Blog Posts
#NoDAPL: “Water is Life” is more than a phrase
By: Anthony Williams, Staff Writer December 16, 2016 Our material reality as Black folks is rooted in this country’s traumatic origins, and it still shows today. Given the recent victory in North Dakota, we must extend gratitude to Indigenous water protectors and allies for obstructing the damaging Dakota Access Pipeline. After seeing such a show
A Look at BOP’s Integrated Voter Engagement Program
By Jasmine Williams, Staff Writer December 16, 2016 “IVE was amazing. The door-knocking just brought us together as a community and reminded us why we value face to face interactions with the community,” “The work we did with IVE was very unique. It was work by Black people for Black people. you could feel the
Post-Election Thoughts: What’s Changed?
By: Shani Ealey, Staff Writer December 16, 2016 Knots and twists. What are they? It’s that feeling you get when something is fundamentally in direct opposition with your spirit, heart, and mind. That uncomfortable turning in your stomach signaling that something is incredibly off. Not right. Your body’s internal alarm letting you know that something
The Militarization of Police: An Extension of the COINTELPRO
A few weeks ago the news showed a quick glimpse of a scene and there were 4 or 5 police officers hanging on to a tank. This was not somewhere across the world. It could have been South LA or Sacramento or San Leandro or Ferguson Missouri, but it wasn’t. This was in East Oakland. We
Black Panthers’ Oakland Community School: A Model for Liberation
by Shani Ealey, Staff Writer November 3, 2016 Community. It is all about community. This was the common theme repeated at the Oakland Community School panel discussion with Ericka Huggins at the Black Panther Party’s 50th Anniversary Conference. This October the Black Panther Party for Self Defense celebrated it’s 50th anniversary. The four day anniversary conference was
Where Do We Go From Here? BOP Sits Down with Former Black Panther
Steve McCutchen Interview .mov The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was a revolutionary organization founded in 1966 in Oakland, California. The Party not only united Black communities across the country but served as springboard for the movement towards Black liberation. It is because of the revolutionary spirit left behind by the Panthers and other inspirational
BOP Youth Speak out on Police in Schools
POLICE HAVE NO PLACE IN SCHOOLS! Why is it that our nation feels it is ok to prioritize police over counselors and teachers? Police are not mentors , educators, or counselors. Policing and the over criminalization of Black youth has been proven to create hostile and unwelcoming environments that lead to Black youth being funneled
Message to the DOJ: Cops Are Not Educators or Mentors!
by Shani Ealey, Staff Writer October 18, 2016 Earlier this month, The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Education (DOE) released guidance and recommendations 1 calling for expanding– rather than eliminating– police in schools. In addition, they called for increased funding for the DOJ’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. The DOJ has chosen to take
Returning Back to Ourselves: What Black August Teaches Us
by Shani Ealey, Staff Writer August 25, 2016 It is an interesting time to be Black in America. With ever-evolving technology and the prevalence and hyper-usage of social media, we are living in a time where we see, learn and experience a lot at once. Through technology we are experiencing first-hand, the violent assault of Black
Uplifting Young Black Leaders: BOP’s Summer Youth Space Wrap Up
As the end of August nears and the new school year approaches, we have bid our goodbyes to our youth interns from our Summer Youth Space. Although we like to view our goodbye’s as “see you laters”, the moment still has been bittersweet. Within a short period time we have not only built bonds, but
Changing School Culture: 5 Schools Practicing Restorative Justice
by Shani Ealey, Staff Writer August 25, 2016 The end of August is quickly approaching which means many of our students will be getting ready for the new school year. School is the place for new possibilities and higher learning. It is a place where youth are encouraged and supported throughout their academic journey. Unfortunately, this isn’t
Our Determination Will Set Us Free!
On July 5th, Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old Black man, was wrestled to the ground and executed by Baton Rouge police officers for selling cds outside of a food mart. One day later, Diamond “Lavish” Reynolds captured the murder of her boyfriend Philando Castile, a 32-year-old Black man, by Minnesota police on her cell phone and