Bay Area

History is Made: Oakland Youth Cast their Ballots For the First Time for School Board Elections

After five years of campaigning and fighting to be heard, Oakland teens have finally crossed the finish line and began casting their ballots for city school board director elections outside of Alameda County Courthouse this week. In 2019, after a series of school closures throughout the district, many students felt as if their voices were not being heard or considered when the school board made decisions that would have lasting impacts on their education . This prompted the championing of allowing 16 and 17 year old students the right to vote for school board directors.

Published

8 months ago

October 28, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland Unified School District high school teens gathered at Alameda County Courthouse to cast their ballots for school board directors. This is the first time in Oakland’s history that students 16 and 17 years old are allowed to vote in local elections. Photo by Magaly Muñoz

By Magaly Muñoz

In 2019, after a series of school closures throughout the district, many students felt as if their voices were not being heard or considered when the school board made decisions that would have lasting impacts on their education . This prompted the championing of allowing 16 and 17 year old students the right to vote for school board directors.

Natalie Gallegos Chavez, a second-year UC Berkeley student, was part of the early campaigning for youth vote and said she’s proud of the efforts of students to make this moment happen.

“I’m just so happy that our young people never stopped actually fighting for this change because it was so hard to actually get it implemented,” Chavez said.

The measure that allowed youth voting, Measure QQ, was passed in 2020, but got stuck for four years at the county level while the Alameda Registrar of Voters figured out a plan to implement the right voting software that recognized teen voters.

Oakland now becomes the largest city in the nation to allow teen voting. Students in Berkeley will also get the chance to vote in school elections, having passed their own measure eight years ago.

Students have often shared their frustration during campaigning for this voting ability, stating that adults did not take them seriously and didn’t believe that they were educated enough to understand the political process of voting.

Chavez told the Post that many students that they spoke to were already dealing with adult-level problems, such as translating important documents for parents or helping family members fill out election ballots. This meant that several students were already educated on the importance of voting and would take this new chance seriously.

Students who filled out their ballot early were escorted to the ballot drop off box outside of the courthouse while their fellow students cheered them on.

Alexis Garcia, a Fremont High School student voting for District 7, said he was thrilled to finally reach this moment of casting his vote after spending so much time educating others on the issue. He added that this movement helps prepare students for voting on a larger scale, like state and national elections, once they graduate high school.

“It’s absolutely exciting. I feel like my voice matters,” Garcia said.

Several students have shared that now that they get the opportunity to vote, they hope the board will think twice before taking action on important topics without seeking their input.

Maximus Simmons, one of two student directors on the Oakland Unified board, gave an impassioned speech about the need to have student voices heard, especially when those decisions impact them.

“Now I’ve heard many times that our generation is soft, weak, and pampered, and in reality, we are resilient, open minded, brave, but better than all of those, we aren’t scared to speak our truth,” he said.

Simmons shared that he once thought youth voting was unattainable and something you could only dream of, “because our system is built off the ideas of old white men, refusing to look through our perspectives.”

This step is the biggest students have taken since the initial movement in 2019, but they are assuring folks that they are not done fighting until all their rights and demands are heard and completed.

“How does it feel to be a part of history?” Simmons chanted.

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Activism

Learning Life’s Lessons

Since his release over five years ago, Richard has committed himself to making a difference, particularly by reaching out to women and families who lack the presence of a father or husband. He knows he cannot undo the years lost behind prison walls, but he is determined to use his past to build a better future for others. His story mirrors that of many who have walked a similar path. Yet, it remains uniquely his own – a testament to the power of change, resilience, and the belief that even from tragedy, something good can emerge.

Published

21 minutes ago

June 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Richard Johnson and son Fati. Courtesy photo.

“California’s three-strike laws gave me 2 life sentences for drug possession. After serving 28 years, mostly in solitary confinement, I am free to lead a movement to get the formerly incarcerated to give back.”

By Richard Johnson

I have written this book in hopes of being able to help others from not traveling down the path that leads to imprisonment or a cemetery. At the very beginning of writing this book, it began as a message to my son Fati Yero Gaidi, who was only two years old at the time that I was given two life sentences in prison for drug possession, under the newly implemented three-strikes-you-out law. The more that I wrote, the book began to evolve beyond its intended purpose for my son; it became something that any and everyone could utilize on their separate journeys through life challenges that we encounter. The book helped me put my thoughts, reasoning, perceptions, and views on display, while opening doors that, for the most part, were closed. The book can be purchased via Amazon. Learning life lessons.

About the Author

By Post staff

Richard “Razor” Johnson, 74, is a man whose life journey is marked by hard-earned wisdom, redemption, and an unshakable commitment to guiding the next generation. Once sentenced to life under California’s Three Strikes Law, he was released through what he calls nothing short of divine intervention. His time behind bars, particularly in Pelican Bay State Prison, gave him a new raw and unfiltered understanding of life’s hardest truths.

With the realization that time is precious and the future is shaped by the lessons we learn, Richard writes with urgency and purpose. His book—a 300-page labor of love—is dedicated to young men who may not have a father to teach them the meaning of life’s most important words. Through definitions filled with wisdom, experience, and deep personal insight, he offers direction to those who find themselves lost, just as he once was.

His words are not just lessons; they are a call to action. He hopes that by investing in young minds with wisdom and insight, they will be better equipped to navigate life’s trials, learn from their mistakes, and find their path to success. Richard “Razor” Johnson writes not just to be heard, but to help – because he knows firsthand that sometimes guidance can make all the difference.

Post publishers Paul and Gay Cobb visited Johnson in San Quentin and attended his graduation while he was in prison. He became a columnist with the Post News Group and has continued his advocacy for the formerly incarcerated by urging them to “give something back”. Johnson says he will be speaking at prisons, colleges, and media outlets to help organize voter registration and community service projects.

Oakland Post

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Activism

LA to the Bay: Thousands Protest in Mission District Against Immigration Raids, Travel Bans

Activists and allies alike gathered outside of the 24th Street Mission BART Station and City Hall to denounce the increased immigration raids happening in L.A. and Donald Trump’s decision to send hundreds of National Guard members to control protesters.

Published

2 hours ago

June 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Protestors walking the streets of San Francisco’s Mission District. Thousands of people walked in a protest against the increased immigration raids across the country and unrest in Los Angeles. Photo by Magaly Muñoz

By Magaly Muñoz

Thousands of people walked the streets of San Francisco’s Mission District Monday evening in protest of the recent ICE raids across California, and the escalating tensions brought by military intervention in Los Angeles over the last week.

San Francisco non-profit Mission Action announced the protest plan Sunday night and led the amped crowd in cheers against anti-immigrant hate.

“La gente unida, no será vencida!” and “Move ICE, get out the Bay” chants were heard for a mile from 24th Street to 16th Street Mission BART and back around towards Valencia Street.

District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder attended the evening protest and applauded the community for their resilience in the streets over the last two days.

Protestors holding a Mexican flag for a rally in San Francisco. Thousands of people gathered at 24th Street Mission BART Station to participate in a protest about the increased immigration raids across the country. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

“It’s up to every single legislator [to stand up for the community], but first and foremost, the people, you all are gonna be the ones to make sure that Trump, ICE, and the military do not set foot in the Mission,” Fielder said to the crowd.

Fielder, along with two other Supervisors, also spoke at a press conference earlier in the day in front of City Hall with other officials and community leaders about the travel ban that went into effect last Wednesday and the immigration arrests from the week before. Speakers also denounced the more than 150 arrests made by local police during a protest Sunday night.

District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton said it was the public’s moral obligation to disobey unjust laws.

A protester holding an upside-down American flag at an anti-ICE and travel ban press conference in front of San Francisco City Hall. Thousands of people marched through the Mission District to protest against the increase in immigration raids across the state. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

“The systemic oppression that has taken place now in the U.S. to remove our constitutional rights to assemble, to protest, to fight against moral and unjust rules and policies is put in place to tear us apart and to promote fear in everyone,” Walton said.

Around 15 people were detained by ICE at the immigration court last week, and at least half a dozen more by the time this story was published, immigration lawyers reported.

A new travel ban has also barred people from 12 countries, mostly from Africa and the Middle East, because the Trump administration said they “pose a very high risk to the United States.”

Community leaders said this action is continued discrimination against Black and Middle Eastern immigrants who are seeking opportunities in America.

An immigration lawyer urged people at the press conference to stay calm and meet peacefully because federal officials were going to be looking for reasons to escalate the tensions and arrest residents for simply attending protests.

“We have to remind ourselves; we all have a history. Our families survived discrimination before,” she said. “We will survive this, too. So long as we don’t let them divide us. Let’s fight this together.”