Activism

Call to Defund the Police Gains Momentum in Oakland

Published

4 years ago

June 11, 2020

Oakland Police form a line in Downtown Oakland during the June 1 protests. Photo by Saskia Hatvany.

In recent weeks, the call to defund the police has gone national. Major cities like Los Angeles and New York City have taken steps to reduce the budgets of their police departments – and in Minneapolis, where George Floyd was murdered last month, the City Council announced plans to completely dismantle the city’s police department.

The call has also gained momentum in Oakland, where a campaign led by the Anti-Police Terror Project (APTP) is calling for a reduction of the Oakland Police Department’s budget by $150 million – or 50%.

So what does it mean to defund the police? And what would defunding the police mean for Oakland?

The push to defund police departments has been made by activists who argue that years of attempts at police reforms have failed to end the problem of police violence.

“It’s quite simple: the way to reduce police violence is to reduce the scope, size, and role of police in our communities,” activists with the Movement for Black Lives, the coalition of groups behind the national campaign, wrote in an op-ed last week.

Instead, they say, resources should be invested in community and social programs that address social problems on the front end instead of the back end like law enforcement.

In Oakland, the call to defund OPD is being led by APTP. The campaign calls for a 50% reduction in OPD’s budget. Oakland currently spends around 40% of its entire budget on the police.

Over the last two decades, activists say, the police department’s budget has doubled despite the fact that crime rates decreased in that time.

Meanwhile, the police department’s current budget of $330 million is greater than the amount of money the city is spending on the departments of human services, transportation, housing and community development, libraries, parks, recreation, and youth development, economic and workplace development, and race and equity combined.

APTP argues that must change.

Still, congressional leaders and former Vice President Joe Biden pushed back on calls to defund the police. House Democrats introduced the Justice in Policing Act this week, which calls for a number of police reforms, including banning chokeholds.

But activists say the bill doesn’t go far enough and wouldn’t have prevented George Floyd’s death. Biden said in an op-ed that he supports investing more money in police for better training and community policing.

“While I do not believe federal dollars should go to police departments violating people’s rights or turning to violence as the first resort, I do not support defunding police. The better answer is to give police departments the resources they need to implement meaningful reforms, and to condition other federal dollars on completing those reforms.”

Meanwhile, Oakland officials are considering a plan called the Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland (M.A.C.R.O.) program, that would have counselors and an EMT respond to some 911 calls rather than the police. The City Council commissioned a team to explore the feasibility of the program last year.

Brandon Patterson

Posts by Brandon Patterson

Activism

Calif. Anti-Sex Trafficking Advocates Discuss Competing Bills, Strategies

Advocates from across California are challenging state officials and community leaders to support legislation that provides resources and services for survivors and victims of human trafficking, as well as assistance as they transition back into civil society.  Some of those advocates are also calling for more effective state policy to curtail trafficking, a crime that has an outsized impact on Black children, particularly girls.

Published

20 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

Shutterstock

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Some of those advocates are also calling for more effective state policy to curtail trafficking, a crime that has an outsized impact on Black children, particularly girls.

According to the FBI, a report covering a two-year period found Black children accounted for 57% of all juvenile arrests for prostitution. In addition, 40% of sex trafficking victims were Black and 60% of those victims had been enrolled in the foster care system.

“It is time to hold the perpetrators who take advantage of our children accountable,” said the Rev. Shane Harris, a San Diego-based activist, former foster youth and founder of the Peoples Association of Justice Advocates, (PAJA), a national civil rights organization and policy think tank.

“It is time to send a thorough message that if you seek to buy a child for sex, you will pay the highest criminal penalties in this state,” added Harris who was speaking at a rally at the State Capitol earlier this month. Harris was speaking in support of Senate Bill 1414, authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (D-Bakersfield), which calls for people who buy sex from minors to be punished with a felony. The punishment includes a two-year prison sentence and a $25,000 fine.

Harris said the PAJA is the only civil rights organization in the state that supports SB 1414.

Harris urged other Black-led groups who favor anti-trafficking legislation more focused on criminal justice reforms (as opposed to stiffer penalties), to “join the movement.”

Many of those civil rights groups fear that SB 1414 could lead to the incarceration of more Black youth.

Those sentiments were echoed in a panel discussion organized by Black women advocates on April 26 to examine the cause and effects of human trafficking in California’s Black communities. The virtual event was hosted by the Forgotten Children, Inc, a faith-based nonprofit that advocates for survivors and victims of human trafficking through anti-trafficking campaigns and initiatives.

Panelists shared the psychological impact of sexual exploitation on youth and children in the long term.

Author and educator Dr. Stephany Powell shared statistics and information revealing that African American women and girls are the most trafficked nationwide.

Powell, who serves as the senior advisor on law enforcement and policy at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation said that national data indicates that sex trade survivors are disproportionately women of color. She stated that male survivors often go unnoticed because boys rarely report trafficked crimes.

Powell said that decriminalizing prostitution in California could increase human trafficking. She argued that Senate Bill 357, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), which was signed into law in 2022 and legalized loitering for prostitution, caused a surge in street-level prostitution.

Panelist and psychologist Dr. Gloria Morrow shared opposing views on decriminalizing prostitution. She said that decriminalizing prostitution could help survivors gain access to state resources and support.

Despite opposing views, Powell and Morrow agree that the Black community needs resources and educational programs to address human trafficking.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Obituary: Social Justice Leader, the Rev. Cecil Williams, Passes at 94

On April 22, community leader and social justice advocate Reverend Cecil Williams died at his home in San Francisco surrounded by his loved ones, according to his family. He was 94 years old.

Published

21 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

The Rev. Cecil Williams, civil rights activist and social justice leader was the head pastor of San Francisco’s non-denominational GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church.

By California Black Media

On April 22, community leader and social justice advocate Reverend Cecil Williams died at his home in San Francisco surrounded by his loved ones, according to his family.

He was 94 years old.

The reverend was a civil rights leader who advocated for the equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the Bay Area.

Williams was the head pastor of the non-denominational GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church. The church welcomed individuals from the queer community and people struggling with homelessness, housing instability and substance use disorder (SUD).

Through his work, Rev. Williams attracted national attention. Prominent political and cultural leaders such as Maya Angelou, Bono, Oprah Winfrey, and Bill Clinton all attended church services at Glide.

Congressmember Barbara Lee (D-CA-12) said she is deeply saddened about the passing of her dear friend.

“The Reverend changed the lives of millions through radical love, support, inclusivity, and a commitment to service to the most marginalized,” Lee said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said that the reverend inspired people across California to embody the values of generosity and acceptance.

Rev. Williams was, “a visionary leader whose legendary compassion and love for his community transformed the lives of people from all walks of life,” Newsom said.

Rev. Williams served as the chief executive officer of the Glide Foundation until his retirement in 2023.