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COMMENTARY: From MLK’s Alma Mater and John Lewis’ District, Reminders of the Power of Direct Action

I believe that the president’s call to action was a reminder of the power of direct action. And a reminder of the power of the people — that when it comes to preserving voting rights and our democracy, we must all remain vigilant and willing to act with what Dr. King called “the fierce urgency of now.”

Published

4 years ago

January 26, 2022

Oakland Post

Ben Jealous.

By Ben Jealous, President of People For the American Way

President Joe Biden could have delivered his recent voting rights message to U.S. senators from the White House just down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol. Instead, he and Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Atlanta a few days before Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It was the perfect place for the president’s powerful message urging senators to be on the right side of history by doing whatever it takes to get voting rights legislation passed and put on the president’s desk.

The president and vice president visited King’s church before traveling to Morehouse College, King’s alma mater. They spoke in a place represented long and nobly by the late civil rights champion and congressman John Lewis.

I was honored to be in attendance, surrounded by friends and colleagues in the voting rights movement. History was all around us. I could feel the presence of so many witnesses, including those who gave their very lives to the cause.

I had to think that Dr. King and the late Rep. John Lewis would appreciate that some of us sitting in the front row for the president’s speech had been on the front lines just a few weeks earlier. We were arrested outside the White House while urging the president to put the full power of the presidency behind a push for voting rights protections.

King and Lewis had great strategic understanding of the power of nonviolent direct action to highlight injustice, to motivate supporters, to stir the conscience of those on the sidelines — and sometimes to light a fire under allies

The invitation extended by the White House to those of us arrested outside its gates in November was a sign that the president appreciates the urgency that drove our direct action.

President Lyndon Johnson and Martin Luther King were partners in passing civil and voting rights laws, and each understood that movement leaders had a different role to play than the politicians.

Some voting rights advocates held a sit-in inside the White House itself just days before President Johnson made his famous “We Shall Overcome” speech calling on Congress to uphold American ideals by passing voting rights legislation.

Voting rights advocates have known all along that Biden was an ally. He has publicly criticized the wave of voting restrictions passed by Republican states after record voter turnout in 2022 led to former President Donald Trump’s defeat. We respected the importance of other items on the president’s legislative agenda, including investments in infrastructure and the American people.

But we watched with increasing alarm as Republicans in the U.S. senate used filibuster rules to repeatedly block action on federal voting rights bills that are needed to override voter suppression and brazen election subversion schemes being put in place in key states. We saw time running out to reverse these changes before the 2022 elections.

So, we took to the streets and called on the president to make the case to U.S. senators that the right to vote is far more important to our democracy than the current version of the Senate’s filibuster rules.

Biden rose to the occasion in Atlanta. “To protect our democracy, I support changing the Senate rules, whichever way they need to be changed, to prevent a minority of senators from blocking action on voting rights,” he said. “When it comes to protecting majority rule in America, the majority should rule in the United States Senate.”

“I will not yield,” Biden said. “I will not flinch. I will defend the right to vote and our democracy against all enemies, foreign, and yes, domestic.”

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way. Jealous has decades of experience as a leader, coalition builder, campaigner for social justice and seasoned nonprofit executive.

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Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026

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4 days ago

March 7, 2026

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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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March 1, 2026

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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.

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3 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.