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Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
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62nd Year, No. 43
Weekly Edition October 22 - 28, 2025
Bay Area Leaders and Community Unite Against Federal ICE Deployment
Hundreds protest federal agents stationed at Coast Guard Island in Alameda
Bill Patterson. Courtesy photo. Bill Patterson, left, holds a Bible that belonged to Barbara Lee’s grandfather when she was sworn in as mayor at Oakland City Hall on May 20. Photo by Martin do Nascimento/KQED.
Mayor Barbara Lee today convened a press conference at Oakland City Hall, joined by Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, State Senator Jesse Arreguín, Assemblymembers Mia Bonta, Buffy Wicks and Liz Ortega, District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson, Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, members of Oakland’s City Council, Assistant Chief James Beere and Deputy Chief Casey Johnson of the Oakland Police Department, Oakland Unified School District Superintendent Denise Saddler, Lourdes Martinez of the Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership (ACILEP), Nancy Wong of Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, David Padilla of SEIU Local 1021, Rev. Dr. Jackie Thompson of Allen Temple Baptist Church, and Pastor Michael McBride of Live Free USA.
MLK Jr.Way Meets Bobby Seale Way at 57th Street
Demonstrators protest federal agents at Oakland entrance to Coast Guard Island in Alameda. Photo courtesy of Forest Schmidt, Facebook. By Ken Epstein As the White House publicly targeted Bay Area cities for federal deployment, Mayor Barbara Lee, joining with city and county leaders and community partners, held a media briefing Thursday morning to address Oakland residents with
unity, concrete action and commitment to protect the vulnerable and the democratic rights of all residents. Though President Trump told San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie in a phone call that he had called off the deployment, more than 100 Continued on page 10
Power Up for Health: BWOPA’s Advocacy Masterclass Centered Health Justice as Policy Justice
Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) logo. Courtesy image. By Carla Thomas
Black women and families continue to face some of the most persistent health inequities, from disproportionate maternal mortality rates to barriers in accessing mental health and chronic care support. At the Sept. 30, Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) Power Up Advocacy Masterclass Series that convened community leaders, policy advocates, and healthcare experts, the gathering examined health disparities and charted collective paths toward health justice. Participants were asked to push for state-level funding to expand culturally rooted health programs,
training more Black physicians and mental health professionals, and integrating wellness initiatives at the community level. The session, themed "Health Justice is Policy Justice," brought together a panel of experts who underscored how systemic policies created deep inequities in medical education, access, and care delivery for African American communities. The discussion highlighted both historical drivers of those inequities and ongoing community-led solutions. Panelists included Public Health Educator and Policy Analyst Dr. Josephine Appiah, PhD, Psychiatrist and Community Activist Dr. Venise C. Curry, M.D., Roots Community Health founder and CEO Dr. Noha Aboelata, M.D., and Myeshia Jefferson, founder of My De Wellness and longtime health equity advocate. The virtual conversation via Zoom was guided by moderator Dr. Shakari Byerly, PhD, Managing Partner at Evitarus. Byerly's questions helped surface both policy challenges and practical strategies for advocacy. BWOPA Executive Director LaNiece Jones opened the evening by urging Continued on page 10
Left to right: Marcus King, ceremony organizer; Mayor Barbara Lee; Post Publisher Paul Cobb and Bobby Seale. Photo by Gay Plair Cobb.
Street sign unveiling displays Bobby Seale Way intersecting Martin Luther King Jr. Way at 57th Street, just 25 feet from the Seale Family home at 809 57th St., and across the street from where Seale attended Oakland City College (Merritt), which is where he organized and drafted the formation of the Black Panther Party with Huey P. Newton. Photo by Gay Plair Cobb.
William ‘Bill’ Patterson, 94, Civic Leader and EBMUD Board Member, Served Oakland for Decades
By Post Staff
William ‘Bill’ Patterson, widely known as “an unwavering champion for Oakland’s children and families,” for many years, died this week at the age of 94. Shortly following his passing on Tuesday, Oct. 21, Mayor Barbara Lee issued a statement emphasizing her deep friendship and respect for Patterson and honoring his decades of dedication to the city he called home. “Bill was a close friend, a mentor, and an unwavering champion for Oakland’s children and families. When I was sworn in as Oakland’s Mayor at City Hall, it was Bill who held my grandfather’s Bible – a moment that symbolized our deep personal bond, and his role as a steady hand guiding this
Rev. Michael Wallace Inducted into the Morehouse College MLK Jr. Board of Preachers
State Judge Rejects Former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong’s Whistleblower Lawsuit
The judge ruled Armstrong’s claims against the city over his firing by Sheng Thao ‘do not rise to the level’ of legal violations
Former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong. Courtesy of KQED. By Post Staff
A state judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong, who had sued last year alleging the City of Oakland and then-
Mayor Sheng Thao had fired him
in February 2023 in retaliation for speaking out against Robert
Warshaw, the federal monitor who
oversees the police department, Continued on page 10
city’s future.” Patterson’s life was an outstanding model of commitment to public service, according to many people who knew and worked with him. Over the years, he ran 23 recreation centers in Oakland and oversaw the Oakland Zoo at Knowland Park and Lake Merritt, as well as Children’s Fairyland and the Kaiser Convention Center. He was a founding director of the Peralta Colleges Foundation; a board member of the Urban Strategies Council; an adviser to Lionel Wilson, Oakland’s first African American mayor; and a mentor to generations of community leaders and athletes. Patterson served for nearly Continued on page 10
Courtesy photo. Special to the Post The Reverend Michael W. Wallace, Senior Pastor of the historic Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Oakland, California, was inducted into the prestigious Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. International Board of Preachers on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. The historic 40th Annual Induction Ceremony was held in Atlanta, Georgie, at Morehouse College and honors distinguished clergy and lay leaders who reflect the prophetic witness, moral courage and unwavering commitment to justice. Pastor Wallace said, “I was truly honored, humbled and in disbelief. I shared this honor with
my family and I thank God for allowing me to be about service. For the work of Jesus and Justice does not receive much recognition nor requires accolades — its really about commitment, conviction, compassion and courage bathed in love.” The Martin Luther King Jr. College of Ministers and Laity was established in 1985 by Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., dean of Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel. It is intended to honor individuals whose work exemplifies the ethical ideals of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Board of Preachers comprises ordained clergy from the Christian tradition as well as an interdenominational group of faith leaders who promote healing, reconciliation, nonviolence, moral cosmopolitan social progress, agapeic justice and care for the ecosystem. Pastor Wallace has guided Mount Zion for 17 years in a plethora of ministries and services that benefit and meet the needs of the congregation and community at large. Pastor Wallace, a social justice activist and state-wide community organizer, said he uses his voice to address the adverse soContinued on page 10