City Government

Oakland Adopts “Love Life” as Official Motto

Published

10 years ago

April 7, 2016

The city council this week adopted “Love Life” as the official motto of the City of Oakland, incorporating the slogan in the city’s communications and welcome signs.

Community supporters who called for the council to adopt the motto or “tagline” view it as a representation of hope and an affirmation of life in the face of the pain and challenges that people in the community face.

“Love Life reflects the joy and energy that characterize our artists and businesses. Love Life responds to our communal desire to build an inclusive, equitable, and authentic Oakland,” according to Council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney.

During the council meeting, dozens of community members spoke about the loved ones they have lost to senseless violence and the positive outcome that adopting such a motto would have on their communities.

Voting for the ordinance were Councilmembers McElhaney, Desley Brooks, Rebecca Kaplan, Noel Gallo and Larry Reid. Opposing the resolution were Annie Campbell Washington, Dan Kalb and Abel Guillén.

The resolution was introduced by Donald Lacy and community supporters of the work of the Love Life Foundation.

The foundation was formed after Lacy’s daughter, 16-yearold LoEshé Adanma Lacy, was shot to death in 1997 as a bystander across the street from her school, McClymonds High in West Oakland.

LoEshé, which means “love life” in Ibo, had been moved by the deaths of her classmates and had begun an anti-violence campaign to tell her peers that they should love life.

After her death, Lacy and other community advocates worked for nearly a decade to win the city’s approval for the new motto.

“What the devil meant for evil, God will turn to good,” said Lacy, speaking to the council. “(We have to) put out a different message to our children. Life is precious. The greatest thing we all share as human beings is love. Love is going to sustain us as a city.”

Councilmembers McElhaney, Brooks and Kaplan jointly introduced the proposal on Tuesday.

The city’s current unofficial tagline is “The bright side of the Bay.”

“In adopting this ordinance, the council (sent) a clear message that it honors residents who have lost their lives to gun violence and speaks hope and healing to the communities of residents who are dedicated to living robust lives,” said McElhaney.

Donald Lacy holds a photo of his daughter LoEshé Adanma Lacy. Photo by Tulio Ospina.

“Life and love go together,” said Councilmember Gallo, explaining his reason for backing the new motto. “It is not just about dating each other,” he said.

“It’s about respecting each other and it’s about working together and taking this city to another level.”

“Thank you for your courage,” said Gallo, speaking directly to Donald Lacy.

During the council’s vote, it was revealed that Mayor Libby Schaaf had sent an email to the council members a few hours before the meeting urging them not to support the “Love Life” tagline.

According to a March 5 article by the SF Chronicle, when asked about the idea of adopting the motto for Oakland, Mayor Schaaf rolled her eyes and said, “My love life is fine.”

Councilmembers Guillen and Campbell Washington said they were voting against the new motto because they did not have time to discuss it with the residents of their districts.

“I have an allegiance to the public, and my residents do not know about this. We did not have a fair process,” said Guillen.

Councilmember Kalb said he was voting “no” because the city did not go through a community engagement process to choose a new motto.

Adopting a new tagline “requires a lengthy community engagement process, but we haven’t done that,” he said.

Brooks challenged the arguments of the three council members who opposed the resolution.

“It’s been on the agenda for over a month,” she said. “I don’t remember the process that took place when we decided ‘The (bright) side of the Bay’ was going to be the tagline.”

Councilmember Kaplan addressed her colleagues’ concerns that the request at hand was too “new,” thereby making them unable to support it.

“When people say that it’s new they can go to the archives of the San Francisco Chronicle over a decade ago, where Donald Lacy was quoted talking about this,” said Kaplan.

“I don’t think it’s too new, and I think we should support someone who took such a horrifying personal tragedy, and instead of responding with revenge or violence, is working to spread the value of respecting life and ending violence.”

Campbell Washington said she was upset by the direction the public debate over the motto had taken.

“It’s very painful to be in this conversation … to have it come down to be a race issue,” she said.

Donald Lacy and his supporters celebrate after the City Council approves of “Love Life” as Oakland’s motto. Photo by Tulio Ospina.

Responding, Brooks said, “It was not about race. The community came out and spoke and represented the love of this community.”

Councilmember Reid explained how he had opposed the resolution but changed his mind after considering the motto’s significance for Oakland.

During the vote, he asked his colleagues to “rethink this and make this a unanimous vote… Rethink your position, like I did.”

Reid then read aloud the email Mayor Schaaf had sent before the council meeting to all the council members:

“I write to share my concerns about adopting the motto ‘Love Life’ as the official motto of the City of Oakland…. ‘Love Life’ without context or story could mean many things – some not at all appropriate as our city’s motto,” according the mayor’s email.

“Some of these concerns came unsolicited from Bloomberg Associates, who have been offering the City of Oakland professional advice pro bono in several municipal disciplines, including city marketing.

“Their experts read about the proposal and contacted me with their concerns, which I thought it was important for you to hear:

“Although it seems the motives come from a good place, this positioning could prove problematic on a few levels…. The background of how the name was developed actually reinforces the very crime issues they are trying to combat.”

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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

3 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.