[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 138 (Thursday, November 13, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1564]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING THE UNITY COUNCIL

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 13, 2014

  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Unity 
Council's 50th Anniversary. For five decades, the Unity Council has 
continued to enrich our community's quality of life by helping families 
build wealth and assets through sustainable economic, social and 
neighborhood development programs.
  In 1964, what started as a political action group soon evolved into a 
social services assistance program to aid Latinos in Oakland, 
California's Fruitvale district. In their new capacity, the Unity 
Council created Oakland's first Spanish-speaking employment office and 
worked with Oakland city officials to create the first Latino library, 
now known as the Cesar E. Chavez Branch Public Library. By 1967, the 
organization had become incorporated as a nonprofit organization and 
service agency. In the years that followed, the Unity Council became a 
powerful catalyst for pervasive social change.
  During the 1970s, the Unity Council created a business advisory 
committee composed of Clorox, Pacific Bell, PG&E, Kaiser Permanente and 
Safeway; formed the Fruitvale Community Development District; initiated 
a small Latino business loan and assistance center; and built Las 
Casitas, the first ever Latino-built housing development in Oakland.
  The 1980s brought challenging times for the Unity Council, which 
nearly resulted in the organization's demise. Fortunately, broad-based 
community support, strategic business partnerships, and a drastic 
reorganization allowed the Unity Council to rebuild its reputation and 
once again establish itself as the voice of the Fruitvale district and 
of Latinos in Oakland.
  Starting in the early 1990s, the Unity Council expanded its Head 
Start Program from 18 children to 117, and offered early childhood 
development services, health and nutrition education, advocacy, and 
social services. Currently, the Head Start Program and the more recent 
addition, Early Head Start Program, serve a total of 608 low-income 
families.
  In 1995, the Unity Council began its Facade Improvement Program, 
designed to provide business and property owners matching grants of up 
to $10,000 to fund rehabilitation projects. By 2005, the Facade 
Improvement Program had completed 120 projects and leveraged $220,000 
of grant dollars into millions of dollars in contributions from 
stakeholders. That same year, the Unity Council received funding to 
launch the Fruitvale Public Market, a 7,000 square foot business 
incubator space designed to promote the local economy and create high 
quality and sustainable jobs for neighborhood residents. As a result, 
the Fruitvale commercial district went from 30-40 percent vacancy to 
less than 1 percent vacancy, and became the second largest revenue 
producing commercial area in the city of Oakland.
  One of the Unity Council's biggest milestones is the Fruitvale 
Transit Village. The nationally recognized Fruitvale Transit Village 
opened in 2003 with 47 housing units as well as offices for several 
major community organizations. Earlier this year, the Unity Council 
received state funding that will allow the addition of 275 affordable 
and market-rate rental units to the Fruitvale area. After 50 years, the 
Unity Council remains the most relevant voice for the Latino community 
in the East Bay.
  Therefore, on behalf of the residents of California's 13th 
Congressional District, I thank the Unity Council for the countless 
contributions and never-ending commitment to our communities. I wish 
the Unity Council another fifty years of continued success.

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