Activism

Peralta Village Tenants and Supporters Protest Oakland Housing Authority Office

“I would like for the tenants to come together more and not fear retaliation,” said Eddie Simmon, who has lived in Peralta Village for over 20 years, at the protest. “The more the tenants vent their frustrations as a group, the better [OHA] will respond.”

Published

4 years ago

February 19, 2021

Kiki

Members of The United Front Against Displacement and Peralta Village tenants hold signs at a protest outside of The Oakland Housing Authority's West Oakland offices on Saturday February 13. (Left to right) Jacob Fowler, Dayton Andrews, Cole McLean, Colleen Donovon, Eddie Simmon, Cassidy Taylor, and a Peralta Village tennant to asked not to be named

Peralta Village tenants and supporters gathered outside of Oakland Housing Authority’s [OHA] offices from noon to 1:00 p.m. on February 13 to protest what they see as insufficient maintenance and unfair threats of eviction despite Alameda County’s and Oakland’s COVID-19 related eviction moratoriums.

Peralta Village is a public housing project in West Oakland consisting of 390 units and over 700 residents. It was founded just after World War II as segregated, all-Black housing. Today, many of the residents, almost all of whom are still Black, feel they are being treated unfairly. Some are coming together to demand change.

A February 1 article from this publication showed tenants who complained of black mold, overflowing trash, inconsistent clean up, an inoperable overhead light despite services requests dating back a year, a six-week delay to repair a window that would not shut, a lack of recycling services, and eviction threats despite the moratorium. In reaction to these circumstances, 85 Peralta Village tenants signed and delivered a petition to OHA demanding better treatment.

Shortly after the article’s publication and residents delivered their petition, about a dozen tenants received a notice from Oakland Rent Adjustment Program informing them that eviction notices OHA had sent “may have been served in error and/or in contradiction to the current laws in place prohibiting most forms of eviction in Oakland.”

The notice also broadly outlined rights tenants have under Oakland’s eviction moratorium. Under a section marked “What should you do if you’ve received an eviction notice?,” the notice reads “You are likely not required to move at this time.”

“If you didn’t have knowledge of what the [eviction notices] represent, you think it’s a serious threat but, in reality, it’s just intimidation,” said Dayton Andrews at the protest. Andrews is a member of The United Front Against Displacement, an anti-gentrification group that has been organizing with Peralta Village tenants for better treatment from OHA.

An OHA spokesperson, Greer McVay, said that OHA has not threatened to evict any residents during the COVID-19 emergency for non-payment of rent. But some residents report they have received three-day notice or quit notices from OHA, not due to rent non-payment, but due to OHA accusing them of breaking its rules.

Oakland’s Rent Adjustment Board classifies such notices as eviction notices. Still, no residents have claimed that OHA has followed through on such evictions and, when interviewed for the February 1 article, McVay claimed OHA is not currently evicting any residents.

In an interview with The Oakland Post, an OHA worker who asked not to be named due to fear of retaliation said that through discussions with OHA’s upper management and personal experience on the job, the recent eviction notices were delivered as a “bully tactic.” The worker also was sympathetic to resident complaints about rodents, inconsistent trash pick-up, and slow repairs.

“[For] every resident I’ve been in contact with,” the worker said, “it’s the same story. As an insider, there’s no reason why they should live in those types of conditions. It’s so baffling for us.”

Residents claim trash still regularly overflows from Peralta Village dumpsters and onto the streets, sometimes blowing near their homes. OHA’s McVay, said the agency has increased its trash clean-up services under COVID-19 but blames much of the mess on illegal dumping that she claims comes from outside of Peralta Village.

In response to residents’ complaints about mold, McVay said OHA “actively works with residents to resolve [mold] issues if noted during a unit inspection” or if tenants report such a problem, and that OHA’s “primary goal is to educate residents on mildew and mold prevention.”

McVay said OHA is prioritizing emergency repairs under COVID-19, which are addressed within “four to 24 hours depending on the severity” and that “non-emergencies are based on the availability of the maintenance crew.”

Residents claim that even during emergencies their requests for maintenance often get delayed for weeks or months and that favoritism, not COVID-19, causes delays.

“They’ll look at the list [of maintenance requests] and they’ll choose which apartment they want to go to,” said an OHA tenant at the protest who asked not to be named due to fear of retaliation. “It’s not in the order of the call. That’s what I hate!” This resident claimed they had to wait six weeks for OHA to fix a window in her unit that would not close.

Mark Schiferl, director of Property Management for OHA, has recently called and e-mailed both The United Front Against Displacement and some residents mentioned in the February 1 article to ask about problems residents complained about.

JaCynthia Givens, a resident who complained about black mold, and Simmon, who complained about insufficient trash pick-up and cleaning of shared outdoor common areas, said Schiferl called them. They said Schiferl listened to them but has not yet offered plans to fix their problems. He did not respond to requests to comment on this article.

Simmon was pleased that Schiferl reached out. “It felt like we got somebody’s attention finally,” said Simmon, “because this guy is calling me and I’m just another tenant.”

Residents and their supporters are hoping that by protesting and organizing, OHA will respond to repair requests in a more effective quicker manner, stop eviction threats, and keep the neighborhood cleaner. To get OHA’s attention they posted signs on OHA’s office doors during the February 13 protest. One read “FIX THE MOLD MARK!” and another read “OHA FIX THIS MESS!”

Although 10 people showed up to the protest, the demands the protestors made have much broader support as 91 Peralta Village residents, about 12% its total population, have now signed the petition demanding better treatment from OHA. OHA tenants and supporters are hoping more people show up to support their demands at future actions.

“It’s going to take a bunch of us coming together to get anything done,” said Simmon.

“We’re out here to prove to folks that the sky’s not going to fall if you take a stand,” said Andrews at the protest. “And things are only going to get worse if you don’t.”

The United Front Against Displacement is encouraging residents to call them at 510-815-9978 or email them at wewontgo@riseup.net if they want to sign the petition and/or get involved in future actions.

Kiki

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Activism

Gov. Newsom Approves $170 Million to Fast Track Wildfire Resilience

AB 100 approves major investments in regional conservancies across the state, including over $30 million each for the Sierra Nevada, Santa Monica Mountains, State Coastal, and San Gabriel/Lower LA Rivers and Mountains conservancies. An additional $10 million will support wildfire response and resilience efforts.

Published

20 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Courtesy of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s Facebook page.

By Bo Tefu
California Black Media

With wildfire season approaching, last week Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 100, unlocking $170 million to fast-track wildfire prevention and forest management projects — many of which directly protect communities of color, who are often hardest hit by climate-driven disasters.

“With this latest round of funding, we’re continuing to increase the speed and size of forest and vegetation management essential to protecting communities,” said Newsom when he announced the funding on April 14.

“We are leaving no stone unturned — including cutting red tape — in our mission to ensure our neighborhoods are protected from destructive wildfires,” he said.

Newsom also signed an executive order suspending certain regulations to allow urgent work to move forward faster.

This funding builds on California’s broader Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, a $2.7 billion effort to reduce fuel loads, increase prescribed burning, and harden communities. The state has also launched new dashboards to keep the public informed and hold agencies accountable.

California has also committed to continue investing $200 million annually through 2028 to expand this effort, ensuring long-term resilience, particularly in vulnerable communities.

Oakland Post

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Activism

California Rideshare Drivers and Supporters Step Up Push to Unionize

Today in California, over 600,000 rideshare drivers want the ability to form or join unions for the sole purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection. It’s a right, and recently at the State Capitol, a large number of people, including some rideshare drivers and others working in the gig economy, reaffirmed that they want to exercise it.

Published

21 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

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By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌
California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

On July 5, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into federal law the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Also known as the “Wagner Act,” the law paved the way for employees to have “the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations,” and “to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, according to the legislation’s language.

On April 8, the rideshare drivers held a rally with lawmakers to garner support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1340, the “Transportation Network Company Drivers (TNC) Labor Relations Act.”

Authored by Assemblymembers Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) and Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), AB 1340 would allow drivers to create a union and negotiate contracts with industry leaders like Uber and Lyft.

“All work has dignity, and every worker deserves a voice — especially in these uncertain times,” Wicks said at the rally. “AB 1340 empowers drivers with the choice to join a union and negotiate for better wages, benefits, and protections. When workers stand together, they are one of the most powerful forces for justice in California.”

Wicks and Berman were joined by three members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC): Assemblymembers Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood), Sade Elhawary (D-Los Angeles), and Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights).

Yvonne Wheeler, president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; April Verrett, President of Service Employees International Union (SEIU); Tia Orr, Executive Director of SEIU; and a host of others participated in the demonstration on the grounds of the state capitol.

“This is not a gig. This is your life. This is your job,” Bryan said at the rally. “When we organize and fight for our collective needs, it pulls from the people who have so much that they don’t know what to do with it and puts it in the hands of people who are struggling every single day.”

Existing law, the “Protect App-Based Drivers and Services Act,” created by Proposition (Prop) 22, a ballot initiative, categorizes app-based drivers for companies such as Uber and Lyft as independent contractors.

Prop 22 was approved by voters in the November 2020 statewide general election. Since then, Prop 22 has been in court facing challenges from groups trying to overturn it.

However, last July, Prop 22 was upheld by the California Supreme Court last July.

In a 2024, statement after the ruling, Lyft stated that 80% of the rideshare drivers they surveyed acknowledged that Prop 22 “was good for them” and “median hourly earnings of drivers on the Lyft platform in California were 22% higher in 2023 than in 2019.”

Wicks and Berman crafted AB 1340 to circumvent Prop 22.

“With AB 1340, we are putting power in the hands of hundreds of thousands of workers to raise the bar in their industry and create a model for an equitable and innovative partnership in the tech sector,” Berman said.

Oakland Post

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Activism

California Holds the Line on DEI as Trump Administration Threatens School Funding

The conflict began on Feb. 14, when Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), issued a “Dear Colleague” letter warning that DEI-related programs in public schools could violate federal civil rights law. The letter, which cited Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which ended race-conscious admissions, ordered schools to eliminate race-based considerations in areas such as admissions, scholarships, hiring, discipline, and student programming.

Published

21 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

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By Joe W. Bowers Jr
California Black Media

California education leaders are pushing back against the Trump administration’s directive to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in its K-12 public schools — despite threats to take away billions in federal funding.

The conflict began on Feb. 14, when Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), issued a “Dear Colleague” letter warning that DEI-related programs in public schools could violate federal civil rights law. The letter, which cited Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which ended race-conscious admissions, ordered schools to eliminate race-based considerations in areas such as admissions, scholarships, hiring, discipline, and student programming.

According to Trainor, “DEI programs discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another.”

On April 3, the DOE escalated the pressure, sending a follow-up letter to states demanding that every local educational agency (LEA) certify — within 10 business days — that they were not using federal funds to support “illegal DEI.” The certification requirement, tied to continued federal aid, raised the stakes for California, which receives more than $16 billion annually in federal education funding.

So far, California has refused to comply with the DOE order.

“There is nothing in state or federal law that outlaws the broad concepts of ‘diversity,’ ‘equity,’ or ‘inclusion,’” wrote David Schapira, California’s Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, in an April 4 letter to superintendents and charter school administrators. Schapira noted that all of California’s more than 1,000 traditional public school districts submit Title VI compliance assurances annually and are subject to regular oversight by the state and the federal government.

In a formal response to the DOE on April 11, the California Department of Education, the State Board of Education, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond collectively rejected the certification demand, calling it vague, legally unsupported, and procedurally improper.

“California and its nearly 2,000 LEAs (including traditional public schools and charter schools) have already provided the requisite guarantee that its programs and services are, and will be, in compliance with Title VI and its implementing regulation,” the letter says.

Thurmond added in a statement, “Today, California affirmed existing and continued compliance with federal laws while we stay the course to move the needle for all students. As our responses to the United States Department of Education state and as the plain text of state and federal laws affirm, there is nothing unlawful about broad core values such as diversity, equity and inclusion. I am proud of our students, educators and school communities who continue to focus on teaching and learning, despite federal actions intended to distract and disrupt.”

California officials say that the federal government cannot change existing civil rights enforcement standards without going through formal rule-making procedures, which require public notice and comment.

Other states are taking a similar approach. In a letter to the DOE, Daniel Morton-Bentley, deputy commissioner and counsel for the New York State Education Department, wrote, “We understand that the current administration seeks to censor anything it deems ‘diversity, equity & inclusion.’ But there are no federal or State laws prohibiting the principles of DEI.”