Crime

OP-ED: God Bless The Child

Published

11 years ago

November 19, 2014

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” ~ Nelson Mandela

At the time of my writing of this article I anxiously await the St. Louis County grand jury decision on whether or not to charge Officer Darren Wilson for the murder of 18 year old Michael Brown. In anticipation of the grand jury decision, rallies are being organized not just in Ferguson, MO but all around the country. Organizers met on Saturday in Ferguson to map out their protest plans and are encouraging group members to provide their names upon arrest as Darren Wilson or Michael Brown to make it difficult for the police to process them.

Lt. John Stanford of the Philadelphia police department said that he anticipated his city will see demonstrations, regardless of what the grand jury returns.

But as demonstrators prepare their slogans and the police departments prepare their riot gear it is we that stand guilty of ignoring the real crime of what is happening to young black men. In 2011, the last year for which the FBI has complete data, 1668 blacks under the age of 22 were killed in America. That is more than triple the 469 military men and women killed in Afghanistan that same year.

“I think there’s fear of intimidation, harassment being legitimized by the fact that there is a high rate of crime, especially among young black men. Number 1 cause of death, young black men 15 to 34 – murder. Who’s committing the murder? Not police, other black men,” said Juan Williams, Fox News pundit.

Accidents ranked second in causes of death and suicides claimed the third amount of black male lives between 15 and 24 years old. Per the CDC, compared to other ethnicities, the numbers really stand out. Forty percent of black males between the ages of 15 – 24 who died in 2011 were murdered, compared to just 3.8 percent of white males who died during that same time. The Children’s Defense Fund said the number of black children killed by gunfire since 1979 is nearly 13 times more than the number of blacks who were lynched in this country between 1882 and 1968.

So what do we do?

First, we must have the courage to face the reality of what is going on in the black community. We cannot correct a problem we refuse to acknowledge.

Karen Watson is the author of the book, “Being Black and Republican in the Age of Obama”. Email karen.watson@gopbuzz.com

Second, we have to fall in love with these beautiful children and see the best in them and expect only the best from them. We have to raise the bar for them and encourage them to surpass our expectations.

Third, we must demand that these young men act as young men with a future and a purpose. We must remind them that the world is theirs for the taking and that they were born for success and that even if they fall they can get back up and start again because they are not victims. And we must cheer them on.

Frederick Douglass said “it is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” And lastly we must begin immediately.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

6 days ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.