City Government

Black Panther Party Co-Founder Bobby Seale Endorses Desley Brooks

Published

7 years ago

February 16, 2018

Desley Brooks’ campaign for reelection to the District 6 seat on the Oakland City Council was endorsed this week by prominent activist Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.

“I endorse sister Desley Brooks for reelection to Oakland City Council,” said Seale in a press statement.

“Desley has been a vital voice in the fight for people’s economic, ecological and social justice empowerment,” said Seale.

“She is truly innovative in both thought and action.”

Seale is an organizer with over 50 years of experience. He co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense with Huey P. Newton in 1966 in Oakland.

The organization aimed to combat police brutality and create self-determined communities for Oakland’s Black residents.

The organization also famously provided programs filling basic needs for people neglected by government efforts and cut off locally funded efforts.

Seale said Desley Brooks is the only candidate working towards these same goals today.

“Her legislation on jobs, housing, environmental injustices and community development have ensured that the people of Oakland have a chance to grow with the city, not be pushed out of it,” said Seale.

Brooks works for equity in all areas of Oakland governance, according to her backers.

She authored the nation’s first Cannabis Equity Program, designed to open access to the rapidly expanding industry to Oakland residents who have borne the brunt of the racialized war on drugs.

Brooks introduced legislation that created the Department of Race and Equity, which ensures that all city departments look at whether their plans and programs produce equitable outcomes for city workers, contractors and residents.

She also supported the family members of police shooting victims and community calls for accountability of the Oakland Police Department, pushing for meaningful reform from her position as the chair of Oakland’s Public Safety Committee.

“I’m honored to have the support of such an iconic leader.” said Councilmember Brooks. “The foundation laid by Bobby Seale and others continuously inspires me to place the most vulnerable people in our communities at the center of our progress.”

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

2 hours ago

May 25, 2025

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IN MEMORIAM: Nate Holden, State Senator and Longtime Los Angeles Councilmember, Dies at 95

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.” Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Published

6 days ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Former Los Angeles Councilmember and California State Sen. Nate Holden. File photo.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Nathaniel “Nate” Holden, a prominent figure in the city’s politics, passed away at the age of 95, his family confirmed on May 7.

Holden, who represented South Los Angeles for 16 years on the City Council and served one term in the California State Senate, was widely regarded as a forceful advocate for his community.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described Holden as “a lion” in the State Senate and a force to be reckoned with on the Los Angeles City Council.”

Hahn added that she learned a lot working with Holden when she was a new councilmember.

Holden’s journey to political prominence began in the segregated South, where he was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1929. He often recalled the childhood moment when he first heard the governor of Georgia vowing to continue suppressing Black people.

“Doing the best you can for the people. Law and order. Make sure that people’s communities are safe. I did it all,” said Holden, reflecting on his legacy.

Holden is survived by his sons, including former California Assemblymember Chris Holden, who represented a district in Southern California that includes Pasadena and Altadena in Los Angeles County and cities in San Bernardino County.

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Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

7 days ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.