Vivien Theodore Thomas: Overcoming Barriers Imposed By a Segregated Society
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Queen and the Good Samaritan
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What Can We Say of These Two Things? Page 10
Oakland Post “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” Proverbs 29:18
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Have We Grown Numb to the Sound of Gunfire? By Rev Phyllis Scott, President of the Pastors of Oakland
Last week, as the Pastors of Oakland and the NAACP held a prayer vigil seeking proactive solutions from the community and our elected officials, we witnessed a week of an unprecedented wave of violence, killings and crime. Our pastors, community chaplains and civil rights groups have come together to lift up our voices seeking an end to this season of reckless violence. Sadly, this week was another bloody week here in Oakland as four more innocent lives were taken by senseless acts of reckless, unwarranted violence. The call has gone out to
Rev Phyllis Scott
our city officials, a cry has gone out to law enforcement and a call has gone out to our mayor: “Stop the Violence!” It appears we’ve grown numb to the sound of gunfire. Have we grown numb to the cries of grieving mothers who have been yelling for justice for shattered families
59th Year, No. 14
Weekly Edition. Edition. Sept. 21-27, 2022
and the tears of our children? It seems as if the cry of outrage is growing faint. We’ve fallen into a frightening pattern. We’ve become reactive rather than proactive. We wait for a body to drop in the cold of the streets before we become inflamed with righteous indignation. If city officials have not risen to the level of righteous indignation — if they cannot or will not do anything to address the violence in the city right now, why should we trust them with a greater responsibility? The Scriptures teach us that “For to whom much is given, much is required.” It’s up to communities, Continued on Page 12
City Councilmember Thao Announces $2 Million Investment to Revitalize Parks in East Oakland
Training Youth on How-2 End Hostilities Commentary
By Richard Johnson
The idea of How-2 end violence has its origin in the bowels of prison. The idea was the result of the principled thinking of those who have spent years and decades behind prison walls seeking ways to end the senseless wars and violence that amounted to the loss of life with seemingly no end in sight. Thus, together these principled thinkers began a dialogue among themselves that led to a historical document implemented in 2012 called “The Agreement to End Hostilities” aka “AEH.” Collectively, this document created a bridge between the ethnicities and gang-related groups to end hostilities within the prison population. For the most part, it worked within the penal system. Violence was tempered to such a degree that the administration got behind this document. Since the success was so apparent, we, the Formerly Incarcerated Giving Back (FIBG) and other non-returning citizens have established a parallel society called “Artivist” ending hostilities in the communi-
Left to right: Minister Founder of K.A.G.E. Universal, Executive Director of California Prison Focus and Richard Johnson, President of the Formerly Incarcerated Giving Back are working with community groups to present solutions to violence, especially with youth. Photo by Jonathan “Fitness” Jones.
ties we came from. It is called the agreement to come home, AEH Street Strategic Team © Youth Resource Center. We believe the solution rests with past proven results; not merely wishful thinking that has proven to be quite ineffective in addressing the violence that is happening almost daily. The California Prison Focus K.A.G.E. Universal and FIBG are working in concert to halt
Why Sarah Syed is My Choice For AC Transit Board of Directors, Ward 3
Oakland City Council President Pro Tempore Sheng Thao joins Assemblymember Mia Bonta, Pastor Billy Dixon Jr., Louie Butler Jr., President, Oakland Babe Ruth Cal Ripken Baseball League, and community members who were invited to the press conference. Photo by Brandon Harami, Policy Director for Councilmember Sheng Thao. By Sheng Thao Oakland City Council President Pro Tempore
On Tuesday I had the pleasure of joining Assemblymember Mia Bonta, Pastor Billy Dixon Jr., and community and faith leaders gathered at Arroyo Viejo Park to announce a $2 million investment into East
Commentary
Oakland parks that I secured in recent state budget allocations signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. This $2 million investment will help revitalize and celebrate parks serving some of Oakland’s most marginalized
communities, including Arroyo Viejo Park, Tassafaronga Park, and Verdese Carter Park. I know that East Oakland has experienced decades of systemic and environmental racism, and it is important that we invest equitably into our neighborhoods including our Continued on Page 12
Law enforcement is what we do to people. Public safety is what we do with people. Opinion
By Gregory Hodge
As a mayoral candidate, I want to see Department of Violence Prevention’s (DVP) current budget of $28M doubled to $56M. That would allow us to create a Behavioral Health Unit that supports our neighbors and families who are at the center of this crisis. Let’s vote for City officials who will fund it at a level that can rise to the challenge of this moment. Law enforcement is what we do to people. Public safety is what we do with people. The City of Oakland has an agency that is charged with leading and coordinating our prevention efforts with people, aptly called the Department of Violence Prevention (DVP), which is loosely patterned on
Gregory Hodge
the Richmond Office of Neighborhood Safety, a model that I helped launch in 2008. Over a five-year period, homicides in Richmond decreased by 70%. Instead of vaguely following its structure, let’s properly implement the pieces that are proven to reduce violence in our streets. A vote for me is a vote to fully implement the Mobile
Assistance Community Responders of Oakland, known as MACRO. This initiative shows substantial promise as its staff works to intervene in non-violent 911 calls, freeing up police services to address violent criminal behavior. We should create a community ambassador team that employs formerly incarcerated, returning neighbors who know the streets. To further illustrate just how disconnected our leaders are, there was a shooting near Frank Ogawa Plaza during a City Council meeting on National Voter Registration Day. City Council took a brief recess and then immediately resumed business as usual. While gun violence rampaged outside, they were inside discussing Continued on Page 12
Part 1 By Elsa Ortiz, President of AC Transit Board
The challenge of inequitable transportation access is felt by tens of thousands of residents in inner East Oakland and communities of color across the Bay Area. These challenges are compounded by the legacy of redlining, which systematically denied Black and Brown residents access to homeownership and lending programs. Ultimately, the American dream of homeownership, investment in communities and building generational wealth was blocked. As the AC Transit board president, a challenge I am confronted with is that traditional transit planning practice has ignored the pervasive issues of segregation, displacement, and exclusion from opportunity. Although the impacts of redlining can be felt in almost every aspect of life: from access to high quality education, to job opportunities and even healthy food options, our region doesn’t invest in transit service to repair past harms. Last week, aboard an AC Transit bus, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg toured Oakland as part of his new effort to repair the damage done by large federal transportation projects, like freeways, which divided neighborhoods where people of color were the majority of the population. Residents of underserved communities are the experts in understanding what they need. Unfortunately, the number of local political leaders who are ready to invest in transportation equity are few and far in between. Therefore, we have Continued on Page 12
Elsa Ortiz
this violence by using a plan of action with proven positive results. All resources go to address and cease this destruction that confronts the very society that we live in. Will solutions manifest when you apply proven programs that create a pathway for truly addressing the problems, not sugar-coating them? The FIGB, African American Sports and Entertainment Group, and the Oakland Post News Group are intersecting in solidarity to bring change instead of reshuffling the problem. We have a plan for this change to stop the violence and restore justice. In the coming weeks, we will respond positively to the Oakland Post’s challenge to those seeking to get elected in our community to offer solutions to end the violence, find jobs and develop affordable housing our communities and provide health and mental services to there will be more information on AEH solutions reported in this column.
Interfaith Faith Council of Alameda County Laments Gun Violence in Oakland
The headline in the Sept.20, 2022, East Bay Times read, “‘Everybody was devastated’: Four people killed, five others wounded in string of violence across Oakland.” The article began, “A torrent of violence during an 18-hour stretch Monday evening and Tuesday left four people dead and five other people wounded by gunfire across Oakland, including three men who had just finished praying at a local mosque and a teen girl who was left gravely injured.” The Interfaith Council lifts its voice in lament over these deaths and this violence. We cry out “How long O Lord, how long, must our city live in the deadly grip of guns and gun violence? How long will the fear of our loved ones being hit by a bullet cause parents to worry, grandparents to be anxious and children to live in terror?’ With all the shocked and grieving members or our community, and with the devastated members of the Oakland Islamic Center, we call on those who committed these crimes to turn themselves in, we call on our leaders to redouble their efforts to bring violence to an end, we call on those who glorify the use of weapons to reconsider their stance and we call on those of us who can exert some influence on those most likely to shoot to plead with them to put down their guns. We long for the day when the faith communities of Oakland are united in peace. Today, we acknowledge that we are united in grief even while we are united in our commitment to bring about a better day. To this end we will pray, organize, and labor. Rev. Jim Hopkins, ICAC Co-Founding Board member Rev. Ken Chambers, ICAC Founding President