City Government

Students, Teachers Rally to Save Dewey

Published

11 years ago

July 30, 2014

Students, teachers and community members held a barbecue Monday to muster their forces to protect Dewey Academy, a longtime continuation high school that is sitting on property at Second Avenue and E. 12^th Street that a developer wants to buy.

Between dancing and barbecuing hamburgers and hotdogs on the sidewalk in front of the school, the students held a rally to tell their classmates and supporters what is going on.

“They’re trying to come in and take our home – We’re not going to let them. We’re going to fight back,” said Dewey student Kelvyn Wallis.

“If it weren’t for this school, I probably would not know what I’m doing right now.” said Carrington Taylor, who graduated from Dewey in June.

“People who come here don’t think they have a future, don’t think they are going to go very far in life,” he said, but all that changes when they come to the school. By shutting or moving the school, he said, “you’d be destroying those students’ future. Dewey represents a community and a family, not just a school.”

Dewey is situated in a central location, outside neighborhood gang turf, which makes it a safer for young people, according to the school’s supporters. The present school site is also easily accessible to public transportation.

The City of Oakland has an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA) with Urban Core to build a 24-story apartment or condominium building on a city parcel by Lake Merritt and next door to Dewey.

The developer is seeking to buy the school property to add to its project. The district in May set up a” 7-11” surplus facilities committee, which under the law would have to declare the property surplus before it could be sold.

The district has also issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), seeking proposals for a mixed use development of the site adjacent to Dewey on the Oakland estuary, presently occupied by the OUSD abandoned administration building.

The RFQs are due by Aug. 15, and the final decision on the development is scheduled to be voted on by the school board in mid-September.

According to district officials, Dewey would be temporarily moved to another site until a new Dewey Academy can be build alongside the a new administration building right across the street from Dewey’s present home.

Dewey supporters argue, however, that any move would disrupt the education of vulnerable students whose lives and studies have been disrupted for a variety of reasons all too many times already.

In addition, supporters are concerned that once the school is moved there is no guarantee it would be able to return downtown. Whatever the promises, continuation high students from East and West Oakland ultimately might not be a priority for space on valuable estuary real estate.

According to School Board President David Kakishiba, district property decisions are being driven by an urgent need for funds to build a new administration building,

Ever since the administration building on Second Avenue was wrecked by water damage in January 2013, the district headquarters has been located in rental office space at 1,000 Broadway in downtown Oakland, the monthly payments covered by insurance.

“We are looking for how we can leverage some district property so we can pay for a new central administration facility or pay for the ongoing lease for the facility,” Kakishiba said in an interview with the Post.

“We’re exploring ways to raise enough money to build a new central administration plus build a new Dewey next to the administration building at the site,” he said.

However, Kakishiba said, the district made a mistake when it began to plan to move Dewey without consulting people at the school and listening to their “legitimate concerns.”

“It was an oversight of the board not to engage the school community earlier,” he said. “My sense is that we will not move forward until we first get those school communities ramped up and involved in the process.”

The policy of the board is to keep Dewey downtown, Kakishiba said. “We want Dewey to remain.”

There are several board members who are committed to expanding Dewey’s links to community college courses, and the school is located right next to Laney College, an ideal location for developing those connections, he said.

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Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

3 days ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.

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Activism

Black Arts Movement Business District Named New Cultural District in California

Located in the heart of District 3, the BAMBD is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most important centers of Black cultural production — a space where artists, entrepreneurs, organizers, and cultural workers have shaped generations of local and national identity. The state’s recognition affirms the district’s historic importance and its future promise.

Published

4 days ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Councilmember Carroll Fife celebrates major milestone for Black arts, culture, and economic power in Oakland. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

Oakland’s Black Arts Movement Business District (BAMBD) has been selected as one of California’s 10 new state-designated Cultural Districts, a distinction awarded by the California Arts Council (CAC), according to a media statement released by Councilmember Carroll Fife.

The BAMBD now joins 23 other districts across the state recognized for their deep cultural legacy, artistic excellence, and contributions to California’s creative economy.

“This designation is a testament to what Black Oakland has built — and what we continue to build when we insist on investing in our own cultural and economic power,” said Fife.

“For years, our community has fought for meaningful recognition and resources for the Black Arts Movement Business District,” she said. “This announcement validates that work and ensures that BAMBD receives the support it needs to grow, thrive, and continue shaping the cultural fabric of California.”

Since taking office, Fife has led and supported multiple initiatives that strengthened the groundwork for this achievement, including:

Restoring and protecting arts and cultural staffing within the City of Oakland.
Creating the West Oakland Community Fund to reinvest in historically excluded communities
Advancing a Black New Deal study to expand economic opportunity for Black Oakland
Ensuring racial equity impact analyses for development proposals, improving access for Black businesses and Black contractors
Introduced legislation and budget amendments that formalized, protected, and expanded the BAMBD

“These efforts weren’t abstract,” Fife said. “They were intentional, coordinated, and rooted in a belief that Black arts and Black businesses deserve deep, sustained public investment.”

As part of the Cultural District designation, BAMBD will receive:

$10,000 over two years
Dedicated technical assistance
Statewide marketing and branding support
Official designation from Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2030

This support will elevate the visibility of BAMBD’s artists, cultural organizations, small businesses, and legacy institutions, while helping attract new investment to the district.

“The BAMBD has always been more than a district,” Fife continued. “This recognition by the State of California gives us another tool in the fight to preserve Black culture, build Black economic power, and protect the families and institutions that make Oakland strong.”

For questions, contact Councilmember Carroll Fife at CFife@oaklandca.gov.