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

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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

Published

6 days ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post

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Activism

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

6 days 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.”

Oakland Post

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Activism

WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Juanita Matthews

Sister Juanita Matthews

55 Years with Oakland Public School District

The Teacher, Mother, Community Outreach Champion, And Child of God

Juanita Matthews, better known as “Sister Teacher,” is a walking Bible scholar. She moved to California from the great state of Arkansas in 1971. Sister Teacher has a passion for teaching. She has been a member of Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church since 1971. She followed her passion for teaching, and in 1977 became the lead teacher for Adult Class #6. Her motto still today is “Once My Student, Always My Student”.

Beyond her remarkable love for the Lord, Sister Teacher has showcased her love for teaching by working for the Oakland Unified School District for 55 years, all but four of those years spent at Emerson Elementary and Child Development School. She truly cares about her students, making sure they have the tools/supplies needed to learn either at OUSD or Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

She’s also had a “Clothes Closet Ministry” for 51 years, making sure her students have sufficient clothing for school. The Clothes Closet Ministry extends past her students, she has been clothing the community for over 50 years as well. She loves the Lord and is a servant on a mission. She is a loving mother to two beautiful children, Sandra and Andre. This is the impact this woman of God has on her church and the community.