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Racially Profiled, Drummers Make Noise about Gentrification in Oakland

Published

10 years ago

October 2, 2015

Over one hundred people, most of them drummers, gathered in front of City Hall Monday evening to bring attention to what longtime Oaklanders feel is an increase in tensions between longtime residents and the influx of newcomers to the city.

The drum circle protest was catalyzed by an incident at the new amphitheater around Lake Merritt on Sunday night when a white man assaulted a circle of Black and Latino drummers from the SambaFunk! Funkquarians for playing their drums and then called the police on the musicians.

The man pressed charges against several of the drummers for assault and the group was forced to stay put for hours as about 13 police officers wrote mandatory reports and cited the members who were charged, while the man was free to leave after pressing charges.

Eventually, one of the drummers pressed charges against the man for assault as well, claiming the man had grabbed his drumsticks from his hand to force him to stop playing.

For a number of community members, the conflict between the drummers and the upset neighbor, with the police siding against the locals, exemplifies the type of interactions longtime residents are loathing as the city is quickly being gentrified by many who are unfamiliar with and unsympathetic to Oakland’s deep, cultural traditions.

According to Theo Williams, artistic director of the SambaFunk! Funkquarians who ultimately pressed charges against the disrupter, “All of this is really under the sweeping umbrella of gentrification. It’s new people—not from Oakland—moving into a cultural environment, not understanding it and trying to change the nature of it.”

Williams said the drummers on Sunday night were not practicing past curfew and not doing anything illegal.

“The main issue is how the police respond when they’re called out and see a group of people of color and a non-person of color making accusations and claims against them,” said Williams. “Are the police responding in a fair and unbiased way until they can figure out what’s really going on?”

On Monday in front of City Hall, Councilmember Abel Guillen, who represents the district where the incident occurred, approached the group of drummers and assured them he would try to find solutions and “resolve issues with all impacted and to have this conversation with OPD.”

Guillen also mentioned his commitment to reviving the Oakland Arts Commission—which was defunded under Mayor Jean Quan in 2011—to “make sure that the arts community has a seat at the table” and to “deal with these issues.”

In a Facebook post he wrote after hearing about the altercation, Guillen said the incident felt like a red flag that brought attention to “the broader social backdrop of the stress, insecurity and outrage we see reflected in public reactions against police actions, the escalating housing crisis, and the conflicts over cultural displacement in our diverse neighborhoods…”

Eric Arnold, spokesperson for the Oakland Creative Neighborhoods Coalition (OCNC), said an arts commission is greatly needed “to advocate for community artists and help them navigate the maze of bureaucracy we’re dealing with in city government.”

According to Arnold, such a commission would need to ensure cultural equity in Oakland by prioritizing local artists and historically underrepresented communities in allocations and funding.

“Ideally, this would be a community-oriented process of cultural development that helps uplift and build healthy communities,” he said. “It should do things like generate and analyze data around equity and inequality so we can project it onto the arts segment and creative ecosystem of Oakland.”

Monday’s drum circle protesting the effects of gentrification on Oakland’s diverse culture went hand-in-hand with a special hearing that City Council held on Wednesday night to discuss a roadmap to promote housing equity in Oakland.

At the meeting, councilmembers heard the testimonies of several Oakland residents who have experienced similar interactions with new residents that they feel are aggressive and disrespectful of the city’s cultural history.

Community centers such as the Malonga Casquelourd Center and the Humanist Hall, which have provided performance and gathering space to Oakland’s diverse residents for decades, have been forced to respond to the few neighbors who repeatedly file noise complaints.

During the city council hearing, a representative of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in West Oakland, a predominantly Black church, testified that police have repeatedly been called to handle noise levels during their services.

Paul Cobb, publisher of the Post, also expressed his concern, reminding councilmembers that worshiping and celebration in the Black community often generates a “joyful noise” that cannot be suppressed.

Cobb is inviting housing rights activists and those participating in the Black Lives Matter movement to join the Post in attending the churches that have received complaints about their loud worship services.

“The intention is to show support and to make a joyful noise for the community,” said Cobb. “When we’re talking about Black lives, it’s good to remember that Black noise matters, too.”

This article was updated to correct an error. The Post erroneously reported in its Sept. 30 edition that the city’s Cultural Arts Commission was ended by Mayor Ron Dellums. The commission was in reality phased out in 2011 during Mayor Jean Quan’s administration.

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Rest in Peace: A.M.E. Pastor and L.A Civil Rights Icon Cecil “Chip” Murray Passes

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94. “Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Published

4 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94.

“Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Murray oversaw the growth of FAME’s congregation from 250 members to 18,000.

“My heart is with the First AME congregation and community today as we reflect on a legacy that changed this city forever,” Bass continued.

Murray served as Senior Minister at FAME, the oldest Black congregation in the city, for 27 years. During that time, various dignitaries visited and he built strong relationships with political and civic leaders in the city and across the state, as well as a number of Hollywood figures. Several national political leaders also visited with Murray and his congregation at FAME, including Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Murray, a Florida native and U.S. Air Force vet, attended Florida A&M University, where he majored in history, worked on the school newspaper and pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He later attended Claremont School of Theology in Los Angeles County, where he earned his doctorate in Divinity.

Murray is survived by his son Drew. His wife Bernadine, who was a committed member of the A.M.E. church and the daughter of his childhood pastor, died in 2013.

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Court Throws Out Law That Allowed Californians to Build Duplexes, Triplexes and RDUs on Their Properties

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional. Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

Published

4 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional.

Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the cities, pointing out that SB 9 discredited charter cities that were granted jurisdiction to create new governance systems and enact policy reforms. The court ruling affects 121 charter cities that have local constitutions.

Attorney Pam Lee represented five Southern California cities in the lawsuit against the state and Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“This is a monumental victory for all charter cities in California,” Lee said.

However, general law cities are excluded from the court ruling as state housing laws still apply in residential areas.

Attorney General Bonta and his team are working to review the decision and consider all options that will protect SB 9 as a state law. Bonta said the law has helped provide affordable housing for residents in California.

“Our statewide housing shortage and affordability crisis requires collaboration, innovation, and a good faith effort by local governments to increase the housing supply,” Bonta said.

“SB9 is an important tool in this effort, and we’re going to make sure homeowners have the opportunity to utilize it,” he said.

Charter cities remain adamant that the state should refrain from making land-use decisions on their behalf. In the lawsuit, city representatives argued that SB 9 eliminates local authority to create single-family zoning districts and approve housing developments.

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Funds for Down Payments and Credit Repair Given to Black First Time Homebuyers

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) won a $10,000 fair housing settlement last November against a property management company, CIM Group LP, a global real estate company headquartered in Los Angeles, and property owner, RACR Sora, LLC, for implementing a blanket ban on renting to tenants with criminal histories at Sora Apartments in Inglewood. Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

Published

4 days ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

CRD Director Kevin Kish said the department investigates cases of apparent racial bias in housing and sometimes more subtle acts of prejudice like nuisance-free or crime-free housing policies or holding tenants to different standards based on their race.

Kish said, “People will get evicted if they call the police. This can negatively impact victims of domestic violence. We also see these no-crime ordinances, or no-crime policies, used in racially discriminatory ways. If there is some kind of incident, and the police are called and it involves a Black family, then they get evicted, but other folks aren’t necessarily evicted.”

On April 11,1968, a week after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, President Lydon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, and nationality.

Kish noted that William Byron Rumford, the first Black California State Assemblymember, who represented Berkley and Oakland, spearheaded the passing of the Rumford Act in 1963. That law sought to end discriminatory housing practices in the Golden State, five years before the Fair Housing Act became law.
Real estate agent and housing advocate Ashley Garner is the director of the CLTRE Keeper Home Ownership program. That organization gave 25 Black, indigenous, and people of color $17,500 each in down payment and credit repair support to purchase a home in Oak Park, a traditionally Black neighborhood in Sacramento, last fall. CLTRE obtained a $500,000 grant from the city of Sacramento to award the funds to the residents after they completed an eight-week homeownership program.

In 2021, the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) noted that around four in 10 Black California families owned homes, which trails that of White, Asian-American and Latinos.
According to Forbes, the median price for a home in California is over $500,000, which is double the cost of a home in the rest of the country.

Black lawmakers recently introduced their Reparations Priority Bill Package that includes support for Black first-time homebuyers, homeowners’ mortgage assistance and property tax relief for neighborhoods restricted by historic redlining.

California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) spokesperson Eric Johnson said CalHFA helps prospective low-income and moderate-income Californians purchase homes by offering down payment and closing cost aid. “There are lots of people who have steady jobs, good credit scores, constant income, but they haven’t been able to save up the money that traditional banks need or want to see for a down payment,” Johnson stated. “We help those folks out. We give a loan for the down payment to get them over that hurdle.”
CRD and the Department of Real Estate hosted “Fair Housing Protections for People with Criminal Histories” Zoom call on April 10.

On April 25, CRD will also hold Zoom seminars focused on advocating for fair housing for people with disabilities.