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“Lillian’s Right to Vote” Book Review

Published

10 years ago

August 24, 2015

How many leaves are on the tree outside your window?

That’s a question you may not be able to answer. How could you even count them all?

Would you ever get an answer that’s right?　 It’s a silly question, for sure, and probably not very important. In the new book “Lillian’s Right to Vote” by Jonah Winter and Shane W. Evans, you’ll see why someone would even ask.

Lillian stands at the bottom of a “very steep hill.”　 It’s Voting Day and she’s going to take advantage of her rights.

As she looks up the hill, she sees things – not just a hill but a slave auction. There are her great-great-grandparents: Elijah is wearing chains and Sarah is holding a baby. Lillian sees that they’re standing near a courthouse where only white men could vote.

It’s a long way up that hill and, as she climbs, Lillian sees more history: once a baby at that auction, her great-grandfather, Edmund grew up to pick cotton. He didn’t have any more rights than his own parents did – at least not until after the Civil War.

Lillian can see Great-Grandpa Edmund, post-War, on his way to vote for the very first time. He approaches the polls, looking dignified in his finest clothes; Great-Grandma Ida is there, too, but she can’t vote yet. That, as Lillian knows, is many years away.

Then the hill seems to become higher, and the climb gets harder. Lillian sees her grandpa, Isaac, but he’s not voting because of a poll tax that he has no hope of paying.

She hears her Uncle Levi, telling stories about impossible questions that had to be answered before anyone with brown skin could step up to cast a vote. She sees the same angry faces that surrounded her when she was a child, and women finally were allowed to vote.

White women, that is. Not people like Lillian.

Stopping in the middle of the hill, Lillian remembers. Once, she registered to vote and had to take a test that she didn’t pass. People were hurt and killed over votes.

She starts walking again, soon reaching the voting place.

And Lillian steps to the door.

Did you ever buy a book for the kids that you ended up keeping for yourself?　 That’s what could happen once you’ve found “Lillian’s Right to Vote” – and that’s okay. I think you’ll understand it more than your children will anyhow.

There’s no doubt in my mind that kids will love this book. Sharp-eyed children, those who wonder what the presidential-candidate fuss is about, will get a basic history of the importance of voting.

Children in this books’ target age (3-to-6-year-olds) will appreciate the story that authors Jonah Winter & Shane W. Evans tell here. For sure, they’ll all enjoy the illustrations.

The real goodness in this book, however, is that becoming a children’s picture story doesn’t at all diminish its power. 　Indeed, “Lillian’s Right to Vote” is 10 feet tall, and it’s something neither you nor your child will be able to leave.

“Lillian’s Right to Vote” by Jonah Winter & Shane W. Evans, c. 2015, Schwartz & Wade Books, $17.99, 40 pages.

Oakland Post

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Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

6 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

11 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

11 months ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.