Created by the OAACC with support from KRON4 television and made possible by Salesforce, the new campaign – entitled “Oakland for Business” – is an extension of a pilot initiative which the OAACC launched earlier this year. The latest campaign produced by KRON4 features 24 local entrepreneurs, their businesses, and vision for success and future growth in Oakland. Videos and business profiles will be shared on KRON4 streaming platforms and on www.oaklandforbusiness.com.
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The Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (OAACC) announced on December 10 the launch of a new multimedia marketing campaign aimed at promoting the resilience of small, Black-owned businesses that make up such a vital part of the Oakland community.
Created by the OAACC with support from KRON4 television and made possible by Salesforce, the new campaign – entitled “Oakland for Business” – is an extension of a pilot initiative which the OAACC launched earlier this year. The latest campaign produced by KRON4 features 24 local entrepreneurs, their businesses, and vision for success and future growth in Oakland. Videos and business profiles will be shared on KRON4 streaming platforms and on www.oaklandforbusiness.com.
Compared to cities of similar size and population, Oakland is home to very few national retail stores, making a large percentage of Oakland’s population dependent on small, locally owned business for groceries, clothing, sundries, etc. This is especially true in traditionally Black neighborhoods.
Among the two dozen OAACC businesses featured in this digital campaign are a baker, jewelry designer, nightclub owner, real estate agent, hair stylist and restaurant owners and more – entrepreneurs who provide perspective on the challenges and rewards that come with following one of the quintessential American dreams: owning your own business.
“Oakland has one of the largest and most diverse Black-owned business communities in the country,” said Cathy Adams, the CEO of OAACC. “We’re excited and grateful that KRON4 Television and Salesforce share in our commitment to driving opportunity and innovation with Black-owned businesses, and we’re looking forward to elevating the experiences of the incredible entrepreneurs shaping our community.”
KRON4 teamed up with Salesforce as part of the tech company’s wider commitment to empower Black-owned businesses and close the racial wealth gap.
“Salesforce is proud to support the Oakland African-American Chamber of Commerce in their efforts to amplify Black entrepreneurship,” said Shalaya Shipman, senior director of Strategic Business Development at Salesforce. “We believe in the power of Black-owned businesses and as a company we are deeply committed to closing the racial wealth gap. Companies have an important opportunity and responsibility to drive racial equality in the communities around us.”
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The event brought together hundreds of families throughout Oakland for a turkey dinner served by Oakland and Bart police officers, city officials, and community volunteers among others. In addition to the OPAL Annual Christmas Dinner started by Dixon, OPAL recently (Dec. 10, 2021) hosted their 2nd annual shoe shopping spree this holiday season where 30 kids from the community were treated to a shopping spree at the local Shoe Palace shoe store.
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On Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021 Oakland Police Activities League (OPAL) hosted its 31st annual Christmas Dinner for the Oakland community. The event was hosted and led by former Oakland Police Officer, President of OPAL, and West Oakland native Margaret Dixon.
The event brought together hundreds of families throughout Oakland for a turkey dinner served by Oakland and Bart police officers, city officials, and community volunteers among others. In addition to the OPAL Annual Christmas Dinner started by Dixon, OPAL recently (Dec. 10, 2021) hosted their 2nd annual shoe shopping spree this holiday season where 30 kids from the community were treated to a shopping spree at the local Shoe Palace shoe store.
Dixon has parlayed her love for kids, teaching, and police work into serving the residents and youth of her native Oakland community for well over 30 years. Dixon is the first and only woman to be named Oakland Police Department Officer of the Year.
In attendance at the dinner were AASEG Co-Founder Karim Muhammad, AASEG member Jonathan Jones, among others. Oakland PAL is a nonprofit providing positive and safe experiences with after-school activities and sports opportunities for the youth and young adults in the city of Oakland.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that Black people in the United States are being hospitalized for the virus 2.6 times more than whites. According to the agency’s website, Black people are also dying of COVID-19 at nearly twice the rate of whites.
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By Aldon Thomas Stiles | California Black Media
The Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. Van Hook, pastor of Community Church in Oakland, says when COVID-19 vaccinations were first released late last year he did not want to get the shot.
“As African Americans, we have a healthy distrust of the government based on our history,” said Van Hook.
But after some soul searching, there was a shift in his spirit, says Van Hook. It led to a change of his heart.
“It came to me through God’s visitation of the holy spirit that not only do I need to get vaccinated, but I need to become an ambassador in the community where we live, work and worship. So that’s how my journey began.”
A little over a year ago, Van Hook joined hands with 38 other Black pastors from around California and formed the African American Community Empowerment Council (AACEC). With help from the state, members began setting up testing and vaccination sites at their churches.
“It is an initiative led by African American pastors, realizing that we need to pay special attention to our community – an affirmative action plan, if you please — for Black Californians who are understandably skeptical and don’t want to get vaccinated,” Van Hook said.
“Our healing, our hope, comes through vaccination,” he continued. “That is how we will push past this pandemic in a healthy way to get to our new normal.”
Now, ahead of the holidays, Van Hook and other pastors are encouraging Black Californians to get vaccinated and tested before traveling and getting together with relatives.
“A majority of the cases and deaths are among those who are unvaccinated,” said Van Hook. “For those of us who have been waiting to see what was in it, what it was all about, we now have over a year of vaccinations and nobody’s eyes have fallen out. No bug has been placed in us where we can be tracked. There are so many stories we have heard in social media.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that Black people in the United States are being hospitalized for the virus 2.6 times more than whites. According to the agency’s website, Black people are also dying of COVID-19 at nearly twice the rate of whites.
During the thick of the pandemic, the AACEC website says the pastors “stepped up,” responding to a call to action by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who asked all Californians to deploy every resource available to them to confront and defeat the deadly virus.
“Through this effort, testing of at-risk, underrepresented, and under-resourced African Americans, and all community members appearing for a test, will be phased across the state beginning in Alameda County and extending in regular intervals to encompass San Francisco, Sacramento, Solano, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Gabriel, and San Diego counties,” the AACEC website reads.
There are now also testing sites in San Bernardino County. Vaccination sites are located in Oakland, Pasadena, Sacramento and San Francisco.
Across the country, another organization called Choose Healthy Life (CHL) has similarly united Black religious leaders to battle COVID-19, opting to focus on tackling misinformation and increasing vaccination rates.
Black clergy members and civil rights leaders such as the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York, are leading the charge for this program.
“COVID-19 has exposed health disparities, and more disturbingly, the impact of misinformation among our own people. But I have looked beyond the horizon of today’s headlines. After 750,000 deaths in America and more than 5 million worldwide, the pendulum is beginning to swing —and Choose Healthy Life is at the vanguard of that change,” Sharpton said.
CHL spokesperson Judy Klym detailed the program’s scope.
“After launching CHL in 50 churches in five major cities in January 2021, the program’s expansion has led to more than 50,000 members of the public being educated and empowered,” she said. “Through this collaborative effort, more than 6 million people have been impacted. Choose Healthy Life now has 120 participating churches in 13 states.”
Klym cited the new Omicron variant as part of the reason for the urgency of this program’s implementation.
“As the threat from COVID continues with the emergence of the Omicron variant, the ongoing nature of the pandemic seems inevitable. CHL is rising to meet the challenge by building a sustainable infrastructure to help Black communities throughout the pandemic and future health crises,” Klym stated.
Debra Fraser-Howze, founder of CHL, says the Black church’s involvement in the COVID-19 fight is critical.
“The Black church and clergy have been a steadfast center of strength and leadership during so many of our crises and struggles in the past. Now, through the Choose Healthy Life Action Plan, they are once again leading the way by ensuring that Black communities are better informed and safer throughout the pandemic,” she said.
Van Hook says when vaccination began at his church earlier this year on Resurrection Sunday, he drew a parallel.
“Vaccinations equal resurrection. Both of them give life as opposed to the death that this invisible, deadly virus has ministered all over the world,” he said.
“Today, the lessons learned and visioning processes that Harry and Kay brought to fruition are responsible for tens of billions of dollars in small business inclusion programming which are now the basis for every disaster relief program. They not only made history in New Orleans but designed the base principals for recovery programs now implemented across the globe,” said Arnold Baker, president of Baker Ready Mix, LLC.
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By Larry D. Ivory, president/CEO of the Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce
Harry C. Alford, president/CEO and co-founder of the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), passed away on Monday, Dec. 6, in Washington, D.C. He was preceded in death by his wife, Kay DeBow, vice president and co-founder of the NBCC, five months ago.
In 1993, Alford moved the newly established NBCC from Indianapolis, Indiana, to Washington, D.C. The first chairman of its board was former Assistant Secretary of Labor Dr. Arthur Fletcher, the “Father of Affirmative Action.” Most of the existing Black Chambers derived from Alford’s initiatives and influence over the years.
Today, NBCC is the largest Black business organization in the world, consisting of regional organizations of Black Chambers in the United States, eight countries in Africa, 11 membership Chambers in the Caribbean and five Black Chambers in Central and South America. Black Chambers were also established in London and Paris under Alford’s leadership.
In addition to coordinating this global operation, Alford spoke before Congress on behalf of Black business, often several times a month. For many years, he served on the Board of Directors of the most influential chamber in America, the United States Chamber of Commerce, in Washington, D.C.
“When President George Bush asked Harry Alford to assist him with a strategy to identify any Black-owned businesses remaining in the Hurricane Katrina impact zone and a plan for helping them survive, he selected the right man,” said Arnold Baker, president of Baker Ready Mix, LLC.
Alford brought a fresh perspective and renewed vision that nothing was impossible and held the White House accountable for making available unfettered access to the Corps of Engineers, HUD, the Department of Commerce, and DOT for the nation’s greatest rebuild.
“Today, the lessons learned and visioning processes that Harry and Kay brought to fruition are responsible for tens of billions of dollars in small business inclusion programming which are now the basis for every disaster relief program. They not only made history in New Orleans but designed the base principals for recovery programs now implemented across the globe,” Baker said.
NBCC Board of Director Fred Jordan, of San Francisco and Oakland, California, representing the West Coast, said that the future of NBCC is bright with Charles H. DeBow III as executive director. DeBow had served previously as vice president of Global Development and Programs.
Current NBCC Board Chairman and President of the Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce, Larry Ivory, stated, “Harry Alford was the godfather of Black Chambers in the United States, and from his Washington, D.C., headquarters, gave Black business a seat at the table for over 28 years. Harry and Kay’s legacy will live on as we continue moving the National Black Chamber of Commerce’s agenda forward.”
Larry D. Ivory is the president/CEO of the Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce.
This announcement appeared on the National Black Chamber of Commerce web site.
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Onesimus. It is a name we don’t hear when we look at the history of vaccinations, but in the United States we owe a debt of gratitude to an African Slave named, Onesimus. In this video, voiced by writer and political activist, Baratunde Thurston, learn how Onesimus shared a traditional African inoculation technique that saved countless live from Smallpox and become the foundation for vaccine as we know them today, including the COVID Vaccine.
