Activism

Board of SuperMoms Rallies Outside Alameda County Headquarters to Demand ‘Homes Not Harm’

Published

6 years ago

September 2, 2020

Barbara Doss (left) of The Ella Baker Center speaks gives a speech at the Board of SuperMoms Demands Homes Not Harm rally outside of The Alameda County Administrative Building in Downtown Oakland on Sept. 1. Dominique Walker (right) stands next to her. Photo by Zack Haber

Moms 4 Housing, a coalition of support groups and about 150 local residents gathered outside the Alameda County administration building in downtown Oakland on Tuesday to participate in a rally called Board of SuperMoms Demands Homes Not Harm.

Members of Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ), the Anti Police-Terror Project and Decarcerate Alameda County also spoke. Bay Area People’s Strike and Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) hosted the rally.

“After voting to give this notoriously racist Sheriff’s Department a budget increase of over $100 million a year, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors has canceled their meeting set for September 1st,” read a Facebook invitation calling for supporters to attend the rally, which took place from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. “We are in a crisis and this failure of leadership is unacceptable.”

Moms 4 Housing and supporters arranged a table outside of the building at 1221 Oak St. and spoke in a manner that emulated and played with the style of a county meeting.

Behind the table, supporters held signs painted in yellow, red and black. One sign outlined the four demands of the Homes Not Harm agenda: Defunding the sheriff by 30-50%; placing a moratorium on all evictions during the COVID-19 crisis; canceling all rent and mortgage debt; and permanently banning law enforcement from carrying out evictions.

While no current City Council members showed up to support the rally, Moms 4 Housing member Carroll Fife, who is running for office in District 3, as well as District 5 Council candidates Zoe Lopez-Meraz and Richard Santos Raya, were in attendance.

“We live in a police state that puts capital over human life,” said Dominique Walker, a founding member of Moms 4 Housing who spoke at the rally. “The eviction of Mom’s house showed that.”

Walker, along with several other speakers referenced the militarized pre-dawn eviction on Jan. 14 when the Alameda County Sheriff raided a speculator-owned property that had long been left vacant and kicked out unhoused Black mothers and children who had taken shelter inside. The sheriff’s officers used tanks, drones, a battering ram, and assault rifles to enforce the eviction.

Speakers pointed out that law enforcement terrorizes the same people that face housing insecurity and homelessness. Black Oakland resident Barbara Doss, of the Ella Baker Center, spoke of how guards at Santa Rita Jail killed her son, Dujuan Armstrong, at age 23.

But celebrating her son’s life was difficult because the owners of her rented housing unit wanted to inspect it on the same day. After delaying the inspection, she said they sent her a threat that she would be evicted if she continued to delay the inspection. She characterized the housing in the area as “unfair” and shared fond memories of her son, who, starting at the age of 9, would feed unhoused residents in Oakland.

“He would take food underneath the ramp down at 29th street and we would feed the homeless,” she said. “That was something he wanted to do, believe me, I didn’t push him to do that. I love him for doing that.”

Speakers pointed out the same money that can be used to harm and incarcerate people could be used to provide housing. Others spoke directly to the need to cancel rent and grassroots efforts to organize tenants.

Tur-Ha Ak, of Community Ready Corps, spoke of the need for those fighting for housing justice and against the criminalization of dissent and police oppression to stand united with each other.

Pointing at the county administration building, he repeatedly said “this is the same system that killed Martin and Malcolm,” and emphasized that though activists might have disagreements about tactics, they all need to unite against the criminalization of dissent.

Fife spoke last.

“We don’t have to reimagine policing,” Fife said. “Because we live and dream about our lives mattering every day. We have organizations that have been working on this for years. Some of my mentors and elders have been working on this for decades. We just have to do it.”

Michelle Snider

Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

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Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

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Activism

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

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

Published

2 days ago

March 1, 2026

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.