Bay Area

Comedian and Writer W. Kamau Bell Visits OSA

W. Kamau Bell, a talented Black comedian, writer, and filmmaker, visited Oakland School for the Arts on Thursday April 27. His Q & A with students from various pathways was intended to inspire them as well as show them the many brave, innovative things they can achieve with their art.

Published

3 years ago

May 10, 2023

Oakland Post

W. Kamau Bell. Santa Clara University photo.

By Daisha Williams
Post News Group Intern

The host of the CNN show “United Shades of America,” was born in 1973 in Palo Alto, raised in Boston, and Chicago and attended the University of Pennsylvania before dropping out.

Returning to California, he established himself as a comedian, doing small shows in bars. He says that one of his biggest inspirations early on was Dick Gregory.

(Gregory was a popular comedian during the 1950s and ‘60s who later stopped comedy and pursued activism more heavily.)

Since then, he’s been very busy: It’s amazing how much Bell has achieved as a Black man in America.

Since his start, Bell has done countless things with his career, from comedy specials to a recent documentary about the lives of mixed-race kids in the Bay Area and even writing an autobiography in 2017 called “The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6’4, African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama’s Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian.”

According to Wikipedia, he released his first album in 2007 and in 2012 the S.F. Weekly and the San Francisco Bay Guardian newspapers both named him San Francisco’s best comedian.

When asked by OSA students if he thinks it’d have been easier for him to get where he is today if he was a white man he responded, “America is set up for white men. I can’t say what that would’ve meant for my career. . . But certainly, there are examples of people around me where white men have gotten through the door where we were like “that guy’s not even that [funny].”

He talked about his show several times during the Q & A, including one particularly shocking and risky episode when he visited the Ku Klux Klan in 2016. He was able to do something that no one had done before, at least on television. But still, if he could go back, he definitely wouldn’t do it the same way.

He said he felt extremely unsafe in that situation, made worse by the fact that the majority of his staff was white. This experience is what led him to demand having more Black and Brown people on the staff: He would’ve left the show if that accommodation wasn’t made.

The episode with the KKK wasn’t the only circumstance of Bell talking to racists. When asked how he handles these situations he revealed a variety of methods. Bell says he resists the urge to argue, saying that sometimes in an interview the best thing you can do is to just let them talk.

It’s hard, he admits, and that sometimes he shuts down, can’t let himself take in what is being said. This is why he needs to have people on set with him who can firsthand experience the weight of what he is experiencing.

Some might wonder why Bell puts himself through this. However, the answer is simple, he wants to use art as a way to make the world more aware of the Black experience, of the trials and triumphs of a group of people that have been unsung.

Bell says that every time he begins a new project, he asks himself, “Is this the project that dismantles white supremacy?”

The answer is often no, but it’s an admirable thing to strive for.

Wikipedia contributed to this report.

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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

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6 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.