Activism

Schaaf Cuts Police Service But Blames Councilmembers Bas and Kaplan

At a recent town hall meeting in Chinatown to discuss an alarming increase in crime against Asian American elders, Schaaf attempted to blame Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas and Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan for making the cuts that in fact came from her administration.

Published

3 years ago

February 18, 2021

Kiki

Libby Schaaf

Rebecca Kaplan

Nikki Fortunato Bas

Mayor Libby Schaaf set off a fire storm in December when she and her administration unilaterally made $29 million in cuts to the city’s budget, including reductions in fire department services and public safety services without discussing the cuts publicly with the City Council or impacted communities.

The Chinatown community was particularly upset about the elimination of a Chinese-speaking foot patrol that served the Chinatown area.

According to many community activists, those cuts put the community at risk, and those cuts, made by the mayor and her administration, include the cuts that Chinatown leaders had called their press conference about.

Among the administration’s cuts: closing fire stations, cutting the ceasefire program, which deals with gun violence, and cutting walking beat officers and community policing resources, including s the Chinatown Walking Beat Officers.

These cuts were announced in an Informational Memorandum, dated Dec. 20, 2020, from the Director of Finance to the City Administrator, making Schaaf’s position clear. ”The fiscal crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic requires immediate and impactful service cuts….Most of these cost-cutting measures will take effect immediately,” according to the memo.

The December memo justified making these cuts without a transparent public process.

“The Charter provides the City Council with the sole authority to appropriate funds; and the Charter provides the responsibility of the City Administrator to ‘control and administer the financial affairs of the city,’ which staff interprets to mean that the administration has the power to “reduce expenditures of appropriated funds to align with declining actual revenues” without consulting the City Council or the public.

Schaaf compounded the damage and inflamed passions by using the press conference to blame Bas and Kaplan for making the cuts that her administration made. According to community leaders who responded in anger, Schaaf had come into Chinatown and publicly attacked and demeaned the local Chinatown elected representative, and falsely claimed that the cuts to the Chinatown walking officers were the fault of Councilmembers Kaplan and Bas.

The mayor also stoked racial fears and community division, according to many community leaders.

In an interview with the Oakland Post, Bas, who had attended the Chinatown press conference, said, “ I was really shocked that she (the mayor) would take this press conference as a political platform to attack me and Rebecca (Kaplan) and spreading misinformation.”

“It is extremely important for the public to know that the Mayor and City Administrator are able to make decisions behind closed doors without public input,” Bas said. “If this had come from the council,” it wouldn’t have passed, she said.

Agreeing with Bas, Kaplan, in a Tweet, criticized the mayor for making decisions in secret. “When councilmembers want to cut items from the budget, there must be a public meeting where input is taken before a public decision. That should be required for mayors’ cuts too. These cuts wouldn’t have passed if they had come publicly.”

In the fallout from the Chinatown press conference, Schaaf has been asked to apologize for fomenting racial divisions between Black and Asian communities.

The issue recently went national in a February 11 Newsweek article: “Oakland Mayor Blames Crime Wave Against Asians on Defunded Police; Black and Asian Activists Disagree.”

The magazine article quoted Bas as saying in a Tweet, “Across the nation, some electeds are seeding division among racial groups. I continue to be angered by what Mayor Schaaf did—taking a space for healing & safety (the Chinatown press conference) & using it to politically attack me.”

The article also quoted District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife, who defended her colleagues.

“I’m saying this publicly because the disrespect was done publicly,” said Fife addressing the mayor. “You owe her, as well as Oakland’s Asian and Black communities an apology.”

“What we feel is important and what I felt in that moment was triggered by the image of a white woman using dog whistle tactics to create a fracture between the Asian community and the Black community,” Fife said.

To see the Newsweek article go to www.newsweek.com/black-asian-communities-fed-being pitted-against-each-other-city-officials-1568410

Kiki

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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

6 days ago

April 19, 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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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

6 days 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.”

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WOMEN IMPACTING THE CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Juanita Matthews

Sister Juanita Matthews

55 Years with Oakland Public School District

The Teacher, Mother, Community Outreach Champion, And Child of God

Juanita Matthews, better known as “Sister Teacher,” is a walking Bible scholar. She moved to California from the great state of Arkansas in 1971. Sister Teacher has a passion for teaching. She has been a member of Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church since 1971. She followed her passion for teaching, and in 1977 became the lead teacher for Adult Class #6. Her motto still today is “Once My Student, Always My Student”.

Beyond her remarkable love for the Lord, Sister Teacher has showcased her love for teaching by working for the Oakland Unified School District for 55 years, all but four of those years spent at Emerson Elementary and Child Development School. She truly cares about her students, making sure they have the tools/supplies needed to learn either at OUSD or Bible Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.

She’s also had a “Clothes Closet Ministry” for 51 years, making sure her students have sufficient clothing for school. The Clothes Closet Ministry extends past her students, she has been clothing the community for over 50 years as well. She loves the Lord and is a servant on a mission. She is a loving mother to two beautiful children, Sandra and Andre. This is the impact this woman of God has on her church and the community.