West Oakland Stories Positive Feeling Movement Inc

RECOGNIZING THE HISTORY OF OAKLAND’S BLACK PIONEERS

STRONG SUPPORT

Thanks to all of you for the strong support in establishing the tradition of recognizing the history of Oakland’s Black Pioneers in the West Oakland (WOS) film of the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s.

From now on, on the last Thursday of February’s Black History month all can view the WOS film with family, friends and others so that our Oakland Black History will live on forever.

Save this link for the WOS film and you can view the film anytime during the year.

Stories & Spotlights

WE MUST TAKE PART IN “NO NEGATIVE SPEAK” with each other.

Ed Howard

Chief Executive Director

West Oakland Stories Positive Feeling Movement Org.

TACTICS USED BY EX-CITY COUNCILWOMAN LYNETTE McELHANEY TO BLACKBALL THE WEST OAKLAND STORIES POSITIVE FEELING MOVEMENT ORGANIZATION’S FILM

SHARING TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF WOS FILM HISTORY: PART 3 OF 4

Tactics used by Ex-City Councilwomen Lynette Gibson McElhaney to blackball the West Oakland Stories (WOS) film used white people who lived in West Oakland to invite me to their meetings at the 7th Street Café on 7th Street, Prescott School’s 150th year anniversary and with EI-LI at De Fremery Park Club building to show WOS film clips, and after I participated in the discussions, they would claim technical difficulties and would not show the film or show it improperly. Ms. Cook, Mrs. Lynette McElhaney’s key staff person, attended all these meetings.

I was offered money for the film by Ms. Cheryl Fabio who represented Mrs. McElhaney and witch I refused and a short time later Ms. Fabio produced a film about West Oakland’s history financed by the City of Oakland to counter my film West Oakland Stories 1940’s 50’s and 60’s history.

Mrs. McElhaney arranged a meeting at Rev. Bob Jackson’s church “Acts Full Gospel Church” between “OUR TV” owner’s, Mr. Leonard Stephens and Mr. Andre AlPorter and myself to convince me that they owned the WOS film footage I produced. This happened after I had presented evidence to Mrs. McElhaney and Ms. Cook in their office at city hall that they were operating as a business without a legitimate license.  Mrs. McElhaney still represented/supported them in a court of law against me and they lost the case.

Mr. Leonard Stephens, and Rev. Bob Jackson had a business partnership set up to buy Mindseed Media Studio in East Oakland using my WOS film clips as bait to entice investors to invest in their projects.  Mr. Alporter mistakenly emailed me the list of all the potential investors and I let the investors know about them trying to steal the WOS film from me and that killed that deal.

I made complaints to the Alameda County District Attorney’s office, The Secretary of State, the Oakland Police Department, and the Alameda County Recorder’s Office against Mr. Stephens and Mr. Alporter the owner of “OUR TV”.

I was letting all the Oakland elders who respected me enough to give of their time, money and stories for the WOS film so I refuse to let them down and I will do all I can to maintain  our history chronicling our rich Oakland Black history.  We don’t need any more people representing themselves as working for the benefit of the community and they are only FEEDING off the Black community.

Billy Moore, Husband to (Belva Davis the renowned Oakland/Bay Area TV personality) and they are West Oakland Elders, found me a film/computer expert, David Bellard, to work with me to re-engineer the fractured parts and pieces of the WOS film that was given to me by court order and still I have not received all of the film footage.

Ed Howard

Chief Executive Director

West Oakland Stories Positive Feeling Movement Org.

NOTE:  Email from Andre Alporter 03-08-2014

Greetings,

I’m still in the process of purchasing the studio facility.

Need all the support we can gather for this business deal.

Take a look at our website and give me some feedback.

We have the business projects and proposals for the

film and television series. We need investors to close the purchase

while we are in pre-production of a couple of feature film projects.

Thanks All. Check out the site.

Andre’ Alporter

SHARING TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF WOS FILM HISTORY:

PART 2 OF 4

You will understand the WEST OAKLAND STORIES FILM POSITIVE FEELING MOVEMENT FILM much better after you read the four-part (4) history https://youtu.be/ZMYVdIlYUhs

NOTIFYING THE AUTHORITES:

Attorney, Alameda County, Nancy E. O’Malley, District Attorney

Alameda County District Attorney’s Office

1225 Fallon Street, Suite 900

Oakland, CA 94612

Dear Ms. O’Malley,

October 01, 2013

I have found that Mr. Leonard Stephens owner of OUR TV station in OAKLAND is not licensed as a legitimate business registered neither in the County of Alameda nor in the State of California.

It’s unfortunate that I have to write this letter, more so, of my own in meeting con-artists in the likes of a Mr. Leonard Stephens and Mr. Andre Alporter technical assistant. Mr. Stephens presented himself as a legitimate business man, licensed to do business in the State of California and the County of Alameda, CA with his d.b.a OUR TV; 10700 MacArthur Blvd; Foothill Square #4E; Oakland, CA 94605; and Andre Alporter’s address: 9316 MacArthur Blvd #6; Oakland, CA.

Under this guise, Mr. Stephens persuaded me, in his con that his business would assist me in the development and broadcasting of a television production which I am producing, called the West Oakland Stories 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s Project (WOS). A contract was signed with Mr. Stephens as the executive of d.b.a, OUR TV (terminated by the Secretary of State of California).

There is a second party involved in this matter. It is Mr. Stephens’s video camera/editor production assistant, André Alporter, who coned me to believe that he no longer was working for OUR TV. To prove his point he removed all of his editing equipment from OUR TV facilities to his apartment and from April to August 2013, we completed the editing of West Oakland Stories Project in his apartment. Now, Mr. Stephens and Mr. Alporter are stating by email that OUR TV is the producer of the WOS and that they now own my project. Rip off.

Mr. Stephens, thus far has gotten away with his con of theft through deception.

Figuring his con to be white collar and given to lengthy and expensive litigation process, and the search for his whereabouts to serve him, he thinks he has a pretty full proof con game.

The businessmen, owners of Oakland’s “OUR TV” Station, Mr. Leonard Stephens and Mr. Andre They lost the court battle and still has not given all the tape/film footage/files up to this day. There is a Bench Warrant out for them but the police will not serve the warrant. They are a classic example of too many of our own business people’s negative attitude with our people.

Just describing the trials and tribulations that you go through producing something positive as the West Oakland Stories film, you win your case in the courts and the Slave System still does not carry out its law. It just keeps you spending your money. But you don’t let that stop you.

Sincerely,

Much Respect

Ed Howard,

Producer, Writer, Editor, Interviewer

WHY DID WEST OAKLAND CITY COUNCILWOMAN LYNETTE MCELHANEY LOSE HER SEAT?

WEST OAKLAND STORIES FILM COURT VICTORY DETAILS

SHARING TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF WOS FILM HISTORY: PART 1 OF 4

VICTORY is ours. The West Oakland Stories of the 1940s, 50s and 60s film court battle is over.  The judge awarded me all the rights to the film.  Mr. André Alporter did not show at court and OUR TV Mr. Leonard Stephens and his representative from West Oakland City Councilwoman Lynette McElhaney’s office were caught in a big lie before the judge. They both testified that all of the raw footage of West Oakland Stories film had been downloaded in its totality and given to Ed Howard. (That’s a lie) See Computer expert /film /editor, Mr. David Ballard’s, testimony below.

Now I need to move on to complete the film and film trailer (Preview) for viewing.  I personally know of four elders in the film who have passed on since the film started production in 2012. So much regret that they will not be able to see the film because of the unholy minds of Leonard Stephens and André Alporter.

You see how Mr. Leonard Stephens and Mr. André Alporter’s deceptive and false representations can get the establishment to work with them and the West Oakland Elders and West Oakland people can’t even get DeFremery Park building refurbished and painted.  But the streets in the areas where the White people are moving into West Oakland are being upgraded. Soon after this statement was made City Councilwoman McElhaney found funds to refurbish DeFremery building. This is the same way the system treated us back in the day and we would not let them.  This is why the West Oakland Stories film is so important for you our younger generations and everyone to see.  The generations under us need to hear and see who we really are. 

Share this letter with your friends and family to support this much needed stories of our West Oakland and Oakland history.

Mr. David Ballard’s Expert testimony:

“Today in court Sept. 25, 2014, I was asked by the judge if I had seen the WOS film footage on the flash card that the defendant, Mr. Leonard Stephens, and West Oakland City Council Woman Lynette McElhaney’s key staff person, Ms. Cook, had brought with them. My answer was NO I had not seen the footage on that card. I did inform the judge that I had seen some footage that was not the raw footage, due to the fact that it contained time codes on top of the footage and that would not be considered “broadcast quality”, due to the time codes over the footage. I continued to state that would not be considered the raw footage again because of the time codes over the footage. I then stated to the judge my experience in the computer field, over 30 years’ experience working at Apple and various other companies. About 10 years’ experience editing movies.  I then asked the judge if I could ask a question to Ms. Cook and Mr. Leonard Stephens, he granted my request. My question was what is the memory size of the flash card the defendant held in his hand? The defendant answered that it was a 64 gigabyte flash card. I then stated that was impossible for a 64 gigabyte flash card to hold 6 hours of raw footage, because 6 hours of raw footage would require a great deal more space. In most cases it could take close to a terabyte of drive space for hours of raw footage.”

The above statement was the big lie before a judge, but they have been making many lies regarding the filming of the WOS.

One of the larger questions is why is the West Oakland City Council Woman Lynette McElhaney supporting these crooks and not supporting the West Oakland Elders such as myself and other elders. My bloodline in West Oakland and Oakland runs deep, very deep, sisters, brothers, my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren – not to mention uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces, friends, etc.  Almost all of the Elders in the WOS film bloodline is like mine or greater.

West Oakland do you know who you really are?  When you see this film you will find out.   https://youtu.be/ZMYVdIlYUhs

West Oakland Stories Positive Feeling Movement Org.

Ed Howard

Chief Executive Director

Producer, Director, Writer, Editor, Inter-Viewer

THE RENOWN ED HOWARD’S PLACE NIGHTCLUB! 1970’s

WHO’S WHO SNAPSHOTS OF ED HOWARD’S NIGHTCLUB CROWD…

Black Oakland you might see your grandfather/mother or just family or friends in this true positive Black History of Oakland.

Thank for journeying with us from episode 1 to episode 10 of our series highlighting the vivid lifetime milestones of Oakland original pioneer, Mr. Ed Howard.

As many of you know from our first post, earlier this year I reached out to Mr. Howard

while researching my current novel-in-progress, a story partly taking place in the early days of West Oakland.

As expected, I was treated to great, positive anecdotes from the life of a West Oakland original! What I didn’t expect was a budding new friendship across generation gaps.  Myself, as a 1980-born Greek-American, and Mr. Howard, as an elder Black man, have bonded over our Oakland roots and love of the Town.

Stay tuned as we pick up in 2021 with more of Mr. Howard’s powerful story.”

Apollo Papafrangou

Check out episodes 1-10A: www.westoaklandstories.org

Let’s put the Positive Speak Movement into action… “No Negative Speak” with each other.

WHO’S WHO SNAPSHOTS OF ED HOWARD’S NIGHTCLUB CROWD…

Black Oakland you might see your grandfather/mother or just family or friends in this true positive Black History of Oakland.

Thank for journeying with us from episode 1 to episode 10 of our series highlighting the vivid lifetime milestones of Oakland original pioneer, Mr. Ed Howard.

As many of you know from our first post, earlier this year I reached out to Mr. Howard

while researching my current novel-in-progress, a story partly taking place in the early days of West Oakland.

As expected, I was treated to great, positive anecdotes from the life of a West Oakland original! What I didn’t expect was a budding new friendship across generation gaps.  Myself, as a 1980-born Greek-American, and Mr. Howard, as an elder Black man, have bonded over our Oakland roots and love of the Town.

Stay tuned as we pick up in 2021 with more of Mr. Howard’s powerful story.”

Apollo Papafrangou

Let’s put the Positive Speak Movement into action… “No Negative Speak” with each other. West Oakland Stories Positive Feeling Movement Inc – No Negative Speak with Each Other (Website link)   https://westoaklandstories.org/