In a damning letter, Oakland’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) branch called for a state of emergency to end the California city’s “intolerable public safety crisis.”
The organization cites “failed leadership, including the movement to defund the police.”
In the letter, the NAACP calls on people of all races to report crime while urging that “it is not racist to want to be safe.”
The NAACP wrote: “Oakland residents are sick and tired of our intolerable public safety crisis that overwhelmingly impacts minority communities.
“Murders, shootings, violent armed robberies, home invasions, car break-ins, sideshows, and highway shootouts have become a pervasive fixture of life in Oakland.
“We call on all elected leaders to unite and declare a state of emergency and bring together massive resources to address our public safety crisis.
“African Americans are disproportionately hit the hardest by crime in East Oakland and other parts of the city.
“But residents from all parts of the city report that they do not feel safe.
“Women are targeted by young mobs and viciously beaten and robbed in downtown and uptown neighborhoods.
“Asians are assaulted in Chinatown,” the letter notes.
“Street vendors are robbed in Fruitvale.
“News crews have their cameras stolen while they report on crime.
“PG&E workers are robbed and now require private security when they are out working.
“Everyone is in danger,” NAACP warns.
“Failed leadership, including the movement to defund the police, our District Attorney’s unwillingness to charge and prosecute people who murder and commit life-threatening serious crimes, and the proliferation of anti-police rhetoric have created a heyday for Oakland criminals.
“If there are no consequences for committing crime in Oakland, crime will continue to soar.
“If there are no consequences for committing crime in Oakland, crime will continue to soar.
“We urge African Americans to speak out and demand improved public safety.
“We also encourage Oakland’s White, Asian, and Latino communities to speak out against crime and stop allowing themselves to be shamed into silence.
“There is nothing compassionate or progressive about allowing criminal behavior to fester and rob Oakland residents of their basic rights to public safety.
“It is not racist or unkind to want to be safe from crime.
“No one should live in fear in our city.”
The @NAACPOAKLAND just release a statement regarding Oakland’s escalating violence.
Please read and share far and wide. pic.twitter.com/sxaIEpl13c— Seneca Scott (@SenecaSpeaks21) July 28, 2023
