Activism

HED: My Sister’s Keeper Helps to Build Up Bay Area Black Women

The African American Cultural Center on Fulton Street was the site of the fourth annual My Sisters Keepers, By All Means Necessary conference this past weekend, which brought together local and national figures to talk to young women about being assets to the local and national Black communities.

Published

4 years ago

June 8, 2022

Oakland Post

Activist Tamika Mallory, Tina Brown of My Sister’s Keeper and Kyra Kyles with YR Media. Photo by Lee Hubbard

By Lee Hubbard

Tina Brown was born and raised in San Francisco’s Western Addition. She had a troubled childhood, which led to her being a runaway, incarceration in Juvenile Hall and becoming a teenage mother.

Bad choices in life led to bad relationships and an unstable life situation. But things would change—with a brush with the law as an adult—that would change her life around.

Brown got a mentor, got a job and it helped her turn her life around. She became a productive citizen and an activist for young Black women.

“I began interacting with young girls and we started doing weekly meetings with young ladies aged 12 to 17,” said Brown. “We were able to talk about what’s going on in the community and their lives.”

This was the start of My Sister’s Keeper, a non-profit organization that Brown started, based in San Francisco. The organization deals with improving the lives of young Black girls through mentoring, training and exposure.

“It started out as a way to speak out to heal the trauma inside of me,” continued Brown. “I would go to these Black women conferences in Atlanta, Los Angeles and Miami and I noticed that nothing was really happening in the Bay or San Francisco.”

More than one hundred people were at the all-day conference. People on hand included national grassroots activists such as Tamika Mallory, Angela Davis and Dr. Syleecia Thompson, an educator and host of a Fox Soul television show.

Mallory calls herself a street politician and she came to fame during the George Floyd protest, where she gave an impassioned plea against racism and the fight for Black liberation from white supremacy in front of millions of television viewers.

“I came to this conference to share my work on how we are working politically and how we can find ways to be connected and empowered,” said Mallory.

She hosts a national podcast called Street Politicians on the iHeart network, with her co-host Mysonne.

“Black women are left out of positions of power, often because we are women,” continued Mallory. “But we need to speak up.”

“Every generation has its way of expressing itself,” said Mallory. “We as leaders need to create inclusive spaces,” so people will communicate the issues. There is still work that needs to be done, and it will take a united front to make things happen, she says.

“We need to help to liberate our Black men and help them to lead, so we can fight together,” continued Mallory.

A men’s panel also came to address the ladies. This included San Francisco hip-hop producer and activist Herm Lewis, Bishop Keith Clark from World Assembly Church in Oakland and Hakeem Brown, a city council member from Vallejo, California.

Bridgette Leblanc, a local businesswoman and vice chair of the San Francisco Black Chamber of Commerce was also present. She said women need to look more into business and then join organizations like the chamber which help to incubate and develop them.

She said that as an organization, the chamber helps to bring Black business to San Francisco and to make sure Black businesses get a share of the money coming into San Francisco.

“It’s not easy being a leader, but [we] have to move into [these positions] to make things happen,” said Leblanc.

Other women who spoke at the conference included Gina Fromer, head of the San Francisco Children’s Council, Dr. Ramona Bishop, the founder of Elite Public Schools in Vallejo and Cloey Hewlett, the California Commissioner of Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.

“People got a lot of value out of the conference,” said Brown. “It brought mentorship, sisterhood and a lot of activity that people can build upon to initiate action and change.”

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Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026

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5 days ago

March 7, 2026

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

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2 weeks ago

March 1, 2026

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

3 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.