Activism
SF Company, Oakland Unhoused Residents, End Year Long Land Dispute
San Francisco’s GameChanger LLC and seven unhoused residents ended a dispute on Monday when residents agreed to leave a 1.5 acre tract of company owned land just west of Wood Street in West Oakland in exchange for accepting material or monetary concessions.
Both sides agreed to each other’s terms after a year-long standoff that involved a court battle, law enforcement actions, several protests and civil disobedience.
Over the last year, the United Front Against Displacement (UFAD), a grassroots group that organizes to prevent displacement, supported the residents during the standoff by organizing several protests and defensive actions.
“We would have been mowed over if it wasn’t for the UFAD…and all the neighbors that came out of their houses to stand by us,” said Mavin Carter-Griffin, a resident in her mid-50s who, starting over seven years ago, lived in trailers and self-built structures that sat partially on the tract of land and partially on the bordering Wood Street. She agreed to move all of her belongings off the tract and onto Wood Street on Monday in exchange for a 40-foot metal storage facility and assurance that the move would be done in a way that would not cause her to lose possessions she wished to keep.
Some roots of the dispute can be traced back to Nov. 5, and 6 of 2019. On those days the City of Oakland, using funds supplied by GameChanger for towing expenses, agreed to clear vehicles off the company’s land. Some of those vehicles were abandoned, while others served as homes for residents, off the company’s land.
At the time, the dust-covered tract with dried grass and wild flowering fennel was densely packed with unhoused residents who lived in vehicles, tents, or self-made structures. The declared plan was for GameChanger to lease their land for $1 a year to the City of Oakland which would then work with a nonprofit to create a Safe RV parking site where residents who lived in RVs could soon come back and live.
An 18-month-long lease was written up, but not signed, as the City first wanted the land cleared. During the operation, Oakland Police Dept. officers also encouraged people living in tents and self-made homes to clear the area, although no formal eviction was declared.
Some residents resisted the move as they did not want to live in a Safe RV Parking site, were skeptical that they would be allowed to return, and/or felt that moving would put them in a less safe position. The UFAD and their supporters worked with the residents by organizing a protest during the operation to support them in their resistance.
Protestors chanted “shame” and “quit your jobs” as OPD officers walked throughout the tract. While the vast majority of residents left the tract during the operation, a small group of unhoused residents remained on the tract, resisting OPD officers who encouraged them to move.
One resident who resisted the eviction and asked only to be identified as Puffy, recalls dogs being involved as well.
“A bunch of people showed up with a bunch of people from the camp,” said Puffy. “And the dogs started barking and these big burly cops didn’t want to [mess] with the people or the dogs. So they left.”
California Secretary of State records show that Fred Craves owns GameChanger LLC and bought the tract in 2016. He also owns Bay City Capital, a life science investment firm that, according to its website, has raised over $1.6 billion.
Craves has not responded to requests to comment on this story but his lawyer, Pat Smith of Smith LLP said by allowing his land to be used for a Safe RV Parking site she thinks “the owner feels he’s being able to do something positive for city and the homeless.”
Smith has stated that GameChangers will develop the land within two to three years and hopes that in the interim time “hopefully the homelessness problem will start to be addressed more successfully but the city.”
In the weeks that followed last November’s clearance, GameChanger installed a fence around their land and hired a security guard, but most of the few remaining residents still did not leave. The City refused to sign a lease with GameChanger until the lot was cleared. Then GameChanger escalated their tactics to remove unhoused residents.
Smith said they sued remaining residents in December 2019, and in September 2020 GameChanger was able to get a forceable detainer trial, which they won, requiring the Alameda County Sheriff to evict residents still on the tract within a 180-day period that started on Oct 13.
The UFAD still wished to defend those living on the land, partially because they were concerned about how the Safe RV Parking site and eventual development on the land would affect those in surrounding areas of a larger sprawling community of unhoused people that live on Wood Street and nearby CalTrans land.
“The tract is right in the center of the community,” said Dayton Andrews of the UFAD. “As this land is developed, it puts more pressure for eviction on the surrounding inhabitants. So after they develop this lot we’re going to see more and more people along the sidewalk get pressured and more and more people on the CalTrans land get pressured.”
The Safe RV parking lot itself could pose a problem to some residents since, if it works like other City-run parking sites, only those who live in RVs would be allowed in. Some residents who live in RVs also do not want to live in such a site.
Kelly Thompson, an elderly resident who lives near the GameChanger tract on CalTrans land left a similar City-sanctioned site after being robbed at gunpoint there earlier this year.
Not knowing when the eviction would occur, UFAD put out a call for people to show up early on October 13 to defend the tract. About 70 people came and sheriff’s deputies did not execute the eviction on that day.
The group and concerned local housed residents then organized an occupation during working hours on weekdays, where a few people took turns keeping an eye out for sheriff’s deputies approaching the tract.
On the afternoon of October 29, sheriff’s deputies came to execute the eviction, and supporters on site made a call for additional people to protest, which inspired about 60 total people to show up. Sheriff’s deputies were able to take residents who where on-site out of the tract but protestors stood at the exit of the gate and locked arms in a standoff with police and chanted “Who protects us? We protect us,” and “The people, united, will never be defeated.”
As sheriff’s deputies and protestors faced off, workers for GameChanger showed up with a truck full of fencing that could have secured the tract further but were unable to get past the line of protestors. Sheriff’s deputies and GameChanger workers left shortly after 5:00 p.m.
There were large holes in GameChanger’s fence and residents came back to the tract later in the night, violating trespassing law.
“Our role was to have unauthorized dwellers leave the property and we turned it over to GameChanger LLC and their reps,” wrote Alameda County Public Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Ray Kelly in an e-mail written on Monday. “It is their job to secure lock and clean the location. We are not involved with any fencing or site security.”
To follow California law, GameChanger then had to wait 15 days before removing property from the site. On November 6, exactly a year after the initial 2019 protest, Puffy, who had lived on the tract in a tent and self-made structures for about eight years, moved to land about a quarter mile north under the I-880 Highway, but only after being given an RV.
“The issue with this property, to me it’s between this billionaire, and us. If he’s got a beef let him come and say it,” said unhoused resident Cam McKeel on Sunday while remaining on Gamechanger’s tract.
McKeel, along with four other residents, established a residency on the tract in 2017 and lived in buses situated behind self-built barricading wooded walls that stood about 10 feet tall and a locking gate. A black and red sign attached to the gate read “KEEP OUT.”
Oakland Police Department officers showed up on November 13, and also came on Monday. They were within their legal rights to arrest McNeel and the other people living in buses for trespassing. But no arrests were made.
On both days, activists bearing colorful shields formed a shield wall by holding and slightly overlapping them with each other at the gate entrance while an additional row of supporters stood behind them to support their bodies.
Since sheriff’s deputies had broken the lock on the gate while executing the eviction, the spot, if undefended, could have been an easy entrance. But OPD officers faced the shield wall and did not enter. OPD media has not responded to requests to comment on this story.
“It’s just a piece of plywood” said an activist who participated in the shield wall and asked not to be named out of fear of police retaliation. “But it proved to be very effective. The fact that there is a human body behind them and they’d have to drive through that made it something that was a little bit too bold for officers to want to tear down in the same way they would homeless people’s shelters.”
McNeel, other residents who live in buses, and some activists who participated said shielding off the area forced GameChanger to negotiate.
McNeel and other residents came to an agreement on Monday afternoon with GameChanger to leave the tract after being paid over $2,200 each. About a week prior, they said they were offered a flat fee of $1000 total. The residents said they planned to move onto nearby CalTrans land. They were the last residents to leave, and GameChanger finally achieved its goals of clearing the tract.
While the vast majority of residents living on GameChangers tract of land left during the initial City run clearance in November of 2019, Mavin Carter-Griffin, Puffy,
Cam McNeel and others who lived with him in buses all chose to stay and resist the initial clearance operation. They were all able to stay on the tract for an additional year and receive material or cash concessions when they did leave.
UFAD members said they see the prolonged struggle as a win but are now focused on helping other nearby residents in the area resist further displacement.
City of Oakland spokesperson Karen Boyd wrote in an e-mail on Tuesday that since the land was now cleared, the City signed a lease with GameChanger and is moving forward with the Safe RV Parking site that will open in early 2021.
Recently passed City legislation called The Encampment Management Policy states that encampments that sit within 25 feet of a Safe RV Parking site can be subject to closure.
“The GameChanger battle was the first battle in a series,” said Dayton Andrews. “They’re going to escalate after it’s cleared.”
Activism
Stop-the-Hate Message Shared with Tens of Thousands at Calif’s Largest Black-Themed Street Festival
Hundreds of thousands gathered at the 19th annual Taste of Soul Festival in Crenshaw — an event dubbed “California’s largest block party” — on Oct. 19. At the event, California Black Media (CBM) partnered with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) to spread the word about the California Vs. Hate, a statewide hate crime online resource and telephone hotline, launched in 2023.
By Tanu Henry, California Black Media
Hundreds of thousands gathered at the 19th annual Taste of Soul Festival in Crenshaw — an event dubbed “California’s largest block party” — on Oct. 19.
At the event, California Black Media (CBM) partnered with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) to spread the word about the California Vs. Hate, a statewide hate crime online resource and telephone hotline, launched in 2023.
“Held in the heart of south Los Angeles on Crenshaw Blvd, over half a million people attend the one-day event that brings out the best our community has to offer,” said Brandon Brooks, Stop the Hate project director at California Black Media.
“The festival promotes local businesses as well as it brings out local and statewide resources to assist community members, Brooks continued. “The day has proven to be a great opportunity to speak to people directly and provide information to combat hate crimes and incidents.”
During the event, Brooks said he, James Williams, Community Based Organization Manger for California Vs. Hate and Leah Brown-Goodloe from CBM informed and shared literature with tens of thousands of festivalgoers about the state’s Stop the Hate resources.
CBM’s Stop the Hate outreach was held at the beginning of United Against Hate Week (UAHW), a commemoration held annually across the country to recognize the fight against all forms of hate.
UAHW was first launched in 2018 by elected leaders, staff, and community groups from 13 cities in the Bay Area who organized a “United Against Hate” poster campaign responding to White supremacists marching in Northern California streets in the aftermath of Charlottesville riots.
In 2018, Los Angeles County, LAvsHate, a campaign that provided anti-hate crime information and resources to report hate incidents and hate crimes.
According to CRD director Kevin Kish, the L.A. initiative provided a model for the state’s program.
Today, UAHW has grown into a national movement with events organized across the country to mark the day.
In June, California Attorney General Rob Bonta released the 2023 Hate Crime in California Report. According to the report, hate crimes in California decreased by 7.1% from 2,120 in 2022 to 1,970 in 2023.
However, incidents and crimes against Black Californians remained higher than average with 518 reported cases in 2023.
When it comes to reported hate crimes, we know that Black Californians are the most targeted group for hate and discrimination in our state,” said Williams. “The California Civil Rights Department wants people to know that we are committed to reaching the Black community through outreach events and campaigns, including our first-ever billboard campaign, forging new partnerships, or increasing awareness about the hotline and available resources to historically hard-to-reach and underserved Californians.”
Williams said he wants to remind all Californians that there is “support when you report!”
“No matter your background or where you come from, if you’ve been targeted for hate, you can get help accessing legal, financial, mental health, and other services by calling 833-8-NO-HATE or by going to CAvsHate.org,” Williams added.
How To Report A Hate Crime:
CA vs Hate is a non-emergency, multilingual hate crime and incident reporting hotline and online portal. Reports can be made anonymously by calling (833) 866-4283, or 833-8-NO-HATE, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT or online at any time.
For more information on CA vs Hate, please visit CAvsHate.org.
Activism
NAACP California-Hawaii State Convention Highlights Black Voter Engagement, and More
A Friday panel featuring NAACP Chairman Leon W. Russell and Regina Wilson, Executive Director of California Black Media, examined Project 2025, an initiative perceived as a potential threat to civil rights, healthcare access, and environmental protection. This session emphasized Project 2025’s projected impact on Black communities, noting that policies within the initiative could diminish gains in civil and environmental rights over decades. Russell and Wilson highlighted the need for vigilant monitoring and community mobilization to address these challenges.
By Bo Tefu, California Black Media
The 37th NAACP California-Hawaii State Convention concluded on Sunday, Oct 27, following four days of discussions and workshops at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott. Bringing together civil rights leaders, policymakers, and advocates from California and Hawaii, the convention operated under the theme “All In.” The participants discussed critical issues impacting Black communities, including criminal justice reform, health equity, economic empowerment, education, environmental justice, and voting rights.
A Friday panel featuring NAACP Chairman Leon W. Russell and Regina Wilson, Executive Director of California Black Media, examined Project 2025, an initiative perceived as a potential threat to civil rights, healthcare access, and environmental protection. This session emphasized Project 2025’s projected impact on Black communities, noting that policies within the initiative could diminish gains in civil and environmental rights over decades. Russell and Wilson highlighted the need for vigilant monitoring and community mobilization to address these challenges.
On Saturday, the President’s Fireside Chat brought together NAACP President Derrick Johnson and CA/HI State Conference President Rick Callender, who discussed the urgency of voter engagement and community advocacy.
Guest speakers included Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), who spoke at the Women in NAACP (WIN) Labor Luncheon about the intersection of labor rights and civil rights. California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond delivered remarks at the Leadership Dinner on education equity, focusing on policies to ensure all students have access to high-quality education.
Honors were given to longtime social justice advocate and former Assemblymember Mike Davis for his work in community activism. At the same time, actor and activist Danny Glover and the Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown received the 2024 Legacy Hall of Fame Awards, recognizing their lifelong commitments to advancing civil rights.
The convention also offered practical workshops, including “What’s On Your Ballot?,” where coalition leaders provided analyses of California propositions, explaining their potential impacts on community rights and resources. The Voter Turnout Workshop provided background and encouraged participants to promote voter turnout through community-centered outreach strategies.
Sunday’s events closed with a Prayer and Memorial Breakfast honoring the contributions of past and current civil rights leaders.
Activism
Fights Narrowly Break Out at Business Strike Press Conference at Oakland City Hall
Recall supporters called for a one-day business strike for the second year in a row to demand that the city do more to ensure public safety is a priority and that business owners are not plagued by the ongoing retail crime. Less than five minutes into the press conference, opponents of the recall began yelling at the recall supporters. This caused many recall volunteers to become upset with the “hecklers.”
By Magaly Muñoz
What was intended to be a press conference for a planned city-wide business strike turned into two separate altercations between supporters and opponents of the recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda District Attorney Pamela Price in front of Oakland City Hall.
Recall supporters called for a one-day business strike for the second year in a row to demand that the city do more to ensure public safety is a priority and that business owners are not plagued by the ongoing retail crime.
Less than five minutes into the press conference, opponents of the recall began yelling at the recall supporters. This caused many recall volunteers to become upset with the “hecklers.”
One recall volunteer confronted the Thao supporters and attempted to physically intimidate them while also screaming obscenities in their faces. After several moments, the volunteer was pulled away from the Thao supporters and returned to the conference.
Soon after that incident, Ray Bobbitt, founder of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) that now owns the Oakland Coliseum, walked up to the rally and attempted to take the microphone from Seneca Scott, leader of the Thao recall efforts. The situation soon escalated as Scott pushed Bobbitt away.
Scott has made several comments at press conferences and on social media that the Coliseum sale deal is a fraud and that AASEG will not provide the city with the promised multi-million dollar funds. Bobbitt told the Post that he is tired of Scott “being a bully” and only wanted to talk through whatever issues Scott had with AASEG.
When Bobbitt asked Scott to talk privately, Scott responded with a threatening remark. Bobbitt soon left the scene after several people talked him down.
“We really need to abandon the toxicity. I’m here to bring our community together, not divide it,” Bobbitt told the Post.
Back with the recall group and business owners, speakers said that businesses are scared to file police reports because Oakland officers “don’t care anymore” and are scared that their insurance rates will increase.
“We’re here today because the last blood of our city is leaking out with no tourniquet. Cities run on commerce. The only reason for a city is commerce. Failure to protect commerce leads to a dying city,” Scott said.
Several businesses in the last year have closed down, such as In-N-Out Burger and Denny’s on the Hegenberger corridor, citing public safety concerns. Local businesses have also left because of break-ins, homelessness, and overall lack of security.
At the time of last year’s business strike, crime was up 26% from the year before, according to Oakland police data. Rumors of a Thao recall were also building around this event.
Crime today is down 37%, according to the same data. This point has been used heavily in Thao’s attempt to rally support against the recall against her.
Speakers at the Tuesday press conference said some owners were sleeping at their businesses for fear of people breaking in to steal from them or vandalize their locations.
“The only things that are not locked up in the stores are criminals,” one speaker said.
Rally organizers claimed that over 200 businesses were participating in the strike. But when the Post asked recall organizers if they could provide a list of all the participants, the request was denied.
“This is an example of the sort of chaos the recall campaign seeks to create in Oakland. This is the last minute last ditch stunt of a coal investor funded campaign that has realized that Oakland residents are going to say NO to the $10 million price tag, the chaos and the division their campaign represents,” a Thao supporter spokesperson said ahead of the business strike.
-
Alameda County1 week ago
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price Announces $7.5 Million Settlement Agreement with Walmart
-
Activism2 weeks ago
OP-ED: Hydrogen’s Promise a Path to Cleaner Air and Jobs for Oakland
-
Activism3 weeks ago
COMMENTARY: DA Price Has Done Nothing Wrong; Oppose Her Recall
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Barbara Lee, Other Leaders, Urge Voters to Say ‘No’ to Recalls of D.A. Pamela Price, Mayor Sheng Thao
-
Community2 weeks ago
Terry T. Backs Oakland Comedy Residency by Oakland’s Luenell at Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club in Las Vegas
-
Bay Area3 weeks ago
2024 Local Elections: Q&A for Oakland Unified School Candidates, District 3
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of October 9 – 15, 2024
-
Business2 weeks ago
Study Confirms California’s $20/Hour Fast Food Wage Raises Pay Without Job Losses