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Charles R. Drew Univ. Launches M.D. Program as Newsom Announces COVID Emergency End

“The benefits of having more doctors of color in the mix are abundantly clear and supported by research. Doctors of color are more likely to practice in underserved communities, and patients of color have better health outcomes when attended to by a physician of the same ethnicity,” said Dean of CDU’s College of Medicine, Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith.

Published

3 years ago

November 4, 2022

Oakland Post

Charles R. Drew University.

By Aldon Thomas Stiles | California Black Media

On Monday, Oct. 17, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the COVID-19 emergency in California will end Feb. 28, 2023

The governor’s powers to suspend constitutional laws and procedures in the event of eminent danger – authority that has been criticized as overreaching by critics – will come to an end.

The pandemic highlighted racial disparities in the health care delivery system for Black people and the lack of representation in health care occupations – considering Black people only made up about 3% of California’s active patient care physicians in 2020 despite making up roughly 6.5% of the state’s overall population.

The Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) has taken a huge step toward a remedy for this issue by launching an independent, four-year medical degree (MD) program.

This is the first and only program of its kind in a historically Black institution west of the Mississippi. It is one of four U.S. historically Black medical colleges.

CDU is located in South Los Angeles. It was founded on the heels of the Watts Rebellion in the mid-1960s. L.A.’s Black population is about 9% of its residents, totaling about 1 million people.

“Our community, and in fact the entire Western United States, has for too long been deprived of an MD program built from the ground up with diversity, equity, and inclusion fused into its very bones. No more,” said David M. Carlisle, CDU President and CEO, in an address to the campus. “It is a great honor and achievement to announce to you today that CDU will finally remedy this once and for all.”

After a turbulent couple of years, California now has a seven-day average of 562 for COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 people and a seven-day average death rate of 29.

Up until recently, the Black community was more likely to suffer more severe symptoms due to COVID.

CDU – a nonprofit institution committed to cultivating future health professionals and leaders “who are dedicated to social justice and health equity” – is partnering with UCLA by educating medical students through a joint MD program.

Funds for the program came from the University’s five year, $75 million CDU Rising Campaign.

According to the Dean of CDU’s College of Medicine, Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, the MD program is designed to aid underserved communities.

Prothrow-Stith noted that because the program encourages more doctors of color to practice in communities of need, it could help solve the “root cause of many inequities in healthcare” across California that were exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the end of the pandemic emergency status has an expiration date, officials with California Health and Human Services (CalHHS) assure citizens that this does not mean the State will be abandoning them.

“California’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has prepared us for whatever comes next. As we move into this next phase, the infrastructure and processes we’ve invested in and built up will provide us the tools to manage any ups and downs in the future,” said Secretary of CalHHS Dr. Mark Ghaly in a statement. “While the threat of this virus is still real, our preparedness and collective work have helped turn this once crisis emergency into a manageable situation.”

As state officials and community members tackle these issues, they hope that the state will have the infrastructure and personnel to provide an adequate response should another public health crisis arise.

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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

3 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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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.