Connect with us

Activism

Oakland Group Seeks to Aid Pregnant Residents After Encampment Closure

According to residents and advocates present during the closure of the encampment on April 7, city public works staff and Oakland Police Department officers arrived around 9 a.m., asked residents to leave, and did not offer alternative shelter options. OPD confirmed one officer and two public service technicians were present. In the days before the closure, about 20 residents had lived in the area, mostly in RVs and trailers. The city posted pink signs informing residents of the closure several days before it occurred. While most residents left the encampment, a few remained. 

Published

on

Teela Hardy's RV sitting near 106 Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard in East Oakland on April 7, the morning she had to have it towed due to an encampment clearance. Photo by Zack Haber.
Teela Hardy's RV sitting near 106 Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard in East Oakland on April 7, the morning she had to have it towed due to an encampment clearance. Photo by Zack Haber.

By Zack Haber

A recent closure of a homeless encampment near the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and 106th Avenue has prompted Homies Empowerment, an East Oakland-based grassroots organization, to call attention to and organize for improving the living conditions of two displaced pregnant women that lived in the encampment.

“We’re looking for a house to rent for them now,” said Rev. Harry Louis Williams II, an activist, author, and hip-hop artist who works as a Care Manager with Homies Empowerment. “Our long-term goal for these women is to get them into an affordable place to live. We don’t want their children to be like baby Jesus in the manger.”

After the closure, Homies Empowerment put the two women up in a hotel room. They want help from the community to house them and are encouraging those who have the means to offer aid to contact the organization.

“Sometimes people say things are bad, and they wish they could do something,” said Williams. “Well, this is a way to do something. This is urgent and we’re not sitting around and waiting for a grant.”

According to residents and advocates present during the closure of the encampment on April 7, city public works staff and Oakland Police Department officers arrived around 9 a.m., asked residents to leave, and did not offer alternative shelter options. OPD confirmed one officer and two public service technicians were present. In the days before the closure, about 20 residents had lived in the area, mostly in RVs and trailers. The city posted pink signs informing residents of the closure several days before it occurred. While most residents left the encampment, a few remained.

Two of those who remained were Teela Hardy and Tanya Andrade. Hardy had been working as a receptionist for a law firm but became homeless after she was laid off. Andrade said she was let go from her service industry job soon after she became pregnant. While she says she technically has access to her former home, it’s uninhabitable.

“I can’t stand my house because it’s full of mold,” said Andrade. “Living there is unsafe because I’m pregnant, and I have asthma.”

Both Hardy and Andrade are about seven months pregnant and had lived in RVs that no longer run but still provided them with shelter. In the days leading up to the closure, it was difficult to move their inoperable RVs and they did not expect the city to follow through with the eviction.

“They gave us a warning,” said Hardy. “But they’ve given us warnings before and not gone through with their word.”

According to Hardy, the City of Oakland had posted signs three separate times this year telling residents they planned to close the encampment on specific dates, but those dates came and passed without any closure enforcement. The Oakland Post emailed Oakland’s director of communications multiple times over three days seeking comments on this story. But the city ultimately did not provide comments before this story’s deadline.

Hardy and Andrade were able to keep their RVs after friends helped tow them to another location, but the women said they lost other possessions during the closure. For Hardy, the most important thing she lost was her car she had been using to do odd jobs and run errands, including getting to doctor’s appointments. According to Hardy, it was impounded because, although she had been trying to get it registered, she hadn’t yet been able to do so.

“It’s just hard,” Hardy said. “They didn’t give me a bus pass or anything, and I know I’m not going to be able to do the things I need to do in the amount of time I need to do them now that I don’t have a car.”

According to Williams of Homies Empowerment, the organization became aware of the closure because they have recently started renting land from the city that sits at 10451 MacArthur Blvd., which is next to where the encampment had been. Hardy said the organization had allowed her to use the land for her dogs to play and that she and Andrade, in turn, had helped to clean up the parcel. Homies Empowerment plans to use the land to set up a small community farm.

A statement on Homies Empowerment’s website says the organization “works alongside our community towards a world absent of whiteness, capitalism, and heteropatriarchy.” The organization started about 12 years ago to help quell gang violence and also address the city’s gang injunctions, which Homies Empowerment saw as harmful. They started a program called Loaves and Fishes during the pandemic, which is still in operation, that feeds East Oakland residents in need of food, including people experiencing homelessness. Williams says the organization offers “solidarity not charity.”

“We shared with the people in the encampment,” Williams said. “They became family. They were welcomed to eat with us.” The encampment closure “shocked and dismayed” members of Homies Empowerment and left them “disheartened.”

Hardy and Andrade said they suspected the city enforced the closure due to the encampment becoming messy. They also said the city provided no toilets, rarely offered trash pickup services, and that sometimes housed private citizens and businesses would dump trash in their encampment instead of disposing of their trash properly.

Williams feels the city is doing “all kinds of things to displace people,” while “people just want to live.” While the city slowed down closures of homeless encampments immediately following the initial COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, by 2021 encampment closures returned with over four occurring per month between January and August of that year. In 2022, several closures have been occurring per week.

Recently, Council Member Noel Gallo proposed an ordinance to the city’s public works committee that would explicitly ban RVs and trailers from streets that are 40 feet wide or narrower. The committee is scheduled to consider the ordinance on May 24. If the ordinance is put to vote and approved by the City Council as it is currently written, it would ban people from living in RVs on about 79% of Oakland’s streets.

“I love Oakland,” said Williams. “But I think Oakland could do more to show loving care to people who are experiencing these problems. If the leadership of the city could come work with us, we could avoid homelessness.”

Homies Empowerment currently sees Oakland’s community as the best avenue to help Hardy and Andrade.

“I am hopeful,” said Williams. “There’s a lot of fire in Oakland’s belly from just regular working people who are saying we want to feed and house people. I think enough people just need to come together and change will come.”

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activism

Living His Legacy: The Late Oscar Wright’s “Village” Vows to Inherit Activist’s Commitment to Education

Kingmakers of Oakland (KOO), a nonprofit organization that works to improve educational and life outcomes for Black boys and men, stated that “Oscar Wright is one of the most prolific, consistent, and committed advocates of equity for Black students and Black Families here in Oakland for the past six decades.” 

Published

on

Oscar Carl Wright, 101, who passed away on Nov. 18, was still involved in Oakland’s educational affairs until his death.
Oscar Carl Wright, 101, who passed away on Nov. 18, was still involved in Oakland’s educational affairs until his death.

By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌, California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

Activists mourning Oscar Carl Wright’s death, have pledged to continue his lifelong mission of advocating for Black students and families in Northern California.

Wright, 101, who passed away on Nov. 18, was involved in Oakland’s educational affairs until his death.

Now, friends and admirers acknowledge that carrying on his legacy means doubling down on the unfinished work that Wright dedicated his life, time, and resources to, according to Y’Anad Burrell, a family friend and founder of San Francisco-based Glass House Communications (GHC).

“Mr. Wright did a lot of work around equity, specifically, for Black students based on their needs — whether it was tutoring, passing classes, or graduating,” Burrell said.

Wright became a champion for his children’s education, recognizing the disparities between their school experiences and his own upbringing in the Mississippi Delta.

Burrell told California Black Media (CBM) that the crisis of unequal access to resources and a quality education continues to affect the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD).

According to Oakland Reach, in the city of Oakland, only 3 in 10 Black and Brown students are reading at or above grade level. In addition, only 1 in 10 are doing math at or above grade level.

Oakland REACH is a parent-run, parent-led organization. It aims to empowers families from the most underserved communities to demand high-quality schools for their children.

Wright’s work as an activist had impact across the state but he was primarily known in the Bay Area. Alongside the Black United Front for Educational Reform (BUFER), he filed a complaint against OUSD for violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In 2000, the OUSD school board proposed an action plan to address educational inequity, but it was never implemented.

Wright later founded the African American Honor Roll Celebration at Acts Full Gospel Church, an award that recognizes Black students with a grade point average of 3.0 or better.  Each year, more than 1,000 students are honored at this ceremony.

Kingmakers of Oakland (KOO), a nonprofit organization that works to improve educational and life outcomes for Black boys and men, stated that “Oscar Wright is one of the most prolific, consistent, and committed advocates of equity for Black students and Black Families here in Oakland for the past six decades.”

Burrell said that one of the main reasons Wright’s work was so essential for families and children in Oakland that is the direct relationship between acquiring a quality education and affording quality housing, maintaining food security, achieving mental wellness, and securing stable employment.

Wright was the child of sharecroppers from Coahoma County, Mississippi. He attended Alcorn State University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU).

In the late 1950s, Wright and his family relocated to the Bay Area where he worked as a contractor and civil engineer. He later became an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Burrell said the people who will carry on Wright’s work are part of a “village” that includes KOO’s CEO Chris Chatmon.  Wright was a mentor to Chatmon.

“It will not be one entity, one person, or one organization that picks up the baton because it was a village effort that worked alongside Mr. Wright for all these years,” Burrell said.

Burell says that legacy will live on.

Continue Reading

Activism

Protesters Gather in Oakland, Other City Halls, to Halt Encampment Sweeps

The coordinated protests on Tuesday in San Francisco, Oakland, Vallejo, Fresno, Los Angeles and Seattle, were hosted by Poor Magazine and Wood Street Commons, calling on cities to halt the sweeps and focus instead on building more housing.

Published

on

The California Poor People’s Campaign’s Victoria King erected encampments for unhoused Oaklanders. Victoria King and her committee erected these emergency tents to symbolize the needs of unhoused Oaklanders. Photos by Post Staff.
The California Poor People’s Campaign’s Victoria King erected encampments for unhoused Oaklanders. Victoria King and her committee erected these emergency tents to symbolize the needs of unhoused Oaklanders. Photos by Post Staff.

By Post Staff

Houseless rights advocates gathered in Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and other city halls across California and Washington state this week protesting increased sweeps that followed a U.S. Supreme Court decision over the summer.

The coordinated protests on Tuesday in San Francisco, Oakland, Vallejo, Fresno, Los Angeles and Seattle, were hosted by Poor Magazine and Wood Street Commons, calling on cities to halt the sweeps and focus instead on building more housing.

“What we’re dealing with right now is a way to criminalize people who are dealing with poverty, who are not able to afford rent,” said rights advocate Junebug Kealoh, outside San Francisco City Hall.

“When someone is constantly swept, they are just shuffled and things get taken — it’s hard to stay on top of anything,” said Kealoh.

Local houseless advocates include Victoria King, who is a member of the coordinating committee of the California Poor People’s Campaign. She and Dr. Monica Cross co-chair the Laney Poor People’s Campaign.

The demonstrations came after a June Supreme Court ruling expanded local governments’ authority to fine and jail people for sleeping outside, even if no shelter is available. Gov. Gavin Newsom in California followed up with an order directing state agencies to crack down on encampments and urging local governments to do the same.

FresnoBerkeley and a host of other cities implemented new rules, making it easier for local governments to clear sidewalk camps. In other cities, such as San Francisco, officials more aggressively enforced anti-camping laws already on the books.

Continue Reading

Activism

Celebrating East Bay Leaders Keith Carson and Federal Glover at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle

Several leaders were in attendance including fellow Alameda Supervisors Elisa Marquez and Lena Tam, Superior Court judge-elect Terry Wiley, and African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s founder Ray Bobbitt, along with many other guests.

Published

on

Keith Carson, John Gioia, Federal Glover, Nate Miley Left to Right
Keith Carson, John Gioia, Federal Glover, Nate Miley Left to Right.

By Magaly Muñoz

After decades of public service in the East Bay, community members and leaders came together to celebrate Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson and Contra Costa Supervisor Federal Glover at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle Thursday afternoon.

Several leaders were in attendance including fellow Alameda Supervisors Elisa Marquez and Lena Tam, Superior Court judge-elect Terry Wiley, and African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s founder Ray Bobbitt, along with many other guests.

First elected in 1992, Carson has served District 5 for 24 years and announced his decision to step away from his seat earlier this year, just before the deadline to submit new candidate applications.

He dedicated his long career to bringing access to health care, addressing homelessness, lowering crime, improving business retention, and growing job opportunities in Alameda County.

Glover began his tenure as Contra Costa Supervisor in 2000 and previously served as mayor of Pittsburg in 1998. During his time as Supervisor, he supported initiatives on public transportation, created committees for public safety, and supported task forces on health.

“These two distinguished leaders have dedicated their lives to improving the lives of so many people across Alameda and Contra Costa (counties). Their work has touched every corner of the East Bay,” Alameda County Supervisor and President Nate Miley said.

Leaders from both counties spoke on the supervisors’ legacies and their dedicated years of service.

Contra Costa Supervisor John Gioia said that Glover was the type of person that grew with each challenge that crossed him, especially after he had major surgery in 2020. But Gioia said that the treatment did not deter Glover.

“He’s had tougher races for reelection than any member of our board that I can recall, and he’s always come back stronger than before,” Gioia said.

Sharing a county border, Gioia complimented Carson on his ability to sway leaders from both sides of the political aisle to listen on the issues affecting locals and residents across the nation.

Shannell Scales Preston, who is taking over Glover’s D5 seat in 2025, told event attendees that Glover was a mentor to her for many years. He often would call Preston after Pittsburg City Council meetings with remarks about her performance and how well she spoke up on certain issues.

With Glover spending years as the only Black elected official in local government, Preston would ask him how he managed to not feel lonely about the job. She then congratulated him on being the only supervisor in Contra Costa to have all Black mayors under his district in 2023.

Preston said he’s been a leader to many diverse groups and his tenure has seen leaders of all backgrounds, but particularly paving the way for Black leaders in predominantly white areas.

Miley, who has shared his entire 24-year tenure on the Alameda Board with Carson, tearfully wished the exiting supervisor luck and said he would miss him dearly.

Carson said that as we embark on a “dark time” for everyone across the nation and worldwide in 2025, it’s important to continue communicating and working with groups from all backgrounds because that is the only way things will get done.

“There have been many lonely nights, but then the sun comes out in the morning when you continue to think, ‘I can make a difference,’” Carson said.

Continue Reading

Subscribe to receive news and updates from the Oakland Post

* indicates required

CHECK OUT THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE OAKLAND POST

ADVERTISEMENT

WORK FROM HOME

Home-based business with potential monthly income of $10K+ per month. A proven training system and website provided to maximize business effectiveness. Perfect job to earn side and primary income. Contact Lynne for more details: Lynne4npusa@gmail.com 800-334-0540

Facebook

Trending

Copyright ©2021 Post News Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.