Op-Ed

CBC Met with Emerging Leaders in Ferguson

Published

10 years ago

February 2, 2015

By Lauren Victoria Burke
NNPA Columnist

If you read most of what was reported on the visit of 11 members of the Congressional Black Caucus visit to a church and that was it. As it turned out, there was more to it than that.

They met with 10 young activists in Ferguson on the night of January 17. They had a dinner meeting that broke off into smaller meetings that went on past midnight. They also met with several candidates for the Ferguson City Council. Each of the three City Council Wards are fielding an African American candidate. Members of the Black Caucus also brought campaign checks for those candidates.

The election is on April 7 and it will be the first true test of whether all the activism seen in the streets in Ferguson will translate to tangible political power.

Members of the Black Caucus also met with Dorian Johnson, the friend of Michael Brown who was with him on August 9 when then-Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson shot Brown to death in the middle of the street.

“They got an earful from those young people about how bad it is. They spoke on how they felt that the civil rights movement had failed them and talked on the abuse they are still taking from the criminal justice system. They got an earful in there,” Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) told TheRoot.com days after the Black Caucus visit to Ferguson.

Some of the activists in Ferguson expressed a great deal of disappointment with civil rights era politics. They figure that if they are still fighting the same battles of over-criminalization and police brutality that were fought five and six decades ago, then something is wrong. They also questioned the power and the importance of voting. It is noteworthy that so many of the elected officials in and around Ferguson, including St. Louis prosecutor Bob McCulloch, are all members of the Democratic Party.

Members of the Black Caucus are planning to sponsor at least 15 young activists from Ferguson for the annual Congressional Black Caucus’ Leadership Institute Political Boot Camp in July. The Institute focuses on putting young people in the pipeline for political leadership. Several graduates of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute’s annual Boot Camp have either gone on to hold elective office or run advocacy campaigns. Last July, 55 young people graduated from the institute.

In his January 27 campaign newsletter Rep. Clay said, “My visiting CBC colleagues and I spent several hours with some of the most vocal young activists in Ferguson to hear first-hand their frustrations, their fears, their demands for change, and their hopes for the future. I admire their courage and passion for justice, and I plan to stand with them as they peacefully exercise their constitutional rights.”

One of the Ferguson activists was said to have been so upset about the treatment received from local law enforcement she broke down in tears during the meeting with the Black Caucus members. When you consider that policing in the St. Louis area is centered around who collects fines and from whom in the local municipalities, it’s no surprise that the local activists have had quite enough.

The police shooting deaths of Michael Brown, Vonderrick Myers and Kajieme Powell exploded into the news – nationally and internationally – as activists turned what has often times been an all-too-routine 15-second mention on the local news into a broad examination of police behavior. And more importantly, why everyone in the community should care.

But what can be done by federal lawmakers when the problem is often local? Last week, Rep. Lacy and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) offered the Grand Jury Reform Act. The legislation mandates that any officer involved in a killing must have an independent prosecutor assigned to the case.

Can that pass a Republican-controlled Congress? It will be difficult. But in an era in hyper-partisanship where Republicans oppose the president even when his policies are similar to theirs – criminal justice reform has been a rare area of agreement between Democrats and Republicans.

“We all know that the grave injustices they are protesting against have been around for decades. These young people have done our nation a great service by awaking the consciences of millions and ripping open an unhealed wound that has been festering for too long,” Clay said last week in a statement.

What happens over the next few months will answer many questions on whether activists’ power will lead to lasting political power.

Lauren Victoria Burke is freelance writer and creator of the blog Crewof42.com, which covers African American members of Congress. She Burke appears regularly on “NewsOneNow with Roland Martin” and on WHUR FM, 900 AM WURD. She worked previously at USA Today and ABC News. She can be reached through her website, laurenvictoriaburke.com, or Twitter @Crewof42 or by e-mail at LBurke007@gmail.com.

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Activism

Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

Published

1 month ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.

By Paul Cobb
New Oakland Series
Opinion Part 3

The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.

Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.

This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.

Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.

“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.

Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.

Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”

Oakland Post

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Activism

Councilmembers Ramachandran, Kaplan, Unger Identify Funds to Save Oakland Fire Stations

Our budget crisis – one of the worst in Oakland’s history – is compounded by the fact that people do not feel safe coming to Oakland due to our public safety crisis. By investing in our fundamental public safety resources today, we can send a signal to the world that Oakland is open for business. We have such a rich and vibrant culture, arts, and food scene that is worth celebrating – but we can only showcase this if we are able to keep our neighborhoods safe. Having fully functioning fire stations are absolutely essential to these efforts.

Published

1 month ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Councilmember Janani Ramachandran. Courtesy photo.

By Janani Ramachandran

There is no greater concern to the people of Oakland today than public safety. Fire stations are the bread and butter of essential city services – and every day that we have stations shuttered, we imperil the lives of our community members. In response to widespread outcry over the current and planned closure of stations, myself, along with Councilmembers Kaplan and Unger, have painstakingly worked to identify millions of dollars of new funding to save our stations. The legislation we introduced on Thursday, February 13th, will amend our budget to prevent the closure of four fire stations that are currently on the chopping block due to our budget crisis and will re-open two closed stations that have already been closed – Station 25 and 28 – in the near future. The resolution that will provide the funding to keep our stations open will go before the full City Council for a vote at our meeting on Tuesday, March 4^th at 3:30 PM – and we invite you to join us at City Hall to share your perspective on the topic.

With the devastating Los Angeles fire at the top of people’s minds, terrible memories of Oakland’s own wildfires are re-surfacing from the 1991 Oakland Hills Firestorm to the Keller fire just a few months ago – and how essential fire stations are to mitigating these catastrophes. But in Oakland, our fire stations don’t just fight wildfires – they also provide emergency medical services to our most vulnerable constituents, put out structural fires and encampment fires, and much more.

We recognize that there are a number of competing interests and important initiatives fighting for sparse City resources. But from my perspective, core safety services are the most pivotal functions that a City must spend its resources on – especially given the outcry we have heard around fire stations.

The fight to save our stations is not over. The resolution we introduced is a critical first step, and there are hurdles to overcome. If you support keeping our fire stations open, we invite you to be a part of the solution by making your voice heard at the March 4^th City Council meeting at 3:30 pm.

Oakland Post

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Activism

NNPA Launches National Public Education and Selective Buying Campaign

“We are the trusted voice of Black America, and we will not be silent or nonresponsive to the rapid rise of renewed Jim Crow racist policies in corporate America,” stated NNPA Chairman Bobby R. Henry Sr. “The Black Press of America continues to remain on the frontline keeping our families and communities informed and engaged on all the issues that impact our quality of life.”

Published

1 month ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

Washington, DC: The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), representing the Black Press of America, has announced the planning and implementation of a national public education and selective buying campaign across the nation in direct response to those corporate entities that have dismantled their respective Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) commitments, programs and staffing. NNPA Chairman Emeritus Danny Bakewell Sr. explained, “Now is the time for the Black Press of America once again to emphatically speak and publish truth to power.”

At a recent convening of NNPA member publishers and editors, a united resolve was reached that each member publication of the NNPA will begin a national public education campaign coupled with the release of research data on those American companies that are engaging in efforts to sanction racial injustice, inequitable polices, divisive leadership, and economic apartheid in America.

“We note forthrightly that Black Americans spend $2 trillion dollars annually as consumers of products and services throughout the United States,” NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. emphasized. “We now must evaluate and realign to question why we continue to spend our money with companies that do not respect us,” Chavis continued. “This now must come to an end. These contradictions will not go unchallenged by 50 million Black Americans who have struggled for centuries to ensure equality, fairness and inclusion in our nation’s democracy.”

A selective buying campaign involves exercising the right to select what we spend our money on and who we spend our money with. We are starting with targeting TARGET.

The following are some of the major American companies that have publicly retreated from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: