Activism

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao Launches Human Trafficking Advisory Council

Oakland Police Department, also a part of the advisory council, shared that in partnership with the FBI, they completed 26 critical investigations where 14 minors were rescued, 27 individuals were arrested for solicitation, and 14 individuals suspected of human trafficking were arrested.

Published

6 months ago

November 5, 2023

Magaly Muñoz

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, center, with members of her new Human Trafficking Advisory Council. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

By Magaly Muñoz, Post Staff

On Wednesday evening, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao launched her Human Trafficking Advisory Council. Collaborating with several agencies, the council aims to devise strategies to prevent and investigate human trafficking crimes, as well as assist victims in healing from these crimes.

Thao was joined by City Council President Niki Fortunato Bas, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, the Oakland Police Department, the Oakland Department of Violence Prevention, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department, and a coalition of survivor advocate groups and community organizations.

“It is our job as a whole community, as neighbors, as stewards of humanity to ensure that we are protecting our boys and girls, men and women, to ensure that they do not have to face a life of being trafficked,” Thao said.

Earlier this month, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price unveiled six new billboards at Oakland International Airport that are part of her campaign against human trafficking in the Bay Area.

The billboards will feature QR codes and phone numbers, offering victims and survivors access to helplines and resources. The information displayed on these billboards will be available in three languages.

Thao said they are looking into the option of putting up additional billboards around the city but will leave it up to the Council to find the best solutions to raising awareness about sex trafficking.

Alameda County is identified as the third-largest hub for sex trafficking in the country, with 4,700 youth victims.

“It [human trafficking] is a billion-dollar industry, and our efforts have to step up to that,” Price said during her press conference.

The council identified the streets and neighborhoods between International Boulevard, East 14^thStreet, and East 15^th Street, also known as “the Blade,” as the most active zones for trafficking in Oakland.

When asked how she will ensure that the community doesn’t see an increase in police presence in the streets as a negative, Thao said there are two sides to the issue.

First, the role of police partnerships is to look out for pimps and perpetrators of sex trafficking and to enforce the relevant laws. Second, victims need resources like housing, jobs, and food. This is where community organizations come into play.

Venus Morris from Survivors Healing Advising and Dedicated to Empowerment (SHADE) shared that the isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic made it easier to exploit people because of idle time that perpetrators’ had coupled with the lack of resources accessible to survivors and victims.

She said her work with SHADE goes towards diffusing the epidemic of sex trafficking and helping kids feel like selling their bodies and walking the streets is not the only option to getting some stability in their lives.

“Awareness isn’t a campaign. It’s an action,” Morris said.

The mayor stated that the council will regularly convene to discuss strategies concerning resources for victims, proper intervention and enforcement of these crimes, and examine the underlying issues that make victims vulnerable.

Magaly Muñoz

A graduate of Sacramento State University, Magaly Muñoz’s journalism experience includes working for the State Hornet, the university’s student-run newspaper and conducting research and producing projects for “All Things Considered” at National Public Radio. She also was a community reporter for El Timpano, serving Latino and Mayan communities, and contributed to the Sacramento Observer, the area’s African American newspaper.

Muñoz is one of 40 early career journalists who are part of the California Local News Fellowship program, a state-funded initiative designed to strengthen local news reporting in California, with a focus on underserved communities.

The fellowship program places journalism fellows throughout the state in two-year, full-time reporting positions.

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Magaly Muñoz

A graduate of Sacramento State University, Magaly Muñoz’s journalism experience includes working for the State Hornet, the university’s student-run newspaper and conducting research and producing projects for “All Things Considered” at National Public Radio. She also was a community reporter for El Timpano, serving Latino and Mayan communities, and contributed to the Sacramento Observer, the area’s African American newspaper. Muñoz is one of 40 early career journalists who are part of the California Local News Fellowship program, a state-funded initiative designed to strengthen local news reporting in California, with a focus on underserved communities. The fellowship program places journalism fellows throughout the state in two-year, full-time reporting positions.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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

Published

21 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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

Published

1 week ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

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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

1 week 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.”