City Government

Richmond Hosts “Put the Guns Down” Free Community Event

Published

11 years ago

September 3, 2014

In 2007 Richmond California was ranked America’s ninth most dangerous city. In 2013 Richmond was ranked America’s 69^th dangerous city. Homicide rates are dropping nationally, but not steep enough. The homicide crisis in the black community is overwhelmingly a gun violence problem. These are real lives being destroyed, families devastated, and entire communities torn apart.

Richmond’s 7^th annual “Put the Guns Down” is a free community event and will be held September 13^th from 1 to 5 pm at the John F. Kennedy Park at 43^rd and Cutting blvd. There will be music, free food, face-painting and jumpers for the children, a bike rodeo, and motivational speakers. There will be free haircuts for youth under 12.

Elena Bolds

Elena Bolds is the organizer of the event and says the idea came to her in 2007 when Richmond seemed to have a killing every day. At the time I was a professional funeral singer. Bold has sung at local funerals for over 20 years and says, “I noticed that I had collected a bag of obituaries for young people. I said to myself, these should be graduation program. I decided to do something about it”. It was then she decided to hold her first “Put the Guns Down” event. “I started the event, because I got tired of senseless killings of our babies”.

The show is sponsored by the Visions of Hope Project for Youth, The Richmond Police and The Crescent Park resident’s council. Speakers featured are activists and families that have personal experience with community violence.

Mother Carla Williams will be telling her story of how in 2012 her son, William Adams III, then 24, was

William Adams III (Peedy) lost his life in 2012

gunned down in a drive by shooting on the streets of Oakland. She says it was a late night call at 2:00 am that told of him coming out of night-club late night as a performer with a group called “NHT” (No Home Training) when he was shot in a drive by. Williams says they suspect a former disgruntle member, but his murder remains unsolved. Williams says, they have video footage, but needed witnesses. “No one came forward due to the , No snitching street mentality”, Williams says emotionally.

Another testimony will come from Daryl Russel who lost both his sons 15, 19. Both were killed on the streets of Richmond. Bolds sung at both funerals. Rev. Donna Allen of New Revelations Community Church will be bringing opening prayer.

While the drop in Richmond’s violent crime is pronounced, it’s also part of a larger trend. Oakland saw a 30 percent reduction in homicides and a slight drop in overall crimes in 2013. San Jose reported 44 killings, a drop of two from 2012, and San Francisco’s homicides fell from 69 to 48. The regional trend mirrors a national one of major urban centers such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York reporting steep drops in killings

Things are turning around but gun violence continues to plague or neighborhoods and our youth continue to be shot down in senseless murders, it is time to take a stand.

Oakland Post

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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

6 days 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.