Rejects Plan to Bring $160M Into Black, Brown Communities

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council voted Tuesday to deny placing the community-driven Emerald New Deal (END) on the upcoming November ballot. The proposed ballot measure was designed to funnel 100% of the city’s cannabis tax revenue to Black and Brown communities in East and West Oakland.

According to councilmembers Noel Gallo, Treva Reid and Loren Taylor, who all supported it, END’s plan would help repair the damage caused by the War on Drugs. Gallo, who grew up in Oakland, also urged the Council to make a serious commitment to supporting jobs, affordable housing and support for the formerly incarcerated residents.

Despite all councilmembers claiming to be progressive and supportive of the Black and Brown community, only three of them voted in support of this community-led initiative. “No” votes came from Councilmembers Sheng Thao and Carroll Fife, while Dan Kalb and Nikki Fortunato Bas abstained.

In a response to the City Council’s denial of the Emerald New Deal proposal the supporters held a press conference at City Hall to express their frustration. Over the next 20 years, the Emerald New Deal, funded by an estimated $160 million in cannabis taxes, could have improved the lives of thousands of Oakland residents by supporting affordable housing, re-entry services, workforce development, and other restitution efforts.

“This temporary setback does not mean our work is done,” declared Taylor during Wednesday’s press conference. “There is no excuse for rejecting the Emerald New Deal except a desire to maintain the status quo and keep Black people oppressed. Having a pool of $160 million in cannabis tax revenue over the next 20 years could have healed a lot of lives, housed a lot of people, and righted a lot of wrongs – especially in the Black community.”

One community group supporting the amendment is Emerald New Deal Healing And Reparations Measure or END HARM.

“The END HARM community coalition’s call to action will rise beyond the five Council votes needed to advance the Emerald New Deal ballot measure,” said Councilmember Treva Reid, who represents District 7. “The community will remain actively involved with us to organize and mobilize support to overcome the racially inequitable impacts of the War on Drugs and decades of devastating outcomes in East and West Oakland communities

Reid said city leaders must increase targeted and intentional measures to restore communities from the “crippling effect of disinvestment, systemic injustice, and racial disparities. City Council must prioritize well-funded measures that help to deliver a just, equitable, and resilient recovery for all Oaklanders.”

END HARM organizer Charles Reed is a returning family member who saw a need in his community but left his “first fight of shaping public policy battered and bruised from baseless accusations.

“For me, this was an education in Oakland politics,” Reed continued. “Now, I understand why normal people steer clear of politics. The thing is…I’m not a normal person, I’m a community organizer who believes that the people’s voices should be heard!”

END HARM’s goal is to register 5,000 returning family members to vote in the November election. “We need to register and express the power to affect policy for the People!” said Reed.

Emerald New Deal supporters announced that they will continue to fight to get placed on the ballot.

Councilmembers Taylor and Reid joined community advocates Deacon Hellen Harvey, Gamila Abdelhahim, and John Jones III, to demonstrate their full support of END HARM charter amendment. They note that the War on Drugs, which, in Oakland, led to over 12,655 individual arrests for cannabis offenses between 1995 and 2015 with 77% of those incarcerated being Black and 15% being LatinX. Supporters of END HARM anticipate more than $12 million being allocated to support social equity investments, including but not limited to:

• Reentry programs and support for the formerly incarcerated;
• Community-based mental health services;
• Affordable and transitional housing access; and,
• Workforce development and training.
• Cannabis Equity Program participants (business owners impacted by the war on drugs)

Reid said that END grew out of community organizing in Sobrante Park in District 7, which has a population of 65,000 people, 80% of which are Black and Brown neighbors struggling under the weight of decades of racism, disparities, inequities, and disinvestment.

“As national support rises for the decriminalization of cannabis use, we must ensure the Cannabis Business Tax revenue is dedicated to benefitting historically impacted Black and Brown communities,” Reid said.

The Emerald New Deal is already endorsed by more than 40 local organizations, including the Black Cultural Zone, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Urban Strategies Council, Spiritwurx and West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project. Community advocates who are leading the effort to mobilize city wide support, emphasize how significant the impact it will have on Oaklanders who are healing from the War on Drugs.

“The Emerald New Deal is a historic ordinance that will fulfill some of the promises made when we first legalized marijuana and established the cannabis program. We are doing this not just for those who have suffered, but also for those who continue to deal with the effects of broken families and trauma, and for our future generations,” said Gamila Abdelhahim. “We now turn to all other City Council representatives and ask them to acknowledge the harm that has been caused, be in this monumental moment with us, and vote to lift our future generations.”

Community organizer John Jones III asserted, “As it relates to the War on Drugs, it is not enough to simply acknowledge and/or apologize, but rather provide restitution and reparations for the harm inflicted upon the Black and Brown community”

“…Now that marijuana is legalized, it is only right that the very system that over-criminalized cannabis usage in certain areas, gives back to those same communities,” said Taylor. “I am grateful for Councilmembers Reid and Gallo who agree and have joined me in uplifting this legislation. I look forward to seeing the transformational impact it has on our community.”