Late last month, community members assembled at St Paul’s Episcopal Church to discuss Oakland’s violence and what is being done about it. Speaking were: Zachary Carey, Pastor, True Vine Ministries, Oakland; Barbara Lafitte-Oluwole, Program & Operations Manager, Oakland Community Organizations; Stewart Wakeling, Director, California Partnership for Safe Communities; and Reygan E. Harmon, Senior Policy Advisor, Public Safety, Office of Mayor Jean Quan. Here’s MOBN! board member Paula Hawthorn’s summary:
True Vine Church is in West Oakland. Its members are at ground zero of Oakland’s violence. It is said that a Black or Hispanic youth has a greater chance of being killed in West Oakland than if he was a soldier in Afghanistan (although many of those killed are too young to even be in the army). Pastor Zack and the congregation have started a group, Soldiers Against Violence Everywhere (S.A.V.E.) and the “Say Something” campaign, both striving to bring peace to the community.
Citing a recent column by The Chicago Sun Times’ John Fountain, Pastor Zack told us that the number of black males 14 and older slain across the country from 1976 to 2010 is 243,996; add to that number 51,892 black females ages 14 and older, plus five whose gender was not identifiable, and the total, not counting children, is 295,893 — more than the combined U.S. losses of World War I, the Vietnam, Korean and Mexican-American wars, the War of 1812 and the American Revolutionary War. From 1980 through 2008, 93 percent of black victims were killed by blacks. ”Think of this number”, said Pastor Zack. “We must think of this as a public health problem, one that we can address as a community, as we have addressed similar problems. Think of the “Just Say No” campaign to combat drugs, or the campaign against HIV/AIDS.”
The public health problem of black-on-black lehtal violence needs a public health campaign to stop the media and community silence around the problem, apparently caused by numbness on the part of the media and certainly caused by fear in the community.
This is why each week SAVE has a Stand-In at a place near where someone was killed, to note that a person died there and that this death should not go unnoticed.; SAVE holds an annual Peace March and Rally, in the fall, where Community leaders come together and encourage the community to Say Something.
Stewart Wakeling works with cities to, implement Project Ceasefire programs. As Oaktalk has discussed in numerous earlier posts, Operation Ceasefire is an innovative mixture of social support and law enforcement pioneered by David Kennedy and described in his book “Don’t Shoot: One Man, A Street Fellowship and the End of Violence in Inner-City America.”
According to Wakeling, a successful Ceasefire operation must 1) be led by a high-level steering group 2) have exceptionally strong, dedicated project manager able to work across agency lines, who is no less than half time completely devoted to Ceasefire 3) be designed and carried out by an empowered working group including representatives from the criminal justice agencies, the clergy and service providers. 4) must be a core strategy of the OPD, federal enforcement, street outreach and community services and 5) be informed by best practice. Importantly, Cease Fire cannot be viewed as a program; rather, it constitutes a dramatic change in a city’s organizational principles in responding to violence. According to Wakeling, implementation that follows these recommendations can result in an effective Operation Cease FireI in Oakland.
OCO’s Barbara Lafitte-Oluwole, a leader in learning about and advocating for Ceasefire three years ago, spoke about Oakland’s previous implementation of the Call In program. OCO convinced OPD to conduct a pilot program that involved the use of “restorative justice.” This program turned the lives of several young men around, one of whom was introduced at the meeting. But the program did not involve all the elements of Cease Fire, the City did not measure violence reduction and there was no evidence that that program was reducing violence. So the OPD suspended the program.
Reygan Harmon gave a shorter version of the presentation on the 100 block program she had given two nights previously at Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting. Most significantly, Ms. Harmon stated that the city is committed to starting a genuine Ceasefire program and recognized the problems with the earlier effort. The City has obtained a grant to hire a manager, and hopes to have the program in operation by June. Attendees left the meeting optimistic that a real, effective Operation Cease Fire might be coming, but understanding that the City’s actions would have to be watched closely.
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get several e-mails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove me from that service?
Thanks a lot!
Wow, incredible weblog format! How long have you been blogging for?
you made blogging look easy. The whole look of your site
is magnificent, let alone the content material!
Hi this is kinda of off topic but I was wondering if blogs
use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML.
I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding skills so I wanted to get
guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!
After I originally commented I alpear to ave clicked the -Notify me when new comments
are added- checkbox and now whenever a comment is added I receive 4 emails with the exact same
comment. Perhaps theree is a means yoou aree able to remove me from that service?
Thank you!
Hello, I would lioe to subscribe forr this web site tto obtain hottest updates, so
where can i do it please help out.
Sweet blog! I found it while searching on Yahoo News. Do
you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there!
Many thanks
Thanks for any other informative site. Where else may just I get that
kind of info written in such a perfect method? I have a project that
I am just now working on, and I’ve been on the
glance out for such information.
There are a few factors you want to consider when purchasing a superfood drink powder.
People who find themselves participating in fat loss also
need dietary supplements to help keep them healthy.
One Fruit tablet in the morning and one Vegetable tablet in the evening will provide
the antioxidant equivalent of 8 servings of
fruit and vegetables daily.
Some products certainly work faster at skin lightening than others.
If you just want to give yourself a skin tone that is slightly lighter than your natural color,
for example, there is a choice of skin whitening cream that claims to do just that.
Green tea is particularly encouraged in consumables (tea), moisturizers,
and topical applications of serum.
Howdy exceptional blog! Does running a blog similar to this
require a great deal of work? I have absolutely no expertise in coding however I had been hoping
to start my own blog soon. Anyway, if you have any suggestions or techniques for new
blog owners please share. I know this is off subject nevertheless I
simply needed to ask. Kudos!
Good blog you’ve got here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days.
I truly appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
One minute Namibian’s welcome foreign tourists with open arms eager to snatch
their tourist dollars and the moment one talks out about the cruel seal clubbing, suddenly you are an unwelcome
threat to national security being accused of being a rich white foreigner with Al Qaeda links meddling in the affairs of a sovereign state.
You might wonder, “Do I Get My Pension if I Quit My Job. Uranium concentrates, produced in Niger, are mostly shipped to Comurhex (France) for conversion.
I couldn’t refrain from commenting. Exceptionally well written!
Right-minded started untrodden protrude:
http://yvonne.blogs.telrock.org
hOur site offers a wide variety of non prescription drugs. Visit our health portal in case you want to look better with a help health products. Our company offers a wide variety of non prescription products. Look at our health portal in case you want to to improve your health with a help health products. Our company offers supreme quality weight loss products. Look at our health contributing site in case you want to look better. Our company offers herbal supplements. Take a look at our health contributing site in case you want to look better. Our company offers generic pills. Look at our health contributing site in case you want to feel healthier. Our company offers safe healthcare products. Visit our health contributing portal in case you want to look better.
Our site offers a wide variety of non prescription drugs. Take a look at our health website in case you want to look healthier with a help generic supplements. Our company offers a wide variety of non prescription products. Take a look at our health portal in case you want to strengthen your health with a help generic supplements. Our company provides supreme quality weight loss products. Visit our health contributing portal in case you want to feel healthier. Our company offers herb-based health products. Take a look at our health contributing website in case you want to strengthen your health. Our company provides supreme quality health products. Take a look at our health contributing portal in case you want to look better.