Activism
Marin County Residents Hold Rally Protesting Death of George Floyd

Marin County residents took to the streets June 2 in response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis May 25, 2020. Like many of the protests across the country and around the world, it was organized by young people.
Below, in the words of organizers Lynnette Egenlauf, Mikyla Williams, Ayana Morgan-Woodard and Paul Austin, is how it all came together.

Photos by Felecia Gaston.
Lynnette Egenlauf
On Friday night, Tamalpais High School sophomore Mikyla Williams called Paul Austin to ask if Marin City was going to have any protests. The founder of Play Marin, Austin is one of the youngest community leaders the city has. He is often the voice of the young people in Marin City.
Saturday morning, Austin sent me a text message saying, “I’m here to support whatever protest the young people want to do.” We knew being residents of Marin City that we needed to show our Black brothers and sisters our solidarity in the world, because we, too, matter.
By 2 p.m., we had a multi-generational group of Marin City residents ready to lead a peaceful protest that would give Marin County, OUR VOICE.
Austin (40), Lynnette Egenlauf (30), Ayana Morgan-Woodard (22) and Mikyla Williams (16). We felt as if this was the official passing of the torch. Our older leaders had given us the support we needed to put everything in motion.
There had been many other protests around the county earlier that week in support of Black Lives Matter. We had one question “How could these protests happen without the voice/input of Black people?”
This is the origin of our battle cry “Our Voice, Our Movement.” Marin City is the only town in Marin County that is predominantly African American. We loved that allies were protesting, but we needed to show Marin County that Black lives matter and that Marin City matters!
We organized this peaceful protest in four days, expecting just those in our community and a few others in our county to show up at the Bridge the Gap Center at 105 Drake Avenue. Never did we expect that about 1,500 would show up in support of the protest. It felt amazing! The support, the voices who spoke, and the people who marched in solidarity.
The speakers included Set Shakur, a community activist and the sister of Tupac Shakur; Rondall Legett, pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church; Honour Knudsen, a police officer; Rondall Gibson, a college success specialist for 10K Degrees and Malachia Hoover, a Stanford University Ph.D. student in molecular biology.
Our peaceful protest was in honor of all Black lives that were lost due to society’s fears of African American excellence — Marin City’s excellence! For far too long Marin County has had its knee on Marin City’s neck. It was time for us to take action and show up!
If it took four days to gather over 1,000 people, what would a week of planning have accomplished? In those three days we made and posted flyers in our local community, promoted it on social media and through word-of-mouth.
As I made the flyer I had trouble putting locations on it because I did not intend on it getting out of Marin City, so I named the locations in ways that Marin City residents knew them.
But I began to get feedback from those who wanted to attend who were wondering what I meant and that showed me that if we were going to pull this off by Tuesday afternoon that it would take all four of us to come together to accomplish a goal to change history for the residents of Marin City.

Photos by Felecia Gaston.
Ayana Morgan-Woodward
The Marin City peaceful protest was in honor of all Black lives that were lost due to the society’s fears of African American excellence. Marin County stood in solidarity with the voices of those they saw on a TV screen.
Yet they don’t stand with up with Black lives that are local that face the same problems but because we are considered privileged to live in Marin County we get the scraps (bare minimum) to survive and then are forgotten about, in one of these wealthiest counties in America.
We as Marin City needed the support of one another and others to realize how truly special we are and how we could thrive by ourselves if we were given the proper resources.

Marin youth participated in the peaceful protest in Marin City on June 2, 2020. Photos by Felecia Gaston.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

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Activism
Juneteenth: Celebrating Our History, Honoring Our Shared Spaces
It’s been empowering to watch Juneteenth blossom into a widely celebrated holiday, filled with vibrant outdoor events like cookouts, festivals, parades, and more. It’s inspiring to see the community embrace our history—showing up in droves to celebrate freedom, a freedom delayed for some enslaved Americans more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

By Wayne Wilson, Public Affairs Campaign Manager, Caltrans
Juneteenth marks an important moment in our shared history—a time to reflect on the legacy of our ancestors who, even in the face of injustice, chose freedom, unity, and community over fear, anger, and hopelessness. We honor their resilience and the paths they paved so future generations can continue to walk with pride.
It’s been empowering to watch Juneteenth blossom into a widely celebrated holiday, filled with vibrant outdoor events like cookouts, festivals, parades, and more. It’s inspiring to see the community embrace our history—showing up in droves to celebrate freedom, a freedom delayed for some enslaved Americans more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
As we head into the weekend full of festivities and summer celebrations, I want to offer a friendly reminder about who is not invited to the cookout: litter.
At Clean California, we believe the places where we gather—parks, parade routes, street corners, and church lots—should reflect the pride and beauty of the people who fill them. Our mission is to restore and beautify public spaces, transforming areas impacted by trash and neglect into spaces that reflect the strength and spirit of the communities who use them.
Too often, after the music fades and the grills cool, our public spaces are left littered with trash. Just as our ancestors took pride in their communities, we honor their legacy when we clean up after ourselves, teach our children to do the same, and care for our shared spaces.
Small acts can inspire big change. Since 2021, Clean California and its partners have collected and removed over 2.9 million cubic yards of litter. We did this by partnering with local nonprofits and community organizations to organize grassroots cleanup events and beautification projects across California.
Now, we invite all California communities to continue the incredible momentum and take the pledge toward building a cleaner community through our Clean California Community Designation Program. This recognizes cities and neighborhoods committed to long-term cleanliness and civic pride.
This Juneteenth, let’s not only celebrate our history—but also contribute to its legacy. By picking up after ourselves and by leaving no litter behind after celebrations, we have an opportunity to honor our past and shape a cleaner, safer, more vibrant future.
Visit CleanCA.com to learn more about Clean California.
Activism
OPINION: California’s Legislature Has the Wrong Prescription for the Affordability Crisis — Gov. Newsom’s Plan Hits the Mark
Last month, Gov. Newsom included measures in his budget that would encourage greater transparency, accountability, and affordability across the prescription drug supply chain. His plan would deliver real relief to struggling Californians. It would also help expose the hidden markups and practices by big drug companies that push the prices of prescription drugs higher and higher. The legislature should follow the Governor’s lead and embrace sensible, fair regulations that will not raise the cost of medications.

By Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook
As a pastor and East Bay resident, I see firsthand how my community struggles with the rising cost of everyday living. A fellow pastor in Oakland recently told me he cuts his pills in half to make them last longer because of the crushing costs of drugs.
Meanwhile, community members are contending with skyrocketing grocery prices and a lack of affordable healthcare options, while businesses are being forced to close their doors.
Our community is hurting. Things have to change.
The most pressing issue that demands our leaders’ attention is rising healthcare costs, and particularly the rising cost of medications. Annual prescription drug costs in California have spiked by nearly 50% since 2018, from $9.1 billion to $13.6 billion.
Last month, Gov. Newsom included measures in his budget that would encourage greater transparency, accountability, and affordability across the prescription drug supply chain. His plan would deliver real relief to struggling Californians. It would also help expose the hidden markups and practices by big drug companies that push the prices of prescription drugs higher and higher. The legislature should follow the Governor’s lead and embrace sensible, fair regulations that will not raise the cost of medications.
Some lawmakers, however, have advanced legislation that would drive up healthcare costs and set communities like mine back further.
I’m particularly concerned with Senate Bill (SB) 41, sponsored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), a carbon copy of a 2024 bill that I strongly opposed and Gov. Newsom rightly vetoed. This bill would impose significant healthcare costs on patients, small businesses, and working families, while allowing big drug companies to increase their profits.
SB 41 would impose a new $10.05 pharmacy fee for every prescription filled in California. This new fee, which would apply to millions of Californians, is roughly five times higher than the current average of $2.
For example, a Bay Area family with five monthly prescriptions would be forced to shoulder about $500 more in annual health costs. If a small business covers 25 employees, each with four prescription fills per month (the national average), that would add nearly $10,000 per year in health care costs.
This bill would also restrict how health plan sponsors — like employers, unions, state plans, Medicare, and Medicaid — partner with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to negotiate against big drug companies and deliver the lowest possible costs for employees and members. By mandating a flat fee for pharmacy benefit services, this misguided legislation would undercut your health plan’s ability to drive down costs while handing more profits to pharmaceutical manufacturers.
This bill would also endanger patients by eliminating safety requirements for pharmacies that dispense complex and costly specialty medications. Additionally, it would restrict home delivery for prescriptions, a convenient and affordable service that many families rely on.
Instead of repeating the same tired plan laid out in the big pharma-backed playbook, lawmakers should embrace Newsom’s transparency-first approach and prioritize our communities.
Let’s urge our state legislators to reject policies like SB 41 that would make a difficult situation even worse for communities like ours.
About the Author
Rev. Dr. VanHook is the founder and pastor of The Community Church in Oakland and the founder of The Charis House, a re-entry facility for men recovering from alcohol and drug abuse.
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