Activism

COMMENTARY: The Push for Voting Rights Now Is the Fight Against Jim Crow 2.0

The inability to pass voting rights comes on the same week as MLK Day in America and serves as a reminder. Setbacks are all temporary, the fight is constant. The memory of Dr. King motivates us to stay true to the dream.

Published

4 years ago

January 23, 2022

Oakland Post

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. Listen to his show on YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter @emilamok at 2pm Pacific M-F. Or on www.amok.com

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. See his show on www.amok.com

By Emil Guillermo

Because he was dreaming.

Joe Biden thought he could get Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema to unite with 48 other Democrats to pass both the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

The Freedom to Vote Act would make voting a federal holiday and make voting easier, not harder. It would also make sure the redistricting process would be fair and uniform and reflect population gains. Asian Americans and other people of color wouldn’t be left out by gerrymandering.

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act simply restores the teeth of federal oversight to make sure states don’t pass harmful election laws that cut minorities out of the process. We’re trying to get back to the ideals of the original law.

Both bills prove that the threat to democracy is real. Democracy is not an abstract ideal. You see it when you go to vote. And when you are stopped from casting a vote, that’s as real as it gets. You have been rendered voiceless and uncountable.

In a democracy, that shouldn’t happen. That’s why the proposed voting rights legislation should be a no-brainer.

In that Atlanta speech, Biden asked another no-brainer question: “Do you want to be on the side of Dr. King or George Wallace?”

Do you want to be with a person of love, or one of hate?

Hard to believe in 2022 that’s still a hard question for some.

Biden needed to get around the Republicans’ certain filibuster intended to block the legislation. That would require all 50 Senate Democrats to vote to change the filibuster rule.

And, of course, the same two people who blocked Biden on his baby “New Deal,” a.k.a. “Build Back Better” plan are in the way: Manchin of West Virginia and Sinema of Arizona.

Sinema this time supplied the dagger to kill voting rights.

“While I continue to support these bills,” Sinema said, “I will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division infecting our country.”

But, of course, in signaling she would allow the Republicans to filibuster, Sinema was doing just that: worsening the “underlying disease of division infecting our country.”

It’s unclear what Sinema wants in negotiation — beyond the power of a presidential takedown.

But it leaves Biden celebrating his first year in office with a party he can’t unite when he needs it, and a country that grades him with an approval rating in the low 40s.

Further, the inability to pass voting rights comes on the same week as MLK Day in America and serves as a reminder. Setbacks are all temporary, the fight is constant. The memory of Dr. King motivates us to stay true to the dream.

Vice President Kamala Harris had the best prescription moving forward: Expose the 50 Republicans in the Senate by name who failed to uphold your voting rights. And further expose Manchin and Sinema and any other Democrats who join them.

“I don’t think anyone should be absolved from the responsibility of preserving and protecting our democracy,” Harris told NBC News. “Especially when they took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution.”

Voting rights was the issue in Selma. And it’s the issue now. Biden called it Jim Crow 2.0. Sadly, in 2022, the fight continues. There’s still much to overcome.

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. See his show on www.amok.com

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Oakland Voters Reject Spending Taxpayer Money for A’s Howard Terminal Project

Don't Miss

IN MEMORIAM: Cheryl Hickmon: National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Dies

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

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

4 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

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.