City Government

OP-ED: Mayor, City Council Should Heed Residents’ Call for a Department of Race and Equity

Published

11 years ago

May 2, 2015

By Ise Lyfe

Auditioning. That’s what comes to mind when I think about the dynamic in the media and tone of local and federal governments as it relates to police brutality and holding law enforcement accountable for the perpetual murder of Black men.

Black men and women are on a constant and relentless audition for their humanity in America. After a Black man is murdered by a police officer, a peculiar thing begins to unfold and the auditioning begins.

First, the officer(s) is swept off into ambiguity, their names and histories all hidden and protected. This seems to be the pre-production to the audition and then, the real show begins.

Then, the life of the victim previous to his death at the hands of the officer(s) is put on trial, or audition. For example: “Was he in a gang?” “Was their marijuana in his system?” ”Did he graduate from high school?” “Has he ever been to prison?“

All of these questions are emitted from news media and they reflect the thinking of a large share of Americans. These questions are all offsets of the real question and feeling Americans subconsciously have when they learn of an unarmed Black man or woman being murdered:

“Is this person human enough for me to care about them being murdered by the police?”

Phase two of the audition comes along when the victim’s family is shuffled in front of cameras as they weep and try to compose themselves to talk about the murder of their loved one to a nation that is listening to them as long as a game isn’t on or Mayweather isn’t fighting…This nation stares into TV and computer screens and casually assesses the family, and in this part of the audition, America is deciding if the family of the deceased is a family that we should care about or is it safe to assume they bred a thug that was a loser and probably got what he had coming.

More questions are triggered as the family emerges:

“Why was he walking on that part of the road?” “Why was he standing in front of that store?”

Then comes the final phase of the audition…How Black communities and their allies respond to the injustice is scrutinized for the final part of the audition:

“Is their rage valid?” “Should they be blocking traffic as they protest?” “Should they be protesting at all?”

Jesse Jackson (who is so irrelevant to Black youth that if you showed a room full of Black kids a picture of Jesse and Billy D. Williams, they wouldn’t know the difference) said their rioting is uncalled for – is he right?

Black people who have been living in this country for four centuries and have been legal citizens here for a century and a half still can’t get a benefit of the doubt on their humanity!

Furthermore, their right to speak out against their oppression is ridiculed by America and largely perceived as an annoyance, sans the ratings and advertising dollars network news coverage rakes in from it all.

Residents and community organizations in Oakland, CA are asking their city government for an institutional solution to the disparities the city is plagued with. These disparities range from policing and safety to education and access to healthy foods.

The proposed solution is a city funded Department of Race and Equity.

The notion and plan was first authored by newly reelected City Councilmember Desley Brooks, who this past November was selected by Oakland voters to her 4th term as the leader of East Oakland’s District 6.

As she started her 13th year in office at the beginning of 2015, Black America was holding up a new slogan for the newest phase of humanity auditioning, Black Life Matters. They needed to remind America of that, you see…

Councilmember Brooks marched with protestors and was in agreeance with the provocative and peaceful protest against the slaying of Mike Brown and Kevin Garner. These peaceful protest shutdown Bay Area Rapid Transit for hours and brought media attention to a community demand for justice.

From her appointed office, she took on the challenges of racial injustice by laying the groundwork for a department of race and equity, which would be unprecedented in Oakland, both one of the nations most diverse and inequity riddled cities. Marketing ploys and PR driven travel articles about Oakland are criminally omissive about what the city really reflects.

Right now, an African-American child from East Oakland can expect to live 15 years less than a white child living only a few miles away.

That’s roughly equivalent to the difference between Iceland and Iraq. In 2006 Samoans had the highest arrest rate of any racial ethnic group in Oakland and Laotians in Oakland suffer from disproportionately high arrest rates.

Less than half of Latino and African-American male students graduate from high school.

“We all have our roles to play, and as elected officials we have to go a step beyond listening to our constituents and be imaginative and useful with the resources available to us,” said Desley Brooks. “The city government cannot and should not be spectators to the community’s call to end inequity. We should be partners and allies in this process. I’ve been a politician for sometime and one thing is for sure – if the city doesn’t put money behind it, it is all just lip service. This is why I’m asking our city to offer money and an institutional framework to end inequity in Oakland, rather than make empty promises and hold stale redundant meetings.“

Though Brooks initiated this call for a department of race and equity, she is far from a lone ranger in the cause. In just two months the campaign for the department has gotten over 31 major endorsements including but not limited to the NAACP, the Director of Alameda County Transit, Alameda County Central Labor Council, Asian Pacific Environmental Network , East Bay Asian Youth Center ,Communities For A Better Environment, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, and Causa Justa. Also, petitions both physical and online have tallied several hundred endorsements from residents across the city saying that this is something they want. Oakland residents even started a Facebook page dedicated to this effort.

You would think all of this support and outcry would move Oakland’s mayor, Libby Schaaf, and the other city council members to join the effort to bring this office into fruition, but it hasn’t. In fact, none of the other city council members elected by Oakland voters have endorsed or even acknowledged officially what so many Oaklanders in their districts are asking for. Councilmember Brooks has asked for a mere $500,000 from the City’s 2 year 1 BILLION DOLLAR budget to open the department. That is only 0.05% of the budget. The rest of the city officials seem to be balking at it or treating it like some radical notion. Meanwhile Mayor Schaaf is allocating $194,000,000 to the Oakland Police Department and the city spends $10,000,000 a year to subsidize the Oracle Arena, home of the Golden State Warriors.

Neither Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan nor Councilmember Noel Gallo were available when contacted for this article.

On April 22nd while holding a Twitter forum about the budget she will be submitting on April 30, 2015, Mayor Schaaf’s response to her constituents asking her to include a department of race and equity in the city budget was, to me (and others), insensitive and displaying of how out of touch even the mayor might be about equity:

“We love to cut ribbons but I would ALSO love to see us improve the structures and services we already have.”

Unfortunately, Mayor Schaaf seems to be unaware that Oakland has no structures or services within its body that address racial equity for her to improve…

Oaklanders living under putrid inequity conditions are not asking for a “ribbon to be cut”, their asking for the boot of police brutality and the noose of institutional racism to be cut from their necks.

Insiders have revealed that Mayor Schaaf, under pressure from residents who support the call for a department of race and equity, has included $100,000 to spread across 2 years to pay a “Race and Equity Consultant” to build an “Equity map” in Oakland. One, taking $100,000 out of a $1,000,000,000 for racial equity in Oakland is offensive and appalling. Two, by law, a consultant or contractor could not be managed or held accountable by the city. This is antithetical to what community members are asking for. Basically, this offering from the mayor outsources the responsibility of making Oakland equitable.

In researching all of this I thought I’d make a call to one of the bright minds and city actions that inspired Councilmember Brooks to call for a department of race and equity in Oakland.

I spoke with Donte James, Esq., Director of Portland, OR’s Office of Equity and Human Rights, to get a feel for what his office has accomplished and what it has done for Portland. To put race in context in the state of Oregon: When Oregon was granted statehood in 1859, it was the only state in the Union admitted with a constitution that forbade black people from living, working, or owning property there. It was illegal for black people even to move to the state until 1926.

“This department has only been in existence for a little over 3 years,” said James, “but in that time we’ve changed hiring policies, we’ve band the box so that people who have been formerly incarcerated do not have to check a mark on job applications that they’ve been convicted of a crime, and we facilitate a complete budget equity tool for every department in our city to be sure that resource allocation is guided by an ethic of equity. I’m really proud of the racial equity strategic plan our office has developed here. It essentially is a living document for every city department that unfolds over a 5-year period of time. This is the tool that helps to make sure that hiring, purchasing, contracting, outreach, and a sleuth of other important quality of life markers in Portland are equitable.”

He added, “We also work with the police bureau so that the interview and hiring of police is more character oriented and not just questions about a potential officers training or strategy index.”

Because of the push back or non-responsiveness Oakland residents are getting from their mayor and council members, I asked James if there was any initial push back on starting the office in Portland:

“Oh, absolutely – the main push back being around the funding of it. We were getting financial push back but we were only asking for about 1% of the entire city budget- 1.5 million of 300 million. Some people said that focusing on race creates more problems than it fixes. These of course were unfounded ideas. And you know, I really have to give a lot of credit to our mayor, Mayor Charlie Hales. He’s always addressed the inequities in Portland and stood behind our office unapologetically and that is necessary. I report directly to him and that’s what this is all about, accountability and structure,” James said.

(For added context, I want to note that Portland’s Mayor is a 59 year-old White man)

I was blown away listening to Mr. James, followed by even further disappointment and confusion in Oakland’s elected officials.

I’m from East Oakland’s Brookfield neighborhood. Unfortunately, if you grew up where I did, you’re not just from Oakland – you survive Oakland. We do not get to live in Oakland, we are surviving there. You survive the racially inequitable Oakland Unified School District, you survive your neighborhood with no grocery store, you survive skyrocketing rents and the new trampling inhabitants, and of course (if you’re lucky) you survive contact with over zealous and undertrained police officers.

There are two Oakland’s in Oakland, no matter how many trendy coffee and apparel shops you see popping up. What will define the new mayor is her willingness and performance to end the last twenty-year side stepping of racial issues in the city. She could start with an errata to her budget that provides in a tangible way the development of a Department of Race and Equity in Oakland.

In the meantime while we are all waiting, people of various backgrounds in the city are waking up and getting ready for their next humanity audition.

Ise Lyfe (HBO Def Poetry, Huffington Post, New York Times) is an award winning conceptual artist, justice advocate, author, and actor. Additionally, he’s one of the leading Spoken Word artists in America with a broad fan base stemming from appearances on several commercial market platforms and his social and political commentary.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Illinois Clears Major Hurdle for Obama Library in Chicago

Don't Miss

Jeb Bush Calls for Welfare, Education Reform in Wake of Baltimore Riots

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Discrimination in City Contracts

The report was made public by Councilmember Carroll Fife, who brought it this week to the Council’s Life Enrichment Committee, which she chairs. Councilmembers, angry at the conditions revealed, unanimously approved the informational report, which is scheduled to go to an upcoming council meeting for discussion and action. The current study covers five years, 2016-2021, roughly overlapping the two tenures of Libby Schaaf, who served as mayor from January 2015 to January 2023.

Published

3 days ago

February 13, 2026

Oakland Post

Dr. Eleanor Ramsey (top, left) founder, and CEO of Mason Tillman Associates, which conducted the study revealing contract disparities, was invited by District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife (top center) to a Council committee meeting attended by Oakland entrepreneur Cathy Adams (top right) and (bottom row, left to right) Brenda Harbin-Forte, Carol Wyatt, and councilmembers Charlene Wang and Ken Houston. Courtesy photos.

Disparity Study Exposes Oakland’s Lack of Race and Equity Inclusion

Part 1

By Ken Epstein

A long-awaited disparity study funded by the City of Oakland shows dramatic evidence that city government is practicing a deeply embedded pattern of systemic discrimination in the spending of public money on outside contracts that excludes minority- and woman-owned businesses, especially African Americans.

Instead, a majority of public money goes to a disproportionate handful of white male-owned companies that are based outside of Oakland, according to the 369-page report produced for the city by Mason Tillman Associates, an Oakland-based firm that performs statistical, legal and economic analyses of contracting and hiring.

The current study covers five years, 2016-2021, roughly overlapping the two tenures of Libby Schaaf, who served as mayor from January 2015 to January 2023.

The amount of dollars at stake in these contracts was significant in the four areas that were studied, a total of $486.7 million including $214.6 million on construction, $28.6 million on architecture, and engineering, $78.9 million on professional services, and $164.6 million on goods and services.

While the city’s policies are good, “the practices are not consistent with policy,” said Dr. Eleanor Ramsey, founder and CEO of Mason Tillman Associates.

There have been four disparity studies during the last 20 years, all showing a pattern of discrimination against women and minorities, especially African Americans, she said. “You have good procurement policy but poor enforcement.”

“Most minority- and women-owned businesses did not receive their fair share of city-funded contracts,” she continued. “Over 50% of the city’s prime contract dollars were awarded to white-owned male businesses that controlled most subcontracting awards. And nearly 65% of the city’s prime contracts were awarded to non-Oakland businesses.”

As a result, she said, “there is a direct loss of revenue to Oakland businesses and to business tax in the city… There is also an indirect loss of sales and property taxes (and) increased commercial office vacancies and empty retail space.”

Much of the discrimination occurs in the methods used by individual city departments when issuing outside contracts. Many departments have found “creative” ways to circumvent policies, including issuing “emergency” contracts for emergencies that do not exist and providing waivers to requirements to contract with women- and minority-owned businesses, Ramsey said.

Many of the smaller contracts – 59% of total contracts issued – never go to the City Council for approval.

Some people argue that the contracts go to a few big companies because small businesses either do not exist or cannot do the work. But the reality is that a majority of city contracts are small, under $100,000, and there are many Black-, woman- and minority-owned companies available in Oakland, said Ramsey.

“Until we address the disparities that we are seeing, not just in this report but with our own eyes, we will be consistently challenged to create safety, to create equity, and to create the city that we all deserve,” said Fife.

A special issue highlighted in the disparity report was the way city departments handled spending of federal money issued in grants through a state agency, Caltrans. Under federal guidelines, 17.06%. of the dollars should go to Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs).

“The fact is that only 2.16% of all the dollars awarded on contracts (went to) DBEs,” Ramsey said.

Speaking at the committee meeting, City Councilmember Ken Houston said, “It’s not fair, it’s not right. If we had implemented (city policies) 24 years ago, we wouldn’t be sitting here (now) waiving (policies).”

“What about us? We want vacations. We want to have savings for our children. We’re dying out here,” he said.

Councilmember Charlene Wang said that she noticed when reading the report that “two types of business owners that are consistently experiencing the most appalling discrimination” are African Americans and minority females.

“It’s gotten worse” over the past 20 years, she said. “It’s notable that businesses have survived despite the fact that they have not been able to do business with their own city.”

Also speaking at the meeting, Brenda Harbin-Forte, a retired Alameda County Superior Court judge, and chair of the Legal Redress Committee for the Oakland NAACP, said, “I am so glad this disparity study finally was made public. These findings … are not just troubling, they are appalling, that we have let these things go on in our city.”

“We need action, we need activity,” she said. “We need for the City Council and others to recognize that you must immediately do something to rectify the situation that has been allowed to go on. The report says that the city was an active or inactive or unintentional or whatever participant in what has been going on in the city. We need fairness.”

Cathy Adams, president of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce, said, “The report in my opinion was very clear. It gave directions, and I feel that we should accept the consultant Dr. Ramsey’s recommendations.

“We understand what the disparities are; it’s going to be upon the city, our councilmembers, and our department heads to just get in alignment,” she said.

Said West Oakland activist Carol Wyatt, “For a diverse city to produce these results is a disgrace. The study shows that roughly 83% of the city contracting dollars went to non-minority white male-owned firms under so-called race neutral policies

These conditions are not “a reflection of a lack of qualified local firms,” she continued. “Oakland does not have a workforce shortage; it has a training, local hire, and capacity-building problem.”

“That failure must be examined and corrected,” she said. “The length of time the study sat without action, only further heightens the need for accountability.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Post Newspaper Invites NNPA to Join Nationwide Probate Reform Initiative

The Post’s Probate Reform Group meets the first Thursday of every month via Zoom and invites the public to attend. The Post is making the initiative national and will submit information from its monthly meeting to the NNPA to educate, advocate, and inform its readers.

Published

6 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) represents the Black press with over 200 newspapers nationwide.

Last night the Post announced that it is actively recruiting the Black press to inform the public that there is a probate “five-alarm fire” occurring in Black communities and invited every Black newspaper starting from the Birmingham Times in Alabama to the Milwaukee Times Weekly in Wisconsin, to join the Post in our “Year of Action” for probate reform.

Reporter Tanya Dennis says, “The adage that ‘When America catches a cold, Black folks catch the flu” is too true in practice; that’s why we’re engaging the Black Press to not only warn, but educate the Black community regarding the criminal actions we see in probate court: Thousands are losing generational wealth to strangers. It’s a travesty that happens daily.”

Venus Gist, a co-host of the reform group, states, “ Unfortunately, people are their own worst enemy when it comes to speaking with loved ones regarding their demise. It’s an uncomfortable subject that most avoid, but they do so at their peril. The courts rely on dissention between family members, so I encourage not only a will and trust [be created] but also videotape the reading of your documents so you can show you’re of sound mind.”

In better times, drafting a will was enough; then a trust was an added requirement to ‘iron-clad’ documents and to assure easy transference of wealth.

No longer.

As the courts became underfunded in the last 20 years, predatory behavior emerged to the extent that criminality is now occurring at alarming rates with no oversight, with courts isolating the conserved, and, I’ve heard, many times killing conservatees for profit. Plundering the assets of estates until beneficiaries are penniless is also common.”

Post Newspaper Publisher Paul Cobb says, “The simple solution is to avoid probate at all costs. If beneficiaries can’t agree, hire a private mediator and attorney to work things out. The moment you walk into court, you are vulnerable to the whims of the court. Your will and trust mean nothing.”

Zakiya Jendayi, a co-host of the Probate Reform Group and a victim herself, says, “In my case, the will and trust were clear that I am the beneficiary of the estate, but the opposing attorney said I used undue influence to make myself beneficiary. He said that without proof, and the judge upheld the attorney’s baseless assertion. In court, the will and trust is easily discounted.”

The Black press reaches out to 47 million Black Americans with one voice. The power of the press has never been so important as it is now in this national movement to save Black generational wealth from predatory attorneys, guardians and judges.

The next probate reform meeting is on March 5, from 7 – 9 p.m. PST. Zoom Details:
Meeting ID: 825 0367 1750
Passcode: 475480

All are welcome.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Community Celebrates Turner Group Construction Company as Collins Drive Becomes Turner Group Drive

The event drew family, friends, and longtime supporters of Turner Group Construction, along with a host of dignitaries. The mood was joyful and warm, filled with hugs, handshakes and belated New Year’s greetings. Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and a festive display of gourmet cupcakes as they conversed about the street sign reveal.

Published

6 days ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

The Turner Construction group members.

By Carla Thomas

It was a family affair on Friday, Jan. 23, at the corner of Hegenberger Road and Collins Drive in East Oakland as community members, local leaders, and elected officials gathered to celebrate the renaming of Collins Drive to Turner Group Drive. The renaming saluted the Turner Group’s 45-plus years of economic development and community investment.

Special guests included former Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, veteran broadcaster Valerie Coleman-Morris, Chevron Senior Public Affairs Representative Andrea Bailey, community leaders Cephus “Uncle Bobby” Johnson and Beatrice “Aunt Bea” Johnson of the Oscar Grant Foundation, and Oakland City Councilmembers Ken Houston, Carroll Fife, and Kevin Jenkins. Members of WEBCORE, the Nor Cal Carpenters Union, the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC), Swinerton and Alten construction companies, activists Elaine Brown and David Newton, and many others joined the celebration.

Inside the event tent, an emotional Oakland City Councilmember Ken Houston spoke of his deep connection to the Turner family.

“I grew up on the same street with the Turners,” he said. “When my father passed away, their parents and siblings embraced me like family. This is our city, and it’s an honor to name this street Turner Group Drive because of the love and effort this company and family have given. Many dreams came out of this building. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the Turners.”

Councilmember Kevin Jenkins, whose father once taught the Turner brothers, added, “Len Turner is an amazing person. He’ll help anyone.”

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee praised the company’s legacy, noting its creation of the Construction Resource Center, which trains and mentors the next generation of builders and developers through partnerships across the region. “This is a great day for Oakland and a profound acknowledgment of the Turner Group’s contribution to our community,” she said.

Fife echoed that sentiment: “This is a day for celebrating Black excellence. The Turner Group has poured into people and the community, showing us what’s possible.”

Among the many family members in attendance was the Turners’ 92-year-old patriarch, whose presence underscored the strength of the family’s legacy.

A touching highlight of the event came when Coleman-Morris was honored for her lasting mentorship of LaTanya Hawkins, now program manager of the Construction Resource Center. In 1979, Hawkins, then a fourth-grader, wrote Coleman-Morris a letter seeking advice. Coleman responded with words of encouragement that inspired Hawkins to pursue her dreams. The two stayed in touch for decades. On stage, they embraced as Coleman reflected on “the power of small acts of kindness to change a life.”

Coleman-Morris also shared reflections on leadership and community spirit, saying, “If we change the way we look at things, the things we see will change.” She then recited the Serenity Prayer, reminding the crowd, “We are a powerful community, we just need to believe it.”

Company leaders Len and Lance Turner closed the ceremony with words of gratitude and humor. Len thanked his mother, wife, family, legal team, and longtime supporters including Carson, Geoffrey Pete, and the late Dorothy King of Everett & Jones Barbecue. He also acknowledged the challenges the company had overcome, saying, “Without all of this support, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Through Turner Group Construction and the Construction Resource Center, the Turners have created new opportunities for underrepresented groups in the construction industry and continue to inspire the next generation of builders.