Activism

Causa Justa Helps Black and Brown Communities, Just Cause.

They have brought together thousands of African-American and Latino residents of Oakland and San Francisco to fight for housing and immigrant rights.

Published

5 years ago

July 9, 2021

Christy Price

Causa Justa Just Cause

Gentrification is a huge problem that inner city-communities, which consist mostly of Black and Latino families, face every day. Evictions, rent increase and slumlords are all par for the course in this urban landscape, where the median price for a one-bedroom rental is beyond the means of most people.

Causa Justa Just Cause has been working hard to make sure that people from these marginalized communities are not taken advantage of or evicted from not only their home but oftentimes the very community and city that they have always known. Many of these families facing gentrification have lived in Oakland and San Francisco’s Mission and Bayview areas for generations.

CJJC is a grassroots organization that began in 2010 with the merger of Just Cause Oakland and St. Peter’s Housing Committee, both powerful organizations in their own right. In 2015, they brought People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER) into the fold, creating a formidable protection for the people of these marginalized groups.

CJJC provides housing and racial justice, builds grassroots power and leadership to create strong, equitable communities. They improve conditions in neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area by providing rights-based services, policy campaigns, civic engagement and direct action.

They have brought together thousands of African-American and Latino residents of Oakland and San Francisco to fight for housing and immigrant rights. In doing so, the organization has successfully passed more than a dozen tenants’ rights ordinances in both cities, stopped hundreds of evictions, prevented rent increases and forced landlords to do much needed repairs.

The Oakland office for CJJC is located at 1419 34th Ave #203, Oakland, CA, 94601 and they can be reached by phone at 510-763-5877. Please call them or visit their website for more locations and information. You can also visit them on Facebook and Twitter. Please consider volunteering or donating to this worthy cause, Just Cause.

Christy Price

Posts by Christy Price

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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

4 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

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

2 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.