Activism

Oakland Frontline Healers Host “Circle of Peace” Event at Lake Merritt December 28

The ‘Circle of Peace’ will be preceded by a ‘peace caravan’ starting at Liberation Park at 7101 Foothill Blvd at 3 p.m. It will arrive at the north end of Lake Merritt at 5:30 p.m. where artists will entertain the crowd. Candle stations will be established at north, south, east, and west locations on the lake. “Please bring your children. It’s time to teach peace.”

Published

3 years ago

December 27, 2022

Oakland Post

Tanya Dennis, lead facilitator of Oakland Frontline Healers and board chair of Adamika Village says that “We are teaching peace and ‘The African Way’ in the Black community. We hope we can get every citizen in Oakland to join us to bring peace to the streets by supporting our Circle of Peace event.” Photo courtesy of Tanya Dennis.

By Post Staff

On Dec. 28, over 20 Black nonprofits will stage the largest “Circle of Peace” in the history of Oakland around Lake Merritt. Their intent is to galvanize every citizen in Oakland to join them in a citywide appeal for “Peace in the Streets.”

“We need 1,500 men, women and children, standing 12 feet apart to totally encircle the lake,” says Tanya Dennis, member of Adamika Village #StopKillingOurKidsMovement and Oakland Frontline Healers (OFH).

“Dec. 28 is the third day of Kwanzaa, which honors ‘Ujima,’ collective work and responsibility,” said Dennis, who is lead organizer of the Circle of Peace event. “The purpose of Ujima is to build and maintain the Black community and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems and to solve them together.

“It takes a village to heal a village,” Dennis said.

Candle stations will be established at north, south, east, and west locations on the lake. “Please bring your children. It’s time to teach peace.”

The organizers are asking 1,500 of Oakland’s brothers and sisters to come to Lake Merritt at 6:30 p.m., stand 12 feet apart and light a candle, and stand in silence from 7-7:30 p.m. to “shift the energy in Oakland and end violence.”

“Let’s make this go national and inform the nation Oakland wants and supports peace in the streets,” Dennis said. A drone will record the event.

Last year’s “Peace in the Streets” event saw the installation of hundreds of peace banners installed on International Boulevard.

Darren White, CEO of Realized Potential, teaches fatherhood workshops for youth regarding how to be good fathers, respect women and disavow violence in resolving conflicts. Photo courtesy of Darren White.

Oakland Frontline Healers, Oakland’s premiere COVID-19 response team, comprises 19 Black-led nonprofits dedicated to the restoration, building, and healing of the Black community through providing resources, projects, and events.

The organization has also led development of a Black mental health initiative in partnership with the East Bay Association of Black Psychologists.

A collaboration with Adamika Village #StopKillingOurKidsMovement, MACRO, Broken Chains Ministries, and the Oakland Fire Department and headed by OFH member Realized Potential Inc., is hosting a community holiday event on Dec. 18 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at East Bay Dragons headquarters, located at 8731 International Blvd.

Realized Potential, which is headed by Darren White, does pop-up community resource events at local Oakland hot spots where gun violence has occurred to show residents that there are people and organizations engaged in gun violence prevention.

“We will provide Christmas gifts to youth and community members; we are serving food and distributing resource packets for community members that need information about jobs and housing,” White said. “We have hygiene kits, COVID-19 information, and PPE that will be available with hand sanitizer, masks, and home test kits — all free to the community.”

Realized Potential’s gift give-away and Adamika Village’s Circle of Peace are kicking off a series of OFH events in Oakland to prevent crime and show solidarity by modeling appropriate behavior for men and women involved in criminal behavior, utilizing their “African Way” philosophy.

OFH’s goal is to provide people with needed resources in order to change their behavior, put down guns, and end the violence that’s disrupting and traumatizing Oakland residents.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

4 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Activism

Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.