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School Board Election Could End Deadlock on Sharply Divided Board

With the board unable to reach a decision on appointing a new member, the Alameda County Office of Education recently stepped in, ordering an election in November to fill the remaining one year-term for the District 5 seat, which represents the Fruitvale District. The D5 seat was left vacant when its representative, Boardmember Mike Hutchinson, ran and ultimately won in D4 after his residence address was moved during the citywide redistricting process.

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Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez. Courtesy photo.
Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez. Courtesy photo.

So far, one candidate has stepped forward: Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez

By Ken Epstein

The Oakland Board of Education, operating at present with one vacancy, is sharply divided, 3-3, on many major issues that impact Oakland families, including the future of special education programs, budget cuts at school sites, school closings, and whether to support “common good” demands for community needs raised by Oakland teachers during their recent strike.

With the board unable to reach a decision on appointing a new member, the Alameda County Office of Education recently stepped in, ordering an election in November to fill the remaining one year-term for the District 5 seat, which represents the Fruitvale District.

The D5 seat was left vacant when its representative, Boardmember Mike Hutchinson, ran and ultimately won in D4 after his residence address was moved during the citywide redistricting process.

On one side of the polarized school board are members who have been outspokenly opposed to school closings and spoke during the recent Oakland teachers’ strike in favor of the union’s “common good” demands: VanCedric Williams, Jennifer Brouhard, and Valarie Bachelor.

On the other side are Board President Hutchinson, Sam Davis, and Cliff Thompson, who have tended to align with positions taken by the district administration, including voting to potentially merge or consolidate schools and voting to cut special education special day classes and programs in the face of major parent opposition.

So far, one candidate for the D5 seat has stepped forward: Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez, who strongly supports Oakland educators. A graduate of Oakland High and Holy Names University, she already has a campaign website: www.sasharitziehernandez.com.

Born in Mexico, she migrated to Oakland at the age of 12 in 2002 and has lived in the Fruitvale District for more than 20 years. Her mother was a teacher in Mexico for 24 years, and Ritzie-Hernandez describe herself as someone who was on the “frontlines” backing the last two Oakland teachers’ strikes.

Openly queer and married to a woman, she is coalition coordinator of the Bay Area Coalition for Education Justice (BACEJ), where she works for “quality public education for students,” she said on her website.

She has been an activist much of her life. While in high school she organized against police brutality in the wake of the killing of Oscar Grant and worked for the DREAM Act.

She formerly worked for Alameda County’s Registrar of Voters Office as a bilingual instructor and organized support for the campaign for the passage of Reparations for Black Students resolution. She currently serves on the Alameda County Spanish Language Advisory Committee.

“My goal (on the board) is to create a culture of accountability through authentic shared decision-making. With your support we can have a school board that centers and is accountable to students, families, and educators,” she wrote.

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025

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Activism

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Lateefah Simon to Speak at Elihu Harris Lecture Series

The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

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U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (left) and Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) (Right).
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (left) and Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) (Right).

By Scott Horton

United States House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) will be a speaker at the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series on Friday, Feb. 21.

The event will be held at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, 10 Tenth Street in Oakland, at 7 p.m.

The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

The overarching goal of the lecture series is to provide speakers from diverse backgrounds a platform to offer their answers to Dr. King’s urgent question, which is also the title of Jeffries’ latest book: “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?”

In addition to Jeffries, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) will also speak.

“Certainly, now is a time for humanity, in general, and Americans in particular to honestly and genuinely answer Dr. King’s question,” said Dr. Roy D. Wilson, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Executive Producer of the lecture series.

“Dr. King teaches that time is neutral but not static. Like the water in a river, it arrives and then quickly moves on,” continued Wilson. “We must urgently create conditions for listening to many different answers to this vital question, and generate the development of unity of action among all those who struggle for a stronger democracy.”

In his book, Jeffries shares his experience of being unanimously elected by his colleagues as the first African American in history to ever hold the position of House Minority Leader.

In January 2023 in Washington, Jeffries made his first official speech as House Minority Leader. He affirmed Democratic values one letter of the alphabet at a time. His words and how he framed them as the alphabet caught the attention of Americans, and the speech was later turned into a book, The ABCs of Democracy, bringing Congressman Jeffries rousing speech to vivid, colorful life, including illustrations by Shaniya Carrington. The speech and book are inspiring and urgent as a timeless reminder of what it means to be a country with equal opportunities for all. Jeffries paints a road map for a brighter American future and warns of the perils of taking a different path.

Before his colleagues unanimously elected him Minority Leader in 2022, Jeffries previously served as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and as an Impeachment Manager during the first Senate trial of the 45th President of the United States.

Jeffries was born in Brooklyn Hospital, raised in Crown Heights, grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church and he is a product of New York City’s public school system, graduating from Midwood High School. Jefferies went on to Binghamton University (BA), Georgetown University (master’s in public policy) and New York University (JD).

He served in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012.

Admission is free for the Feb. 21 Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series featuring Congressman Jeffries. Please reserve seats by calling the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center at (510) 434-3988.

Signed copies of his book will be available for purchase at the event.

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Activism

Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

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Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.
Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.

By Paul Cobb
New Oakland Series
Opinion Part 3

The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.

Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.

This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.

“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.

Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.

Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”

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