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Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
postnewsgroup.com
62nd Year, No. 36
Weekly Edition September 3 - 9, 2025
Harbor House Ministries Alumni Reflects On the Non Profit’s Community Impact
By Aiding Mass Deportations, Security Firms, Like Oakland Bidder Allied Universal, Earn $Millions from Trump
Braxton Gunter, left and Ron Busby Jr., both of Byblack.us and the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce, were speakers at the mixer. Photo by Auintard Henderson.
Mary Biasotti, former assistant director of Harbor House Ministries. Photo courtesy of Mary Biasotti.
OAACC’s Black Business Month Meet & Greet Mixer Spotlights Black Entrepreneurs, By Carla Thomas For more than 50 years, Harbor Ice Detention Center. Photo courtesy of ACLU, Northern California. Community Leaders House Ministries has stood as a By Post Staff and armed security guards to ICE Some of the world’s largest private security companies are central to ICE’s rapidly expanding deportation machine, providing vehicles and staff to transport immigrants to deportation flights and a national and international network of detention centers, according to a report on the website The Lever and reprinted by Truthout. Among these companies is the private equity-backed Allied Universal Security Services, the nation’s third-largest private employer, which provides vehicles
through its subsidiary, G4S Secure Solutions. Allied Universal Security has been actively pursuing a contract with the City of Oakland. The global company has been at the center of a politically contentious and delayed bidding process for a citywide security services contract. The contract has been in limbo since at least early 2023. Unlike some other immigration detention companies — such as the private firms building and operatContinued on page 8
Special to The Post
The Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (OAACC) proudly hosted its Black Business Month Meet & Greet Mixer, bringing together nearly 200 entrepreneurs, professionals, and community leaders for an evening dedicated to celebrating and elevating Blackowned businesses. The event served as both a networking platform and a showcase of resources, featuring eight distinguished speakers who shared insights and strategies for business growth: ● Ron Busby Jr. & Braxton Bunter (ByBlack Certification Program, U.S. Black Chambers, Inc.) – introduced a national
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certification platform to expand visibility and opportunity for Black-owned businesses. (Link for sign-ups to be added) Will Jackson (U.S. Bank) – emphasized U.S. Bank’s commitment to small business lending, resources, and financial empowerment. Anita Russell – highlighted approaches to strengthening operations and scaling for success. Ernestine Nettles – spoke on the importance of sustainable growth through community partnerships. Juno Thomas – inspired attendees with tools for building legacy and generational wealth Continued on page 8
First 5 Alameda Releasing $14 Million Emergency Measure C Funds to Child Care Providers
OIFF logo. Courtesy image.
Oakland International Film Festival Opens Sept. 10
By Carla Thomas
The 23rd Oakland International Film Festival (OIFF) from Sept. 10–20, will unite filmmakers, artists, and film lovers for 11 days of cinematic celebration and cultural exchange. With the inspiring theme “Promoting the Planet Through Film,” this year’s festival continues OIFF’s tradition as a beacon of truth-telling, creativity, and transformative community engagement. “The festival’s mission is to empower local and global communities through independent cinema,” said festival co-founder David
Roach. Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee commended Roach, noting, “For 23 years, the Oakland International Film Festival has made Oakland proud and given people globally the opportunity to see the richness and achievements of our city.” Kicking off at the historic Grand Lake Theater, the festival spans several venues including Northeastern University (formerly Mills College), Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, and other cultural hubs. “What makes OIFF unique is its full immersion into Oakland’s landscape of food, music, arts, Continued on page 8
First 5 Alameda to Announce the Release of $14 Million from Measure C Funding in First Round of Emergency Grants Special to The Post On Sept. 4, First 5 Alameda County will host a check presentation event to celebrate child care providers receiving long-awaited First 5 Early Care and Education Emergency Grants. This check presentation marks the first round of Measure C grant funding, with more than $14 million released to over 300 childcare centers and family providers. Eli-
GospelFest Oakland 2025
gible childcare providers and program sites will receive one-time grants ranging from $40,000 to $100,000 to remain open, improve facilities, hire staff, increase wages, and more. Eighty percent of childcare providers in Alameda County are eligible for these emergency grants. Over the next five years, First 5 Alameda will utilize Measure C funds to invest nearly $1 billion in strengthening early care and education and evolving the early childhood system countywide. These efforts include a wage floor of at least $25/hour for Measure C-funded early educators, 2,400 new subsidized childcare slots, expanded support for Family, Friend, and Neighbor caregivers, and new ways to connect families with essential services. The Early Care and Education Emergency Grants are part of Continued on page 8
beacon of hope in the San Antonio district of Oakland. Founded on the principles of Christian community development, the organization’s mission seeks to provide a safe place where opportunities, resources, and relationships are shared so children, teens, and families can flourish. The seeds of Harbor House Ministries were planted in the early 1970s when Olive Freeman, a fourth-grade teacher in Oakland,
GospelFest Oakland 2025 will be held on Saturday, Sept. 13 at the historic Henry J. Kaiser Center’s recently rennovated Calvin Simmons Theater. The concert will feature headliners Dietrick Haddon, Lisa Knowles-Smith and The Brown Singers, and Lena Byrd Miles. J-Red, Tamara Edwards, and Pastor G. Hunter will serve as mas-
ters of ceremony and Bay Area artists Lawrence Matthews, Alfreda Lyons Campbell, Fuego, Olivet Oakland, Destined 2 Dance, JaCoree Prothro, Derrick Hall, and Leonard B. Lothlen, Sr. will also perform. The event creator, Leonard B. Lothlen Sr., is a Bay Area gospel artist whose life’s work has contributed to the sound and soul of Oakland’s Continued on page 8
Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (C-CA-12). Courtesy photo. By Post Staff Following Labor Day, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (DCA-12) led her colleagues in a letter to the Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer expressing alarm at the Department’s failure to protect federal contractors with
disabilities and demanding transparency from the Department of Labor. Under federal civil rights law, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, federal contractors are prohibited from discriminating against individuals with disabilities in recruitment, hiring, compensation, job assignments, benefits, or promotions. The law also further requires employers to take proactive steps to recruit, hire, retain and advance qualified people with disabilities. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is charged with enforcing these requirements. However, in January 2025, then-Acting Secretary of Labor Continued on page 8
California Attorney General Bonta Supports Lawsuit Challenging National Guard Takeover in Wash., D.C.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Cal Matters photo. Special to The Post
GospelFest Oakland 2025 September 13 at the historic Henry J. Kaiser Center’s recently rennovated Calvin Simmons Theater.
Continued on page 8
Congresswoman Simon Seeks to Protect Disabled Federal Contractors
GospelFest Oakland 2025 will be held on Saturday, September 13 at the historic Henry J. Kaiser Center’s recently rennovated Calvin Simmons Theater By Carla Thomas
noticed that some of her students lacked basic necessities. Compelled by her love for Jesus and a deep compassion for her students, she began gathering food, clothing, and books and distributing essentials from the trunk of her car. Freeman’s efforts didn’t stop there. She began tutoring students after school, determined to nurture their minds as well as meet their physical needs. Her passion drew others into the work, including a local baker, a postal carrier, and later members of her church joined in. Together, they raised funds, prayed, and eventually purchased a large Victorian house at 18th Street and 11th Avenue. In 1972, Harbor House Ministries was officially incorporated as a nonprofit, transforming a grassroots act of kindness into a thriving, multifaceted organization. In the early 1980s, Mary Biasotti, a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, who studied Natural Resources Management, began as an intern at Harbor House teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to refugees. Within nine months, members of
California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a statement in support of Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s illegal deployment of National Guard troops. “President Trump is illegally
seeking to use the military to police our people. It’s unnecessary, undemocratic, and most importantly, unlawful,” said Attorney General Bonta. “As a judge in California recently affirmed, the President’s power is not boundless, and the military may not act as the President’s personal police force. When troops arrived in Los Angeles in early June, we knew this was likely the beginning — not the end — of the military occupation of American cities. This dangerous moment requires all of us to stand up, speak out, and hold the President and his Administration accountable to laws and democratic values he swore to uphold. California is proud to stand with D.C. in this fight.” The California Dept. of Justice is the source of this report.