Reginald James

Welcome to Homepage of Photojournalist Reginald James

2012-02-01T15:46:00.000-08:00

Reginald, son of Deborah James, was born in Oakland, CA and raised in the nearby island city of Alameda. He is currently studying Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, after transferring from Laney College, where he focused on African American Studies, journalism, and political science.

He enjoys reading, poetry, theater, arts and photography. He loves to play outside and enjoys hiking, canoeing, bicycling and hunting (for oxygen).

In addition to poetry and theater, Reginald is the host of the internet radio show, "The Black Hour" on 9th Floor Radio and blogs about education at The Peralta Report.

His personal blog is The Daily Regiment. If you didn't know; Hotep means peace.

Reginald James to Study in Africa

2012-01-20T14:18:00.000-08:00

Reginald James to Study in Africa
Oakland Post
January 8, 2012

UC Berkeley student Reginald James is heading to Africa to spend a semester at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, where he will study East African culture, history, music, politics and the Swahili language.

“I’ve been interested in Africa, Tanzania, and Swahili since I was a child,” James said. “Our oldest human ancestors come from Tanzania, and Africa’s largest mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro, is here too.”

After independence, Tanzania embarked on a path of “Ujamaa,” which means “familyhood” in Swahili. People who celebrate Kwanzaa will recognize the word as the fourth principle of “Cooperative Economics.”

The phrase comes from national independence leader Dr. Julius Nyerere’s vision for African Socialism.

At UC Berkeley, James is studying Political Science and African American Studies. He transferred from Laney College last spring.
This is his second trip to Africa. In 2010, he studied in Kemet (Egypt) with Merritt College’s Africana Studies program.

James is a photojournalist and host of the Internet radio show, The Black Hour. Upon his return, he hopes to speak about what he has learned at East Bay schools and colleges.

Read his travel blog at http://reginaldtz.blogspot.com. Photo by Adam Taylor.

This article was originally posted on the Oakland Post, and later ReginaldTZ.com.

Film shows tough times on West End

2011-02-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

Film shows tough times on West End

Alameda Journal
February 22, 2008

By Alan Lopez

About 30 minutes into the new documentary: "Civic Unity: Five Years in the West End of Alameda" the focus turns to the new Bayport Housing development, where homes now sell for upwards of $800,000. It's 2004, the homes are being constructed and Laurie Fry, principal at Chipman Middle School, explains that the area is seeing new forces of gentrification.

From there, the 73-minute film documents the mass eviction of more than 400 residents at the nearby Harbor Island Apartments, a process that began July 22 of that year.

When filmmaker Gary Weimberg and his wife Catherine Ryan began the film project, it wasn't exactly what they had expected. They were hired to produce a film in 2002 about the Koshland Civic Unity Program of the San Francisco Foundation.

The filmmakers document the results of the five-year, $300,000 grant overseen by a hand-picked resident-based committee. The committee includes the Rev. Michael Yoshi, Buena Vista United Methodist Church pastor, community activist Vickie Smith, management consultant and volunteer Phil Holt, student and mother Tamara Centeno, and school principal Niel Tam.

The film offers short, compelling biographies of several of the participants, as well as numerous scenes of familiar West End life, from bicycle riders at Alameda Point, to residents picking up bags of groceries at the Alameda Food Bank. And it shows the process - the meetings, the friendships born and nurtured - the committee went through to allocate "mini grants" to local organizations in the name of strengthening community ties and communication.

But the committee changes its focus when the Harbor Island residents receive their eviction notices. Yoshi says the group needs to be a strong voice for the evicted. "This is outrageous," he says.

Meanwhile, the affected people living at the apartments are dumfounded. "They don't have a heart," then-resident Lily Thorton says.

Angry residents attend a meeting given by the owners of the apartments.

"How long have you been in the practice of destroying communities, creating homeless and turning children's lives upside down?" asks one woman, angrily. "Is this a pattern you're familiar with, and have you no emotional response to it?"

The residents guffaw in mockery when the apartment owners offer a moving stipend of just more than $700.

When Reggie James, the young coordinator for an after-school program, attempts to lead a camera person inside the apartments, he's stopped by what appears to be private security guards.

Later, he's seen inside his apartment, picking up the last of his belongings and reminiscing about where he and his friends used to hang out.

"It's a bitter-ass day," says the 14-year resident matter-of-factly . "I mean, Bush got re-elected. ... I gotta get the heck out of here."

Weimberg, an Emmy-award winning documentary film producer from Berkeley, said he believed no other film has captured Alameda life in quite the same way.

Weimberg originally produced a documentary looking at the overall Koshland program, which provides grants for strengthening individual neighborhoods around the Bay Area. After that, it was decided that a documentary focusing on one neighborhood should be done and Alameda's West End was chosen.

Five years later, residents at the Harbor Island apartments are out, and the apartments have been renovated and given a new name: Summer House.

The film notes that the West End and Alameda are on the cusp of even bigger change.

"Alameda is in a state of transition," Tam notes.

The film ends a hopeful but unresolved note. The Koshland committee discusses the possibility of collaborating with the Alameda Unified School District for future programs serving children .

Harmony Karp, the coordinator for the Koshland grant, said details are still being worked on those programs but that more information would be provided at the film screening planned at the College of Alameda on March 1.

IF YOU GO

The film "Civic Unity: Five Years in the West End of Alameda" will be screened 4 to 6 p.m., March 1, at the College of Alameda, F Building, student lounge, 555 Atlantic Ave. The film will be followed by a discussion with filmmakers Gary Weimberg and Catherine Ryan as well as residents spotlighted in the film. For more information, call 415-733-8558.

Laney Tower - Laney Writer Honored

2010-10-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

Laney Writer Honored
Laney Tower
October 14, 2010

By Tracey Tate

The Bay Area Black Journalists Association (BABJA) awarded Laney College student, Reginald James, the Chauncey Wendell Bailey Jr. Scholarship on Oct. 2. At the Seventh Annual Young Journalists Scholarship Gala, held at Scott's Seafood Restaurant in Jack London Square, James received a check for $2,500 for his work as a student journalist.

James, a former editor-in-chief of the Laney Tower, received his associates arts degree in Journalism from Laney this year and has been accepted to the University of California at Berkeley for the spring 2011 semester. He plans to study political science at Cal while continuing his personal journalistic endeavors.

In 2004 James, an Alameda resident, decided to pursue journalism when he realized that "the press didn't represent my community's voice."

A controversial incident in West Alameda that uprooted his family and hundreds of others, spurred James to pursue his educational path in journalism. It was then that James noticed that "they [the press] did not speak to me or for me."

While studying journalism at Laney, James has honed his news writing, newspaper design and photography skills. Excerpts from his body of work at the Tower, along with an essay answering the question "What will you do to impact your community as a journalist?" earned James the Bailey Scholarship.

Present at the awards ceremony which honored KCBS Radio Broadcaster Bob Butler, were legends in local media, including Belva Davis, Barbara Rogers and current KRON anchor Pam Moore. On being in the presence of such journalistic icons, James said, "As a young journalist, is was humbling to be honored by a group of black media professionals."

James' other media endeavors include his radio show--"The Black Hour," "The Peralta Report" and his role as a contributing editor to Oakland Local. He hopes to contribute to the Daily Californian when he continues his studies at Cal, as well as to the Black Student magazine, "Onyx."

A major milestone for James was writing for the San Francisco Bay View newspaper, and getting paid as a professional journalist. His future goals include building a hyper-local website for his community in west Alameda.

Oakland Local - BABJA Gala Celebrates Excellence in Journalism, Past Present and Future

2010-07-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

BABJA Gala Celebrates Excellence in Journalism, Past Present and Future
OaklandLocal.com
October 4, 2010

By Niema Jordan

Media professionals, students, and community members gathered in Jack London this weekend for the 7th Annual Young Journalists Scholarship Gala. One of the many projects coordinated by the Bay Area Association of Black Journalists (BABJA), the event honored broadcast journalist and industry mentor Bob Butler for his contributions both past and present. BABJA also awarded scholarships to students pursing careers in journalism highlighting the work they are doing and the work they will do years from now.

The event kicked of with a reception, giving attendees a chance to network over hors d’oeuvres and drinks. During the Gala program slides and special video were shown honoring Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Bob Butler. A number of people who have worked with and been impacted by Butler, spoke at the Gala and sent video messages. Butler shared stories about how he became the journalist he is today, including his move from DJing parties to reading the news just to get on air.

Reginald James was one of two scholarship recipients. A student at Peralta colleges who will start full-time at UC Berkeley for spring semester, he received the Chauncey Bailey Scholarship. When James accepted his award he explained how being disappointed in local media coverage led him to dedicate himself to journalism.

His mission in the field became extremely clear when he ended his speech reciting and encouraging others to repeat the “Credo for the Negro Press”:

I Shall Be A Crusader...
I Shall Be An Advocate...
I Shall Be A Herald...
I Shall Be A Mirror And A Record...
I Shall Have Integrity...
I Shall be a crusader and an advocate, a mirror and a record, a herald and a spotlight, and I Shall not falter.
So help me God.

MEDIA

2009-07-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

Videos

You Tube

Daily Motion

Photos

Flickr

Picasa

James honored at JACC convention

2009-04-09T06:34:00.000-07:00

James honored at JACC convention
Laney Tower
April 9, 2009

By Chris Devine

Former Tower Editor-in-Chief Reginald James received two awards from the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) State Convention.

He received First Place for Student Designed Advertisement for "The Tower Bunch" ad, and a Meritorious Award for Enterprise Story for a piece on work-study disparities. The awards were distributed Friday night at one out of the many events held at this years conference in Sacramento. The two awards were the only two brought in by Laney.

The conference was held from March 26-28 at the Double Tree in Sacramento. The event welcomed community colleges across the state, and offered countless resources for journalism students.

Workshops covering subjects such as journalists' rights, sports writing, and on-the-spot competitions with an equally wide array of subjects. Students found plenty of things to do over the weekend. There were ways for students to quench their thirst for knowledge in an ever changing field.

The conference kicked off with Marie Lundstrom's keynote address Thursday night. Lundstrom is a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter from the Sacramento Bee. She offered insight into the world of journalism, and investigative reporting, detailing her own gruesome investigation into the failure of Sacramento County Child Protected Services to prevent child deaths, she drove home her point with a morbid power point presentation of song and photos of children that have lost their lives to abuse.

Donned in red press passes and sun block, students were seen moving in and out of the hotel in unprecedented masses to catch buses that came by to pick up students willing to take on competitions and cover facets of Sacramento life. Others opted for the sterile air conditioned rooms of the workshops.

The event was capped off with a dinner and award ceremony. These awards were for participants of the aforementioned competitions. On Sunday, students left to return to their respective colleges.

The next State JACC convention will be held in Los Angeles in 2010, while the NorCal conference will be held in October.

For info, visit jacconline.org.

ARTICLES

2009-04-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

Black News

Higher Education

Transportation and Land Use
Relating to transportation, parking and land use

Justice

Crime

Environment

Global warming teach-in held - News

2009-02-18T14:01:00.000-08:00

You don't have to have Super Powers to save the world. You just need information and dedication.

That was the message given to students during the National Teach-In on Global Warming held Feb. 5 at Laney College.

"You've heard about global warming and climate change, but not you're going to hear some of the details," said Geography Professor Mark Rauzon; organizer of Laney's teach-in. Laney joined millions of people, including 67 California schools-eighteen of which were community colleges-who participated in a dialogue to save the impoverished planet.

Global warming is the increase in the Earth's temperature. While there are natural causes, the heating of the globe has increased due to human activity.

Laney's teach-in began with a web cast with messages from national leaders in the fight against global warming, including a welcome from U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), chair of the Senate Environmental Committee.

"Unless we act, we face rising sea levels, more frequent droughts and floods, loss of species and spreading disease," said Boxer. "The steps we take to combat global warming will create good jobs, make us more energy independent and reinvigorate our economy."

Boxer was followed by Eban Goodstein, national teach-in co-director.

"You will be the greatest generation because you will bring an end to global warming," said Goodstein, who also organized 'Focus the Nation'-the 2008 teach-in that included nearly 2000 colleges, schools and community organizations. He said the National Teach-In was organized to encourage Americans to discuss solutions for the first 100 days of the new administration. "You have to demand leadership from faculty" on campus "and demand action from Congress," he added.

Goodstein emphasized the need for young people to stay involved, especially with the momentum gained from the recent election, which young people largely decided.

"If congress wants to keep their seats," he said, "they have to listen to you."

Former Laney Tower Editor-in-Chief Reginald James, who now works at Alameda Contra-Costa Transit (AC Transit), shared his own personal experiences with environmentalism and the power students have to enact change.

"My introduction to environmentalism was through recycling, but I didn't do it for Mother Earth," said James. "I collected cans for cash. A different kind of 'green' and a different kind of 'change,' right?"

James shared his experience as a student advocating for a discounted group bus pass program for Peralta students. A pilot program called the Peralta EasyPass began in 2008 and over 1,200 students took advantage in the fall semester, according to James.

"Students have power, but you have to exercise it," said James. "You can help us with the upcoming referendum to make the bus pass program permanent or join your campus' 'Green Club.' We are the greatest generation; we just have to act like it."

Source: Global warming teach-in, Laney Tower, February 2009

Articles by Reginald James - Transportation and Land Use

2008-11-21T10:46:00.001-08:00

Transportation
Proposition A: EasyPass
Laney Tower, 5/14/09

Students win big with discount bus passes
Laney Tower, 7/26/08

Senate Higher Education Committee unanimously approves AB 1980
Laney Tower, 6/19/08

Board approves AC Transit proposal
Laney Tower, 5/22/08

AC Transit considers fee increases
Laney Tower, 5/8/08

Peralta students closer to discount bus passes
Laney Tower, 5/8/08

Board increases parking lot fee
Laney Tower, 4/24/08

Tower building evacuated
Laney Tower, 4/10/08

Board pulls bus pass proposal from agenda
Laney Tower, 3/13/08

Peratla board to vote on AC Transit pilot program
Laney Tower, 11/29/07

Back to Articles

Trustees lend an ear

2007-12-17T06:02:00.000-08:00

Trustees lend an ear
Laney Tower
December 17, 2007

By Lucy Taube

In a parallel universe, Laney Students were lining up at the mic to voice their concerns about the campus to their student trustees during a recent Town Hall Meeting.

In this universe, the roar lulled for a few moments as trustee Reginald James attempted to coax a response from the crowd, as he put it, "between bites of French fries, soup and everything." Growling stomachs aside, it became clear that students weren't ready to step up to the soapbox. "Well that's good news, everything is fine with Peralta," James joked to the crowd. Could it be true? Everything was fine, no one was having problems with the food, the classes, the financial aid tangle?

Abandoning the soapbox for small group conversations, James and Marlene Hurd, the other student trustee, made their way from table to table soliciting responses from groups of hungry Laney students. After a moment it became clear that everything was, in fact, not fine here at Laney College.

As students and student trustees began their dialogue everything from microwaves to military recruiters came up in the true spirit of a Town Hall Forum.

This meeting is the latest in a series as Peralta student trustees make their way around the Peralta campuses to ask students what they can do for them. Many students do not know who to talk to about issues they may be having at school.

One student spoke to Hurd regarding a project she had done in her class in which they found less than three percent of students had ever used the transfer center. Another group of students complained to James about the color of the classrooms.

Though aesthetic concerns may seem inconsequential, James pointed out later in an interview that to students what often comes to mind first in this sort of forum are the small things that affect them on a day-to-day basis.

Hurd and James have heard a huge range of issues during this last round of meetings. Just a few of the concerns they heard were regarding the financial aid bureaucracy, safety on and around campus at night, military recruiters on campus and the need for more food choice in cafeterias

Above all the message from the Student Trustees to students was a loud "We hear you."

It was apparent at the Laney Town Hall forum that student trustees were more than just representatives to the students -they were friends and allies. James and Hurd both urged their fellow students to come and be vocal at board meetings when there is an issue the board should know about it. As James quoted Hurd, "the Board doesn't hear these things."

To share your concerns or ideas with your Peralta Student Trustees Hurd and James, email them at mchurd(at)peralta(dot)edu or rjames(at)peralta(dot)edu, respectively.

Photo: Felix Solomon/LaneyTower.com

Peralta's Reggie James Elected to California Community Colleg Trustees Board of Directors

2007-09-10T13:12:00.000-07:00

Peralta's Reggie James Elected to the California Community College Trustees Board of Directors

Reginald James, Student Member of the Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees, was elected to the California Community College Trustees (CCCT) Board of Directors at the League's Student Trustee Workshop, August 10 - 11.

Reginald earned his Associate of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from the College of Alameda, and is serving a second term as a student trustee for Peralta. He will serve a one-year term on the CCCT board, which meets five times a year.

Peralta News - Students Trustees, Ready to Change the Status Quo

2007-07-10T13:08:00.000-07:00

Peralta’s Student Trustees; Ready to Change the Status Quo
Peralta News Centre
January 2007

By Eve Pearlman

Marlene Hurd, one of two students elected last June to the Peralta Community Colleges board of trustees, is in the Merritt College Admissions and Records Building on a recent sunny afternoon. Every minute or two her conversation is interrupted by other students asking for help: “Where do I get a course catalog?” asks one. “Where do I buy books?” queries another.

Hurd, a 54-year-old Laney College political science major, is patient and kind with each questioner. She wants to help them find their way. “Look,” she says, gesturing to a long line of students. “That’s our future. When I look at them I want to give them hope.”

Hurd herself first began taking courses at Laney after graduating from high school in Vallejo in 1971. But school didn’t stick then for the San Francisco native. “I didn’t see education as a valuable thing then—so I dropped out,” she said. Decades later, after raising a daughter and working 19 years for a payroll company, a disabling vocal cord injury left her unable to do her job, and she returned to Laney.

Now Hurd and co-trustee 24-year-old Reginald James are deeply committed to being strong advocates, working to make sure student concerns and needs are heard—both on the board of trustees and in other forums.

“You have to earn peoples’ respect and we make sure we do that by the work we do,” said James, who hopes that by taking an active role in student affairs he will inspire others—including the young people he works with as a program assistant at the Alameda Boy’s and Girl’s Club.

James, who graduated from Alameda’s Encinal High in 2000, was himself propelled into student affairs when, as a representative for College of Alameda’s Black Student Union, he attended a state-wide conference of community colleges groups. “I’d never seen anything like it in Alameda,” said James, who was also inspired his experience addressing the crowd at a 2003 Sacramento rally against cuts to community college funding. “I saw people getting involved and making a difference together,” said James. “It was an amazing experience, being in a place where all these people share a common goal."

Both Hurd and James have spent years building the skills they need to be successful advocates for change. James, who studied psychology and sociology at College of Alameda before transferring to Laney to study political science, served on COA’s Black Student Union’s board as president and secretary/treasurer and was also a senator and vice president for COA’s associated student government.

Hurd has served as secretary and senator for Laney’s student government, winning the Chancellor’s Trophy Scholarship Award in 2006. She counts among her most valuable experiences interning in the offices of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson. Working for elected officials, says Hurd, has allowed her to see how much responsibility they carry and how much hard work they do. She’s also gotten a glimpse at the problems with the political system. “As a student leader, I’d like to become a part of that change of process,” said Hurd.

The two student trustees see eye to eye on the need to work together to create a strong student voice for such things as better customer service for students, improved financial aid, and more unified policies between Peralta colleges.

“Why when I go to Alameda it’s done one way? And when I go to Laney it’s done another way?” asks Hurd, who would like to see a cross-college standardized of procedures and policies. James would like to see the separate colleges work to borrow successful policies and programs from one another. “We’re interested in getting the community colleges to be colleges of the community,” said James

After Laney, James says he would like to go to law school and build a career in public service. Hurd has her eye University of California, Berkeley, where she plans to study political science and public policy. For now, both Hurd and James are working hard to make the Peralta colleges better places.

“Our job as student leaders is to inspire others and get them the tools they need to be successful, and then we’ll all be stronger together,” said James. “We’re just peers who’ve stepped up to do positive things.”

Alameda Open Mic Event Gives all a place to speak

2006-02-06T10:23:00.000-08:00

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OPEN MIKE EVENT GIVES ALL A PLACE TO SPEAK
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Alameda Journal
January 24, 2006
By KARA ANDRADE

On Friday night at the Esperanza Community Center, Nina Nero, 22, a mother of two children who has been accepted to UC Davis, steps up to the microphone, unfazed by the 40 people in front of her.

She's confident, even though she hasn't been to one of these Boys and Girls Club open mike events. She doesn't know what to expect from the diverse group ranging in age from 3 to 60 -- some wearing hoodies, baggy pants, others with silver Raiders boots or Muslim hijabs.

The event is called "Living King's Dream," and it's the third open mike coordinated by Alamedan Reggie James.

Nero, who's in her last semester at College of Alameda, shares a poem about when she turned 22. The poem is called, "If Only I Had Listened to Mama."

"Mama used to say a hard head is a soft behind, but what did Mama know she wasn't from my era or time?" Nero read. "Tonight I'm here to tell you my mama sure was right. If I had given her a little more credit, I would have saved so much energy/I would have strived for my full potential instead of settling for less ... At 21, I should be out trying to see the world instead of working as a cashier wondering if I'm having a boy or a girl/I should be in line for books instead of a county check/I should be the doctor saying, 'OK, nurse, who's next?"

For the next three minutes of her poem, the room -- which had been buzzing with the ringing of cell phones, people changing seats or chatting while families continue to arrive -- falls silent.

When she finishes reading there is a loud applause and then Jamari Caldwell steps up to rap about the media's depiction of young people; another rapper who goes by LRC talks of the death of his mom on Dec. 1; Mary Rudge, poet laureate of Alameda, reads her poems, and the activities go on well into the evening.

Between performers, children from Woodstock and other elementary schools read passages from Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

James is the emcee and deftly orchestrates the event, taking calls during performances, welcoming people, lovingly nudging the younger participants to participate and, above all, using humor. He makes jokes about people coming from Los Angeles on the Greyhound bus or all the way from Richmond for the event. It's hard to tell if he's kidding as the room becomes more crowded and people stand in the back. He continues to offer up the microphone to whoever wants to share.

"People need a place to express themselves. (Open mikes) give them this opportunity and they can hear what other people have to say and get different ideas from each other," said James, who wears an oversized black shirt that says "Danger, educated Black man" and has a hug for everyone that he sees.

For Nero, the success of these events shows how necessary they are.

"I think a lot of times the young generation gets criticized for speaking what's on their mind," she said. "It's nice to be in an environment where you can say whatever's on your mind without other people getting offended."

The open mikes have become increasingly popular, especially among high school students, since the first one was held in July. Many of the young people performing are also in James' creative writing class, where he teaches them how to write poetry and other genres. .

"Kids don't know that they don't just have to write in school or about school. In class we start with a little poetry and then get them writing about different things like current events or their feelings," said James, who hopes to have monthly open mikes.

"I just want to get them writing. They have these avenues like Youth Outlook, YouthSpeaks, and a lot of them aren't taking advantage of those opportunities. I wish I had had known about these opportunities when I was younger."

Musa Balde, director of the nonprofit Timbuktu Educational Foundation, who sat with his wife and children, said open mikes are an important opportunity for young people to be part of a larger community.

"There's a great need for this (event) because it provides them with knowledge and gives them confidence by expressing themselves freely. It helps them become better people in life and in their communities," Balde said.

Encinal High School student Jaime Moreno, 16, manages the sound for the event and even though he doesn't perform he enjoys being a part of it.

"I like that the raps get you thinking, and thinking's always positive," Moreno said. "I also like how people take the rappers seriously and give them respect."

Moreno, who has his own band called Internal Records, hopes to begin a career in music recording when he graduates.

Before the event began, Woodstock Elementary students Flenoid McCleary, 10, and Danielle Garrett, 11, argued about which passages they were going to read from the Martin Luther King Jr. speech. They were both nervous about reading, but there was no doubt about why they were there.

"I'm doing this because I really admire Martin Luther King Jr. and I think he was really strong and made people come together. I think he would be very happy with what happens here," Garrett said.

Local (Alameda) Graduate Inspires Youth

2005-06-30T12:56:00.000-07:00

Local Graduate Inspires Youth
Alameda Sun
Thursday, June 30, 2005

By Valerie Creque

Aries are said to be independent, pioneers and natural leaders. For one 23-year-old College of Alameda (COA) graduate, these characteristics ring true. Through adversity, this young man became a voice for the voiceless.

Reggie James leads by example and reaches out to the community through his activism. May 27 James received Associate of Arts degrees in sociology and psychology — two of six A.A.s he plans to earn.

James was born in Oakland, grew up in Alameda and attended Encinal High School. Along with his single mother, Deborah, James briefly stayed in a shelter on Constitution Way before moving to the Buena Vistas, now known as the Harbor Island apartment complex. In November 2004, James, his mother and more than 1,000 other residents received eviction notices. James and his mother moved out right away. Some residents felt the
evictions were unjust. James spoke out.

“I tried to represent the voice of the young people,” he said. “That was a voice that wasn’t being heard.”

James had to attend classes while he and his mother looked for another place in Alameda. He took action and joined the Harbor Island Tenants Association (HITA). James went to meetings and reported back to other residents.

“It was kind of natural that I was involved,” James said.

He found himself in protests and speaking before the city council.

James felt he was not only representing youth, but also the disabled, immigrants and refugees.

Through his Harbor Island activism, James met Mosetta Rose London. Though not a tenant of the complex, London spoke on behalf of those evicted from Harbor Island.

“I really respect the young man,” London said. “In spite of all the stress, Reggie kept going — he didn’t just give up.”

James is also member of Renewed Hope, a nonprofit that aims to find affordable housing on the Island. James said people shouldn’t have to be part of the elite to live in Alameda.

While at COA, James became vice president of the Black Student Union, an organization that serves as a support network for black students.

True to the word’s meaning, James said, “Commencement for me is just the beginning.”

Even though he graduated, James is still attending COA. He plans to continue his education and earn A.A.s in business, English, African-American studies and social sciences.

Until then, James will continue his job as activities director of the West Alameda Team
Club. There, James mentors adolescents and helps them create resumes.

Eventually, James hopes to transfer to San Francisco State and study psychology.

“I love working directly with youth,” he said. “What I definitely see myself doing with my life is community building.”

After the ceremony, James headed to work — in full cap and gown — so the kids could visualize his insight. Then, he walked past his old, now boarded up Harbor Island apartment. And instead of partying, James headed home for a nap.

New ( Alameda) Basketball League Fires Up Summertime

2005-02-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

NEW BASKETBALL LEAGUE FIRES UP SUMMERTIME
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Alameda Journal
August 2, 2005
By KARA ANDRADE
STAFF WRITER

FROM ITS PARKING lot, Chipman Middle School is like any other school during the long drowsy days of summer, abandoned and forgotten in the minds of most students. But the sudden shouts and squeaking of shoes by the gym wakens the evening as teenagers pour out from the side doors in clusters of horseplay and laughter.

"Get it from them, Manny!" shouts James Howard, coach of the Alameda Point Stallions who are competing with the Slammers as part of the Boys & Girls Club newly formed basketball league, which began July 19. "Don't waste the clock!"

Howard paces as if caged behind the sidelines.

The score is 8 to 2, there are two minutes left on the clock, and the Stallions are ablaze in a desperate attempt to bring a respectable ending to the 10-minute game. The clock is relentless, and Dan Nguyen, program director for the Boys & Girls Club of Alameda, holds a whistle between his lips as he perpetually flags his arm at the players.

Then it begins, one basket, swoosh, a swarm of arms and legs tilt to one side of the court, the gaggle of teenagers' heads by the bleachers moves in unison to one side and then the next. Then, swoosh, again, swoosh, again and again. The buzzer goes off as the ball trickles out from the basket, and then there's a sudden flying of arms and yells echoing through the gym.

"Yeah, that's right! The game is over! No time out, the game is over!" Howard yells out proudly as one of his players comes flying at him.

"We won!" says Encinal High School student Jerrard Green, 15. "It feels good to win. We don't always win, but I like coming here (to the Boys & Girls Club) to play and share with people."

He runs back out to the court as the next teams lines up.

"You have to meet them where they're at," said Reginald Harrison, 29, youth program specialist for the Alameda Point Collaborative, an agency that is working with the Boys & Girls Club to make the league possible. "Basketball is what they like, and you have to reach a balance between giving them what they like and connecting and exposing them to new things."

The free basketball league was formed in response to requests made from Boys & Girls Club teens at the West Alameda Teen Center and Chipman Middle School, who wanted more organized sports. It is the brainchild of program aid Reginald James, 23, and Nguyen, 29. James and Nguyen come from similar low-income backgrounds in Oakland as do many of the mostly African-American teens they are serving. They were both involved in after-school programs, such as the YMCA and park department basketball leagues that were popular with their peers when they were growing up.

"The league would give them a place to go that's safe and can relieve their tension," Nguyen says. "These kids are good athletes coming from a lot of adversity, something I also had to deal with coming from a poor background. Being here gives them something they really need in their lives."

With this in mind, Nguyen and James held a draft on July 15 at the Boys and Girls Club's satellite site formed in collaboration with Chipman Middle School. Six teams were formed, named by the team members: Taylor Street Triple Threat, Alameda Point Stallions, Slammers, We Serving Early, Cross Overs, and the (Buena Vista) Boss Ballers. Coaches were also picked by the team members and James and Nguyen serve as referees (They also play on teams when they're not refereeing).

On July 21, the Boys and Girls Club had its first 10-minute streetball pick-up game -- rapid games normally seen on playgrounds -- complete with referees and an audience of 60-70 teens who keep coming back every Tuesday and Thursday.

Some of the girls participate, although many of them opt for socializing by the bleachers or going bowling with program assistant Shana Hullana.

The league has since grown in popularity and has become a hub of socializing as the bleachers buzz with gossip, while everyone, at all times, keeps up with the rhythm of the game.

"Basketball catches the eye of the inner city kids," Howard says. "They see people who look like them, who are coming from similar backgrounds and succeeding, and they connect with it. This game teaches them discipline and how to work as a team to compete. I have yet to see a physical confrontation."

Although there have been no confrontations, there has been an "incident" which Boys & Girls Club Director George Phillips is quick to address at the beginning of Thursday evening's games. Phillips calls a quick pause to the games and stands in the center of the court in order to address a now very serious and somber group of teens. As they listen quietly, Phillips talks about how last week Nguyen had $200 in cash and credit cards stolen from his car when a teen took his car keys from where he had set them by the scoreboard.

Nobody moves as Phillips matter-of-factly tells the story.

"It's wrong, we all know it's wrong, and that's not what we're here for," Phillips says sternly. "We all work hard to make this program available to all of you and I know it's important to you. When we find out who did it, (that person) will not be a part of this program. This behavior is unacceptable."

The silence holds and Phillips does not belabor the point. "Now let's play."

Although Nguyen is disappointed by this incident, his resolve is unshaken. "It comes with the territory," Nguyen says. "They are coming from rough lives. My work is very gratifying to me because it reminds me of when I was a kid and was in their shoes."

Nguyen envisions the league growing to include more hours, like other programs that go to 2 a.m. He would like see full-on referees, open gym and more midnight basketball sessions. The league, which is popular among teens, has also sparked a lot of attention among adults.

"The fire department called and expressed interest in an adult team. I'm thinking we can have the adults play with the kids, or East End vs. West End and then play at a larger gym like Encinal High School."

For now, Nguyen is seen darting across the court in sync with the flurry of bodies that rush from end to end in this last month before school begins. Nguyen said the games will culminate with playoffs in August and a tournament style game with single elimination.

"But that's just the beginning," Nguyen said as a broad smile crossed his face.