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Moms 4 Housing Evicted from Vacant Home by Deputies After Verdict Favored Owners

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Moms 4 Housing Dominique Walker (Left) addressed a news conference with ACCE director Carroll Fife (right) on Friday, Jan. 10 after court judgement ruled in favor of corporate housing owner Wedgewood. Photo by Michelle Snider.

Moms 4 Housing advocacy group was evicted from a West Oakland home in the early hours of Tuesday Jan. 14 after judgment came in favor of corporate homeowner Wedgewood on Friday, Jan. 10. The advocacy group took the case to court in an attempt to stay in the home.

Bearcat armored vehicles descended on the neighborhood at approximately 5 a.m. while deputies in camouflage and other police dressed in full riot gear blocked protesters view of the arrests performed by Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies.

In a mass text alert Moms 4 Housing said, “2 moms (Misty & Tolami) and 2 neighborhood supporters (Jesse & Walter) were arrested, and are being held at Santa Rita Jail.”

Hundreds of supporters had gathered at the West Oakland home on Magnolia Street the evening before the eviction after Moms 4 Housing sent a mass text announcing that the Alameda Sherriffs Department was coming to evict them. Supporters sang, chanted and rallied together peacefully while many stood in front of the house ready for arrest.

Dominique Walker of Moms 4 Housing moved into the vacant house illegally on Magnolia Street with her children and other women from the advocacy group on Nov. 18, 2019, after the women found no suitable or affordable ways to obtain housing in Oakland. In an interview with KAWL on Dec. 11. Walker said the occupation of the house came out of absolute desperation where the only option is to occupy a house or live with her children on the streets.

“The system is designed to protect the wealthy. It wasn’t designed for us so we never thought we would win in the unjust system. Yet we are here and we’re not leaving,” Walker said on Friday at a press conference held after the ruling.

“We are bringing awareness to this national and global housing crisis. And we don’t intend to stop. Housing is a human right,” said Walker. “We’re working to change not only the loss here but all over the world around housing. We want to create a housing registry. We want to outlaw short term rentals. We want to be able to use eminent domain to get housing from these corporate speculators out of our communities.”

Director of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Action Carroll Fife spoke first at Friday’s press conference calling attention to a narrative she said she saw often in media that blamed the moms for being homeless.

”I really want to highlight how this particular situation has called into the forefront of how people are not valued,” Fife said. “I hear that they should work harder. That they shouldn’t have children.”

“They work two or three jobs,” Fife said of Moms 4 Housing advocates. “Some of them lost their partners through car accidents, or bad health because they didn’t have access to health care. So we want people to understand that this could be anyone.”

Fife continued to say the housing problems Moms 4 Housing face affects everyone. “The people who can save up enough for a down payment on homes have to compete with corporations like Wedgewood who have hundreds of shell organizations and limited liability corporations that buy houses in bulk,” Fife said.

According to NBC Bay Area, Wedgewood LLC is a southern California based real estate home-flipping giant with an extensive national portfolio and a business model “Centered around buying, fixing, and quickly flipping homes.”

Wedgewood said it would offer to pay a nonprofit shelter to house the women for two months if they moved out before the eviction, according to SFgate. The company also claimed they plan to work with a nonprofit to serve at-risk youth through jobs and skill development — according to Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan, who questioned the company’s intentions in a statement last week. “Wedgewood appears to have no office or personnel anywhere in this region, no local business license, and no track record can be found of performing this type of work,” said Kaplan.

Sam Singer, president of Singer Associates Public Relations San Francisco — the PR firm hired to represent Wedgewood — took to Twitter on Friday to respond to the court ruling. “Wedgewood will now renovate the Oakland home illegally occupied by squatters @moms4housing using at-risk Oakland youth who will benefit from learning new skills, improving neighborhood,” Singer said.

Walker was not arrested because she and Fife were at KPFA in Berkeley for a live broadcast with Democracy Now! at the moment of the eviction.

Michelle Snider

Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

Associate Editor for The Post News Group. Writer, Photographer, Videographer, Copy Editor, and website editor documenting local events in the Oakland-Bay Area California area.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

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Remembering George Floyd

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OP-ED: Oregon Bill Threatens the Future of Black Owned Newspapers and Community Journalism

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.

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By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

For decades, The Skanner newspaper in Portland, the Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium have served Portland, Oregon’s Black community and others with a vital purpose: to inform, uplift and empower. But legislation now moving through the Oregon Legislature threatens these community news institutions—and others like them.

As President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), which represents more than 255 Black-owned media outlets across the United States—including historic publications like The Skanner, Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium—l believe that some Oregon lawmakers would do more harm than good for local journalism and community-owned publications they are hoping to protect.

Oregon Senate Bill 686 would require large digital platforms such as Google and Meta to pay for linking to news content. The goal is to bring desperately needed support to local newsrooms. However, the approach, while well-intentioned, puts smaller, community-based publications at a future severe financial risk.

We need to ask – will these payments paid by tech companies benefit the journalists and outlets that need them most? Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors, and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption, and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.

Legislation that sends money to these national conglomerate owners—without the right safeguards to protect independent and community-based outlets—rewards the forces that caused this inequitable crisis in the first place. A just and inclusive policy must guarantee that support flows to the front lines of local journalism and not to the boardrooms of large national media corporations.

The Black Press exists to fill in the gaps left by larger newsrooms. Our reporters are trusted messengers. Our outlets serve as forums for civic engagement, accountability and cultural pride. We also increasingly rely on our digital platforms to reach our audiences, especially younger generations—where they are.

We are fervently asking Oregon lawmakers to take a step back and engage in meaningful dialogue with those most affected: community publishers, small and independent outlets and the readers we serve. The Skanner, The Portland Observer, and The Portland Medium do not have national corporate parents or large investors. And they, like many smaller, community-trusted outlets, rely on traffic from search engines and social media to boost advertising revenue, drive subscriptions, and raise awareness.

Let’s work together to build a better future for Black-owned newspapers and community journalism that is fair, local,l and representative of all Oregonians.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., President & CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

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