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Small Victory for Group Fighting Police Terror in the Bay Area

Published

8 years ago

May 24, 2017

Wealth and Disparities Members of Justice for Mario Woods speak with a press officer in the California State Capitol Monday.(L to R): Denise Friday, Dionne Smith, Phelicia Jones, Telon Sanchez and Gwen Woods.

“Wealth and Disparities in the Black Community: Justice 4 Mario Woods” won a victory Monday when their rally on the steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento led to a meeting with aides of Gov. Jerry Brown.

Concerned that elected state officials have been “too quiet” about the police killings of unarmed minorities, spokesperson Phelicia Jones led the group of parents whose children were shot by police and their allies at a Sacramento event they had dubbed “Lobby Day.”

After passing through security, the group of about 20 waved signs and chanted, “No Justice, No Peace, No Racist Police,” until they were halted outside the public meeting space by capitol police.

Insisting that they had the right to see their representatives, especially since the representatives had all been informed that the group was coming, Jones prevailed upon the policeman to allow them to personally deliver to Gov. Brown their prepared documents on police violence in several California cities.

Unable to get a mass meeting, Jones and Gwen Woods, the mother of Mario Woods who was killed by San Francisco police in 2015, were designated as delegates.

The meeting was brief, but Jones and Woods returned with two aides who promised a formal meeting with the governor in the near future.

Gilda Baker, who is trying to prove that her son Diallo Neal was killed by California Highway Patrol in a hit-and-run motorcycle incident in 2008 was pleased. “At least they gave us a moment to let all the mothers talk,” she said.

Woods says she wants nothing less than accountability, seeing Baltimore, MD, prosecutor Marilyn Mosely as the example to follow. To Brown and Kamala Harris, former state attorney general who is now a U.S. senator, Woods asks, “When are you going to put your humanity over politics?”

Dionne Smith, who led a rally on Mother’s Day eve at Stockton City Hall for these parents seeking justice, said she was glad of the meeting but felt there should be more people in the movement. “We need more mothers to come out,” said Smith whose unarmed son James Rivera was killed by Stockton police in 2010.

“Each one should bring one,” said Smith.

Other parents/family members present were Pete Perez, father of Petie Perez Jr., killed by Richmond police; Denise Friday, mother of Colby Friday, killed by Stockton police; and Telon Sanchez, cousin of Jessica Nelson, killed by San Francisco Police.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 2- 8, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 2 – 8, 2025

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4 days ago

July 7, 2025

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Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

Published

1 week ago

July 3, 2025

Oakland Post

By Lauren Burke

By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.

The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.

“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.

“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable. Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.