City Government

City Council Calls Public Hearing to Protect Black and Latino Lives in Oakland

Published

12 years ago

January 8, 2015

The Oakland City Council is calling a meeting in January to discuss the meaning of the Black Lives Matter movement for Oakland and what reforms the city must make to protect the human rights of its Black and Latino residents.

The meeting is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 24 at 1 p.m., location to be announced. Councilmembers Lynette McElhaney and Larry Reid submitted the resolution calling for the meeting.

“The recent protests are an indication of the desperation and frustration of members of our community who feel their needs are ignored by their government,” said McElhaney.

“Every 28 hours a Black citizen dies from contact with law enforcement or vigilantes. Oaklanders don’t have to look to Ferguson or New York. We know this pain in our own borders.”

McElhaney says that the council is encouraged by the fact that OPD has gone 18 months without an officer-involved shooting, “But it is time that Oakland lead the nation in restoring public confidence in the judicial system and law enforcement. This will make both officers and community more safe,” she said.

“We’ve been fighting for justice a long time,” says Reid. “I love my people. And, I love the officers who serve this community. But this forum is necessary to bring about the respectful dialogue needed to heal.”

The special meeting will focus on actions the council can take to address racial inequality in economic and justice systems, what the city can do to address the trauma caused by exposure to violence and preventing the tragic loss of black lives to homicide.

Representatives of Oakland Police Department and the City Administrator will be on hand to address concerns. Leaders and organizations dedicated to the work of racial justice will be asked to speak and share information.

Councilmember Desley Brooks recently authored a resolution, unanimously passed by the council, calling for charges to be filed against Officer Darrin Wilson of Ferguson and “Recognizing Our Collective Responsibility to Advance Racial Equity.”

Brooks, while in New York City, marched with the protesters as they called on people throughout the country to speak up and stop the senseless killings of unarmed African Americans by police.

Councilmember Dan Kalb, writing in his newsletter to constituents, backed the concerns raised by the Black Lives Matter Movement.

“Obviously, the core of the problem is the continuing racism that exists in our country,” he wrote, but “there are other related factors as well, including…an informal culture of mistrust and cover-up that may still pervade some police departments.”

For more information on the council’s public hearing, contact Brigitte Cook at (510) 238-7245.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 1 – 7, 2026

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5 days ago

July 5, 2026

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Inaugural Juneteenth Awards Ceremony Celebrates the Fillmore’s Black History, Leadership and Resilience

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

Published

2 weeks ago

June 26, 2026

Oakland Post

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown, Pastor Emeritus of Third Baptist Church, SF Mayor Daniel Lurie. Photo by Linda Parker Pennington.

By Linda Parker Pennington

The Fillmore Community Ambassadors held its first annual Juneteenth Wesley Johnson White Horse Awards ceremony on June 19 inside the newly reopened Fillmore Heritage Center.

The event featured awards for former San Francisco mayors London Breed and Willie Brown, along with Third Baptist Church Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown.

The Koret Heritage lobby at the newly reopened center at 1330 Fillmore St. held a standing-room-only, culturally diverse and multi-generational audience while the art gallery featured photos of Fillmore community members in action, red Japanese lanterns, art and calligraphy, and Chinese artwork, giving the space a multicultural feel.

Addressing more than 100 Black and Asian attendees, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie stated “San Francisco is reliant on the Black community, and we must invest in this community.”

District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood acknowledged that “the Fillmore community has had a difficult history. Thanks to Rev. Amos Brown’s continuous focus on accountability and resistance, you hold us accountable and continue to inspire us.”

Mahmoud is referring to the Fillmore’s Japanese residents who were forced from their homes and sent to concentration camps during World War II. Black people occupied those homes until the return of their Japanese neighbors and then gave them back, while homes that had been unoccupied were lost. The presence of the Asian community on Juneteenth is a testament to that shared history.

In receiving his honor, Amos Brown elicited a powerful spontaneous call-and-response, where members of San Francisco’s many Black churches proudly shouted out the names: “Bethel AME! Providence Baptist! Jones Memorial! Glide!”

Awards program Master of Ceremonies Shawn Richards of Brothers Against Guns warmly introduced Breed, highlighting her many accomplishments, particularly on “March 16, 2020, when she became the first mayor to shut down a major U.S. city due to COVID-19, saving thousands of lives.”

The audience was captivated by Breed’s emotional speech touching on past traumas, present conditions, and future hopes for the neighborhood where she grew up.

She recalled another trauma of the neighborhood during the City’s redevelopment era in the 1960s, where Black residents were forced to move with a promise of being able to return that was largely unfulfilled.

“We remember when this land was just a field because they bulldozed hundreds of Victorian homes that Black people owned. They built the Fillmore Center, where most Black people can’t afford to live or start their own business. But we are still here.”