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Community Leaders Respond to the Firing of Chief LeRonne Armstrong: MAYOR SHENG THAO IS WRONG

The Oakland NAACP and Community leaders are livid about Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s dismissal of Chief of Police LeRonne Armstrong. In a press conference just hours before the Police Commission could announce a report of their own, Thao stated she had lost confidence in the chief on February 15, Wednesday afternoon.

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Chief of Police LeRonne Armstrong
Chief of Police LeRonne Armstrong

By Carla Thomas

The Oakland NAACP and Community leaders are livid about Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s dismissal of Chief of Police LeRonne Armstrong. In a press conference just hours before the Police Commission could announce a report of their own, Thao stated she had lost confidence in the chief on February 15, Wednesday afternoon. Armstrong who was placed on leave three weeks ago has been left in limbo over a police officer’s misconduct last year involving an accident in a police car and discharging a weapon in an elevator at headquarters.  A report accuses Armstrong of not holding the officer accountable. Armstrong has reiterated that he was unaware of the report and by policy the incident is investigated independently.

A partial statement released by the City of Oakland Police Commission reads: “The Commission voted for a Discipline Committee to explore these issues and in particular the allegations against the Chief…the Commission was not informed of the Mayor’s decision to release the Chief before her press conference…We are sorry those an effective reform-minded Chief who led the OPD into compliance in the 51 out of 52 tasks of the Negotiated Settlement Agreement ”

Federal Monitor Robert Warshaw, who has overseen the Oakland Police Department for 2 decades, has amassed a small fortune at $100,000 a month of the city’s budget. With the Department just months away from having the federal oversight removed, and 51 of the 52 points within the NSA (Negotiated Settlement Agreement) complete, city leaders are now questioning how a police chief that has a track record of building community bridges and healing a city bruised by violence, could be disparaged and fired when he did nothing wrong.

Hosting a meeting in the Madeline Senegal Fellowship meeting room at his church, Acts Full Gospel Church of God in Christ’s. Bishop Bob Jackson recalled how he sent a letter representing over 30 organizations to the then mayor supporting Armstrong’s appointment to police chief two years ago.

“This is an injustice and the community has to rise up against this,” said Jackson.

“This is all unfair and we will continue to fight for our chief,” said Oakland NAACP president Cynthia Adams.

The NAACP is calling on everyone to join a rally at city hall at noon on Monday, February 20 to protest the mayor’s decision. By their standards, the chief should be exonerated, the confidential reports that were leaked should be investigated, the federal monitor who has been fired as a monitor in cities such as Detroit should be investigated, and the Police Commissions investigative reports should have had a complete due  process that demonstrated again that Armstrong was not at fault. Armstrong thanks the community and city leaders for their support. “I really appreciate all of this support and your prayers. It’s keeping my family and I strong,” he said.

Leaders of the Chinese, Latino, church, business and Black community communities along with Oakland City councilmember Noel Gallo, former councilmember Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor among others, have come together again with story after story of how Armstrong was ever present in the community and a game changer who has transformed the community and police relations for the better.

“I’ve spoken about federal monitor Warshaw on a national level and have been told Warshaw should have never had the job and that he should be fired,” said Gallo.

Pastor Phyllis Scott, president of The Pastors of Oakland, spoke of a graduation in the community where Armstrong signed everyone’s diploma. “He has done tremendous work in East Oakland,” she said.

At noon on Thursday, small group of community members expressed their dismay of Armstrong’s firing outside City Hall at Oscar Grant Plaza. Oscar Grant’s mother, Wanda Jones, CEO of the Oscar Grant Foundation questioned why there are so many chief’s fired under the federal monitor. “Every time we get a new mayor, the police chief is gotten rid of and that’s unacceptable,” said Jones. “We know that mayor’s bring in their own staff, but the way the mayor’s gone about doing this is wrong. The chief should not have been fired.”

Community elder and historic Black Panther member, Rosalind Charlotte Patton said saw the chief’s firing on the news the night before and rushed to the rally with a sign in support of Armstrong. She said she wanted her voice heard even if she wasn’t a speaker bearing a sign stating: ” Mayor Sheng Thao you are dead wrong, the community supports Chief LeRonne Armstrong.”

Community leaders Seneca Scott, Loren Taylor, Brenda Grisham, Jorge Flores, and Antoine Towers also spoke at the rally in support of Armstrong.

Scott echoed the NAACP and community leaders is demanding the chief be exonerated, that the investigative reports that were leaked be investigated, and the federal monitor be investigated.

“We will continue to fight this,” he said.

Activism

20 Years Later, Breast Cancer Emergency Fund a Testament to Faith Fancher’s Enduring Legacy

When a woman is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, chemotherapy and radiation often make her too weak to work. If she is working a low-paying job or unemployed, the mounting bills can become overwhelming. For 20 years, the Women’s Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) has provided a lifeline. The Berkeley-based non-profit organization administers the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, which gives cash grants of up to $595 to low-income women in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties who are battling breast cancer.

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Faith Fancher, a KTVU reporter, died of breast cancer in 2003.
Faith Fancher, a KTVU reporter, died of breast cancer in 2003

By Tammerlin Drummond

When a woman is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, chemotherapy and radiation often make her too weak to work. If she is working a low-paying job or unemployed, the mounting bills can become overwhelming.

For 20 years, the Women’s Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) has provided a lifeline. The Berkeley-based non-profit organization administers the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, which gives cash grants of up to $595 to low-income women in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties who are battling breast cancer.

Grant recipients have used the money to help pay for food, utilities, rent, car insurance, medical co-pays and other necessities. One woman who was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer said she used her $595 grant to buy an oxygen concentrator.

“You could say the air I breathe is because of your generosity,” she said. “I am so incredibly grateful to you and am feeling better every day.

The fund is named in honor of Faith Fancher, a popular television reporter at KTVU who died in 2003 after a valiant battle against breast disease, the web site says. Fancher saw her own cancer as an opportunity to use her public profile to raise awareness and educate others about the importance of early detection.

Fancher founded an organization called Friends of Faith that was dedicated to raising funds for low-income women with breast cancer.

It was 20 years ago this March that Fancher first approached the Women’s Cancer Resource Center about setting up an emergency grant program for women going through breast cancer treatment.

One of the earliest recipients was a 50-year-old homeless woman who used her $595 grant to pay for moving costs into housing she could afford.

“Faith understood the financial burden that low-income individuals faced when diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Dolores Moorehead, who oversees the fund at the WCRC. “This was the first fund dedicated to financial support being offered in the East Bay.”

Over the past two decades, the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund has given out $992,000 in one-time cash grants. There have been 2,500 beneficiaries, including women and some men with breast cancer.

Ricki Stevenson, a founding member of Friends of Faith, reflected on Fancher’s legacy and the enduring impact of the emergency fund that she created.

“It says that Faith continues to be a presence and it wasn’t just about her,” Stevenson said. “It was so all of the other sisters who come behind us they now have help even though they don’t have the same resources.”

Rosie Allen, another founding member of Friends of Faith, said Fancher left a lasting impact. “Twenty years later Faith is no longer with us, but the breast cancer emergency fund lives on and the need is even greater than ever.”

The Friends of Faith used to host an annual 5K walk/run at Lake Merritt to honor Fancher after she died. It raised funds for the emergency fund and other Bay Area non-profits that provide services to breast cancer survivors.

After Friends of Faith disbanded in 2017, the To Celebrate Life Foundation, former Friends of Faith board members and community members have continued to support the breast cancer emergency fund.

Shyanne Reese used her grant to help pay her rent while she was going through breast cancer treatment.

“I often reflect on how I wish I could share with Faith the impact her life and friends made on me in a non-judgement environment, relieving the financial stress of simply paying the rent so that I could focus on healing,” Reese said.

“With your support, we are able to continue this fund and support our community members when they need us most, said WCRC Executive Director Amy Alanes.

To donate to the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency fund, visit https://tinyurl.com/FaithFancher.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of March 29 – April 4, 2023

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 29 – April 4, 2023

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 29 - April 4, 2023

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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How the Crack Cocaine Epidemic Led to Mass Sex Exploitation of Black People PART 3: The Case Against SB357: Black, Vulnerable and Trafficked

Although California Senate Bill 357 was intended to alleviate arrests of willing sex workers under anti-loitering laws, it opened up a Pandora’s box loophole that hinders the ability of law enforcement to halt human trafficking, especially of young Black and Brown girls. This segment continues to explore the history that led to this latest form of exploitation in Oakland.

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Sable tied up.
Sable tied up.

By Tanya Dennis and Vanessa Russell

Although California Senate Bill 357 was intended to alleviate arrests of willing sex workers under anti-loitering laws, it opened up a Pandora’s box loophole that hinders the ability of law enforcement to halt human trafficking, especially of young Black and Brown girls. This segment continues to explore the history that led to this latest form of exploitation in Oakland.

It was 1980: The beginning of the end for the Black family and Black community as we knew it.

Crack cocaine was introduced to the United States that year and it rendered unparalleled devastation on Black folks. Crack is a solid smokable form of cocaine made by boiling baking soda, cocaine, and water into a rock that crackles when smoked.

The tremendous high — especially when first smoked — and the low cost brought temporary relief to the repeatedly and relentlessly traumatized members of the Black community.

What was unknown at the time was how highly addictive this form of cocaine would be and how harmful the ensuing impact on the Black family when the addicted Black mother was no longer a haven of safety for her children.

The form made it easy to mass produce and distribute, opening the market to anyone and everyone, including many Black men who viewed selling crack as their way out of poverty.

These two factors — addicted Black women and drug-dealing Black men — would lead to the street exploitation for sex as we know it today.

Encouraged to try it free initially, most poor, Black women in the 1980s used crack cocaine in a social setting with friends. When the free samples disappeared the drug dealer offered to supply the women crack in exchange for allowing him to sell their bodies to sex buyers.

The increase in the supply of women willing to exchange sex for crack — a.k.a. the “sex for crack barter system” — caused the price of sex to decrease and at the same time increased the demand for sex because more buyers could afford it.

The desperation of the women to get their hit of crack made them willing to endure any form of abuse and treatment from buyers during sex, including unprotected and violent sex.

It also pushed desperate Black women onto the street to pursue sex buyers, flagging down cars and willing to have sex anywhere actively and desperately. Street prostitution grew and buyers were able to buy oral sex for as little as $5.
This sex-for-crack barter system resulted in a dramatic increase in sexually transmitted diseases including HIV and AIDS, both of which are disproportionately represented among Black people.
It also resulted in unplanned pregnancies by unknown fathers, which then resulted in children born addicted to crack who were immediately placed in the foster care system where they were often abused and/or neglected.

For his part, the Black man who engaged in the mass production and distribution of crack was often killed by gun violence while fighting over drug territory or incarcerated for long periods of time as use and sales and distribution of crack carried longer sentences than powdered cocaine.

Crack unleashed an entire chain of new trauma upon the Black family which then all but collapsed under this latest social attack that had started with chattel slavery, followed by Jim Crow, redlining, school segregation, food deserts, et. al.

Exploitation was and is at the root of the crack cocaine epidemic. It is the latest weapon used to prey upon Black people since the beginning of our time in the United States.

The sex industry and legislation like SB357 have only increased harm to Black people who have been historically oppressed with racist laws and epidemics including crack. More must be done to restore the Black community.

Tanya Dennis serves on the Board of Oakland Frontline Healers (OFH) and series co-author Vanessa Russell of “Love Never Fails Us” and member of OFH.

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