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Teacher Mentoring Program Receives James Irvine Leadership Award

Leaders at Oakland-based Reach University, Dr. Elizabeth Baham and Héctor Camacho Jr, have been honored with the James Irvine Leadership Award for their work on addressing California’s teacher shortage through job-embedded curriculum and credential programs. With the award, each organization receives a grant of $350,000 and additional resources.

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Dean Hector Camacho, Candidate Tysha Hayes, and the Reach University Admissions & Partnerships Teams at Jefferson Union High School District. Photo courtesy of Reach University.
Dean Hector Camacho, Candidate Tysha Hayes, and the Reach University Admissions & Partnerships Teams at Jefferson Union High School District. Photo courtesy of Reach University.

By Magaly Muñoz

Leaders at Oakland-based Reach University, Dr. Elizabeth Baham and Héctor Camacho Jr, have been honored with the James Irvine Leadership Award for their work on addressing California’s teacher shortage through job-embedded curriculum and credential programs. With the award, each organization receives a grant of $350,000 and additional resources.

Dr. Baham and Mr. Camacho, who have been at Reach for nine years and two years respectively, have been instrumental in attracting and recruiting future educators who otherwise would not have a clear and affordable path into teaching or leadership positions.

Established in 2006, Reach University has served as the nation’s first and only accredited nonprofit university, dedicated to advancing undergraduate and graduate degrees and credentials.

“To be recognized for this work so publicly, has given me more strength to keep [fighting] because it’s a lot of work. I’m super honored and appreciative of [the James Irvine Foundation] for giving me this new burst of energy because it’s a tough field,” Camacho said.

Baham echoed Camacho’s sentiments and is grateful that the work they are doing is being recognized by a larger audience.

“It’s an acknowledgement of the work that I’ve put in and it’s an acknowledgement that teachers matter, that education matters. I think that at the end of the day, people see both Hector and I representing Reach University and they walk away with a sense of teaching matters,” Baham said.

The university primarily partners with K-12 school districts to provide potential teacher candidates who specialize in subjects such as liberal arts, math, science of reading, and computer science.

Camacho, Dean of Admissions and SVP of Workforce Development, praised the university’s methodology in allowing candidates already employed in a school either part or full time, as a teacher-aides or paraprofessionals, to earn college credit while mastering the art of teaching.

Camacho highlighted the challenges that many face when seeking higher education, such as taking a break from school to work and afford their degree or going directly into college and amassing large amounts of debt to solely focus on their studies.

“Let’s honor and recognize the work that they’re doing in the schools right now. Give them some college credit and then give them the other coursework they need to finish it because we know you shouldn’t have to choose anymore,” Camacho said.

Students at Reach University are paid to earn a degree, and undergraduates take on zero student debt. After grants and institutional scholarships, the out-of-pocket contribution for all full-time undergraduate candidates is $900 per year, or $75 per month, with no student debt, according to Reach officials.

Half of the program candidates are made up of people of color, matching the demographics of the schools they are working in. The large majority are also first-generation college students and some from low-income backgrounds.

Baham, Provost & Chief Academic Officer, stated the importance of having educators of color in classrooms because it not only allows for students of color to see themselves in authority positions, but also integrates what the world looks like for those who are not surrounded by diversity in their everyday lives.

She added that diversity at all levels of academia results in success and encouragement for everyone to strive for more.

“It’s important for [students] to see us occupying spaces where they will want to see themselves,” Baham said.

Reach students are taught in group setting classrooms twice a week and through one-on-one mentoring to better assist with individual needs. This approach allows students to network with other classmates to problem-solve similar obstacles and receive personalized coaching to refine their teaching skills.

With job-embedded curriculum being the set form of learning for Reach, many of the students have a clearer transition from degree to career pipeline. 84% of California alumni are still in the classroom five years after completing the graduate program and nearly 91% are still working in a school.

Tysha Hayes, a Reach student, works as a bus driver for Jefferson Union High School District and part-time in the classroom as a part of her degree program. She entered the university in fall 2023 and is hoping to graduate by 2027.

Hayes shared that the non-traditional learning aspect of Reach is what drew her to enroll, as she herself has had an unconventional journey from being a bus driver for 27 years to pursuing a career in education.

The job allows Hayes to be involved in her students’ lives in a more personal way. She explained that her face is the first and last one they see on their way back and forth to school, often prompting them to share their classroom frustrations and struggles with her.

“The bus has been my classroom with the students, so I get the best of both worlds. I get to see them in different elements throughout the whole day,” Hayes said.

Post-graduation, Hayes intends to work in health and wellness so that she can help guide and assist students who are feeling overwhelmed or unmotivated in their education to work through their struggles and strive for more.

Hayes says although she got a late start in life, the prospect of building interpersonal relationships with her students in and outside the classroom excites her to keep working towards her degree.

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Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

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Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)
Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 28 – June 3, 2025

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Black Feminist Movement Mobilizes in Response to National Threats

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — More than 500 Black feminists will convene in New Orleans from June 5 through 7 for what organizers are calling the largest Black feminist gathering in the United States.

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By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

More than 500 Black feminists will convene in New Orleans from June 5 through 7 for what organizers are calling the largest Black feminist gathering in the United States. The event, led by the organization Black Feminist Future, is headlined by activist and scholar Angela Y. Davis. Paris Hatcher, executive director of Black Feminist Future, joined Black Press USA’s Let It Be Known to outline the mission and urgency behind the gathering, titled “Get Free.” “This is not just a conference to dress up and have a good time,” Hatcher said. “We’re building power to address the conditions that are putting our lives at risk—whether that’s policing, reproductive injustice, or economic inequality.” Hatcher pointed to issues such as rising evictions among Black families, the rollback of bodily autonomy laws, and the high cost of living as key drivers of the event’s agenda. “Our communities are facing premature death,” she said.

Workshops and plenaries will focus on direct action, policy advocacy, and practical organizing skills. Attendees will participate in training sessions that include how to resist evictions, organize around immigration enforcement, and disrupt systemic policies contributing to poverty and incarceration. “This is about fighting back,” Hatcher said. “We’re not conceding anything.” Hatcher addressed the persistent misconceptions about Black feminism, including the idea that it is a movement against men or families. “Black feminism is not a rejection of men,” she said. “It’s a rejection of patriarchy. Black men must be part of this struggle because patriarchy harms them too.” She also responded to claims that organizing around Black women’s issues weakens broader coalitions. “We don’t live single-issue lives,” Hatcher said. “Our blueprint is one that lifts all Black people.”

The conference will not be streamed virtually, but recaps and updates will be posted daily on Black Feminist Future’s YouTube channel and Instagram account. The event includes performances by Tank and the Bangas and honors longtime activists including Billy Avery, Erica Huggins, and Alexis Pauline Gumbs. When asked how Black feminism helps families, Hatcher said the real threat to family stability is systemic oppression. “If we want to talk about strong Black families, we have to talk about mass incarceration, the income gap, and the systems that tear our families apart,” Hatcher said. “Black feminism gives us the tools to build and sustain healthy families—not just survive but thrive.”

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