Featured

Op-Ed: Families of Police Victims Are Energizing the Movement

Published

8 years ago

February 19, 2016

By Cephus ‘Uncle Bobby’ Johnson,

On Jan. 1, 2009 at 2:11 a.m. on the Fruitvale Bart Station platform, my life was drastically changed forever. Bart Police Officer Johannes Mehserle upholstered and shot his SIG Sauer P226 weapon, murdering my nephew Oscar Grant.

When I received the news, I fell to the ground in my mother’s home. Though I was furious, I was so grateful for the last text message I had sent to Oscar before he died: “Uncle Love You, God Love you, and God Loves your family,”

The shot that took Oscar’s life an hour and a half later has energized us all to advocate for an end to police brutality in Oakland.

Police terrorism is not new to Oakland or the Bay Area. Following the influx of Blacks during the World War II industrial era, the Oakland Police Department began openly recruiting police officers from the Deep South to impose unofficial Jim Crow injustice.

In 1950, the antagonism and brutality led the California State Assembly Committee on Crime and Correction to host hearings on police brutality in Oakland.

These hearings were part of a larger, community-based struggle against police brutality in the Bay Area. The civil rights activism in the 1940s and 1950s, especially the organizing against police brutality, shaped the emergence of 1960s activism in the Bay Area and of the Black Panther Party in Oakland in 1966.

While today’s activism in Oakland builds upon these legacies, what is crucial in the current movement is the advocacy of family members affected by police brutality.

Our family’s activism led to the first time in California policing history that a police officer who killed an innocent Black person while on duty was charged, arrested, convicted, and sent to jail.

Families around the country are demanding that elected officials, media and others join their fight for justice for their slain loved ones. Today, the emphasis on the family’s role in activism is critical.

Families of victims of police terrorism will gather in Oakland on Saturday, Feb. 27, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, 3701 Telegraph Ave., Oakland.

These families will discuss policing in the 21st century and the devastating impact police terrorism has had on their lives. Please join the families of Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Mario Woods, Sean Bell, Rekia Boyd, Oscar Grant, and others, as well as legendary Oakland Black Panther leaders for this important discussion.

This is a call to action for all people of conscience to help us get justice and end police terrorism.

Cephus ‘Uncle Bobby’ Johnson is the uncle of Oscar Grant. For more information, contact him at uncle.bobby.johnson@gmail.com or visit Eventbrite at www.eventbrite.com/e/policing-in-the-21st-century-where-do-we-go-from-here-tickets-21286127380

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 16 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 16 – 30, 2024

Published

10 mins 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.

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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.

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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.