In an ironic display of white supremacy, Black residents in the historically African American East Oakland area are now being treated as menaces by white invading gentrifiers who are calling the cops on them for simply living life as they always have. A recent report by the East Bay Express reveals that the rate at which whites are calling police on innocent blacks is skyrocketing at an alarming rate.
Using data from the website Nextdoor.com, the publication was able to uncover cops being called for such harmless infractions as walking down the street and knocking on a door. Black salesman and postal workers who were simply doing their job have even faced harassment and been criminalized just for delivering items to residents.
As if existing Oakland police officers do not have a history of criminalizing and brutalizing Black residents enough, white residents have also taken to hiring private officers to patrol the neighborhood with even more tyranny. Oakland officers report that they are currently receiving more than 700 calls a month about suspicious vehicles and people, revealing that they are forced to respond to baseless, unwarranted calls from white residents who are racially profiling their neighbors.
As gentrification reverses white flight across the country, Black people are being subjected to racial profiling and white supremacy at the hands of invading white gentrifiers whose racial biases will continue unabated until there are some kind of legal repercussions for their harassment. Black residents are being forced to relocate by rising property taxes and the shattered tranquility of homes that are no longer the vibrant cultural centers they once were, and city officials are doing little to address the problem.
Meanwhile, drummers who have a long tradition of playing music at Lake Merritt recently had police called on them by white residents, and Oakland police bowed to the man’s wishes, sending a large number of officers to handle a peaceful situation and pass out citations to a group of residents who were simply enjoying their neighborhood as they always had.
A local Oakland church even had police called on them for a noise complaint about loud singing. In an extreme display of arrogance, white invading gentrifiers do not even hold any respect for allowing Black residents to worship in their sacred spaces without being subjected to white supremacy. Long time Oakland resident and publisher of the Black newspaper the Oakland Post reveals even more about how bold white newcomers are in reporting that young white residents and realtors have even knocked on his door inquiring about buying his home and having the nerve to asked him when he is leaving, implying that he is in the way.
High school freshman James Fisher recently spoke with the East Bay Express about the suspicious and fearful stares he gets from white people, making him feel out of place and uncomfortable in the only place he has ever called home. As gentrification continues to spread across the country, Black residents everywhere, not just in Oakland, are left to wonder if they will every be able to call any place in America home without white people having the right to invade and pilfer their neighborhoods and communities.
Post by iammalcolmx on Oct 19, 2015 10:58:02 GMT -5
Not the least bit surprised. When I first moved to my neighborhood pretty much all the Black male residents had to prove they lived there. The police escorted many of them home asking their wives if they really live there.
Post by tacosforlife on Oct 19, 2015 10:57:54 GMT -5
In an ironic display of white supremacy, Black residents in the historically African American East Oakland area are now being treated as menaces by white invading gentrifiers who are calling the cops on them for simply living life as they always have. A recent report by the East Bay Express reveals that the rate at which whites are calling police on innocent blacks is skyrocketing at an alarming rate.
Using data from the website Nextdoor.com, the publication was able to uncover cops being called for such harmless infractions as walking down the street and knocking on a door. Black salesman and postal workers who were simply doing their job have even faced harassment and been criminalized just for delivering items to residents.
As if existing Oakland police officers do not have a history of criminalizing and brutalizing Black residents enough, white residents have also taken to hiring private officers to patrol the neighborhood with even more tyranny. Oakland officers report that they are currently receiving more than 700 calls a month about suspicious vehicles and people, revealing that they are forced to respond to baseless, unwarranted calls from white residents who are racially profiling their neighbors.
As gentrification reverses white flight across the country, Black people are being subjected to racial profiling and white supremacy at the hands of invading white gentrifiers whose racial biases will continue unabated until there are some kind of legal repercussions for their harassment. Black residents are being forced to relocate by rising property taxes and the shattered tranquility of homes that are no longer the vibrant cultural centers they once were, and city officials are doing little to address the problem.
Meanwhile, drummers who have a long tradition of playing music at Lake Merritt recently had police called on them by white residents, and Oakland police bowed to the man’s wishes, sending a large number of officers to handle a peaceful situation and pass out citations to a group of residents who were simply enjoying their neighborhood as they always had.
A local Oakland church even had police called on them for a noise complaint about loud singing. In an extreme display of arrogance, white invading gentrifiers do not even hold any respect for allowing Black residents to worship in their sacred spaces without being subjected to white supremacy. Long time Oakland resident and publisher of the Black newspaper the Oakland Post reveals even more about how bold white newcomers are in reporting that young white residents and realtors have even knocked on his door inquiring about buying his home and having the nerve to asked him when he is leaving, implying that he is in the way.
High school freshman James Fisher recently spoke with the East Bay Express about the suspicious and fearful stares he gets from white people, making him feel out of place and uncomfortable in the only place he has ever called home. As gentrification continues to spread across the country, Black residents everywhere, not just in Oakland, are left to wonder if they will every be able to call any place in America home without white people having the right to invade and pilfer their neighborhoods and communities.
My Nextdoor has posted similar "concerns" about Hispanic youths walking together and they were, gasp, wearing black and red so they might be gang members. Or they were talking to a car that pulled up so they might be dealing drugs. The resounding answer is "Call the police!" This neighborhood has been historically Hispanic for decades and the local high school is still predominantly Hispanic.
Post by iammalcolmx on Oct 19, 2015 11:10:45 GMT -5
Someone posted that article about racial undertones and Next-door. Everyone was pretty receptive except the dude who runs around the park with a Confederate Flag. 1234FIF! and origami wanted to shit on his lawn.
This is an issue happening in my neighborhood. On our FB group many neighbors are concerned about a black man that sits in a folding chair at the entrance to our neighborhood smoking. Everyone that posts their concerns is sure to include his race. Several neighbors have threatened to call the cops to check up on him.
One neighbor is black and rides around daily on her pink bike with flowered basket. One day she was riding and a cop stopped her. He asked, accusingly, if she knew anything about a burglary that happened a few doors down from where she was riding.
Post by downtoearth on Oct 19, 2015 11:20:10 GMT -5
I see this in the Denver neighborhood where I own a house also... I was in a mommy group in our neighborhood and there were many instances in the last 10 years where I or someone who has been in the neighborhood longer has called out someone for profiling. In our neighborhood gentrification is called "progress" and "redevelopment" and always avoiding the true word of gentrification.
This Oakland article below went around the neighborhood website a year or so ago. It caused some stir b/c people who just want a "safe" neighborhood and "better schools" don't realize their part. I think it's good to realize your privilege and part in gentrification, but it hasn't stopped the gentrification from taking over and more working class people to have to move to the suburbs to afford housing. So I don't know what the, likely complex, answer is...
Gentrification is the word of the day in Oakland. Everywhere you look people are asking, “Am I a gentrifier? Is it bad? Should I care?” What people don’t seem to realize is it isn’t the mere act of moving into a neighborhood that makes you a gentrifier; it’s what you do once you get there.
If you come into someone’s home, do you immediately start rearranging it and moving furniture in? Do you throw away their family photo albums and tell them they have to go to bed at an earlier time or play their music at a lower volume?
No, of course not. You get to know each other, decide if you get along, and, once your host has decided you can stay, you ask politely if there is space to put your stuff. So why do you think you can move into someone else’s neighborhood and start making it over as your own? Why do you think you can move into someone’s ancestral land and start taking it over, evicting them from their homes and pushing out their businesses?
And yet, recently arrived residents of Oakland are doing just that. We would like them to stop. We would like them to include us in on their meetings. Maybe ask one of us what we think about putting in a bunch of high-end markets and pricey boutiques. While you all are dining out at fancy restaurants, some of us are struggling to find a cheap meal.
So I’ve put together a few how-to’s for avoiding the gentrifier label in Oakland:
1. Smile and say hi to your neighbors every time you see them, even if they seem scary or don’t say hi back. Sometimes it takes time to build a rapport and gain the trust of the community.
2. Recognize all the people outside of your door as your neighbors, even if they look different from you and live under different circumstances. This includes the homeless who sleep on the street, the drug dealers who sell outside the liquor store, and the prostitutes walking your streets. Replace the words homeless, drug dealer, and prostitute with the word neighbor. Treating these folks with respect and dignity from the beginning will give you later leverage to talk to them about changing their behavior and getting out of the life.
3. Change the way you look at said neighbors by changing the language you use to describe them. Think about the motivations for their actions. Instead of “that prostitute was out all night selling her body” think “my neighbor (insert name here) was forced by her pimp to stand out in the cold all night and have sex with multiple men she didn’t know.” See if that doesn’t change your opinion of her.
4. Pay your taxes, parking tickets and fines with the pleasure of knowing you are financially helping a beautiful, but struggling city. Be grateful if you are able pay them without too much difficulty.
5. Really think before you call the police. Ask yourself, is this something that can be fixed by a simple conversation? Did a violent crime just happen? Then, of course you should call the police! But your neighbor playing their music too loud is not a police issue. Remember many communities have experienced, and still experience, real trauma at the hands of the police. While you may think a person has nothing to fear if they didn’t do anything wrong, an African American will always be holding Oscar Grant and Alan Blueford in their mind. A simple interaction with the police can trigger the collective PTSD from which the entire community suffers.
6. Remember low-income communities and communities of color are suffering from hundreds of years of historic trauma and this trauma is very fresh in the minds of most Oaklanders.
7. Recognize most of the perpetrators of crime in Oakland have also been the victims of a system you have benefitted from disproportionately.
8. See all of Oakland’s problems as opportunities for growth, creative problem solving, and entrepreneurship. Refuse to complain about a problem unless you are willing to play an active part in the solution.
9. Donate and/or volunteer at local organizations that build solidarity and add capacity to low-income communities of color. Some of my favorites include MISSSEY, The Ella Baker Center, EBASE, Causa Justa :: Just Cause, Black Girls Code, Phat Beets Produce, and Oakland Rising.
10. Shop local and small. Go to the dive bars, hole in the wall restaurants, and small markets as often as the upscale restaurants, swanky bars, and boutiques.
11. If you are opening up a business, make sure your prices are within reach for the majority of people in the neighborhood you operate.
12. Hire locals, low-income folks, people of color, and people from a variety of backgrounds. Take a chance on someone with low experience, but high potential. Hire someone who has been formerly incarcerated. Train some folks. Forgive them for not understanding the ins-and-outs of the workplace as quickly as you would like. If it doesn’t work out, clearly explain to them why and suggest some job training organizations that could help them develop the skills they need for the next job.
13. Recognize Oakland has a very unique and vibrant history and culture, and you were attracted to this city because of the energy that is already here. You should be here to add to that history and culture, not to erase it. We are not San Francisco. We don’t want to be San Francisco. So please don’t try to remake our city in San Francisco’s image. And remember, you don’t gain culture by eating a burrito. You gain culture by engaging in a real and meaningful manner with the person who makes the burrito.
14. Give to crowd-funded campaigns that support local projects by Oaklanders. Encourage low-income folks to launch their own crowd-funded campaigns to help them go to college, get their car fixed so they can drive to work, buy a suit they can wear to an interview, or get a computer so they can pay attention to all that is going on in the community. Invest in your neighbors’ well being. A neighborhood where everyone’s needs are met is a safe neighborhood.
15. Identify your privileges. We all have them. Having privilege is not necessarily the problem, it’s what you do with it. As an Afro-Latina woman, I am not who you would traditionally consider privileged. However, I do have privilege in this society over people who have darker skin, less education, a less respected job, and less money. When I am in situations when these things act in my favor, I use my privilege to enrich myself and the people around me. I mentor people. I try to find jobs and internships for people of color. I teach people how to navigate city services. I know whatever success I gain, I didn’t gain it on my own. I have a responsibility to the community that has facilitated my success to be a resource and asset to those people still trying to make it.
16. If you create a neighborhood organization, make sure the racial and socioeconomic diversity of the group is reflective of the neighborhood. Actively recruit members who have differing perspectives. Find translators that can help facilitate the recruitment and retention of non-English speakers. If there is another organization working in the neighborhood, ask them what they are doing and how you can help, not the other way around.
17. If you plan any major projects in the neighborhood, make sure you do active outreach, and seek the opinions of all your neighbors. Put in the extra effort to build a consensus.
18. Engage with the government and advocate on behalf of policies that benefit all the residents of Oakland, those born and raised here, transplants, people in your neighborhood, and those living in greater Oakland. Support affordable housing, education funding, re-entry services, job training and placement programs.
19. Learn all that you can about the culture and history of Oakland. Take a free, guided walking tour of some of the neighborhoods. Read some books on Oakland. Check out some museums. Go to a few festivals. Talk to elders and ask them what Oakland was like when they were growing up. That older black guy who hangs out the park is a walking historian and a cultural asset. He should be treated as such.
20. Hella love Oakland. Fall in love with our city for everything it ever was, is, and will be. I did a few years ago and have been ecstatic to live here since.
Dannette Lambert is a community organizer and resident in Oakland, CA who works for City Councilperson Dan Kalb. This piece reflects her individual views.
Not the least bit surprised. When I first moved to my neighborhood pretty much all the Black male residents had to prove they lived there. The police escorted many of them home asking their wives if they really live there.
NO THEY DID NOT. OMFG. I would have been arrested for cussing a motherfucking cop COMPLETE OUT OF HIS NAME.
When we first moved in the builder hired security to keep an eye on the neighborhood. I had to stop the police from arresting him.
Post by cookiemdough on Oct 19, 2015 11:44:21 GMT -5
I just don't understand the mindset. Why even move into the neighborhood if you know from jump you don't really like the neighborhood or the people residing there? Every place I have lived I have driven through the neighborhood in the morning, afternoon and evening to get an idea of traffic, safety, are people throwing parties, are there kids, do people pick up after their dogs, are there a lot of nosey old people lol. It would never occur to me to move someplace I feel unsafe and then spend my days calling the police. How do you ever become part of the neighborhood when you are an enemy to your neighbors who were there way before you??
Not the least bit surprised. When I first moved to my neighborhood pretty much all the Black male residents had to prove they lived there. The police escorted many of them home asking their wives if they really live there.
I have rage at this... escorting black men around the neighborhood b/c some white gentrifier called and said they were suspicious?! It's like tackling a black man who holds a door for you and does NOT rob you. It's even worse that the cops are basically cosigning this foolishness! Sickening.
I just don't understand the mindset. Why even move into the neighborhood if you know from jump you don't really like the neighborhood or the people residing there? Every place I have lived I have driven through the neighborhood in the morning, afternoon and evening to get an idea of traffic, safety, are people throwing parties, are there kids, do people pick up after their dogs, are there a lot of nosey old people lol. It would never occur to me to move someplace I feel unsafe and then spend my days calling the police. How do you ever become part of the neighborhood when you are an enemy to your neighbors who were there way before you??
I'm wondering the same thing.
Stories like this are what is keeping me from joining Nextdoor.
Post by karinothing on Oct 19, 2015 12:06:25 GMT -5
I don't get people like this. I moved into a traditionally black neighborhood and it would never occur to me to call the police for any of this type of behavior! In fact I love how folks gather in our neighborhood square or how all the "old" men pull out chairs to sit on the street corner. I don't know, it makes the neighborhood feel like a real community.
Honestly, most of the time I feel guilty for moving into this neighborhood and hoping the original residents don't hate me for being part of the gentrification process.
I just don't understand the mindset. Why even move into the neighborhood if you know from jump you don't really like the neighborhood or the people residing there? Every place I have lived I have driven through the neighborhood in the morning, afternoon and evening to get an idea of traffic, safety, are people throwing parties, are there kids, do people pick up after their dogs, are there a lot of nosey old people lol. It would never occur to me to move someplace I feel unsafe and then spend my days calling the police. How do you ever become part of the neighborhood when you are an enemy to your neighbors who were there way before you??
It really just has to be that gentrifiers came in expecting the unwanted people to be pushed out in no time, and they want their property values to go up immediately. I can't think of another reason because I don't get it either.
Post by mrsukyankee on Oct 19, 2015 12:17:09 GMT -5
That makes me rage. RAGE. I love living in my multicultural neighbourhood. It's awesome. And I want everyone to keep doing their thing there - from the Muslim neighbours who play their prayer music a few times a day to the older Italian lady who gets dressed up and looks down her nose at everyone else.
I just don't understand the mindset. Why even move into the neighborhood if you know from jump you don't really like the neighborhood or the people residing there? Every place I have lived I have driven through the neighborhood in the morning, afternoon and evening to get an idea of traffic, safety, are people throwing parties, are there kids, do people pick up after their dogs, are there a lot of nosey old people lol. It would never occur to me to move someplace I feel unsafe and then spend my days calling the police. How do you ever become part of the neighborhood when you are an enemy to your neighbors who were there way before you??
I don't, either. I lived in two diverse neighborhoods in DC, the first majority black and the second probably more evenly split between black and white residents. I only called the cops for ACTUAL problems - a guy I'd never seen before who looked like he was breaking into a car and a guy who was masturbating on the sidewalk about two blocks from a grade school. But people walking around? Knocking on doors? No. I said hi to people. Most people were friendly. I got cat called occasionally and ignored those assholes. I helped an elderly man get up after a fall. I gave people directions. I acted like a normal member of the neighborhood. It's not hard!
Post by penguingrrl on Oct 19, 2015 12:24:02 GMT -5
People suck. I can't imagine moving into a neighborhood and expecting everyone to change who they are based on what I want. I lived in two separate neighborhoods when we were in NYC that were majority black neighborhoods. They were by far the friendliest neighborhoods I have ever lived in and I loved living among people who still lived as a community. I can't imagine how much of life I would have missed out on in sitting on my stoop chatting with my neighbors while the kids played and instead calling the police on them for loitering.
I just don't understand the mindset. Why even move into the neighborhood if you know from jump you don't really like the neighborhood or the people residing there? Every place I have lived I have driven through the neighborhood in the morning, afternoon and evening to get an idea of traffic, safety, are people throwing parties, are there kids, do people pick up after their dogs, are there a lot of nosey old people lol. It would never occur to me to move someplace I feel unsafe and then spend my days calling the police. How do you ever become part of the neighborhood when you are an enemy to your neighbors who were there way before you??
This is what I always think when I hear stories like this. Why would you buy there if you don't like how it is? This is a weird analogy, but it seems to apply:
Don't date or marry someone who you want to like but you have to change him/her to fit your mold. Your search may be longer, but you are going to strip that person of their, you know, personality, to get them to match yours. It just doesn't make sense.
I just don't understand the mindset. Why even move into the neighborhood if you know from jump you don't really like the neighborhood or the people residing there? Every place I have lived I have driven through the neighborhood in the morning, afternoon and evening to get an idea of traffic, safety, are people throwing parties, are there kids, do people pick up after their dogs, are there a lot of nosey old people lol. It would never occur to me to move someplace I feel unsafe and then spend my days calling the police. How do you ever become part of the neighborhood when you are an enemy to your neighbors who were there way before you??
Yeah I just can't wrap my head around it. I honestly think that some of these people expect that by the time housing prices are driven up to a certain level and a certain quota of trendy restaurants or shops have opened they just shouldn't have to deal with the people who have lived there long term.
Ding ding ding! See also: San Francisco (particularly the Mission district among several others).
This is an issue happening in my neighborhood. On our FB group many neighbors are concerned about a black man that sits in a folding chair at the entrance to our neighborhood smoking. Everyone that posts their concerns is sure to include his race. Several neighbors have threatened to call the cops to check up on him.
One neighbor is black and rides around daily on her pink bike with flowered basket. One day she was riding and a cop stopped her. He asked, accusingly, if she knew anything about a burglary that happened a few doors down from where she was riding.
Same thing around here. This was a real conversation:
"I don't know, that guy who sits on the porch looks a little off. I wouldn't want to live next door to him." "Um... because he's black?" "No! He just looks like he might be mentally disabled, which could make him unstable. TOTALLY not because he's black!" "Yeah, well, I've seen him sitting ON HIS OWN PORCH a lot, and I've heard him speak, and I believe he is cognitively normal and a long time resident of the neighborhood."
I just don't understand the mindset. Why even move into the neighborhood if you know from jump you don't really like the neighborhood or the people residing there? Every place I have lived I have driven through the neighborhood in the morning, afternoon and evening to get an idea of traffic, safety, are people throwing parties, are there kids, do people pick up after their dogs, are there a lot of nosey old people lol. It would never occur to me to move someplace I feel unsafe and then spend my days calling the police. How do you ever become part of the neighborhood when you are an enemy to your neighbors who were there way before you??
Yeah I just can't wrap my head around it. I honestly think that some of these people expect that by the time housing prices are driven up to a certain level and a certain quota of trendy restaurants or shops have opened they just shouldn't have to deal with the people who have lived there long term.
There are gentrifiers in our neighborhood that bought yoyo
A few days before I moved into my place, there was an emergency neighborhood meeting to discuss how the "neighborhood was going downhill." We had lived there for a total of 8 days, didn't know if this was an isolated incident or a major problem, and also thought it would be good to meet the neighbors.
There had been an escalation in petty crime, vandalism, theft, etc. in the previous months, but the urgency was prompted by the fact some guy had gotten mugged and physically assaulted in broad daylight 10 yards from my front door 3 days before I moved in. There had also been sounds of gun shots that same day.
After discussing with the beat cop that came, the conclusion that the problems were caused by (1) because it was summer, you just had some bored teenagers roaming around and (2) there was a shady landlord operating a nearby public housing complex, and drug deals were on the rise (the gun shots came from that block). To deal with #2, the cop discussed a plan to increase police presence near the shady landlord operation. To deal with both, the cop discussed doing things to increase visibility and make it harder for people to hide. Add some extra street lights, doing some landscaping in the neighborhood park to increase visibility, etc. These were rational solutions.
But there was some batty old lady there and this was not good enough for her. She actually suggested that we create a neighborhood phone tree so that we could call each other if we saw these kids out and about. In other words, if three black teenagers were walking down the street, she wanted to sound the alarm bells so people could go outside and make sure the kids don't throw peel the registration stickers off their cars. Fortunately, most of the people at the meeting told her she was bat shit crazy and we can't just start harassing kids who are just going about their business.
That was seven years ago. Since that time, the neighborhood has gotten more white and more wealthy, though there's still a large minority presence. My NextDoor page is relatively low drama, but now that I'm aware of how that site is being used to intimidate, I'll pay more attention so I can speak up if that batty old lady (or anyone else) gets internet connection and decides to start being an asshole again.
This is an issue happening in my neighborhood. On our FB group many neighbors are concerned about a black man that sits in a folding chair at the entrance to our neighborhood smoking. Everyone that posts their concerns is sure to include his race. Several neighbors have threatened to call the cops to check up on him.
One neighbor is black and rides around daily on her pink bike with flowered basket. One day she was riding and a cop stopped her. He asked, accusingly, if she knew anything about a burglary that happened a few doors down from where she was riding.
Same thing around here. This was a real conversation:
"I don't know, that guy who sits on the porch looks a little off. I wouldn't want to live next door to him." "Um... because he's black?" "No! He just looks like he might be mentally disabled, which could make him unstable. TOTALLY not because he's black!" "Yeah, well, I've seen him sitting ON HIS OWN PORCH a lot, and I've heard him speak, and I believe he is cognitively normal and a long time resident of the neighborhood."
I was once asked what I was doing and where I was going by an officer while I was knitting at a bus stop because that becomes suspicious after 9pm. Also, Albany cops have nothing to do.
I just don't understand the mindset. Why even move into the neighborhood if you know from jump you don't really like the neighborhood or the people residing there? Every place I have lived I have driven through the neighborhood in the morning, afternoon and evening to get an idea of traffic, safety, are people throwing parties, are there kids, do people pick up after their dogs, are there a lot of nosey old people lol. It would never occur to me to move someplace I feel unsafe and then spend my days calling the police. How do you ever become part of the neighborhood when you are an enemy to your neighbors who were there way before you??
So many people treat their home as a fortress. They drive everywhere. They pick their house because of proximity to family or work or because they like the building itself. They do not participate in the community, talk to neighbors, or consider themselves to be an active part of the community.