Connect with us

Activism

Community Leaders Plan $100 Million Investment in East Oakland

A new philanthropic partnership is kicking off a $100 million plan to invest $100 million to enhance the quality of life in a 40-by-40 block area of East Oakland. Rise East is a collective impact initiative that grew out of a community-led vision to develop a Black Cultural Zone in East Oakland almost 10 years ago.

Published

on

Rise East is a joint effort between the 40x40 Council and Oakland Thrives, which is a network composed of resident leaders, major employers, and representatives of large public agencies, including the City of Oakland and Oakland Unified School District.
Rise East is a joint effort between the 40x40 Council and Oakland Thrives, which is a network composed of resident leaders, major employers, and representatives of large public agencies, including the City of Oakland and Oakland Unified School District.

By Post Staff

A new philanthropic partnership is kicking off a $100 million plan to invest $100 million to enhance the quality of life in a 40-by-40 block area of East Oakland.

Rise East is a collective impact initiative that grew out of a community-led vision to develop a Black Cultural Zone in East Oakland almost 10 years ago.

The effort is led by community members who were born and raised in East Oakland and is designed to keep Black families in the area and lead to the return of families who were displaced due to economic barriers and systemic disinvestment.

This privately funded initiative will focus on an East Oakland community known as the “40×40,” which runs from Seminary Avenue to the Oakland-San Leandro border and from MacArthur Boulevard to the Bay. This area is home to the largest concentration of Black residents (over 30,000) who remain in Oakland flatland neighborhoods today.

“As young people raised in the area and now serving as leaders, our vision is for a robust and vibrant renaissance in legacy Black communities; vibrant, thriving Black arts, cultural, and commercial areas in a thriving economy and ecosystem powered by collective efforts that assures our inalienable human right to love, health, wellness, belonging, power, safety, and self-determination,” said Carolyn (CJ) Johnson, CEO of the Black Cultural Zone and member of the 40×40 Council, speaking at a press conference Thursday announcing the initiative.

Rise East is a joint effort between the 40×40 Council and Oakland Thrives, which is a network composed of resident leaders, major employers, and representatives of large public agencies, including the City of Oakland and Oakland Unified School District.

“Kaiser Permanente is a proud co-founding member of Oakland Thrives, whose goal is to make Oakland the healthiest city in the nation. We are honored to support the transformational work of Rise East, which will help us realize this shared vision,” said Colin Lacon, East Bay Public Affairs director, Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

Oakland Thrives is working to raise $50 million in local funding, which will be matched by national philanthropic organization Blue Meridian Partners for a total of $100 million in new investment for East Oakland.

Rise East strategies will be implemented over 10 years, beginning in 2024, and fundraising will continue as the work unfolds. More information can be found at www.riseeast.org.

“I applaud the East Oakland community leaders and everyone that has been working tirelessly toward the Rise East initiative and securing this investment in East Oakland,” said Mayor Sheng Thao in a press statement.

“My Administration is committed to working in partnership with this coalition to ensure the resources needed for the health and vitality of our East Oakland residents are provided to address historic inequities and ensure current residents continue to call this community their home,” she said.

Rise East is guided by a 10-Year Plan, which includes a five-part strategy to improve schools, boost economic opportunity, and improve health and wellbeing at the individual, household, neighborhood, and systemic level.

“More than 400 residents contributed their ideas to the plan,” said Oakland Thrives CEO Melanie Moore. “Data on the particular challenges facing East Oakland’s Black community ultimately led participants to make the decision to focus on Black children and families in the 40×40 area as the starting place for this effort.”

Speakers at the press conference at the East Oakland Youth Development Center included East Oakland residents, members of the 40×40 Council, Mayor Sheng Thao, OUSD Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell, and representatives from Oakland Thrives and Kaiser Permanente.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Activism

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Lateefah Simon to Speak at Elihu Harris Lecture Series

The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

Published

on

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (left) and Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) (Right).
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (left) and Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) (Right).

By Scott Horton

United States House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) will be a speaker at the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series on Friday, Feb. 21.

The event will be held at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, 10 Tenth Street in Oakland, at 7 p.m.

The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

The overarching goal of the lecture series is to provide speakers from diverse backgrounds a platform to offer their answers to Dr. King’s urgent question, which is also the title of Jeffries’ latest book: “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?”

In addition to Jeffries, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) will also speak.

“Certainly, now is a time for humanity, in general, and Americans in particular to honestly and genuinely answer Dr. King’s question,” said Dr. Roy D. Wilson, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Executive Producer of the lecture series.

“Dr. King teaches that time is neutral but not static. Like the water in a river, it arrives and then quickly moves on,” continued Wilson. “We must urgently create conditions for listening to many different answers to this vital question, and generate the development of unity of action among all those who struggle for a stronger democracy.”

In his book, Jeffries shares his experience of being unanimously elected by his colleagues as the first African American in history to ever hold the position of House Minority Leader.

In January 2023 in Washington, Jeffries made his first official speech as House Minority Leader. He affirmed Democratic values one letter of the alphabet at a time. His words and how he framed them as the alphabet caught the attention of Americans, and the speech was later turned into a book, The ABCs of Democracy, bringing Congressman Jeffries rousing speech to vivid, colorful life, including illustrations by Shaniya Carrington. The speech and book are inspiring and urgent as a timeless reminder of what it means to be a country with equal opportunities for all. Jeffries paints a road map for a brighter American future and warns of the perils of taking a different path.

Before his colleagues unanimously elected him Minority Leader in 2022, Jeffries previously served as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and as an Impeachment Manager during the first Senate trial of the 45th President of the United States.

Jeffries was born in Brooklyn Hospital, raised in Crown Heights, grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church and he is a product of New York City’s public school system, graduating from Midwood High School. Jefferies went on to Binghamton University (BA), Georgetown University (master’s in public policy) and New York University (JD).

He served in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012.

Admission is free for the Feb. 21 Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series featuring Congressman Jeffries. Please reserve seats by calling the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center at (510) 434-3988.

Signed copies of his book will be available for purchase at the event.

Continue Reading

Activism

Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

Published

on

Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.
Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.

By Paul Cobb
New Oakland Series
Opinion Part 3

The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.

Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.

This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.

“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.

Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.

Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”

Continue Reading

Subscribe to receive news and updates from the Oakland Post

* indicates required

CHECK OUT THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE OAKLAND POST

ADVERTISEMENT

WORK FROM HOME

Home-based business with potential monthly income of $10K+ per month. A proven training system and website provided to maximize business effectiveness. Perfect job to earn side and primary income. Contact Lynne for more details: Lynne4npusa@gmail.com 800-334-0540

Facebook

Trending

Copyright ©2021 Post News Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.