Activism

Racial Justice And Police Reform In San Francisco

Published

5 years ago

June 17, 2020

By Kiki

Mayor London Breed hosted a panel on “Racial Justice and Police Reform in San Francisco” with Malia Cohen, chair of the California Board of Equalization, San Francisco Police Dept. Chief William Scott and Reform Alliance CEO Van Jones as her guests.

It was streamed on Breed’s Facebook page on June 11, 2020, has achieved about 9,600 views.

Breed said we have to “…fundamentally change the nature of policing models for the United States.” She added they had a “commitment to doing more.”

Breed noted that Blacks comprise less than 6% of the population in San Francisco, yet 40% of the homeless and 50% of those in the criminal system.

The panel discussed former Pres. Barack Obama’s 273 recommendations for reform in policing, of which the San Francisco Police Dept. has implemented 61. Chief Scott noted that “reform is not a check-box process” and 58 of the reforms involve use of force and S.F.P.D. has implemented half of those.

Jones, a CNN talk show host, acknowledged the changes in the last two weeks and a “continent of common ground on race.” He said of George Floyd’s death, “it was a lynching, seen on a billion cell phones at one time.”

Jones added that 30 to 40 million white people in America now accept two things:

1) Racism is real.

2) Something is wrong with the system when it comes to policing and the criminal justice system.

They also are accepting some responsibility by asking themselves, “What can I do?”

Jones said that acceptance is a miracle. And when you drill down on the “defund the police” movement, it is really about reimagining and reinventing the police department.

Breed added we must be “deliberate in advocacy and energy to get real change and when ‘Barbecue Becky’ calls, perhaps police don’t respond.”

Cohen agreed that there should not “be police response for every problem,” and added that Crisis Intervention Training or CIT is needed. Everyone needs bias training and to “deconstruct our biases,” she said.

To that, Scott suggested there should be a study of the data and examine our biases and stereotypes to look at “who … we associate with crime and why.”

Jones closed with asking folks to “be encouraged, it’s a process” and added, “we want peaceful streets.”

Breed ended the panel on a positive note stating that things will change and “we will save lives.”

By Kiki

Posts by By Kiki

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

4 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

1 week ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.