A SHORT STATEMENT FROM EASTSIDE ARTS ALLIANCE ADDRESSING SECURITY & SAFETY IN OUR COMMUNITIES

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We are a Third World Cultural Center in the Fruitvale/San Antonio District in the East Oakland community– meaning we serve the diverse Black, Brown & Asian neighborhoods that populate our city.

One of our priorities involves SECURITY and SAFETY for People of Color in our underserved, poor & struggling communities which we know they are all under pressure to survive.

Sometimes survival means committing fratricide in our desperate communities (like the spike of violence especially in east Oakland); Sometimes it overflows into other ethnic neighborhoods, like the recent muggings in Chinatown. We need a bold and smart solution to address this repeating history that cannot be solved by increasing the number of the repressive police forces. Oakland has been “investigated” for nearly 20 years from the Feds for corrupt rampant police brutality and “rogue” cops. But we understand the source and role of policing since the history of slavery!

Defunding the Police is first step to protect our communities with intelligent policies that understand the source of our oppression – We need active intervention with community voices, progressive cultural consciousness, mental health dialogue, and better social services that address our concerns and needs ... for a start ...

We need more cooperation between our communities to build solidarity because that is the only way we can truly solve this crisis and ultimately empower our community. As third world people we continue to fight and struggle collectively to end oppression and violence against all of us in our communities and the world.