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‘Stop Killing Us’ Activists Bring Their Pain to State Capitol

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Several California social and criminal justice organizations, as well as community-based groups, gathered for a rally at the state Capitol titled “Stop Killing Us” on July 1, 2020.

Oakland-based All of Us or None (AOUON) organized the event — with the help of other partners across the state — to condemn police violence against African Americans.

Families affected by police violence came from all across the state to participate in the Stop Killings Us Rally in Sacramento. Photo by Antonio Harvey.

AOUON is a project of Legal Service for Prisoners With Children (LSPC), a nonprofit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of formerly and currently incarcerated people and their families.

Their demonstration was peaceful — done with official permission — and less spontaneous than recent explosive protests and riots triggered by the brutal murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man in Minnesota, at the hands of police officers.

But it was charged with strong convictions and a solemn sense of grief, much like those protests. The day started with libations and sacred drumming by American Indian and African American groups. Altars with photos, food offerings and a memorial quilt were also on display.

“You mess with our children, I’ll come running,” said Yolanda Banks, the mother of Sahleem Tindle, who was killed by a BART police officer on Jan. 3, 2018. He was 28.  “I have to march,” Banks continued. “We fight together.”

Asale Haquekyah Chandler, left, Yolanda Banks, right. Photo by Antonio Harvey.

Banks frequently joins other grieving African American families from around California who have lost loved ones to police violence for rallies and vigils like the one AOUON held in Sacramento.

Participants arrived from Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Bakersfield, Vallejo, Richmond, Oakland, San Francisco, Fresno and other places in the state. Most of the people in attendance were people who have been impacted by police violence.

On the front steps of the State Capitol, large black-and-white photos of people of color who have been victims of police deadly force were on display. According to Love Not Blood Campaign, organized by Oscar Grant’s uncle Cephus Johnson, police violence has claimed the lives of 1200 people in California since 2009.

Among those pictured and whose relatives were present were Oscar Grant, shot and killed by BART police in 2009; Kenneth Harding Jr. and Mario Woods, shot and killed by San Francisco police in 2011 and 2015 respectively, Pedie Perez, killed by police in the city of Richmond in 2014, James Rivera and Colby Friday, killed by Stockton Police in 2010 and 2016 respectively and Stephon Clark, killed by Sacramento police in March 2018.

Asale-Haquekyah Chandler (pronounced “Ah-SAH-lah”)  made the trip east to Sacramento from San Francisco to support Banks and the other families involved with “Stop Killing Us.” Chandler is hosting the “One Life Walk: A Silent Walk Parade Protest” in downtown San Francisco July 28.

Chandler, who ran unsuccessfully for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors District 10 seat in 2018, has also been affected by violence, but not at the hands of law enforcement. Her 19-year-old son Yalani Chinyamurindi, while on a lunch break in San Francisco, was shot and killed, along with three individuals he knew.

Banks, who lives on a rural farm in Calaveras County, told California Black Media that the events that AOUON stage are “painful but therapeutic.”

The pain and passion expressed by Banks, Chandler, and other participants (who each read aloud the names of the departed) was evident.

There were new members to this circle of grief and woe. Relatives of Erik Salgado, killed by the California Highway patrol in Oakland on June 6, and San Francisco’s Sean Monterrrosa was killed on June 2 by police in Vallejo.  They praised their predecessors for the work done to get justice for their loved ones.

Several lawmakers emerged from the State Capitol to support the event and stand with the families. They included African American legislators Sen. Holly J. Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), Sen. Steven Bradford (D- Los Angeles), and Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento).

McCarty authored a constitutional amendment, ACA 6, which will be on the general election ballot in November. Known as the “Free the Vote Act,” ACA 6 will seek voters’ approval to restore voting rights to former inmates on parole.   

    

Antonio Ray Harvey

Antonio Ray Harvey

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 20 – 26, 2024

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An Inside Look into How San Francisco Analyzes Homeless Encampments

Dozens of unhoused people are camped at Sixth and Jesse streets in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. Tents made of tarps and blankets, piles of debris, and people lounging alongside the allies and walls of businesses are seen from all angles. These are some of the city’s hotspots. City crews have cleared encampments there over 30 times in the past year, but unhoused people always return.

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Since the ruling of Grants Pass by the US Supreme Court earlier this summer, which allows cities the authority to ban people from camping or sleeping on the streets, San Francisco has been at the head of the conversation to crack down on encampments.
Since the ruling of Grants Pass by the US Supreme Court earlier this summer, which allows cities the authority to ban people from camping or sleeping on the streets, San Francisco has been at the head of the conversation to crack down on encampments.

By Magaly Muñoz

Dozens of unhoused people are camped at Sixth and Jesse streets in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. Tents made of tarps and blankets, piles of debris, and people lounging alongside the allies and walls of businesses are seen from all angles.

These are some of the city’s hotspots. City crews have cleared encampments there over 30 times in the past year, but unhoused people always return.

But it’s normal to have tents set up again within less than 24 hours after an encampment sweep, David Nakanishi, Healthy Streets Operation Center Manager at the Department of Emergency Management, says. Sometimes there’s less people than before but often there is also no change.

“Most of the people that were in the encampments that want to go inside, we’ve gotten the majority of those [into shelter],” Nakanishi says. “Many of the people we encounter now, are those who have various reasons to not accept shelter, and some are already in shelter/housing”.

Since the ruling of Grants Pass by the US Supreme Court earlier this summer, which allows cities the authority to ban people from camping or sleeping on the streets, San Francisco has been at the head of the conversation to crack down on encampments.

Where neighboring cities in the Bay Area are clearing encampments a few days a week, San Francisco is sweeping 10 times a week, two per weekday.

David Nakanishi, Healthy Streets Operation Center Manager at the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, makes a 311 report on an encampment in the Mission District. These reports allow smaller city teams to tackle individual spots where unhoused people frequent. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

David Nakanishi, Healthy Streets Operation Center Manager at the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, makes a 311 report on an encampment in the Mission District. These reports allow smaller city teams to tackle individual spots where unhoused people frequent. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Considering the controversy that plagues the city around its harsh policies, the Post decided to tag along on a ride with Nakanishi to show us how he decides what encampments make it on the city’s sweep list.

Nakanishi, having over 20 years of experience in homelessness management, drives around the busiest parts of the city almost daily. He’s tasked with arranging a weekly sweeping operation schedule for city teams to engage with unhoused folks to help get them off the streets.

So what exactly is he looking out for when deciding what encampments get swept?

It depends, he says.

Locations like schools, recreational centers, senior centers, or businesses are places he tends to want to address quickly, especially schools. These are the places where the complaints are highest and access to facilities is important for residents.

He says he also takes into account 311 calls and reports made to him by city staff. On the date of publication, over 100 calls and reports were made about encampments around the city, according to San Francisco data.

Makeshift structures built from plywood and tarps are starting to pop up more throughout the city. Certain areas under freeways are not under direct authority from San Francisco, making it harder to sweep these encampments. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Makeshift structures built from plywood and tarps are starting to pop up more throughout the city. Certain areas under freeways are not under direct authority from San Francisco, making it harder to sweep these encampments. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Nakanishi made a few 311 reports himself on the ride along, pulling over to take photos and describe the encampments into his 311 app. He says it helps him remember where to possibly sweep next or allows smaller teams in the city to engage quicker with individuals on the streets.

Nakanishi also looks at the state of the encampments. Are there a lot of bulky items, such as furniture, or makeshift structures built out of tarps and plywood, blocking areas of traffic? Is trash beginning to pile up and spill into the streets or sidewalks? Sites that meet this criteria tend to be contenders for encampment sweeps, Nakanishi says.

Street by street, he points out individuals he’s interacted with, describing their conditions, habits, and reasons for denying assistance from the city.

One man on 2nd St and Mission, who rolls around a blue recycling bin and often yells at passing pedestrians, has refused shelter several times, Nakanishi says.

People deny shelter for all kinds of reasons, he says. There’s too many rules to follow, people feel unsafe in congregate or shared shelters, or their behavioral and mental health problems make it hard to get them into proper services.

Inside a tent left by an unhoused man on Stevenson and 14th Street in San Francisco. The area smelled of human waste and leftover alcohol. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Inside a tent left by an unhoused man on Stevenson and 14th Street in San Francisco. The area smelled of human waste and leftover alcohol. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Nakanishi references another man on South Van Ness under the freeway, who city outreach have attempted to get into shelter, but his screaming outbursts make it difficult to place him without disturbing other people in the same space. Nakanishi says it might be an issue of the man needing resources like medication to alleviate his distress that causes the screaming, but the city behavioral team is in the process of outreaching him to figure that out.

In October, city outreach teams engaged with 495 unhoused people. 377 of those engaged refused shelter and only 118 accepted placements, according to city data. That number of monthly referrals is consistent throughout the entirety of 2024 so far.

Nakanishi has long advocated for the well-being of unhoused people, he explains. In 2004, he was working with the Department of Public Health and told then-Mayor Gavin Newsom that there needed to be more housing for families. Nakinishi was told it was easier to deal with individuals first and the city “will get there eventually.” 20 years later, family housing is still not as extensive as it could be, and the waiting list to get placements for families is a mile long with over 500 names.

In 2020, he was a Senior Behavioral Health Clinician at a hotel in the city during the pandemic. He says in 2021 he collaborated with DPH to provide vaccines to those staying in the makeshift hotel shelters once those became available.

Nakanishi strips apart a solo tent on Stevenson and 14th Street in San Francisco. He discards items, like tarps and cardboard, so that people cannot reuse them to make another sleeping structure. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Nakanishi strips apart a solo tent on Stevenson and 14th Street in San Francisco. He discards items, like tarps and cardboard, so that people cannot reuse them to make another sleeping structure. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Despite the constant media attention that city outreach is inhumanely treating homeless people, so much so that it has led to lawsuits against San Francisco from advocates, Nakanishi says not a lot of people are seeing the true conditions of some encampments.

He describes soiled clothing and tents, drenched in urine, and oftentimes rodents or bug infestations in places where people are sleeping. He’s asked homeless advocates- often those who are the most critical about the city’s work- who have shown up to observe the sweeps if those are conditions the city should allow people to be subjected to, but not many have answers for him, Nakanishi says.

The city’s “bag and tag” policy allows city workers to throw away items that are “soiled by infectious materials” such as bodily fluids and waste.

Sweep operations are conducted at 8am and 1pm Monday through Friday. People at the encampments are given 72 hour notice to vacate, but some don’t leave the area until the day of the sweep.

City outreach workers come out the day before and day of to offer resources and shelter to those interested. The Department of Public Works discards any trash that is left over from the sweep and washes down the area.

Nakanishi told the Post that the only time the city takes tents or personal possessions from residents is when folks become physically violent towards workers and police take the items as evidence. Other items taken are bagged and tagged in accordance with city policy.

Stories from local newspapers such as the San Francisco Standard and the Chronicle show instances of SFPD handcuffing residents while their items are thrown in the trash or disposing of personal possessions without reason.

Advocates have long been pushing for a more competent and compassionate process if the city is going to choose to continue sweeping unhouse people.

No matter the lawsuits and constant criticisms from allies, the encampment sweeps are not slowing down, even with the cold weather quickly approaching the coastal city.

Nakanishi says there aren’t a lot of large encampments left in San Francisco so now they do runs of streets in order to stretch out the sweeps as much as possible.

It’s calculated strategies and years of first hand knowledge that make this job work, “It takes dedication to the work, caring for the people and the community, and persistence, patience and sometimes good luck to make the positive changes for the people on the street,” Nakanishi says.

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Oakland Post: Week of November 13 – 19, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 13 – 19, 2024

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