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OP-ED: An Oakland National Night Out That Celebrated Alternatives to “Policing and Prisons”

Published

10 years ago

August 5, 2015

By Troy Williams

According to its website, “National Night Out is a cohesive effort to promote involvement in crime prevention activities, police-community partnerships, neighborhood camaraderie and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.”

Now, I’m sure everyone will agree that we all want to live in a safe community. When I heard about the National Night Out event, I got on the bus with my camera and headed to Lake Merritt in Oakland.

Upon arriving the first thing I noticed was how diverse the attendance was. People of every race, color, creed, and sexual orientation were involved, engaged each other in conversation and listened to music from Bay Area artist Naima Shalhoub, and conscious rap from Khafre Jay from the Hip Hop for Change.

Speakers expressed their desire to end the fear, trauma, and violence that continue to affect communities in Oakland and all over America. Noticeably missing were the police.

The event was organized by the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland and hosted by John Jones.

Jones expressed gratitude to Darris Young, a local organizer for the Ella Baker Center, who encouraged him not to return to a life of crime when things got rough. According to Jones, Young had told him, “Instead of us returning to the same trap that got us incarcerated, we can become instruments of liberation for ourselves and for others who find themselves in similar circumstances.”

Those words resonated with me. So I asked Young what had prompted him to help organize this event. I learned that he was also formerly incarcerated.

Troy Williams

In 1998, Young was sentenced to 36 years to life for robbery. He explained how the judge at his sentencing took into account that he had a lot of bad breaks in life, but the judge still told him, “You could have been anything you wanted to be, but nothing stopped you but you.”

Young said he took the judges words with him to prison. One hundred and twenty days later, that same judge reversed his life term. He was paroled in 2012.

Having turned his life around, he wanted to make it clear to readers. “We are not anti police,” Young said. “We understand liberation to mean that we must make a connection with our neighbors. Violence has to stop on all sides. But sometimes National Night Out can appear to be about expanding policing through neighbors rather than expanding relationships.”

Echoing Young’s words, Cat Brooks, founder of the Anti Police Terror Project in Oakland, added, “There are alternatives to increasing the safety of our communities outside of policing and prisons.”

I believe this to be true. Policing is only one aspect of protection. Police usually arrive after the fact of a crime, after someone has been hurt. Ideally, community should arrive so far in advance that hurting someone in the community you love is not an option.

When I was leaving the event, I noticed several police cars stopped at a traffic signal. I walked across the intersection and asked a sergeant in one vehicle, “Hey, where were you guys?”

“We weren’t invited,” he responded.

Obviously, there is a major divide between the police and community in Oakland and I’m not sure how we can truly effect change without all the stakeholders sitting at the table.

Oakland Post

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Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

7 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

12 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

1 year ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.