Activism

OPINION: How to Have a Happy New Year in 2024

Just before the Christmas holiday, Donald Trump was on the campaign trail in Iowa denouncing immigrants. “They’re ruining our country. And it’s true, they are destroying the blood of our country,” he said. Trump, the phlebotomist, was talking about the southern border, but the arrivals aren’t just from Mexico, or Central and South America. Increasingly, the border crossers have been Asian, particularly from China and India. He’s talking about all of us “others.”

Published

2 years ago

January 1, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo: iStock photo image.

By Emil Guillermo

This holiday season, I extend to you the gift of history.

But, first, consider the stark contrast in the recent immigration-speak between the two candidates who will more than likely be contesting for the U.S presidency in 2024: President Joseph R. Biden and former President Donald J. Trump.

There’s Biden. Then, there’s that other guy, the twice impeached, quadruple-indicted, former president who seems intent on driving the U.S. into full-speed reverse mode.

That would be the desire of Donald Trump, who as Liz Cheney says, has America sleepwalking into dictatorship.

Don’t think it can’t happen. Seventy percent of Republicans say, despite Trump’s criminality, they would rather see him return to the White House, according to a recent New York Times/Sienna College poll.

Good for them, bad for America.

There’s still enough time to reverse the reversal before Trump actually debases American democracy.

TRUMP’S VIEW ON IMMIGRANTS

Just before the Christmas holiday, Donald Trump was on the campaign trail in Iowa, denouncing immigrants. “They’re ruining our country. And it’s true, they are destroying the blood of our country,” he said.

Trump, the phlebotomist, was talking about the southern border, but the arrivals aren’t just from Mexico, or Central and South America. Increasingly, the border crossers have been Asian, particularly from China and India.

He’s talking about all of us “others.”

Compare Trump’s hate speech with the public statement Biden made on Dec. 17.

That day, President Biden honored Chinese immigrants by remembering the 80th anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act.

The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first and only major law that barred a specific national group from immigrating to the U.S.

Even when the Exclusion Act was repealed in 1943, some restrictions remained. Chinese may not have faced wholesale exclusion, but Chinese immigration was limited to just over 100 people a year. The racist quota was in place until the Hart-Cellar Act gave the U.S. the immigration reform needed in 1965.

“The Act, along with racism and xenophobia in other parts of American life, was part of the anti-Chinese “Driving Out” era which included the Rock Springs and Hells Canyon Massacre,” Biden added.

In Rock Springs, Wyoming, in 1882, at least 28 Chinese miners were killed and 15 injured by angry White miners who feared the Chinese were taking their jobs. Rioters then went on to burn down 80 homes in Rock Springs’ Chinatown.

Five years later in 1887, Oregon’s Hells Canyon Massacre, also known as the Snake River Massacre, saw 30 Chinese laborers gunned down by a gang of White horse thieves.

No one was ever held to account.

President Biden cared enough about that history when he remembered the anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act.

“Today, there are those who still demonize immigrants and fan the flames of intolerance,” Biden said in his statement. “It’s wrong. I ran for President to restore the soul of America. To bring people together and make sure we give hate no safe harbor.”

You want a Happy New Year? Let’s put the present in an historical context and keep moving forward, with undeniable clarity — together.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He does a micro-talk show on YouTube.

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

1 week 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.