Featured

Movement for Black Lives Wants Communities to Reclaim Public Land

Published

7 years ago

June 23, 2017

Children help put finishing touches on a mural at a lot at 75th and Macarthur Boulevard in Oakland in effort for communities to reclaim public land.

Black Lives Matter Bay Area and other organizations gathered on Juneteenth with members of the community in a day of action at the intersection of 75th and MacArthur in Oakland as part of a nationwide call by Movement for Black Lives and Black Land and the Liberation Initiative to reclaim public land.

About 80 people came out to the all-Black event after organizers spent time learning what the neighbors both wanted and needed. The open lot has been transformed into a mini-park, something that brought joy to the community, which includes dozens of children.

“What we learned was that they had never had a park,” said organizer Cara Cotton, a second-grade teacher at Ile Omode school and an East Oakland native.

Community members put up four semi-permanent structures, Cotton said, including a play structure, two benches made from cinder blocks and a mural by Richmond painter Malik Seneferu. There is also an altar with candles on the top and books about Africans in America and a biography of Nat Turner at the bottom.

“The idea was to make it a memorial for community … a way to connect Black people in the area with their history,” said Cotton. Accompanied by some of her students, she poured libation and asked those present to recite the names of their ancestors.

According to lead organizer Chinyere Tutashinda, of the BlackOUT Collective, “Land and capital has continued to flow out of Black communities while Black people are displaced through cycles of police and vigilante terror, gentrification, incarceration, and economic forces; and it is time for us to take stand.”

The movement to reclaim land has a special meaning for Oakland, said Mitchell. “Historically, Oakland has been a city marked widely by Black home ownership,” said Nikita Mitchell. “But through the mechanisms of capitalism, Black people are being displaced from these historically Black spaces through banks and developers greedily snatching and flipping these properties for greater profit.”

Across the country, hundreds of individuals joined the day of action — in Oakland and Vallejo, CA; Chicago, IL; Atlanta, GA; New Orleans, LA; Kansas City, MO; Detroit, MI and several other cities — to put land-based reparations back into the national conversation.

For more information on the initiative, visit www.blacklandandliberation.org or contact Chinyere Tutashinda at chinyeretutashinda@gmail.com

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Kalanick’s Departure Gives Uber a New Chance in Oakland, Says Community Coalition

Don't Miss

Oakland City Council Adopts New Department of Violence Prevention

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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

Published

7 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

City Government

Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Beverli Marshall began her first day with the City on April 10. ICMA image.

Special to The Post

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.

Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”

According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.

“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”

When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.

At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”

While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.

On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.

“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.

The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.