Activism

COMMENTARY: Across America, Students Must Learn All History

A coalition of civil rights groups has launched the Black History is American History campaign to push back on Gov. Youngkin’s efforts to force teachers and schools to whitewash teaching about history and racism. Students have the right to learn the truth about our history and our present. We are inviting Virginia parents and families to use the governor’s “tip line” to tell Gov. Youngkin that denying students the freedom to learn is bad for children, families, and the future.

Published

4 years ago

April 24, 2022

Oakland Post

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and Professor of the Practice in the Africana Studies Department at the University of Pennsylvania where he teaches leadership.

By Ben Jealous

Black history is American history.

That shouldn’t be a controversial statement. But thanks to politicians like Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, teaching honestly about history is getting downright dangerous.

Youngkin got elected, in part, by embracing a dishonest campaign launched by far-right activists to make parents fear that teaching about racism represents some kind of sinister plot to shame and indoctrinate children.

Once he took office, the very first official action he took as governor was to sign an executive order supposedly designed to “get divisive concepts out of our schools.”

You know what was “inherently divisive?” The Confederacy, which waged a brutal war to defend slavery from its capital in Richmond, Va. How about massive resistance to the desegregation of schools? How about Virginia’s law that made interracial marriage illegal until the U.S. Supreme Court overturned it in 1967?

Youngkin has claimed that his order will still allow students to learn about history — both good and bad. But he also set up a tip line that parents could use to report on “divisive” teachers.

That’s in the worst tradition of authoritarian politicians everywhere.

It’s a terrible policy. It’s a terrible way to think about education.

And, I will admit, I take it a bit personally. My ancestors were enslaved in the state of Virginia. One of my forefathers was elected to the state legislature during Reconstruction. He helped create the state’s system of public education. Then white supremacists took back power, made segregation the law of the land, and made it impossible for Black Virginians to build political power for decades. That’s pretty “divisive” stuff.

We are inviting Virginia parents and families to use the governor’s “tip line” to tell Gov. Youngkin that denying students the freedom to learn is bad for children, families, and the future.

Unfortunately, Virginia is far from alone. Politicians and political operatives are out to build power by mobilizing a backlash to honest teaching about racism in our history and institutions. And those efforts are connected to campaigns for so- called “Don’t Say Gay” laws, which threaten teachers who acknowledge the reality of LGBTQ students and families.

And all of this goes hand in hand with a surge in censorship in classrooms and libraries. The American Library Association recently released its list of the books most often challenged last year.

Most of them were about Black and LGBTQ people. And that reminded me that Gov. Youngkin’s campaign actually ran an ad featuring a woman who objected to the teaching of Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Beloved” in her son’s senior-year English class.

Watching politicians build power by inflaming fears about Black people can be deeply discouraging. It can also be intensely motivating.

As a Black Christian writing this column during Holy Week, I draw strength from the historic witness of the Black church and its role in supporting and sustaining Black people as we made history. I celebrate the power and impact of Martin Luther King, Jr’s appeal to both the Constitution’s promise of equality under law and the great faith traditions’ call for us to treat one another with decency and respect.

And I lift up the words of Lonnie Bunch, the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and now the director of the Smithsonian Institution, who reminds us that “there are few things as powerful and as important as a people, as a nation that is steeped in its history.”

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and Professor of the Practice in the Africana Studies Department at the University of Pennsylvania where he teaches leadership.

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Activism

OP-ED: AB 1349 Puts Corporate Power Over Community

Since Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged in 2010, ticket prices have jumped more than 150 percent. Activities that once fit a family’s budget now take significant disposable income that most working families simply don’t have. The problem is compounded by a system that has tilted access toward the wealthy and white-collar workers. If you have a fancy credit card, you get “presale access,” and if you work in an office instead of a warehouse, you might be able to wait in an online queue to buy a ticket. Access now means privilege.

Published

7 days ago

January 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

By Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

As a pastor, I believe in the power that a sense of community can have on improving people’s lives. Live events are one of the few places where people from different backgrounds and ages can share the same space and experience – where construction workers sit next to lawyers at a concert, and teenagers enjoy a basketball game with their grandparents. Yet, over the past decade, I’ve witnessed these experiences – the concerts, games, and cultural events where we gather – become increasingly unaffordable, and it is a shame.

These moments of connection matter as they form part of the fabric that holds communities together. But that fabric is fraying because of Ticketmaster/Live Nation’s unchecked control over access to live events. Unfortunately, AB 1349 would only further entrench their corporate power over our spaces.

Power over live events is concentrated in a single corporate entity, and this regime operates without transparency or accountability – much like a dictator. Ticketmaster controls 80 percent of first-sale tickets and nearly a third of resale tickets, but they still want more. More power, more control for Ticketmaster means higher prices and less access for consumers. It’s the agenda they are pushing nationally, with the help of former Trump political operatives, who are quietly trying to undo the antitrust lawsuit launched against Ticketmaster/Live Nation under President Biden’s DOJ.

That’s why I’m deeply concerned about AB 1349 in its current form. Rather than reining in Ticketmaster’s power, the bill risks strengthening it, aligning with Trump. AB 1349 gives Ticketmaster the ability to control a consumer’s ticket forever by granting Ticketmaster’s regime new powers in state law to prevent consumers from reselling or giving away their tickets. It also creates new pathways for Ticketmaster to discriminate and retaliate against consumers who choose to shop around for the best service and fees on resale platforms that aren’t yet controlled by Ticketmaster. These provisions are anti-consumer and anti-democratic.

California has an opportunity to stand with consumers, to demand transparency, and to restore genuine competition in this industry. But that requires legislation developed with input from the community and faith leaders, not proposals backed by the very company causing the harm.

Will our laws reflect fairness, inclusion, and accountability? Or will we let corporate interests tighten their grip on spaces that should belong to everyone? I, for one, support the former and encourage the California Legislature to reject AB 1349 outright or amend it to remove any provisions that expand Ticketmaster’s control. I also urge community members to contact their representatives and advocate for accessible, inclusive live events for all Californians. Let’s work together to ensure these gathering spaces remain open and welcoming to everyone, regardless of income or background.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

Published

2 weeks ago

January 2, 2026

Oakland Post

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Big God Ministry Gives Away Toys in Marin City

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grow up.

Published

3 weeks ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

From top left: Pastor David Hall asking the children what they want to be when they grow up. Worship team Jake Monaghan, Ruby Friedman, and Keri Carpenter. Children lining up to receive their presents. Photos by Godfrey Lee.

By Godfrey Lee

Big God Ministries, pastored by David Hall, gave toys to the children in Marin City on Monday, Dec. 15, on the lawn near the corner of Drake Avenue and Donahue Street.

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Around 75 parents and children were there to receive the presents, which consisted mainly of Gideon Bibles, Cat in the Hat pillows, Barbie dolls, Tonka trucks, and Lego building sets.

A half dozen volunteers from the Big God Ministry, including Donnie Roary, helped to set up the tables for the toy giveaway. The worship music was sung by Ruby Friedman, Keri Carpenter, and Jake Monaghan, who also played the accordion.

Big God Ministries meets on Sundays at 10 a.m. at the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA Their phone number is (415) 797-2567.