City Government

Op-Ed: The Drug War, Mass Incarceration and Cannabis Equity

Published

9 years ago

February 10, 2017

By Cat Brooks

It is no longer questioned that the war on drugs has disproportionately impacted Black, Brown and poor people. What is less understood or discussed are the potential impacts that the legalized cannabis industry will have on these communities.

As it stands, the bulk of the licenses held for Oakland businesses are owned by non-Black people, though the arrests, incarceration and destruction of community has rested largely on Black bodies.

What happens to the communities that are still reeling from generations of individuals who have been locked away for the possession or sale of cannabis? What happens to individuals left to languish in prisons and jails for petty drug crimes?

And what about the street corner tradespeople who have engaged in a largely safe industry when they are pushed out of business due to the gentrification of Oakland’s cannabis game?

Will they be forced into means of earning a living in another underground economy or more violent ways? With the closing of job centers, the city not applying for youth summer employment dollars and double-digit unemployment for Black residents, it is imperative that Oakland’s elected officials do the right thing for cannabis equity.

Our local leaders have a moral obligation to ensure that those most impacted, including those currently and formerly incarcerated, their families, and their communities, experience relief from the racist criminalization of marijuana.

“An injury to one is an injury to all,” and the indelible stain that this 40-year drug war has left on so many of our neighbors can now begin to be healed. Join me and a growing segment of Oakland residents in creating a more equitable city for all.

We will have a deeper discussion about the war on drugs and mass incarceration on Friday, Feb. 10 at Oakland City Hall at 5:30 p.m. after screening the documentary film The House I Lived In.

All perspectives are welcomed in this conversation and the event is free and open to community.

Cat Brooks is the Co-Founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

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1 hour ago

July 5, 2026

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Inaugural Juneteenth Awards Ceremony Celebrates the Fillmore’s Black History, Leadership and Resilience

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

Published

1 week ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown, Pastor Emeritus of Third Baptist Church, SF Mayor Daniel Lurie. Photo by Linda Parker Pennington.

By Linda Parker Pennington

The Fillmore Community Ambassadors held its first annual Juneteenth Wesley Johnson White Horse Awards ceremony on June 19 inside the newly reopened Fillmore Heritage Center.

The event featured awards for former San Francisco mayors London Breed and Willie Brown, along with Third Baptist Church Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown.

The Koret Heritage lobby at the newly reopened center at 1330 Fillmore St. held a standing-room-only, culturally diverse and multi-generational audience while the art gallery featured photos of Fillmore community members in action, red Japanese lanterns, art and calligraphy, and Chinese artwork, giving the space a multicultural feel.

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood acknowledged that “the Fillmore community has had a difficult history. Thanks to Rev. Amos Brown’s continuous focus on accountability and resistance, you hold us accountable and continue to inspire us.”

Mahmoud is referring to the Fillmore’s Japanese residents who were forced from their homes and sent to concentration camps during World War II. Black people occupied those homes until the return of their Japanese neighbors and then gave them back, while homes that had been unoccupied were lost. The presence of the Asian community on Juneteenth is a testament to that shared history.

In receiving his honor, Amos Brown elicited a powerful spontaneous call-and-response, where members of San Francisco’s many Black churches proudly shouted out the names: “Bethel AME! Providence Baptist! Jones Memorial! Glide!”

Awards program Master of Ceremonies Shawn Richards of Brothers Against Guns warmly introduced Breed, highlighting her many accomplishments, particularly on “March 16, 2020, when she became the first mayor to shut down a major U.S. city due to COVID-19, saving thousands of lives.”

The audience was captivated by Breed’s emotional speech touching on past traumas, present conditions, and future hopes for the neighborhood where she grew up.

She recalled another trauma of the neighborhood during the City’s redevelopment era in the 1960s, where Black residents were forced to move with a promise of being able to return that was largely unfulfilled.

“We remember when this land was just a field because they bulldozed hundreds of Victorian homes that Black people owned. They built the Fillmore Center, where most Black people can’t afford to live or start their own business. But we are still here.”