Tag: Oakland public schools

We are losing so many loved ones this year. Beloved heroes like Rep. John Lewis and his friend and mentor Rev. C.T. Vivian and Rev. Joseph Lowery, dean of the Civil Rights Movement. Here in Oakland, we lost Wonder Woman Denise Adele Gums (Oct. 26, 1953-July 22, 2020).

I saw nothing in the Zimmerman case that surprised me. The system worked as it was intended. Zimmerman, a White man, was tried by a White justice system for killing a Black boy. The outcome was predictable. Many White people saw this as a non-racial event. As an angry old Black man I have seen the diminution of racism in my lifetime. We are not there yet. It is unlikely that we will get there in the lifetime of my grandchildren.

The Scotlan Center, located in historical Defremery Park, aka Bobby Hutton Park, has not received their $175, 000 contract to continue drastically needed services in West Oakland. "They are withholding funds from youth, yet they sit quietly as kids get gunned down in the streets," said Linda Handy.

Since the lethal shooting of 20-year-old Raheim Brown in January by an on-duty Oakland Unified School District police sergeant, some community activists and residents have questioned the role of the police on school grounds. Some parents are even calling for the dismantling of the district’s school police force.

If you want to do your part to help our young people, you will vote. You must vote yes on Proposition 19, the marijuana constitutional amendment. The war on drugs is a war on the little dope dealer. Those who profit the most are immune from arrest and prosecution.