Bay Area

Federal Judge Allows City to Evict Residents of Wood Street Homeless Encampment

The city failed to reveal to the judge that “many of the evicted and unhoused Wood Street residents will be rejected by shelters for an overnight stay because of rules preventing evictees from bringing their pets and belongings. Rest on a cot offers a temporary respite that must be vacated the following day between the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.,” says housing rights activist James Vann.

Published

2 years ago

February 15, 2023

Oakland Post

Federal Court Judge William Orrick, who one month ago blocked the city of Oakland’s eviction of unsheltered residents off Wood Street in West Oakland, has now ruled the city can proceed with removing the encampment after he determined that Oakland has shown it has enough shelter beds for those who are displaced.

This ‘calamity … will force more unhoused people onto the streets and into other Oakland neighborhoods,’ says housing rights activist James Vann

By Ken Epstein

The city says it wants to clear the site to build 170 units of affordable housing. Residents of Wood Street, who have developed a self-help community at the site, want the judge to continue to protect the encampment, at least until alternative shelter sites are in operation.

Said Orrick, “The city’s obligation is to provide, in this context, alternative shelter. That’s the thing that I required of them. They have done that. It’s not preferable for you, but that is what they have now been able to put together.”

Responding to the judge’s decision, housing rights advocate James E. Vann, co-founder and advisor to the Oakland Homeless Advocacy Working Group (HAWG), said Orrick’s Feb. 3 decision to reverse his original temporary restraining order was not unexpected.

However, Vann said the city has “misrepresented” the facts to the judge. The city does not have “adequate replacement housing” available for the residents of Wood Street, he said.

“The calamity that will follow is another instance of the city’s failure to acknowledge the homelessness crisis as real and to implement timely actions to assure adequate accommodations and health and safety of the affected unhoused residents,” said Vann.

“Armed with the judge’s lifting of the restraining order, the city will proceed, beginning this week, to force more unhoused people onto the streets and into other Oakland neighborhoods,” said Vann.

He said Wood Street residents have organized themselves and made clear to the city “the solidarity of their mutually helpful and caring community … (and) the desire of the residents to remain a community and not be thoughtlessly dispersed throughout the city.”

“It is unfortunate that the city’s homelessness administrator was not up to the job and failed to interact with the unhoused residents, or to make adequate plans for temporary tiny house accommodations prior to the funding deadlines for the new housing development,” he said.

This action, once again, demonstrates “the city’s ineptness (and) its undefined homelessness program, (which) will force many unhoused residents onto the streets during the worse imaginable weather,” where they will face the ravages of hypothermia, frostbite, and continuing pandemic, said Vann.

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Activism

Asm. Corey Jackson Proposes Safe Parking for Homeless College Students Sleeping in Cars

Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), is the author of AB 90, which would require community colleges and California State University campuses to create overnight parking programs where students can sleep safely in their vehicles. With one in four community college students in California experiencing homelessness in the past year, Jackson says the state must act urgently.

Published

1 hour ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Corey Jackson. File photo.

By Bo Tefu
California Black Media

As California’s housing crisis continues to impact students, new legislation, Assembly Bill (AB) 90, promises to allow college students without stable housing to sleep in their cars on campus, offering a stark but practical solution aimed at immediate relief.

“This just deals with the harsh realities that we find ourselves in,” he said at a recent hearing.

The bill passed its first committee vote and is gaining attention as housing affordability remains a top concern across the state. California rents are more than 30% above the national average, and long waitlists for student housing have left thousands in limbo. CSU reported more than 4,000 students on its housing waitlist last year.

Supporters stress that the bill is not a long-term solution, but a humane step toward helping students who have no other place to go. A successful pilot program at Long Beach City College has already shown that safe, supervised overnight parking can work, giving students access to restrooms, Wi-Fi, and a secure environment.

However, the CSU and community college systems oppose the bill, citing funding concerns. Critics also worry about safety and oversight. But Jackson and student advocates argue the crisis demands bold action.

“If we know students are already sleeping in their cars, why not help them do it safely?” said Ivan Hernandez, president of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

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Activism

Faces Around the Bay: Author Karen Lewis Took the ‘Detour to Straight Street’

“My life has been a roller-coaster with an unlimited ride wristband! I was raised in Berkeley during the time of Ron Dellums, the Black Panthers, and People’s Park. I was a Hippie kid, my Auntie cut off all our hair so we could wear the natural styles like her and Angela Davis.

Published

5 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Karen Lewis. Courtesy photo.

By Barbara Fluhrer

I met Karen Lewis on a park bench in Berkeley. She wrote her story on the spot.

I got married young, then ended up getting divorced, raising two boys into men. After my divorce, I had a stroke that left me blind and paralyzed. I was homeless, lost in a fog with blurred vision.

Jesus healed me! I now have two beautiful grandkids. At 61, this age and this stage, I am finally free indeed. Our Lord Jesus Christ saved my soul. I now know how to be still. I lay at his feet. I surrender and just rest. My life and every step on my path have already been ordered. So, I have learned in this life…it’s nice to be nice. No stressing, just blessings. Pray for the best and deal with the rest.

Nobody is perfect, so forgive quickly and love easily!”

Lewis’ book “Detour to Straight Street” is available on Amazon.

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Activism

Barbara Lee Accepts Victory With “Responsibility, Humility and Love”

“I accept your choice with a deep sense of responsibility, humility, and love. Oakland is a deeply divided City,” Lee said in an April 19 statement. “I answered the call to run to unite our community, so that I can represent every voter, and we can all work together as One Oakland to solve our most pressing problems.”

Published

5 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Barbara Lee. File photo.

By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌,
California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

As a candidate for mayor, former U.S. Representative Barbara Lee released a “10-point plan” last week to reassure residents that she will tackle Oakland’s most pressing challenges.

Now that she has edged out her competitors in the ranked-choice special election with 50% or more of the vote, the former Congresswoman, who represented parts of the Bay Area in the U.S. House of Representatives, can put her vision in motion as the city’s first Black woman mayor.

On Saturday evening, Taylor conceded to Lee. There are still about 300 Vote-by-Mail ballots left to be verified, according to county election officials. The ballots will be processed on April 21 and April 22.

“This morning, I called Congresswoman Barbara Lee to congratulate her on becoming the next Mayor of Oakland,” Taylor said in a statement.

“I pray that Mayor-Elect Lee fulfills her commitment to unify Oakland by authentically engaging the 47% of Oaklanders who voted for me and who want pragmatic, results-driven leadership.”

The influential Oakland Post endorsed Lee’s campaign, commending her leadership on the local, state, and federal levels.

Paul Cobb, The Post’s publisher, told California Black Media that Lee will bring back “respect and accountability” to the mayor’s office.

“She is going to be a collegial leader drawing on the advice of community nonprofit organizations and those who have experience in dealing with various issues,” Cobb said. “She’s going to try to do a consensus-building thing among those who know the present problems that face the city.”

Born in El Paso, Texas, Lee’s family moved to California while she was in high school. At 20 years old, Lee divorced her husband after the birth of her first child. After the split, Lee went through a tough period, becoming homeless and having to apply for public assistance to make ends meet.

But destitution did not deter the young woman.

Lee groomed herself to become an activist and advocate in Oakland and committed to standing up for the most vulnerable citizens in her community.

Lee traveled to Washington, D.C. to work for then U.S. Congressman Ron Dellums after receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mills College in Oakland in 1973. Lee later won a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) fellowship to attend the School of Social Welfare, and she earned a Master of Social Work from the University of California-Berkeley in 1975.

Lee later served in the California State Assembly and State Senate before she was elected to Congress in 1998.

After serving in the U.S. Congress for more than 25 years, Lee ran unsuccessfully for California’s U.S. Senate in the 2024 primary election.

Lee joins current Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass and former San Francisco Mayor London Breed as Black women serving as chief executives of major cities in California over the last few years.