Activism

Rep. Lateefah Simon Backs “Block the Bombs Act,” to Withhold Weapons to Israel

Representative Simon said, “I come to Congress from a lineage of folks who know that war does not make us stronger, from a lineage of Ron Dellums and Barbara Lee, who were very clear that we as a nation cannot kill and slaughter our way to peace, that we cannot fund the machinery of death, and that safety is found in care – and not conquest.

Published

5 months ago

September 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon speaks at press conference in Washington D.C., Sept. 20, 2025.

“We as a nation cannot kill and slaughter our way to peace,” she said

By Post staff

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) on Wednesday joined Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03), other members of Congress, actors Cynthia Nixon and Morgan Spector, Mahmoud Khalil, Dr. Adil Husain, other Members of Congress and advocates to call for the passage of H.R. 3565, the Block the Bombs Act, to save lives.

The Block the Bombs Act withholds the transfer of offensive weapons to Israel and demands Israel’s compliance with U.S. and international law.

“I am proud to stand with my colleagues today and say clearly that the genocide against the Palestinian people must end. I am proud to co-sponsor, along with my colleagues, the Block the Bombs act. It’s clear, let us stop the murder and the slaughter of innocent civilians in Gaza.”

Continuing, she said, “We grieve deeply and profoundly the children of Gaza, whose bodies, as we speak, are being torn by shrapnel. We grieve them, and we can, in the same moment, deeply grieve the families in Israel who lost loved ones and who were killed. We can grieve them.”

“Simultaneously, we can refuse the trap that tells us that we must choose whose pain is real. There are no two sides when we’re talking about tens of thousands of children, slaughtered. We must demand and insist that the genocide that is happening in this moment not be committed in the name of anyone who has been murdered; and that we all must – in this building— be committed to the moral act of working towards a just peace.”

Concluding, Congresswoman Simon called for “a just peace everywhere from Washington D.C. to Haiti to Sudan to Gaza. The people of this nation and the people around the world are counting on the folks at the highest levels of government to act with the morality that is deeply written in scripture. We must block the bombs; the United States government can no longer be complicit in the murdering of children. We can no longer be complicit in supplying and funding two-thousand-pound bombs to hit hospitals, to hit orphanages, and tent cities.”

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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

3 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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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.