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Opinion: It Should Not Take A Natural Disaster in Oakland

Published

8 years ago

October 4, 2017

By Tammeil Y. Gilkerson, Laney College President

In the wake of the disasters that are plaguing our sister states and countries around the world, students, faculty, and staff from across Laney College have been grappling with how to show support and contribute to relief efforts. Mr. Antonio Watkins, one of our outstanding English faculty, is one person who has responded by providing a curricular connection between what is happening around the world and the contributions communities, large and small, can make.

Students in Mr. Watkins’ classes read an article about the struggle of community college students in Houston who were homeless or residing in insecure housing before Hurricane Harvey hit. Watkins’ students were concerned and he’s offered a challenge to each of them. For every late assignment they turn in, he will add $1 to a fund that will be donated in their names to the Houston Community College Foundation to support students in Houston.

It is a simple proposition, but one that ties immediate actions to an action that can truly impact others. Not only is every dollar toward a fund to support students, but Watkins’ is also motivating his students to invest in themselves—by teaching them the importance of turning in their work, a step toward completing their education.

Today, a college education is critical to moving students into employment that supports our regional and national workforce needs. It is reported that there will be 55 million job openings through 2020, but 65 percent will require some form of post-secondary education including a bachelor’s degree, associate’s degree or certificate.

However, similar to some community college students in Houston, many of our students right here in Oakland are also faced with homelessness, housing insecurity, and lack of adequate access to food that creates real barriers to college completion. A 2015 study of more than 4,000 undergraduates at 10 community colleges across the country found that half are struggling with food and/or housing insecurity and 13 percent were homeless.

Students are not dropping out of college because they don’t have the intellectual capability to complete, they are motivated and incredibly capable. The truth is that the level of financial insecurity for many of our students makes unanticipated

From left: Laney President Tammeil Y. Gilkerson with English professor Antonio Watkins.

emergencies related to healthcare, housing, transportation, and childcare a forced choice to miss classes or drop out entirely.

The project Mr. Watkins and his students are undertaking is an amazing example of the generosity of individuals, but also reminds me that it should not require a natural disaster to hit Oakland for us to collectively do something we know can support students. Research shows instituting emergency funds that can provide small cash grants to help students in these types of situations can be the difference between dropping out and persisting.

I know we cannot change all of the circumstances that impact our students on a daily basis, but I strongly believe we have the capacity to help ensure that one emergency does not derail someone’s educational journey. I shared the vision for developing a robust emergency fund with Mr. Watkins and sure enough, two days later a check arrived to seed the dream.

Mr. Watkins is demonstrating to his students that small actions can snowball into real impact. One late assignment turned in is $1 toward the fund, but taken collectively across a semester and multiple class sections the contribution is even greater.

I am moved by their example and am challenged to see if we can get 5,000 individuals or businesses to contribute as little as $1 or more to help build a true emergency fund. Mr. Watkins’ contribution marks, number one. To find out how you can contribute, visit Laney.edu/president/emergencyfund.

Together we can make a difference.

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Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

1 week ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

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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

1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke