[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 152 (Thursday, September 21, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF OAKLAND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 21, 2017

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Oakland Community 
Organizations (OCO) as it celebrates 40 years of organizing the people 
of Oakland into powerful leaders for social change. Founded on May 14, 
1977, OCO has united people across diverse communities in order to 
create positive and permanent change in Oakland neighborhoods, schools, 
and throughout the city. After forty years of work, OCO continues to be 
at the forefront of coalition building and organizing to bring about 
systemic change and improve the quality of life for all families.
  Since its founding, OCO has consistently exhibited their steadfast 
support for underserved communities and tackled the obstacles that 
impede individuals from achieving a greater living standard. During its 
first 10 years, OCO created Housing Rehab programs to renovate 400 
once-vacant houses, developed over 100 affordable housing units for 
first time homeowners, helped establish the Port of Oakland's minority 
hiring program, and aided in the implementation of Oakland's ``Hire 
Oakland First Program,'' which is still in existence today.
  In 1985, OCO transitioned from their traditional neighborhood-
organizing model to a congregation-based model of organizing, which 
brought together congregations of all religious denominations. Under 
its new model, OCO launched a campaign to address Oakland's drug 
epidemic during the 1980s. Thanks to OCO, the City of Oakland, Alameda 
County, and the State of California adopted new enforcement, treatment, 
and prevention measures to address the drug epidemic. In addition, the 
White House formally recognized OCO for its anti-drug campaign.
  In the 1990s, OCO shifted their focus to the root causes of poverty. 
As a result, they brought a new grocery store to West Oakland, secured 
$6.6 million in new street lighting, implemented truancy reductions 
program, and formed Aviation High School, a pilot school-to-work 
transition program that prepared high school student for jobs in the 
transportation field.
  At the beginning of 2000, OCO researched and developed one of the 
only community-driven school reform efforts in the United States, which 
resulted in the creations of dozens of new schools. Since then, OCO has 
also been dedicated to defending the rights of immigrant community by 
organizing legal support forums for thousands of immigrant families 
seeking citizenship, pushing for family-oriented immigration reform 
legislation, and connecting at-risk immigrants with emergency 
deportation defense services.
  On behalf of California's 13th Congressional District, I want to 
extend my sincere congratulations on this important milestone. I thank 
Oakland Community Organizations for all that they do. I wish them 
continued success in training and organizing future generations of 
leaders to address the challenges facing the City of Oakland and its 
neighboring communities.

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