Bay Area

SEIU 1021 Joins Communitywide Effort to Maintain Higher Education at Holy Names: HNU officials indicate willingness to consider placing HBCU on campus

In the wake of Holy Names University’s sudden announcement that it will close the institution at the end of the semester and sell the 60-acre Oakland hills property to the highest bidder, a local union that represents some HNU faculty is working with city officials and other community leaders to save the campus as a center for higher education in Oakland.

Published

2 years ago

March 14, 2023

Oakland Post

Kimberly Mayfield, Sister Carol Sellman, Theresa Rutherford

By Ken Epstein

In a recent letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, SEIU Local 1021 President Theresa Rutherford called on the attorney general to join those who are committed “to preserving higher education for the residents of Oakland.”

“As the collective bargaining representative for the adjunct professors at Holy Names University, we support the call by members of the Oakland City Council to maintain a nonprofit college in Oakland geared towards educating first-generation college students from the East Bay as well as training workers in education and health care fields specifically. We want to preserve jobs and services,” the letter said.

The SEIU letter disputes HNU’s rationale for closing its doors.

“We believe that the Holy Names Board … decided to close without exhausting every possibility to keep the school open and without transparency to the community about the basis for their decisions. Holy Names can and should remain open,” the letter said.

The union’s experience with other higher education institutions indicates that these small universities did not need to close. “We have come to believe that each of these schools actually closed not because of the pandemic or unavoidable national trends, but because of lack of transparency in decision-making, and administrators and board members complicit in a combination of self-dealing and negligence. Holy Names was no exception,” the letter said.

Further, the letter said that if the board does not want to continue operating HNU, “they should step aside in favor of others who want to preserve the school and its function.”

As an alternative to continuing HNU, SEIU supports the goal of Oakland City Council members to bring a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) to take over the campus and operations.

“SEIU stands ready to work with all stakeholders to maintain vital educational resources in Oakland and to make history by bringing an HBCU to Oakland,” the letter said.

In a reply to the SEIU letter dated March 7, Holy Names leadership has indicated that it may be considering turning the campus over to an HBCU as the union and city leaders are proposing.

“The HNU board continues its efforts to find a successor university for the HNU campus. Each of the Historic Black Colleges or Universities has been contacted by HNU in the hope that the HNU campus will continue to be used for educational purposes,” according the HNU letter signed by Board Chair Steven Borg and Acting President Sister Carol Sellman.

Responding, Kimberly Mayfield, deputy mayor of Oakland, told the Oakland Post, “It would be an amazing opportunity for the city to be home to an HBCU.”

A former faculty member, who served on the HNU Faculty Senate, speaking in an interview with the Oakland Post, thanked the Post for publishing truthful information about what is happening at the university.

“All the other news media just repeat what the university puts in its press releases,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Based on his experience, he said he remains skeptical of statements and promises made by HNU’s leadership.

“The Faculty Senate has been completely shut out of the process. Many faculty members have had to leave. We’ve asked for transparency for years, but the stories shift, and there’s no accountability and no transparency.”

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Asm. Corey Jackson Proposes Safe Parking for Homeless College Students Sleeping in Cars

Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), is the author of AB 90, which would require community colleges and California State University campuses to create overnight parking programs where students can sleep safely in their vehicles. With one in four community college students in California experiencing homelessness in the past year, Jackson says the state must act urgently.

Published

8 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Corey Jackson. File photo.

By Bo Tefu
California Black Media

As California’s housing crisis continues to impact students, new legislation, Assembly Bill (AB) 90, promises to allow college students without stable housing to sleep in their cars on campus, offering a stark but practical solution aimed at immediate relief.

“This just deals with the harsh realities that we find ourselves in,” he said at a recent hearing.

The bill passed its first committee vote and is gaining attention as housing affordability remains a top concern across the state. California rents are more than 30% above the national average, and long waitlists for student housing have left thousands in limbo. CSU reported more than 4,000 students on its housing waitlist last year.

Supporters stress that the bill is not a long-term solution, but a humane step toward helping students who have no other place to go. A successful pilot program at Long Beach City College has already shown that safe, supervised overnight parking can work, giving students access to restrooms, Wi-Fi, and a secure environment.

However, the CSU and community college systems oppose the bill, citing funding concerns. Critics also worry about safety and oversight. But Jackson and student advocates argue the crisis demands bold action.

“If we know students are already sleeping in their cars, why not help them do it safely?” said Ivan Hernandez, president of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

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Faces Around the Bay: Author Karen Lewis Took the ‘Detour to Straight Street’

“My life has been a roller-coaster with an unlimited ride wristband! I was raised in Berkeley during the time of Ron Dellums, the Black Panthers, and People’s Park. I was a Hippie kid, my Auntie cut off all our hair so we could wear the natural styles like her and Angela Davis.

Published

11 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Karen Lewis. Courtesy photo.

By Barbara Fluhrer

I met Karen Lewis on a park bench in Berkeley. She wrote her story on the spot.

I got married young, then ended up getting divorced, raising two boys into men. After my divorce, I had a stroke that left me blind and paralyzed. I was homeless, lost in a fog with blurred vision.

Jesus healed me! I now have two beautiful grandkids. At 61, this age and this stage, I am finally free indeed. Our Lord Jesus Christ saved my soul. I now know how to be still. I lay at his feet. I surrender and just rest. My life and every step on my path have already been ordered. So, I have learned in this life…it’s nice to be nice. No stressing, just blessings. Pray for the best and deal with the rest.

Nobody is perfect, so forgive quickly and love easily!”

Lewis’ book “Detour to Straight Street” is available on Amazon.

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Barbara Lee Accepts Victory With “Responsibility, Humility and Love”

“I accept your choice with a deep sense of responsibility, humility, and love. Oakland is a deeply divided City,” Lee said in an April 19 statement. “I answered the call to run to unite our community, so that I can represent every voter, and we can all work together as One Oakland to solve our most pressing problems.”

Published

12 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Barbara Lee. File photo.

By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌,
California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

As a candidate for mayor, former U.S. Representative Barbara Lee released a “10-point plan” last week to reassure residents that she will tackle Oakland’s most pressing challenges.

Now that she has edged out her competitors in the ranked-choice special election with 50% or more of the vote, the former Congresswoman, who represented parts of the Bay Area in the U.S. House of Representatives, can put her vision in motion as the city’s first Black woman mayor.

On Saturday evening, Taylor conceded to Lee. There are still about 300 Vote-by-Mail ballots left to be verified, according to county election officials. The ballots will be processed on April 21 and April 22.

“This morning, I called Congresswoman Barbara Lee to congratulate her on becoming the next Mayor of Oakland,” Taylor said in a statement.

“I pray that Mayor-Elect Lee fulfills her commitment to unify Oakland by authentically engaging the 47% of Oaklanders who voted for me and who want pragmatic, results-driven leadership.”

The influential Oakland Post endorsed Lee’s campaign, commending her leadership on the local, state, and federal levels.

Paul Cobb, The Post’s publisher, told California Black Media that Lee will bring back “respect and accountability” to the mayor’s office.

“She is going to be a collegial leader drawing on the advice of community nonprofit organizations and those who have experience in dealing with various issues,” Cobb said. “She’s going to try to do a consensus-building thing among those who know the present problems that face the city.”

Born in El Paso, Texas, Lee’s family moved to California while she was in high school. At 20 years old, Lee divorced her husband after the birth of her first child. After the split, Lee went through a tough period, becoming homeless and having to apply for public assistance to make ends meet.

But destitution did not deter the young woman.

Lee groomed herself to become an activist and advocate in Oakland and committed to standing up for the most vulnerable citizens in her community.

Lee traveled to Washington, D.C. to work for then U.S. Congressman Ron Dellums after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mills College in Oakland in 1973. Lee later won a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) fellowship to attend the School of Social Welfare, and she earned a Master of Social Work from the University of California-Berkeley in 1975.

Lee later served in the California State Assembly and State Senate before she was elected to Congress in 1998.

After serving in the U.S. Congress for more than 25 years, Lee ran unsuccessfully for California’s U.S. Senate in the 2024 primary election.

Lee joins current Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass and former San Francisco Mayor London Breed as Black women serving as chief executives of major cities in California over the last few years.