Bay Area
Protesters Want Ex-Chief Armstrong Reinstated, Seek Meeting with Mayor Thao
A press conference in support of former Oakland Police Department Chief LeRonne Armstrong on Saturday, March 4 was held on the campus of The Lighthouse Community Charter School at 444 Hegenberger Road. Spearheaded by community activist Brenda Grisham, founder of the Christopher Lavell Jones Foundation Center, more than 40 people including faith leaders, chaplains, pastors and family members of homicide victims gathered to speak about what they believe to be an unjust firing of a chief they trusted and to demand the mayor reinstate him.

By Carla Thomas
A press conference in support of former Oakland Police Department Chief LeRonne Armstrong on Saturday, March 4 was held on the campus of The Lighthouse Community Charter School at 444 Hegenberger Road.
Spearheaded by community activist Brenda Grisham, founder of the Christopher Lavell Jones Foundation Center, more than 40 people including faith leaders, chaplains, pastors and family members of homicide victims gathered to speak about what they believe to be an unjust firing of a chief they trusted and to demand the mayor reinstate him.
“We are not angry,” said Grisham. “We want answers, but more importantly we want our chief back. We are not understanding why our chief, who has brought the department back into compliance, has been fired with no explanation and no discussion with the community.”
Grisham, who lost a son to gun violence in 2010, says her multiracial coalition wants Armstrong back, not because he’s Black, but because he was a “committed and dedicated” chief.
Armstrong was fired last month after a report asserted that the former chief had failed to discipline an OPD officer whose actions violated department regulations.
Speakers described Armstrong as a leader who transformed the community’s perception of OPD and worked effectively and compassionately with family members who had lost loved ones to gun violence.
“He would get out of bed at 1 a.m. to be on the scene of homicides,” said Grisham.
Pastor Marty Peters of Victory Baptist Church and first VP of the Baptist Ministers Union of Oakland questioned the process that led to Armstrong’s suspension and later termination. He referred to the findings by a federal monitor that was appointed after the scandal that rocked OPD in the early 2000s and was projected to end in the next year.
“The moderator found 52 items to be fixed, Chief LeRonne Armstrong completed 51 of the 52. The chief was in love with his job and in love with his city, and the mayor has defamed his reputation,” Peters said.
Peters said he is also disappointed that Thao’s administration hasn’t adequately justified the chief’s firing. “He’s gone from sergeant to lieutenant, to deputy chief, to chief of police, and you refuse to tell us why you fired him when you see, Latinos, Asians, and African Americans, who stand in solidarity and in support of the chief,” Peters said, referring to Thao.
Some community members say they see a correlation between Armstrong’s termination and an increase in street violence.
Throughout OPD and the community Feb. 24 is known as “Bloody Friday,” said Daryle Allums, of “deep East Oakland” who represents Adamika Village’s Stop Killing Our Kids Movement, a victim-led violence prevention organization. There were three homicides that day with a total of five for that weekend.
Pastor Phyllis Scott, president of the Pastors of Oakland association said Armstrong went above and beyond the call of duty when he assigned a police squad to surround and protect her church during a funeral service when opposing gang members threatened to “shoot up the church.”
“Recently I performed funeral services for a young man I’d known since he was a toddler,” said Scott. “I didn’t back down and Chief Armstrong sent officers to ensure our safety.”
Scott said Armstrong helped her to re-establish the Oakland Chaplaincy Program. After approaching various churches, synagogues, the AAPI community and the LGBTQ community to recruit chaplains, the community activists were trained on how to be community chaplains.
“We then had the opportunity to assist on the scene of a homicide, visit hospitals to minister to the victims of violence, and open up our churches to perform services to families without the funds,” Scott said.
Now, Scott says he only hears about tragedy through the grapevine instead of sergeants within OPD. “We need to reinstate Chief Armstrong who had a heart and compassion for the community. The calls to our chaplaincy program have gone silent since the chief’s leave and firing.”
Several parents supported by Chief Armstrong when they had lost their children to violence were also present, holding signs of support.
Nina Carter, an East Oakland Violence Interrupter, said the mayor’s decision to fire the chief, has retraumatized the community.
“The mayor has put us in a fight, flight, freeze moment to where we don’t know what’s happening next. The mayor has not spoken on violence prevention. The message she’s sending is that she doesn’t care about the well-being of us.”
Graphic artist LeJon Loggins of Adamika Village said that Armstrong built the bridges necessary between the community and OPD. “He rebuilt the trust, so we were working with OPD better than before and bringing everyone together to solve things,” said Loggins. “Without the chief, we are back to square one — which is unfair to the community.”
PHOTO CAPTIONS:
Brenda Grisham, founder of the Christopher Lavell Jones Foundation Center speaks at a press conference in support of former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong at the Lighthouse Community Charter School in Oakland. Photo By Carla Thomas.
Chaplains of the Oakland, re-created by Pastor Phyllis Scott and LeRonne Armstrong attend a press conference in support of Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong at the Lighthouse Community Charter School in Oakland. (Left to Right: Pastor Mary McConn Gilmore, Minister Kevin Holden, Minister Candi Thornton, Wylie Knuckles, and Tony Grayson. Photo by Carla Thomas.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 18 – 24, 2025

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Activism
Juneteenth: Celebrating Our History, Honoring Our Shared Spaces
It’s been empowering to watch Juneteenth blossom into a widely celebrated holiday, filled with vibrant outdoor events like cookouts, festivals, parades, and more. It’s inspiring to see the community embrace our history—showing up in droves to celebrate freedom, a freedom delayed for some enslaved Americans more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

By Wayne Wilson, Public Affairs Campaign Manager, Caltrans
Juneteenth marks an important moment in our shared history—a time to reflect on the legacy of our ancestors who, even in the face of injustice, chose freedom, unity, and community over fear, anger, and hopelessness. We honor their resilience and the paths they paved so future generations can continue to walk with pride.
It’s been empowering to watch Juneteenth blossom into a widely celebrated holiday, filled with vibrant outdoor events like cookouts, festivals, parades, and more. It’s inspiring to see the community embrace our history—showing up in droves to celebrate freedom, a freedom delayed for some enslaved Americans more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.
As we head into the weekend full of festivities and summer celebrations, I want to offer a friendly reminder about who is not invited to the cookout: litter.
At Clean California, we believe the places where we gather—parks, parade routes, street corners, and church lots—should reflect the pride and beauty of the people who fill them. Our mission is to restore and beautify public spaces, transforming areas impacted by trash and neglect into spaces that reflect the strength and spirit of the communities who use them.
Too often, after the music fades and the grills cool, our public spaces are left littered with trash. Just as our ancestors took pride in their communities, we honor their legacy when we clean up after ourselves, teach our children to do the same, and care for our shared spaces.
Small acts can inspire big change. Since 2021, Clean California and its partners have collected and removed over 2.9 million cubic yards of litter. We did this by partnering with local nonprofits and community organizations to organize grassroots cleanup events and beautification projects across California.
Now, we invite all California communities to continue the incredible momentum and take the pledge toward building a cleaner community through our Clean California Community Designation Program. This recognizes cities and neighborhoods committed to long-term cleanliness and civic pride.
This Juneteenth, let’s not only celebrate our history—but also contribute to its legacy. By picking up after ourselves and by leaving no litter behind after celebrations, we have an opportunity to honor our past and shape a cleaner, safer, more vibrant future.
Visit CleanCA.com to learn more about Clean California.
Activism
OPINION: California’s Legislature Has the Wrong Prescription for the Affordability Crisis — Gov. Newsom’s Plan Hits the Mark
Last month, Gov. Newsom included measures in his budget that would encourage greater transparency, accountability, and affordability across the prescription drug supply chain. His plan would deliver real relief to struggling Californians. It would also help expose the hidden markups and practices by big drug companies that push the prices of prescription drugs higher and higher. The legislature should follow the Governor’s lead and embrace sensible, fair regulations that will not raise the cost of medications.

By Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. VanHook
As a pastor and East Bay resident, I see firsthand how my community struggles with the rising cost of everyday living. A fellow pastor in Oakland recently told me he cuts his pills in half to make them last longer because of the crushing costs of drugs.
Meanwhile, community members are contending with skyrocketing grocery prices and a lack of affordable healthcare options, while businesses are being forced to close their doors.
Our community is hurting. Things have to change.
The most pressing issue that demands our leaders’ attention is rising healthcare costs, and particularly the rising cost of medications. Annual prescription drug costs in California have spiked by nearly 50% since 2018, from $9.1 billion to $13.6 billion.
Last month, Gov. Newsom included measures in his budget that would encourage greater transparency, accountability, and affordability across the prescription drug supply chain. His plan would deliver real relief to struggling Californians. It would also help expose the hidden markups and practices by big drug companies that push the prices of prescription drugs higher and higher. The legislature should follow the Governor’s lead and embrace sensible, fair regulations that will not raise the cost of medications.
Some lawmakers, however, have advanced legislation that would drive up healthcare costs and set communities like mine back further.
I’m particularly concerned with Senate Bill (SB) 41, sponsored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), a carbon copy of a 2024 bill that I strongly opposed and Gov. Newsom rightly vetoed. This bill would impose significant healthcare costs on patients, small businesses, and working families, while allowing big drug companies to increase their profits.
SB 41 would impose a new $10.05 pharmacy fee for every prescription filled in California. This new fee, which would apply to millions of Californians, is roughly five times higher than the current average of $2.
For example, a Bay Area family with five monthly prescriptions would be forced to shoulder about $500 more in annual health costs. If a small business covers 25 employees, each with four prescription fills per month (the national average), that would add nearly $10,000 per year in health care costs.
This bill would also restrict how health plan sponsors — like employers, unions, state plans, Medicare, and Medicaid — partner with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to negotiate against big drug companies and deliver the lowest possible costs for employees and members. By mandating a flat fee for pharmacy benefit services, this misguided legislation would undercut your health plan’s ability to drive down costs while handing more profits to pharmaceutical manufacturers.
This bill would also endanger patients by eliminating safety requirements for pharmacies that dispense complex and costly specialty medications. Additionally, it would restrict home delivery for prescriptions, a convenient and affordable service that many families rely on.
Instead of repeating the same tired plan laid out in the big pharma-backed playbook, lawmakers should embrace Newsom’s transparency-first approach and prioritize our communities.
Let’s urge our state legislators to reject policies like SB 41 that would make a difficult situation even worse for communities like ours.
About the Author
Rev. Dr. VanHook is the founder and pastor of The Community Church in Oakland and the founder of The Charis House, a re-entry facility for men recovering from alcohol and drug abuse.
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