Oakland Rising Honors Stanley “MC Hammer” Burrell

M.C. Hammer is considered a “forefather” and innovator of pop rap, and is the first hip-hop artist to achieve diamond status for an album. BET ranked Hammer as the #7 “Best Dancer Of All Time”. Vibe’s “The Best Rapper Ever...

Oakland Rising Honors Angela Davis

Angela Y. Davis is known internationally for her ongoing work to combat all forms of oppression in the U.S. and abroad. Over the years she has been active as a student, teacher, writer, scholar, and activist/organizer. She is a living witness to the historical...

Oakland Rising Honors Lil’ Bobby Hutton

Little Bobby Hutton was the first to join the newly formed Black Panther Party for Self Defense. He was only 16 years old when he joined but already believed in the ideals that Seale and Newton had outlined in the Ten-Point Program; he was dedicated to serving his...

Oakland Rising Honors Ericka Huggins

Today Ericka Huggins is a professor of Women’s Studies at CSU, East Bay. Her political career got its early start in Los Angeles with the Black Panther Party. Due to the Black Panther Party’s high profile, key members like Ericka Huggins became political targets. In...

Oakland Rising Honors Tolbert Small

Although, never officially a Black Panther member, Tolbert Small was the official physician to Oakland’s chapter of the Black Panther Party. While in medical school in Detroit Michigan, Tolbert was a member of SNCC and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party....