Activism

COMMENTARY: Redistricting is Voter Suppression Too

We’ve all heard about the restrictive voter suppression laws that far-right state legislatures are passing. We’ve heard about the crackdowns on voting hours and mail-in voting, and even on giving food and water to voters in long lines. But we don’t hear enough about redistricting as another weapon being used to intimidate voters and keep us from exercising our constitutional rights. It is erasing us from Congress and state legislatures. We need to call it out and challenge it where we see it.

Published

4 years ago

August 27, 2022

Oakland Post

Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and Professor of the Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

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

By Ben Jealous

When Charles Diggs, Jr. won election to Congress in Michigan’s 13th District in 1954, he launched nearly seven decades in which the city of Detroit had at least one Black member of Congress. That’s likely to change this year. Because of redistricting, Detroit no longer has majority-Black congressional districts. And in the first primary election with newly drawn district lines, a Black candidate did not win the Democratic contest in the heavily Democratic 13th. That means the city is likely to lack Black representation in Congress for the first time in decades.

Redistricting is robbing Black candidates and voters of years of hard fought for opportunities. In Detroit, new districts merged Black areas of the city with white neighborhoods across 8 Mile Road. The city stands to lose Black representation in Congress and have less representation in the state legislature. Knowing what the impact could be, voters have spoken out forcefully against the new redistricting maps from pulpits to street corners to the state capitol and even before the state courts.

Sadly, Michigan is not alone. The New York Times reported in August that this year, “judges in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Ohio have found that Republican legislators illegally drew those states’ congressional maps along racial or partisan lines, or that a trial very likely would conclude that they did.” But elections are moving forward anyway.

Calling out and challenging means organizing, litigating, and legislating. It means supporting national and local organizations that unite communities against racist gerrymandering and seek justice in the courts. They might not win every case, but advocacy and activism are essential to righting this wrong.

We must also keep voting, running for office, and educating. My organization, People For the American Way, houses an African American Religious Affairs network that has reaffirmed for more than a decade that “every election matters and every vote counts” — and that includes primaries. For Black ministers in our network, voting and civic participation are acts of faith and so much more. As Reverend Dr. Steve Bland, Jr., pastor of Liberty Temple Baptist Church in Detroit said, “It’s not about left or right. Splitting Detroit into two districts was an insult. But we have faith and must “deal with our self-interest by voting in every election!”

I know that a lot of media coverage of this summer’s primaries has focused on one big question: will Trump-style, MAGA candidates win or lose? But there’s another question that needs to be asked: how harmful are the impacts of redistricting on our communities in this year’s elections and those to come? The current reality dictates that we do not sit out any election. We need to resolutely register, educate, motivate and turn out voters. In every election. Every time.

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

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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

1 week 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.