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Black Women Wailing.  Black Women Healing.  Black Women Respond to the Violence in our City

On Sunday, Jan. 17, 2020, as part of Anti Police-Terror Project’s Reclaiming King’s Radical Weekend, Black women will engage in an online healing ceremony for Oakland.

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On Sunday, Jan. 17, 2020, as part of Anti Police-Terror Project’s Reclaiming King’s Radical Weekend, Black women will engage in an online healing ceremony for Oakland.

We are Oakland’s mothers, daughters, sisters, aunties, grandmothers, spouses, partners and elders whose hearts are shattering. We are artists, advocates and organizers. We are Black women.

Every bullet that steals one of our own also steals a piece of our soul. For months, we have waited for a response from city leaders that has not come. Our collective grief has turned to collective rage and a collective determination to insist the violence stops today.

We grieve these tragedies and long for freedom from institutions and systems that perpetuate violence.  Despite attempts to divide our movements, we remain firm that all violence is state violence.

Whether it be police or one of our own who steals a life; it is the state that creates the conditions that facilitate blood running through our streets. It is the state who benefits from our communities existing in perpetual chaos.  It is the state that withholds the resources, supports and services from our communities that could stop the violence, heal the trauma and forge a pathway toward safe communities.

We are tired of waiting for the state.

We are a collective of women who lead, live and love within the Black community of Oakland, CA. This King weekend, we join the collective dreaming of Oaklanders for a city where humanity is held sacred, communities are free from violence and Black people can breathe.

Why We Wail

Oakland lost more than 100 people to gun violence in 2020. At the time we are writing this letter, two people have already been shot and killed.  Our city’s response?  A press release from the Oakland Police Dept. criminalizing our young people and a call for more money for a failed police agency that is failing us at every turn.

 

The 2018 Oakland Equity Indicators  Report shows that Black youth ages 16-24 are out of work or out of school. The report demonstrates that African Americans in Oakland have the lowest median household income compared to other groups, at $37,500. They state, “African Americans were most likely to be living at or below the federal poverty level (26.1%), compared to 21.9% of Latinos, 15.0% of Asians, and 8.4% of whites.”

When you starve a community of the resources it needs to thrive; efforts to survive perpetuate violence.

While the City annually allocates almost 50% of our budget to the Oakland Police Dept., Black bodies and communities pay the price. Our budget model perpetuates violence on Black Oaklanders by failing to legislate for equitable access to housing, healthcare, education, public safety, economic sustainability; everything we need to create safe and healthy communities.

The carceral system then punishes individuals and families who fall through the cracks of broken systems, leading to a wide array of generational traumas.

All violence is state violence.

There can be no peace without access to healthy food.  There can be no safety without housing.  There can be no healing without trauma support.  There can be no joy without whole family units.  There can be no success without educational and economic opportunities.

We reject the notion and the practice of mass criminalization to safety.  We refuse the idea that the city does not have the resources to REfund our communities with supports and services that have been stolen.  We reject your morally bankrupt priorities.

We call into existence a healing balm for Oakland.  We demand support services for families and communities traumatized by violence.  We offer ourselves up as healers, counselors, spiritual advisors, sisters, friends and community members.  We extend love, support and compassion to our young people. We see your humanity.  We extend prayers and resources to the mothers who have lost children.

What We Demand: A Black New Deal

The new Oakland City Council must correct the social inequity that is the root of all state violence.

Whereas, the Oakland City Council has the power and responsibility to address the social inequities and consequences that stem from state violence through reinvestment in schools, housing, and mental health services,

Whereas, the people of Oakland require strong leadership from all city departments to configure a budget that reflects the value of human lives over profit by reinvesting funds from over policing to mental health and trauma support services,

Whereas, housing is a human right for all people regardless of their ability to obtain wealth,

Whereas, the City of Oakland must support all workers and residents during this pandemic with additional protections for employees, including paid sick days and other support for working families,

Whereas, Oaklanders demand access to clean environments that support sound physical and mental health including but not limited to: clean water, hygiene stations, free public transportation, rezoning of areas to protect family neighborhoods,

Whereas, COVID-19 has impacted all corners of our city, we demand our officials embody a public health perspective when addressing the short and long term consequences of this crisis,

Therefore be it resolved that this City Council commits itself to a Black New Deal that includes a complete transformation of how we do “public safety” in Oakland; fully funding good jobs, quality education, mental health supports, housing for all, quality education, healthy environments and equitable opportunities to thrive with a particular emphasis on repairing the damage done to Black Oaklanders through decades of neglect and racist policies and practices.

Closing

Our tears and grief wash clean the ill response of this city.  Our love for our children ushers in a new day of peace. Black women have always, and will always, provide the healing balm to our communities. We cannot wait for the state to bring peace to our streets; not so long as it continues to benefit from our destruction.

Sunday’s event will livestream from the Anti Police-Terror Project Facebook Page from 1:00-3:00 p.m.

With deep love for our city and our people,

Pastor Cherri Murphy, Dr. Crystallee Crain, Cat Brooks, Ashara Ekundayo, Amara T. Smith, Tonya Marie Amos, Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, Mizan Alkebulan-Abakah, Clarissa Douthard, Carolyn Johnson, Chaney Turner, Falilah Bilal, Margo Hall, Nehanda Imara, Regina Evans, Tasion Kwamilele, Tonya Love, Jadyn Polk, Venus Morris

 

 

 

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Oakland Post: Week of March 13 – 19, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 13 – 19, 2024

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Oakland Post: Week of March 6 – 12, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 6 – 12, 2024

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Who are the Alameda County District 4 Supervisor Candidates’ Top Campaign Contributors?

Below, we’ve listed each candidate’s 10 highest campaign contributors. For Miley, two of his top campaign donors also bought their own advertisements to support him and/or oppose Esteen through independent expenditures. Such expenditures, though separate from campaign donations, are also public record, and we listed them. Additionally, the National Organization of Realtors has spent about $70,500 on their own independent expenditures to support Miley.

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Jennifer Esteen. (Campaign photo) and Supervisor Nate Miley. (Official photo).
Jennifer Esteen. (Campaign photo) and Supervisor Nate Miley. (Official photo).

By Zack Haber

Nate Miley, who has served on Alameda County’s Board of Supervisors since 2000, is running for reelection to the District 4 supervisor seat.

Jennifer Esteen, a nurse and activist, is seeking to unseat him and become one of the five members of the powerful board that sets the county’s budget, governs its unincorporated areas, and oversees the sheriff, Alameda Health System, and mental health system.

District 4 includes most of East Oakland’s hills and flatlands beyond Fruitvale, part of Pleasanton and unincorporated areas south of San Leandro like Ashland and Castro Valley.

Voting is open and will remain open until March 5.

In California, campaign donations of $100 or more are public record. The records show that Miley has received about $550,000 in total campaign donations since he won the previous District 4 election in March 2020. Esteen has raised about $255,000 in total campaign donations since she started collecting them last July. All figures are accurate through Feb. 20.

While Miley has raised more money, Esteen has received donations from more sources. Miley received donations of $100 or more from 439 different sources. Esteen received such donations from 507 different sources.

Below, we’ve listed each candidate’s 10 highest campaign contributors. For Miley, two of his top campaign donors also bought their own advertisements to support him and/or oppose Esteen through independent expenditures. Such expenditures, though separate from campaign donations, are also public record, and we listed them. Additionally, the National Organization of Realtors has spent about $70,500 on their own independent expenditures to support Miley.

Nate Miley’s top campaign contributors:

The California Apartment Association, a trade group representing landlords and investors in California’s rental housing business, has spent about $129,500 supporting Miley’s election bid through about $59,500 in ads against Esteen$55,000 in ads supporting Miley, and $15,000 in campaign donations.

The independent expenditure committee Preserve Agriculture in Alameda County has spent about $46,025 supporting Miley through about $27,200 in their own ads, and $18,825 in donations to his campaign. Preserve Agriculture has supported reelection efforts for former Alameda County DA Nancy O’Malley, and Sheriff Greg Ahern, a republican. It’s received funding from ChevronPG&E, and a the California Apartment Association.

Organizations associated with the Laborers’ International Union of North America, or LiUNA, have donated about $35,000 in total. Construction and General Laborers Local 304, a local chapter of the union representing which represents over 4,000 workers, donated $20,000.

Laborers Pacific Southwest Regional Organizing Coalition, which represents 70,000 LiUNA members in Arizona, California, Hawaii and New Mexico, donated $15,000.

William ‘Bill’ Crotinger and the East Oakland-based company Argent Materials have donated $26,000. Crotinger is the president and founder of Argent, a concrete and asphalt recycling yard. Argent’s website says it is an eco-friendly company that diverts materials from landfills. In 2018, Argent paid the EPA $27,000 under a settlement for committing Clean Water Act violations.

Michael Morgan of Hayward, owner of We Are Hemp, a marijuana dispensary in Ashland, has donated $21,500.

Alameda County District 1 Supervisor David Haubert has donated $21,250 from his 2024 reelection campaign. He’s running unopposed for the District 1 seat.

SEIU 1021which represents over 60,000 workers in local governments, non-profit agencies, healthcare programs, and schools in Northern California, has donated $20,000.

UA Local 342, which represents around 4,000 pipe trades industry workers in Contra Costa and Alameda counties, donated $20,000.

The union representing the county’s deputy sheriffs, Deputy Sheriff’s Association of Alameda County, has donated $17,000.

Becton Healthcare Resources and its managers have donated $14,625. Becton’s mission statement says it provides “behavioral health management services to organizations and groups that serve the serious and persistent mentally ill population.”

Jennifer Esteen’s top campaign contributors:

Mary Quinn Delaney of Piedmont, founder of Akonadi Foundation, has donated $20,000. Akonadi Foundation gives grants to nonprofit organizations, especially focusing on racial justice organizing,

Bridget Galli of Castro Valley has donated $7,000. Galli is a yoga instructor and a co-owner of Castro Valley Yoga.

Rachel Gelman of Oakland has donated $5,000. Gelman is an activist who has vowed to redistribute her inherited wealth to working class, Indigenous and Black communities.

California Worker Families Party has donated $5,000. The organization’s website describes itself as a “grassroots party for the multiracial working class.”

David Stern of Albany has donated $5,000. Stern is a retired UC Berkeley Professor of Education.

Oakland Rising Committee—a collaborative of racial, economic, and environmental justice organizations—has donated about $3,050.

Fredeke Von Bothmer-Goodyear, an unemployed resident of San Francisco, has donated $2,600.

Robert Britton of Castro Valley has donated $2,500. Britton is retired and worked in the labor movement for decades.

Progressive Era PAC has donated about $2,400. Its mission statement says it “exists to elect governing majorities of leaders in California committed to building a progressive era for people of color.”

East Bay Stonewall Democrats Club has donated $2,250. The club was founded in 1982 to give voice to the East Bay LGBTQIA+ communities.

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