Activism

Lake Merritt Circle of Peace Vigil, a Prayer for Change in Oakland

Last Sunday, approximately 200 people came to Lake Merritt’s Amphitheater to shift energy in Oakland, where, after a 12% dip in violence in 2022, the city has seen an unprecedented number of car break-ins and crimes of opportunity in 2023. Event organizer Tanya Dennis said that though she had expected a larger crowd based on commitments voiced by several groups, the shared mission by Adamika Village and Oakland Frontline Healers to bring peacekeepers together to pray and reflect for peace in Oakland was a success.

Published

1 year ago

April 20, 2023

Oakland Post

Daryle Allums, founder of Adamika Village, speaks while members holding signs of deceased loved ones listen at the Circle of Peace event. Photo by J. Prado.

By Post News Staff

Event organizer Tanya Dennis said that though she had expected a larger crowd based on commitments voiced by several groups, the shared mission by Adamika Village and Oakland Frontline Healers to bring peacekeepers together to pray and reflect for peace in Oakland was a success.

Members of Adamika Village held signs with images of deceased loved ones lost to violence, COVID-19 or old age.

Several speakers said they believed that Oakland can transform if people focus on peace rather than violence. Others reflected on how different the outcome might have been for their loved ones lost to violence if Oakland practiced a culture of peace.

One participant shared that her brother had been killed in a road-rage incident and cautioned listeners not to respond in-kind to people on the freeway who are angry.

Other speakers present were Deana White, Adamika Village; Davina Kerrelola, senior program manager for Love Never Fails; and Kristin Clopton, manager of the Office of Violence Prevention for the City of Oakland

Alameda County Board President Nate Miley and Supervisor Keith Carson honored the day with a county proclamation, proclaiming, “April 8, as Oakland’s “Day of Peace.” Carson encouraged organizers to make the Circle of Peace an annual event.

Daryle Allums, founder of Adamika Village, leads a “Celebration of Life” during the Circle of Peace event. Photo by Darren White of Realized Potential.

Daryle Allums, founder of Adamika Village, did a “Calling of Names,” honoring those who have passed on in a Celebration of Life, with Tanya Dennis, CEO of Adamika Village finishing with an African libation, a call to ancestors to empower and support peace in Oakland.

When asked what the purpose of the vigil achieved, Dennis responded, “We are the foundation of restoring Oakland’s peace. Thanks to the support of SAVE and St Paul’s Episcopal Church, who held sacred space on the north end of the lake, positive healing energy was sent throughout our city. I checked OPD records and there were homicides on April 5, 6 and 7, but none that I can find on the day of our vigil, April 8.

“Shifting energy is real,” Dennis continued. “For the past four years there have been no homicides when Adamika Village hosts its annual “No Yellow Tape Day” at the end of the year. Imagine when more people start to believe and start focusing on peace. We have to be careful, focusing on violence attracts more violence. We are what we think. Think peace.”

On Thursday, Miley reached out to Dennis to thank her and Adamika Village for their hard work and dedication and to congratulate them on the event’s success. The violence experienced in Oakland parallels what’s going on in other cities.

“This is a national challenge that each of us experience daily — directly and indirectly– every single day, not only in the City of Oakland but throughout the East Bay,” he wrote.

There continues to be a need to address society’s ills, he noted, but a change in mindset is also critical.

And the Circle of Peace spoke to that mindset of raising consciousness about how people can treat one another better.

“Treating every person the way we would want to be treated must be at the very center of moving to experiencing daily peace,” he said.

Adamika Village and Oakland Frontline Healers will be supporting their sister agency, the Violence Prevention Coalition in hosting a citywide peace summit on June 24 at Laney College.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

3 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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1 week ago

April 19, 2024

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Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.

Published

1 week ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

By Post Staff

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.

His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.

Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.

At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.

The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.

Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”

After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”