National

Activists Take To Streets As Baltimore Records 100th Homicide of Year

Published

11 years ago

May 26, 2015

Oakland Post

300 Men March Group and Others Speak & Step-Out Against Continuing Baltimore Violence

Young girl listens to speakers (Courtesy of the Afro-American Newspaper)

by Kamau High
Special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspaper

One day after the 100th homicide in Baltimore was recorded, a group held a rally calling for people to get involved in stopping the violence wracking the city.

About 40 activists gathered on N. Pulaski St. and Edmondson Ave. in the Western District at 7 p.m. wearing black 300 Men Marchshirts.

“You cannot have growth or development with these levels of violence,” said Councilman William “Pete” Welch, whose District 9 includes the neighborhood. In an effort to address the rising violence Welch will soon be introducing legislation to the City Council that calls for conflict resolution training for students in grades K-12.

“We’ve been through this before and thought we had a handle on it,” added Welch. “The community needs to come back and take back their neighborhoods.”

Councilman Brandon M. Scott gives an interview during the rally (Courtesy of the Afro-American Newspaper)

On Wednesday night, the 100th victim of a homicide this year in Baltimore died. At the same time last year, 71 people had been killed.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, at a news conference on Thursday, said, “It’s extremely frustrating. It is disheartening, but I am still resolved to continue to reduce violent crime in our city.”

There has a been a spike in homicides since the death of Freddie Gray in police custody and the uprising and protest that followed in late April and early May. On Wednesday at a news conference, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said that when officers go to investigate crimes in the Western District they are often surrounded by people with cell phones and cameras.

“It makes it very difficult for us to follow up on violence that takes place there. If you have 50 or 60 people it makes it difficult to get eye witnesses, it makes it difficult to get information,” he said. As a result, police leadership with experience in the Western District will be shifted to the community. “We are going to re-engage the community and get on top of the issues that are there.”

Councilman Brandon Scott, District 2, was on hand during the rally. That’s because he is a co-founder, along with Munir Bahar, of 300 Men March. The group began in 2013 when a similar spate of violence was convulsing the city.

Munir Bahar, of 300 Men March, addresses the crowd. (Courtesy of the Afro-American Newspaper)

“It’s a perfect storm of bad stuff happening. You’ve got cops working for 20 hours at a time. You’ve got elements of the street feeling vindicated after Freddie Gray,” said Scott. “When it gets warm you see stuff pop up. Everyone can do something to improve the lives of young men. Anyone not working every day to help young people is not a man.”

Nasir Mcray’s Soul Source restaurant has been on the corner of N. Pulaski and Edmondson for 34 years. He has seen how the police deal with murders change over the years.

“At one time, if someone was killed here, there was a heavy police presence. Now they just scrape them up and leave. It’s because by the time they finish scraping one up they have to go get another,” he said adding, “Someone got killed right on this corner the other day. People just stood around taking pictures. They put those pictures up on Facebook with the guy’s head blown off. It’s like Mexico out here.”

During the rally Scott addressed what people could do about the escalating violence.

Rally takes place in the Western District. (Courtesy of the Afro-American Newspaper)

“A lot of us out here do a lot, but clearly that’s not enough,” he said. “We all have to ratchet it up as long as the stupidity in our community is ratcheted up. As long as the cowardice is ratcheted up in our community. As long as we have women being executed; shot in the head. As long as we have men being executed; shot in the head. Children being gunned down while people are silent. We have to start doing whatever we have to do to make this stuff stop. Because too many people are dying for us to be this quiet.”

Munir also addressed the crowd.

“We are operating in a state of emergency. That means that everything we are doing right now, everything, is to contribute to some effort and some solution to bring this violence down,” he said. “If we don’t fix this this summer, we have failed.”

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Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

3 days ago

August 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

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Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

3 days ago

August 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.