Bay Area

Speaking at New Hope Baptist, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao Promotes Community Initiatives

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, speaking recently at New Hope Baptist Church at 5717 Foothill Blvd. in East Oakland, pledged to bring new investments to the community to improve the quality of life and educational opportunities for Oakland residents.

Published

2 years ago

October 5, 2023

Oakland Post

(l-r) Pastor Ray Lankford, Mayor Sheng Thao, Rev. Joe Smith and Rev. Lawrence Van Hook gathered in Smith’s office prior to her speech at new Hope Baptist Church to pray for peace and solutions for Oakland's citizens. Photo by jonathanfitnessjones@gmail.com

By Ken Epstein

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, speaking recently at New Hope Baptist Church at 5717 Foothill Blvd. in East Oakland, pledged to bring new investments to the community to improve the quality of life and educational opportunities for Oakland residents.

One initiative is Rise East – which is already funded with a $50 million matching grant that “will be invested in Deep East Oakland, bringing together communities,” she said.

Privately funded, Rise East will focus on an East Oakland community known as “40×40,” – 40 blocks by 40 blocks, which run from Seminary Avenue to the Oakland-San Leandro border and from MacArthur Boulevard to the Bay. This area is home to the largest concentration of Black residents (over 30,000) who remain in Oakland’s flatland neighborhoods.

“Fifty million dollar is a lot of money, but I believe that’s a drop in bucket for many generations that have been left out,” said Thao. This is the beginning of what we call ‘community safety.’”

She said that much more money is needed and will be raised to deliver on these promises. “Many foundations have said they want to support Oakland, and I say, ‘Put your money where your mouth is,” she said.

Part of this project will be to assure that residents have adequate housing, she said. “If you don’t have housing, you’re going to be unsafe; I know this because I have been unhoused.”

Mayor Thao also pledged to deliver on an initiative to provide educational opportunities for young people, introducing what she called her “legacy project,” the Transitional Age Youth Hub, or TAY-Hub.

The goal of the project is “to invest in young people so in the future they are able to have good-paying jobs so they can continue … being here for generations.”

“Imagine a college campus with housing, technical training, counselors, facilities with childcare, so you don’t have to worry about daily needs so you can be successful,” she said.

The idea for this campus was developed by people at Camp Sweeney, “an institution for young people that many institutions have given up on,” said the mayor.

While the plan for the youth hub did not start with her, she said, “I’m going to lead the way to make sure it happens.”