Activism

Advocates: Gov. Newsom Still Has Chance to Fund DV Prevention

The costs of sexual and domestic violence are astronomical, continued ValorUS. The lifetime economic burden of domestic violence in California is nearly $400 billion and sexual violence costs the state of California $140 billion annually, according to ValorUS’s recent report, “The Cost and Consequences of Sexual Violence in California.”

Published

4 years ago

March 13, 2022

Oakland Post

Something like 5,000 women lose their lives every year to domestic violence, and the numbers are probably even greater than that because there is a blurred area due to how law enforcement determines whether or not the death of a woman was as a result of domestic violence or some other issue.

Charlene Muhammad | California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom missed an opportunity to help prevent sexual and domestic violence when he failed to include funding for intervention and support programs in the state’s 2022-23 budget, advocates say.

In January, Newsom presented a $286.4 billion budget proposal titled the “California Blueprint” to the State Legislature for consideration. At that time, the governor announced an estimated $45 billion surplus. Last week, the Legislative Analyst’s Office projected the estimated surplus to be between $6 billion and $23 billion more.

Domestic Violence advocates say they are hopeful.

The California Partnership to End Domestic Violence (CPEDV) and over 100 supporting organizations submitted a request for $15 million per year ongoing. They point out their request was modest and well within the capacity for the state’s budget. Yet, for a second year, Newsom ignored the request, and along with it, promising strategies that address the root causes of violence, they say.

“In the world of politics and dollars, things are always changing, so absolutely, we are planning to redress, and we hope that things will change,” Dr. Aleese Moore-Orbih, CPEDV executive director, told California Black Media.

“Even though it wasn’t included, initially, in this budget, we know the governor has lots of power. He can make any change he wants to at any time, and so we will continue to try to inform him of the importance of including prevention funding in our state budget,” she continued.

In a recent press release, leaders of the coalition said they will keep pushing for funding. They remain optimistic that the Legislature and Governor will work together to provide funding in the final budget in June that will support the critical prevention work their organizations do across the state – especially successful programs that were previously funded.

Moore-Orbih says it is not a matter of changing Newsom’s mind. She believes he already understands the urgent need for the funding. But “something political” could have moved his office to not include it, Moore-Orbih said.

ValorUS, a national organization that works to prevent and end sexual violence, conducted research on how prevention could save thousands of lives lost to domestic violence every year. It found that one third of women and one quarter of men in California will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetimes.

The costs of sexual and domestic violence are astronomical, continued ValorUS.

The lifetime economic burden of domestic violence in California is nearly $400 billion and sexual violence costs the state of California $140 billion annually, according to ValorUS’s recent report, “The Cost and Consequences of Sexual Violence in California.”

“By preventing sexual assault or preventing an abusive relationship, the state can save billions in healthcare and law enforcement costs, reduce the cost of lost productivity, and improve mental health,” according to the report released in 2018.

According to the Little Hoover Commission, which began studying California’s response to intimate partner violence in late 2019, California does not have a substantial prevention or early intervention program.

In May 2020, the Commission released its first report on the topic, Intimate Partner Violence: Getting Money to Those on the Front Line.” It asked the Governor and Legislature to provide grant funding upfront to service providers.

“The state should create and adequately fund prevention and early intervention programs and ensure that those initiatives are included in all applicable statewide strategic plans ranging from early childhood education to reducing homelessness,” the authors wrote.

Moore-Orbih agrees.

“Something like 5,000 women lose their lives every year to domestic violence, and the numbers are probably even greater than that because there is a blurred area due to how law enforcement determines whether or not the death of a woman was as a result of domestic violence or some other issue,” she emphasized.

It is important to have a vision for prevention, backed up by dollars, not just an increase in how people respond to the crisis, Moore-Orbih went on, adding that the cycle of violence will continue until something meaningful is done to break it.

“If we don’t do prevention work, if we don’t start to shift our thinking, our culture, if we don’t start shifting our behavior, in terms of relationships, if we don’t start raising our children in safe and healthy environments, then that means what we have been experiencing, we will continue to experience which means children are going to grow up in violent environments, and they’re going to be traumatized,” she warned.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 5 – 11, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 5 – 11, 2025

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1 week ago

November 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of October 29 – November 4, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of October 29 – November 4, 2025

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2 weeks ago

November 3, 2025

Oakland Post

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Past, Present, Possible! Oakland Residents Invited to Reimagine the 980 Freeway

Organizers ask attendees coming to 1233 Preservation Park Way to think of the event as a “time portal”—a walkable journey through the Past (harm and flourishing), Present (community conditions and resilience), and Future (collective visioning).

Published

3 weeks ago

October 27, 2025

Oakland Post

Hundreds of residents in West Oakland were forced out by eminent domain before construction began on the 980 freeway in 1968. Courtesy photo.

By Randolph Belle
Special to The Post

Join EVOAK!, a nonprofit addressing the historical harm to West Oakland since construction of the 980 freeway began in 1968, will hold a block party on Oct. 25 at Preservation Park for a day of imagination and community-building from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Organizers ask attendees coming to 1233 Preservation Park Way to think of the event as a “time portal”—a walkable journey through the Past (harm and flourishing), Present (community conditions and resilience), and Future (collective visioning).

Activities include:

Interactive Visioning: Site mapping, 3-D/digital modeling, and design activities to reimagine housing, parks, culture, enterprise, and mobility.
Story & Memory: Oral history circles capturing life before the freeway, the rupture it caused, and visions for repair.
Data & Policy: Exhibits on health, environment, wealth impacts, and policy discussions.
Culture & Reflection: Films, installations, and performances honoring Oakland’s creativity and civic power.

The site of the party – Preservation Park – itself tells part of the story of the impact on the community. Its stately Victorians were uprooted and relocated to the site decades ago to make way for the I-980 freeway, which displaced hundreds of Black families and severed the heart of West Oakland. Now, in that same space, attendees will gather to reckon with past harms, honor the resilience that carried the community forward, and co-create an equitable and inclusive future.

A Legacy of Resistance

In 1979, Paul Cobb, publisher of the Post News Group and then a 36-year-old civil-rights organizer, defiantly planted himself in front of a bulldozer on Brush Street to prevent another historic Victorian home from being flattened for the long-delayed I-980 Freeway. Refusing to move, Cobb was arrested and hauled off in handcuffs—a moment that landed him on the front page of the Oakland Tribune.

Cobb and his family had a long history of fighting for their community, particularly around infrastructure projects in West Oakland. In 1954, his family was part of an NAACP lawsuit challenging the U.S. Post Office’s decision to place its main facility in the neighborhood, which wiped out an entire community of Black residents.

In 1964, they opposed the BART line down Seventh Street—the “Harlem of the West.” Later, Cobb was deeply involved in successfully rerouting the Cypress Freeway out of the neighborhood after the Loma Prieta earthquake.

The 980 Freeway, a 1.6-mile stretch, created an ominous barrier severing West Oakland from Downtown. Opposition stemmed from its very existence and the national practice of plowing freeways through Black communities with little input from residents and no regard for health, economic, or social impacts. By the time Cobb stood before the bulldozer, construction was inevitable, and his fight shifted toward jobs and economic opportunity.

Fast-forward 45 years: Cobb recalled the story at a convening of “Super OGs” organized to gather input from legacy residents on reimagining the corridor. He quickly retrieved his framed Tribune front page, adding a new dimension to the conversation about the dedication required to make change. Themes of harm repair and restoration surfaced again and again, grounded in memories of a thriving, cohesive Black neighborhood before the freeway.

The Lasting Scar

The 980 Freeway was touted as a road to prosperity—funneling economic opportunity into the City Center, igniting downtown commerce, and creating jobs. Instead, it cut a gash through the city, erasing 503 homes, four churches, 22 businesses, and hundreds of dreams. A promised second approach to the Bay Bridge never materialized.

Planning began in the late 1940s, bulldozers arrived in 1968, and after years of delays and opposition, the freeway opened in 1985. By then, Oakland’s economic engines had shifted, leaving behind a 600-foot-wide wound that resulted in fewer jobs, poorer health outcomes, and a divided neighborhood. The harm of displacement and loss of generational wealth was compounded through redlining, disinvestment, drugs, and the police state. Many residents fled to outlying cities, while those who stayed carried forward the spirit of perseverance.

The Big Picture

At stake now is up to 67 acres of new, buildable land in Downtown West Oakland. This time, we must not repeat the institutional wrongs of the past. Instead, we must be as deliberate in building a collective, equitable vision as planners once were in destroying communities.

EVOAK!’s strategy is rooted in four pillars: health, housing, economic development, and cultural preservation. These were the very foundations stripped away, and they are what they aim to reclaim. West Oakland continues to suffer among the worst social determinants of health in the region, much of it linked to the three freeways cutting through the neighborhood.

The harms of urban planning also decimated cultural life, reinforced oppressive public safety policies, underfunded education, and fueled poverty and blight.

Healing the Wound

West Oakland was once the center of Black culture during the Great Migration—the birthplace of the Black Panther Party and home to the “School of Champions,” the mighty Warriors of McClymonds High. Drawing on that legacy, we must channel the community’s proud past into a bold, community-led future that restores connection, sparks innovation, and uplifts every resident.

Two years ago, Caltrans won a federal Reconnecting Communities grant to fund Vision 980, a community-driven study co-led by local partners. Phase 1 launched in Spring 2024 with surveys and outreach; Phase 2, a feasibility study, begins in 2026. Over 4,000 surveys have already been completed. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity could transform the corridor into a blank slate—making way for accessible housing, open space, cultural facilities, and economic opportunity for West Oakland and the entire region.

Leading with Community

In parallel, EVOAK! is advancing a community-led process to complement Caltrans’ work. EVOAK! is developing a framework for community power-building, quantifying harm, exploring policy and legislative repair strategies, structuring community governance, and hosting arts activations to spark collective imagination. The goal: a spirit of co-creation and true collaboration.

What EVOAK! Learned So Far

Through surveys, interviews, and gatherings, residents have voiced their priorities: a healthy environment, stable housing, and opportunities to thrive. Elders with decades in the neighborhood shared stories of resilience, community bonds, and visions of what repair should look like.

They heard from folks like Ezra Payton, whose family home was destroyed at Eighth and Brush streets; Ernestine Nettles, still a pillar of civic life and activism; Tom Bowden, a blues man who performed on Seventh Street as a child 70 years ago; Queen Thurston, whose family moved to West Oakland in 1942; Leo Bazille who served on the Oakland City Council from 1983 to 1993; Herman Brown, still organizing in the community today; Greg Bridges, whose family’s home was picked up and moved in the construction process; Martha Carpenter Peterson, who has a vivid memory of better times in West Oakland; Sharon Graves, who experienced both the challenges and the triumphs of the neighborhood; Lionel Wilson, Jr., whose family were anchors of pre-freeway North Oakland; Dorothy Lazard, a resident of 13th Street in the ’60s and font of historical knowledge; Bishop Henry Williams, whose simple request is to “tell the truth,” James Moree, affectionately known as “Jimmy”; the Flippin twins, still anchored in the community; and Maxine Ussery, whose father was a business and land owner before redlining.

EVOAK! will continue to capture these stories and invites the public to share theirs as well.

Beyond the Block Party

The 980 Block Party is just the beginning. Beyond this one-day event, EVOAK! Is building a long-term process to ensure West Oakland’s future is shaped by those who lived its past. To succeed, EVOAK! Is seeking partners across the community—residents, neighborhood associations, faith groups, and organizations—to help connect with legacy residents and host conversations.

980 Block Party Event Details
Saturday, Oct. 25
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Preservation Park, 1233 Preservation Park Way, Oakland, CA 94612
980BlockParty.org
info@evoak.org