Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) spoke Aug. 19 at Laney College as part of Peralta’s District “Flex Day activities.” Lee was the special guest at the event, which hosted a number of administrative and faculty speakers as well as workshops to help prepare the faculty for the new school year. 
Lee was received with massive applause as well as a standing ovation. In her 15-minute address the Democratic congresswoman has much praise for her district’s colleges, calling Peralta “the best community college system in the country” and an “invaluable resource for the community.” A prominent liberal who famously cast the only dissenting vote against the authorization of force following the Sept. 11 attacks, Lee also endorsed President Obama’s proposal to make two years of community college free to all Americans, stating that she also was “planning to make this a reality.” Lee spoke also of the need “to help make the tech industry more diverse” and the “significant barriers to people of color” in gaining access to higher education. Lee stressed the importance of situating community college education towards a “21st century global economy,” saying that the “future of the economy depends on community colleges,” stating further that it is important that Peralta “help students to be qualified for the jobs of today and tomorrow.”