pose ahead of the upcoming exhibition on March 24. Photo by Cathy DeForest. By Post Staff Ten years ago, students at Lighthouse Community Charter School asked their teachers a heartbreaking question: ‘Why are we losing our classmates to gun violence, and what can we do about it?’ That question launched a movement that teaches youth how to move beyond fear and grief and imagine communities rooted in care and equity.
On March 25 and 26, a cadre of 150 eighth-grade students from Lighthouse and Lodestar Community Public Schools will honor that legacy at the Addressing Gun Violence (AGV) Exhibition. Marking the 10th anniversary of the partnership between Visioning Beyond Violence and Lighthouse Community Public Schools, this event
Continued on page 10
Councilmember Rowena Brown Weighs in on 2024 Disparity Study “It is time to start delivering measurable equity,” she said
Rowena Brown. File photo. Special to the Post Oakland City Councilmember-at-Large Rowena Brown has weighed in on the 2024 Disparity
Study that exposes deeply embedded, institutionalized bias that negatively impacts the awarding of contracts, paid for with public funds, to African American- and women-owned businesses in Oakland. “Since taking office in January 2025, I have been clear that my priority is an Oakland that works for everyone,” Councilmember Brown said in a statement sent Thursday to Continued on page 10