Oakland street renamed after Black Panther Party co-founder Dr. Huey Newton

ABC7 News

February 18, 2021

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Ninth Street at the intersection of Mandela Parkway in Oakland has been renamed after the revolutionary founder of the Black Panther Party: Dr. Huey P. Newton Way.

On what would be his 79th birthday, a three-block stretch of 9th street in West Oakland now bears Huey P. Newton's name.

Fredrika Newton, founder of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation and Newton's widow, was filled with joy.

"I'm overwhelmed. It's our first tangible result of so much effort and not the last," said Newton.

"Huey made Oakland a place for revolutionary organizations to come together," says Xavier Buck, Deputy Director of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation.

Doctor Newton is one of the co-founders of the Black Panther Party. He was shot and killed at this street corner in 1989.

A small crowd was on hand for the ceremony and the unveiling that followed, which included city and community leaders and some former party members.

For decades the narrative surrounding the Black Panther Party, founded in Oakland in 1966, has centered around images of party members in black leather jackets carrying guns for protection.

But what about the Black Panther's breakfast program that became the blueprint for the federal government's school breakfast program?

Why were those positive images of the party's history largely non-existent until now?

They only like to show sinister videos or pictures of us carrying guns. That was not what the Black Panther Party is about," said Newton.

"We fed (children), we clothed them, we made sure they were healthy with free clinics. That's based on love and those were the positive things of the Black Panther Party the media never showed," she said.

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With Reforms On The Horizon, OZ Players Optimistic About The Program's Future

BisNow

January 31, 2021

As a candidate during last year's presidential election, Joe Biden promised reforms to the opportunity zone program to prevent "billionaires [from exploiting] opportunity zones tax breaks to pad their wealth."

The promise of the U.S. government’s opportunity zone program to direct long-term investments to low-income communities has been criticized as a tax loophole that largely benefits investors who have steered the money to more affluent areas. In 2019, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, the Republican from South Carolina who co-sponsored the bill that created the program, issued a program-ending warning to developers and investors targeting OZs. 

The Biden administration has yet to tinker with the program, but real estate executives in California told Bisnow last week that Biden's adjustments will likely be welcomed, and many hope that the program will become more transparent.

“Biden is likely going to look to mend, not end, opportunity zones and try to find a way to respond to the legitimate criticisms,” CalOZ President Kunal Merchant said. “I think that gives investors a sense of comfort and stability that the program is going to return to its bipartisan roots.”

The onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 boosted the program on a national scale as investors looked for places to park capital sidelined from the stock market. 

In April 2020, professional services firm Novogradac & Co. reported that the 406 opportunity zone funds nationwide listed on its site had raised more than $10B in equity before March 13, the day President Donald Trump declared a national emergency due to the coronavirus. Four months later, 580 qualified opportunity zone funds had raised $12.05B.

At the time, California was the top state for OZ investments, with over $1.19B raised, or 15.9% of total equity raised nationwide, by Novogradac’s count. Though that is the most recent information available from the firm, anecdotally, fund managers and OZ experts told Bisnow they hadn't seen evidence that the arrival of a new presidential administration has had an effect on the program to date. 

For Joan Kramer, principal and co-founder at Mountain Pacific Opportunity Partners, the last couple of quarters brought a notable increase in the number of people interested in working in opportunity zones with MPOP, which mainly works in California and the western U.S.

“We have seen a rise in investors engaged in and putting funds into OZ deals each quarter in 2020,” Kramer said. That trend continued for MPOP in 2021 to date. 

In Kramer’s view, one reason why it had taken the OZ program awhile to gain traction was that there wasn't immediate clarity about the program and its regulations. The reforms that the Biden campaign outlined would work toward adding greater transparency to the program and where the money goes and into what kind of projects, or whether the program is achieving the goals lawmakers intended. 

As it stands, the amount invested in opportunity zone funds is likely much higher than independent sites that track their progress indicate. Databases created by firms like Novogradac and organizations like the National Council of State Housing Agencies include information about OZ funds that elected to share information about their fund. There is no reporting requirement for that information attached to opportunity zone investments.

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CalOZ 2021 California State OZ Policy Brainstorm and Roundtable

CalOZ

January 13, 2021

On January 13th, 2021, CalOZ hosted a roundtable to explore how policy changes may impact the future of Opportunity Zone policy and the ecosystem overall.

Between a new President, new Congress, and new economic recovery proposals from Governor Newsom, 2021 will be a significant year for state and federal policy. This is a crucial moment for California’s Opportunity Zone communities, who have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic and economic downturn. A group of 35+ state leaders discussed potential 2021 state OZ policy proposals and strategies.

Webcast: EcoAthletes - Leveling the Playing Field - Sports & Climate Justice

Green Sports Pod

September 25, 2020

Special 2020 Climate Week Webcast Discussion hosted by EcoAthletes to explore the role of sports in climate justice issues.

CalOZ Webcast: Campaign 2020 and the Future of OZ's

CalOZ

September 17, 2020

On September 17th, 2020, CalOZ, RevOZ, SRB & Associates, the Urban Institute and Develop LLC hosted a webcast to explore how the 2020 election may impact the future of Opportunity Zone policy and the ecosystem overall.

CalOZ’s Kunal Merchant walked through the current political and policy environment around Opportunity Zones, including four potential political scenarios for 2021 and their resulting impact on OZ policy. The panelists dove into ongoing conversations about the efficacy of the OZ incentive, how various political interests may want to amend OZ policies, and how investors, communities, policymakers, and researchers can engage in the dialogue and shape the future of OZs.

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Green Sports Blog: Kunal Merchant on Intersection of Sports & Climate Justice

Green Sports Pod

September 10, 2020

Environmental justice, the disproportionate exposure of communities of color and the poor to the harmful impacts of pollution, had not gotten much oxygen in the sports world, until a groundbreaking panel discussion on the topic at the 2019 Green Sports Alliance Summit in Philadelphia. Kunal Merchant, an expert on environmental justice and the head of Lotus Advisory, a consulting firm that helps clients — including sports teams and venues — pursue transformative change, moderated.

In episode 9 of GreenSportsPod, we pick up this very important conversation with Kunal. He pushes the sports industry — and the Green-Sports niche within it — to use its influence to go much harder and deeper on environmental justice.

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