Activism

Abortion Rights in Trouble, Supreme Court Seems Poised To Play Dumb On Constitution

“As I understand it,” said conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Mississippi Solicitor in cross examination, “You’re arguing that the Constitution is silent and neutral on the question of abortion. In other words, that the Constitution is neither pro-life or pro-choice on the question of abortion but leaves the issue for the people of the states, or perhaps Congress to resolve in the democratic process.”

Published

4 years ago

December 13, 2021

Oakland Post

Planned Parenthood already serves 7,000 out-of-state-patients a year in California. That number is estimated to grow by 3,000%, according to a Guttmacher Institute report.

By Emil Guillermo

Oakland’s member of Congress, Barbara Lee, continues to stand up for the rights, not just of Alameda County but of the nation when it comes to a woman’s right to an abortion.

She’s been upfront about her own experience when abortion was not legal, and she was forced to visit a friend in Texas. From there, they entered Mexico to a clinic for a “back alley” procedure. “A lot of girls and women in my generation didn’t make it — they died from unsafe abortions,” Lee is quoted in Vogue magazine. “In the 1960s, unsafe septic abortions were the primary killer of African American women.”

Get ready. We may be going backwards. For a while, choice has been the law of the land. But the pendulum is swinging back — on all rights. Abortion rights, voting rights, civil rights. All the things that we thought were settled law for the last 50-60 years. The new conservative Supreme Court seems set to undo it all.

With a 6-3 conservative court, the three liberal judges have no way to counter the majority. Prayer?

On abortion, the case before the high court is a Mississippi law that has been timed for this moment. It wants to limit abortions after 15 weeks. No exceptions. Period.

Blocking this law has been the legal precedent set 50 years ago by Roe v. Wade and affirmed 30 years ago by the Planned Parenthood vs. Casey case. Mississippi wants the Supreme Court to overturn these long-standing legal guideposts. Just like that. And then, the law of the land is guided by Mississippi.

Instead of rising above the stench of politics, the court looks ready to oblige and throw your rights into the muddy waters. Let the politicians fight it out.

The Mississippi Solicitor affirmed it all and said it’s left to the people.

You think politics is rotten now. The conservative court appears ready to declare the Constitution neutral on abortion, and all other rights we hold dear.

And all because the six conservatives are willing to turn a blind eye and say the Constitution is just dumb on the issues that matter to the rest of us.

But, you say, Alameda County isn’t Mississippi. Is this what we want? You’re just going to have to get into the fight.

“It’s clear to me the court has been politicized,” Lee said recently on CNN, who added Congress will have to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act to protect a woman’s right to choose and codify the right into the law nationally.

In California, the state Legislature is already taking proposals on making California an abortion destination. In 2017, a survey put California at 132,680 abortions, 15% of all in the nation.

Planned Parenthood already serves 7,000 out-of-state-patients a year in California. That number is estimated to grow by 3,000%, according to a Guttmacher Institute report.

With a 6-3 conservative court, it’s inevitable. And it’s all a consequence of people who voted for Trump in 2016. He got to choose the last three judges.

Now we’ll have to fight just to keep America from going backward.

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. See his vlog on www.amok.com Listen to his podcast, “Emil Amok’s Takeout.”

Oakland Post

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Activism

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

1 week 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.