Activism
Chicago Community Baby Shower Aims at Lower Rate of Infant Mortality
Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson ministered to mothers during the Chicago Citywide Community Baby Shower held at the end of 2022. About 400 new and expectant mothers attended this event, held at the Imani Village community center on the city’s South Side.

Special to the Post
Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson ministered to mothers during the Chicago Citywide Community Baby Shower held at the end of 2022.
About 400 new and expectant mothers attended this event, held at the Imani Village community center on the city’s South Side.
Hustle Mommies and the Urban Mom Collective organized the event in collaboration with the Rev. Dr. Que English, director of the Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“I felt that sense of sisterhood,” Johnson said. “People were looking out for each other, getting to know one another [and] recognizing that they are in it together, and our desire is to raise successful and happy children.”
Event organizers connected mothers with the local community and government resources, including prenatal care and mental health services. A panel of guest speakers provided information on the importance of self-care during and after childbirth and support services offered by doulas and midwives. At the end, mothers received any of various items they needed — diapers, baby strollers, clothing, baby bottles, car seats and other essentials donated by the Church of Jesus Christ.
“It was a blessing for me. I saw it [advertised on social media], and it was last minute, but it was amazing! I came and I had nothing, but I have so much now. I think it’s great for us expectant mothers to look forward to something,” said LaShawn Thomas, an expectant mother.
“To be able to do that with you guys has been amazing,” expressed Ariel DeNey Rainey, founder of Hustle Mommies and co-founder of the Urban Mom Collective.
“And not only that, it takes a team, it takes a village. The Church [of Jesus Christ] was part of our village. They provided us with volunteers as well as support and help for the moms,” said Ebony Wrenn, co-founder of the Urban Mom Collective.
New mothers had the opportunity to hear from and meet Heidi Murkoff, author of the “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” series of pregnancy guides and creator of the What to Expect Project Foundation.
“I’m just here for the hugs,” said Murkoff of the time she spent greeting new moms and their babies and handing out free copies of her books. “It doesn’t matter where you go in the world. … We are all connected by being moms. We all share an emotional bond.”
“The whole purpose was to bring them together to connect them with needed resources as well as their children, [but] the community shower was just a drop in the bucket,” said the Rev. Dr. English. The event is part of a wider effort by English and the Church of Jesus Christ to address maternal health issues afflicting Black and Native American communities in the United States.
“These opportunities to work with our friends in government and community are so important for us to touch the lives of [individuals],” Johnson said. “We look at things globally, but we must also look at the needs of the one. Today was a sweet opportunity to minister one by one.”
“What is so beautiful about it is that this is not a start-and-stop project. This is not one time. This is an investment into the lives of people,” said the Rev. Dr. English.
Many of the women who attended the event live in underserved communities and represent a demographic in the United States that is plagued by maternal health complications and the loss of newborns.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the infant mortality rate for babies born to African American women (10.6 per 1,000 live births) is more than twice that of infants born to white mothers (4.5 per 1,000 live births) and the U.S. Native American (7.9 per 1,000 live births) and Pacific Islander (8.2 per 1,000 live births) communities face comparable circumstances.
The Church of Jesus Christ is supporting similar efforts in other U.S. cities. In New York City, for example, the Church is providing funding to train doulas for mothers in vulnerable communities.
“It isn’t just about today,” said Sharon Eubank, director of Humanitarian Services for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who attended the event with President Johnson. “There is a trained person that will be with every mom — prenatal, at the birth and post-natal — to help her navigate the change in her life.”
These efforts, said Johnson, are especially aligned with the mission of the Church’s Relief Society, which provides opportunities for Latter-day Saint women to expand their influence and to bless their families, wards, stakes, communities, and nations.
“In 1921 [maternal and newborn care] became a focus of the Relief Society. … We’re just doing what we’ve always done, expressing an interest and love for our sisters around the world. Wherever we serve, wherever we are, we can bless and lift. We’re all mothers. Women need each other.”
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025
Activism
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Lateefah Simon to Speak at Elihu Harris Lecture Series
The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

By Scott Horton
United States House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) will be a speaker at the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series on Friday, Feb. 21.
The event will be held at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, 10 Tenth Street in Oakland, at 7 p.m.
The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.
The overarching goal of the lecture series is to provide speakers from diverse backgrounds a platform to offer their answers to Dr. King’s urgent question, which is also the title of Jeffries’ latest book: “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?”
In addition to Jeffries, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) will also speak.
“Certainly, now is a time for humanity, in general, and Americans in particular to honestly and genuinely answer Dr. King’s question,” said Dr. Roy D. Wilson, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Executive Producer of the lecture series.
“Dr. King teaches that time is neutral but not static. Like the water in a river, it arrives and then quickly moves on,” continued Wilson. “We must urgently create conditions for listening to many different answers to this vital question, and generate the development of unity of action among all those who struggle for a stronger democracy.”
In his book, Jeffries shares his experience of being unanimously elected by his colleagues as the first African American in history to ever hold the position of House Minority Leader.
In January 2023 in Washington, Jeffries made his first official speech as House Minority Leader. He affirmed Democratic values one letter of the alphabet at a time. His words and how he framed them as the alphabet caught the attention of Americans, and the speech was later turned into a book, The ABCs of Democracy, bringing Congressman Jeffries rousing speech to vivid, colorful life, including illustrations by Shaniya Carrington. The speech and book are inspiring and urgent as a timeless reminder of what it means to be a country with equal opportunities for all. Jeffries paints a road map for a brighter American future and warns of the perils of taking a different path.
Before his colleagues unanimously elected him Minority Leader in 2022, Jeffries previously served as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and as an Impeachment Manager during the first Senate trial of the 45th President of the United States.
Jeffries was born in Brooklyn Hospital, raised in Crown Heights, grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church and he is a product of New York City’s public school system, graduating from Midwood High School. Jefferies went on to Binghamton University (BA), Georgetown University (master’s in public policy) and New York University (JD).
He served in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012.
Admission is free for the Feb. 21 Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series featuring Congressman Jeffries. Please reserve seats by calling the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center at (510) 434-3988.
Signed copies of his book will be available for purchase at the event.
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.

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.
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.
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.”
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of January 22 – 28, 2025
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Oakland Poll: Tell Us What You Think About the Cost of Groceries in Oakland
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago
PRESS ROOM: Top Climate Organizations React to Trump’s Executive Orders Attacking Health, Environment, Climate and Clean Energy Jobs
-
Activism3 weeks ago
OP-ED: Like Physicians, U.S. Health Institutions Must ‘First, Do No Harm’
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago
Trump Exploits Tragedy to Push Racist and Partisan Attacks
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of January 29 – February 4, 2025
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago
Black Reaction to Trump DEI Blame on The Plane Crash
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago
BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2025 We Proclaim It