City of Oakland's War on the African Community

The city of Oakland, like other cities across the U.S. has a fat budget to carry out the war on the African community. Hundreds of young African people die every year through the U.S. imposed drug economy that justifies military occupation in East and West Oakland. The Oakland Police Department tramples on the rights of the African and Mexican communities with the full sanction of the mayor and city council. 

This week the East Bay Express published an article with some outrageous facts about neocolonial mayor here in Oakland, who was the darling of white liberals but who covers for the brutal war on African people that has killed at least seven people this year at the hands of his police department.

In a city that, like many others, faces a serious budget crisis, Dellums works, at most, three short days a week, coming in sometimes for a Monday meeting for a couple hours and occasionally attending evening and weekend events - roughly 25 hours a week while getting paid $184,000 a year.  

Dellums is also chauffeured to and from work in a Lincoln Town car that is leased by the City of Oakland for $70,000 a year, which includes the driver's fee.

This is in a city where the New York Times reported that one in five households live on less than $5,000 a year. Dellums makes as much 37 of these families at the bottom 20% of Oakland's population.  14 families attempt to survive on what Dellums pays out to be driven to city hall three or four times a week. 

This is in the context of a city that has bloated its budget with an overpaid police department. 

According to this report by the UC Berkeley School of Journalism several years ago, Oakland police officers make nearly $138,000 a year in overtime pay. The Oakland Police Department's own web site lists the salary range between $69,162 to $87,172 annual salary range "plus shift differential." 

The Uhuru Movement understands that this city money going to Dellums and going to the police department is being used to carry out an assault on the oppressed African community, the same community that rose up to build independent programs and was known internationally for its stand against police violence, poverty and injustice. This was the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.

Under Dellums, African and other oppressed communities continue to be driven out of Oakland through massive foreclosures. Communities in East and West Oakland live under an imposed illegal drug economy that never seems to go away but justifies martial law where cops run roughshod over peoples' rights.  and homicides and police killings that continue with little, if any, public outcry. 

We in the Uhuru Solidarity Movement demand an end to the police killings, a end to the policy of police containment and call for economic development from the city.

Come out to Oakland City Council on the first meeting on the year to speak out:

Tuesday, Jan 6, 6pm, Oakland City Council Meeting, One Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland (near 14th and Broadway), 12th ST. Bart station. Get there at 5:30pm to fill out a speaker card or do it online .