City Government

Oakland Clergy Back Desley Brooks for City Council

Published

11 years ago

September 18, 2014

Pastors of Oakland gathered on Tuesday to announce their support in the reelection of District 6 Councilwoman Desley Brooks in the Rainbow Center at 58^th Street and International Boulevard.

Running for her fourth term, Brooks has served on the City Council since 2002

Among those who attended the press conference at the Rainbow teen center were prominent members of the clergy including Rev. Gerald Agee, Rev. Vernon Burroughs, Rev. Cheryl Ward, Rev. Harold R. Mayberry, Elder Maurice Mackey, Rev. Gregory Payton, Lawrence Vanhook, Servant B.K. Woodson, Minister Keith Muhammad, Rev. Cornell Wheeler, Rev. Teresa Nelson, Pastor Curtis Robinson, Pastor Roosevelt Taylor, Pastor Maria Reems, and Deacon Earl Jacobs.

Rev. Dr. Harold R. Mayberry and Lady Mary Mayo-Mayberry. Photo taken by Spencer Whitney.

Rev. Dr. Mayberry of First AME Church in Oakland, where Brooks is a member, emphasized the importance of Brooks’ reelection, considering the intense social and political issues facing the city.

“[People] must understand the necessity to have someone lead District 6,” said Mayberry.

Pastor Joe Smith of Missionary Baptist Church applauded Brooks’ efforts to develop the Rainbow Center as a healthy environment for young people.

“Before, it was nothing but hoodlum,” Smith noted.

Rev. Agee of Friendship Christian Center and president of Pastors of Oakland further noted that, given the crises affecting the city – including jobs, housing and public safety – Oakland residents need Brooks’ strong leadership to provide direction on the City Council.

Pastor Gerald Agee

“We don’t need to change horses in the middle of the stream,” he added.

Holding back tears, Brooks thanked the clergy members for their efforts to to support her throughout the years. She said it “speaks volumes” about Faith Community’s willingness to work with the city’s political leaders.

She further emphasized the importance of the Black community in Oakland and the need for representation that will support the community, representatives who will stand up and be unwilling to go along just to get along.

If we don’t stand up, we’re going to be pushed out,” said Brooks. “It’s about silencing our voices.”

Small Business owner James Moore, Michael Johnson of Beebe Memorial Church, and Shereda Nosakhare, policy analyst for Libby Schaafm are opposing Brooks in the November election.

According to a recent poll by the nonprofit Jobs and Housing Coalition, with ranked-choice voting, Brooks is ahead with 57 percent of the vote.

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Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

6 days ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.