The Honorable Willie L. Brown, Jr, Esq., former mayor of San Francisco, made the case for Black students to have the financial support to attend law schools. He was the only Black graduate in his law class of 1956 out of 270 total enrollments in the entering class. He said that this under-representation of Black graduates from law schools is not much different in 2022.
Published
on
By
By Conway Jones | Post News Group
Noble Fields, J.D., was honored for her lifetime of achievements by the East Bay Law Day Group. She sponsored a fundraiser to support scholarships for Black students to attend law schools.
The Honorable Willie L. Brown, Jr, Esq., former mayor of San Francisco, hosted the event.
Mayor Brown made the case for Black students to have the financial support to attend law schools. He was the only Black graduate in his law class of 1956 out of 270 total enrollments in the entering class. He said that this under-representation of Black graduates from law schools is not much different in 2022.
He said that the decrease in Black populations in San Francisco and Oakland is contributing to the problem.
Fields, owner of Nobel Fields School of Real Estate, previewed her book, “With Pride and Dignity” during the event.
This personal narrative tells her story of a military veteran who became a millionaire through real estate investment. She calls her speech at the Commonwealth Club of California in March of 1998 her “Oscar.”
“The real estate classes that I took at Nobel Fields School of Real Estate were the foundation of my success in the industry,” said Philip Palmer, director of Government Relations, Drysdale Properties, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services.
George Floyd’s Daughter to File $250 Million Lawsuit Against Kanye West
Philip Bell Downing: Black Creativity Seen in Everyday Objects
20 Years Later, Breast Cancer Emergency Fund a Testament to Faith Fancher’s Enduring Legacy
Oakland Post: Week of March 29 – April 4, 2023
A Spike in Youth Violence Prompts School District, City Hall to Take Action
Pro-Tenant Groups, Landlords Mobilize Over City Eviction Moratorium: Oakland City Council prepares timeline to phase out eviction protections
James Ira Dancy, 65
Niagara Movement Democratic Club Celebrates 50th Anniversary
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
When a woman is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, chemotherapy and radiation often make her too weak to work. If she is working a low-paying job or unemployed, the mounting bills can become overwhelming. For 20 years, the Women’s Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) has provided a lifeline. The Berkeley-based non-profit organization administers the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, which gives cash grants of up to $595 to low-income women in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties who are battling breast cancer.
Published
on
By
By Tammerlin Drummond
When a woman is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, chemotherapy and radiation often make her too weak to work. If she is working a low-paying job or unemployed, the mounting bills can become overwhelming.
For 20 years, the Women’s Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) has provided a lifeline. The Berkeley-based non-profit organization administers the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, which gives cash grants of up to $595 to low-income women in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties who are battling breast cancer.
Grant recipients have used the money to help pay for food, utilities, rent, car insurance, medical co-pays and other necessities. One woman who was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer said she used her $595 grant to buy an oxygen concentrator.
“You could say the air I breathe is because of your generosity,” she said. “I am so incredibly grateful to you and am feeling better every day.
The fund is named in honor of Faith Fancher, a popular television reporter at KTVU who died in 2003 after a valiant battle against breast disease, the web site says. Fancher saw her own cancer as an opportunity to use her public profile to raise awareness and educate others about the importance of early detection.
Fancher founded an organization called Friends of Faith that was dedicated to raising funds for low-income women with breast cancer.
It was 20 years ago this March that Fancher first approached the Women’s Cancer Resource Center about setting up an emergency grant program for women going through breast cancer treatment.
One of the earliest recipients was a 50-year-old homeless woman who used her $595 grant to pay for moving costs into housing she could afford.
“Faith understood the financial burden that low-income individuals faced when diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Dolores Moorehead, who oversees the fund at the WCRC. “This was the first fund dedicated to financial support being offered in the East Bay.”
Over the past two decades, the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund has given out $992,000 in one-time cash grants. There have been 2,500 beneficiaries, including women and some men with breast cancer.
Ricki Stevenson, a founding member of Friends of Faith, reflected on Fancher’s legacy and the enduring impact of the emergency fund that she created.
“It says that Faith continues to be a presence and it wasn’t just about her,” Stevenson said. “It was so all of the other sisters who come behind us they now have help even though they don’t have the same resources.”
Rosie Allen, another founding member of Friends of Faith, said Fancher left a lasting impact. “Twenty years later Faith is no longer with us, but the breast cancer emergency fund lives on and the need is even greater than ever.”
The Friends of Faith used to host an annual 5K walk/run at Lake Merritt to honor Fancher after she died. It raised funds for the emergency fund and other Bay Area non-profits that provide services to breast cancer survivors.
After Friends of Faith disbanded in 2017, the To Celebrate Life Foundation, former Friends of Faith board members and community members have continued to support the breast cancer emergency fund.
Shyanne Reese used her grant to help pay her rent while she was going through breast cancer treatment.
“I often reflect on how I wish I could share with Faith the impact her life and friends made on me in a non-judgement environment, relieving the financial stress of simply paying the rent so that I could focus on healing,” Reese said.
“With your support, we are able to continue this fund and support our community members when they need us most, said WCRC Executive Director Amy Alanes.
To donate to the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency fund, visit https://tinyurl.com/FaithFancher.
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 29 – April 4, 2023
Published
on
By
To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window. 
Although California Senate Bill 357 was intended to alleviate arrests of willing sex workers under anti-loitering laws, it opened up a Pandora’s box loophole that hinders the ability of law enforcement to halt human trafficking, especially of young Black and Brown girls. This segment continues to explore the history that led to this latest form of exploitation in Oakland.
Published
on
By
By Tanya Dennis and Vanessa Russell
Although California Senate Bill 357 was intended to alleviate arrests of willing sex workers under anti-loitering laws, it opened up a Pandora’s box loophole that hinders the ability of law enforcement to halt human trafficking, especially of young Black and Brown girls. This segment continues to explore the history that led to this latest form of exploitation in Oakland.
It was 1980: The beginning of the end for the Black family and Black community as we knew it.
Crack cocaine was introduced to the United States that year and it rendered unparalleled devastation on Black folks. Crack is a solid smokable form of cocaine made by boiling baking soda, cocaine, and water into a rock that crackles when smoked.
The tremendous high — especially when first smoked — and the low cost brought temporary relief to the repeatedly and relentlessly traumatized members of the Black community.
What was unknown at the time was how highly addictive this form of cocaine would be and how harmful the ensuing impact on the Black family when the addicted Black mother was no longer a haven of safety for her children.
The form made it easy to mass produce and distribute, opening the market to anyone and everyone, including many Black men who viewed selling crack as their way out of poverty.
These two factors — addicted Black women and drug-dealing Black men — would lead to the street exploitation for sex as we know it today.
Encouraged to try it free initially, most poor, Black women in the 1980s used crack cocaine in a social setting with friends. When the free samples disappeared the drug dealer offered to supply the women crack in exchange for allowing him to sell their bodies to sex buyers.
The increase in the supply of women willing to exchange sex for crack — a.k.a. the “sex for crack barter system” — caused the price of sex to decrease and at the same time increased the demand for sex because more buyers could afford it.
The desperation of the women to get their hit of crack made them willing to endure any form of abuse and treatment from buyers during sex, including unprotected and violent sex.
It also pushed desperate Black women onto the street to pursue sex buyers, flagging down cars and willing to have sex anywhere actively and desperately. Street prostitution grew and buyers were able to buy oral sex for as little as $5.
This sex-for-crack barter system resulted in a dramatic increase in sexually transmitted diseases including HIV and AIDS, both of which are disproportionately represented among Black people.
It also resulted in unplanned pregnancies by unknown fathers, which then resulted in children born addicted to crack who were immediately placed in the foster care system where they were often abused and/or neglected.
For his part, the Black man who engaged in the mass production and distribution of crack was often killed by gun violence while fighting over drug territory or incarcerated for long periods of time as use and sales and distribution of crack carried longer sentences than powdered cocaine.
Crack unleashed an entire chain of new trauma upon the Black family which then all but collapsed under this latest social attack that had started with chattel slavery, followed by Jim Crow, redlining, school segregation, food deserts, et. al.
Exploitation was and is at the root of the crack cocaine epidemic. It is the latest weapon used to prey upon Black people since the beginning of our time in the United States.
The sex industry and legislation like SB357 have only increased harm to Black people who have been historically oppressed with racist laws and epidemics including crack. More must be done to restore the Black community.
Tanya Dennis serves on the Board of Oakland Frontline Healers (OFH) and series co-author Vanessa Russell of “Love Never Fails Us” and member of OFH. 
Home-based business with potential monthly income of $10K+ per month. A proven training system and website provided to maximize business effectiveness. Perfect job to earn side and primary income. Contact Lynne for more details: Lynne4npusa@gmail.com 800-334-0540
Oakland Post: Week of March 29 – April 4, 2023
Oakland Post: Week of March 22 – 28, 2023
Oakland Post: Week of March 15 – 21, 2023
Oakland Post: Week of March 8 – 14, 2023
Oakland Post: Week of March 1 – 7, 2023
Help Save North Oakland Missionary Baptist Church, the 2nd oldest Black Church in Oakland
Hidden History Black Museum Opens in Los Angeles
Alameda County Supervisors Will Allow Tenant Eviction Protections to Expire at End of April: Oakland’s eviction moratorium remains in effect for local residents
Copyright ©2021 Post News Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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.
