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Police say "abundance of guns" is "reason" for in
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Cry for peace in Oakland streets
Thousands demand end to plague of killings
Jim Herron Zamora, Chronicle Staff Writer Sunday, July 14, 2002
Oakland -- In the largest rally against violence in Oakland since the 1980s, thousands of people marched through the streets on Saturday, demanding an end to the spiraling homicide rate plaguing their neighborhoods.
Bearing hand-lettered signs reading, "Thou Shalt Not Kill," "Spread Love Not Drugs" and "Brothers Don't Let Brothers Kill," the marchers converged on City Hall for an emotional noontime rally and prayer service.
The huge rally followed three simultaneous marches that began at churches in North, East and West Oakland, where the violence has been especially prevalent. Though led by African American ministers, the columns included Latino, Vietnamese and Chinese American congregations.
Many marchers knew firsthand the agony of the violence being inflicted on Oakland.
"Please do not let your babies die in vain," a teary-eyed Marilyn Washington shouted, after describing to the crowd how her son Khadafy was gunned down two years ago. "I am not afraid to tell men on the corners to put away their guns and their hate. I am afraid of no one but God."
Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and Police Chief Richard Word were among those who spoke at the rally.
"The bullet was in the gun, the gun was in the hand, the hand was in the body that had a soul. We need to get to that soul. We have to get to that person before the gun is fired," said Brown, a former Jesuit seminarian.
Scores of people in the audience wore T-shirts bearing photographs of young men and women killed on the streets of Oakland. Few of their deaths made headlines, and many remain unsolved.
"I may never know who killed my husband," said Shona' Mooney, whose husband,
Russell Walker, was shot to death March 6 while driving with their 6-year-old son. "My son still has nightmares and we are both in therapy. We cry a lot."
Each march began with prayers, songs such as "Onward Christian Soldiers" or chants of "Go Jesus! Go Jesus!" Before the West Oakland contingent left Mount Zion Baptist Church at 12th and Willow streets, Deputy Police Chief Michael Holland asked God for inspiration and residents for help.
"Without you we can do nothing at all -- without God we are nothing," said Holland, to resounding chorus of amens. "As you march today, think what you will do tomorrow and the next day" to make peace.
Estimates on the size of the crowd differed among police and organizers. Some officers said there were no more than 4,000 people, but others placed the number closer to 10,000.
But everyone agreed it was the biggest such event since 1986, when a crowd between 10,000 and 12,000 marched on City Hall during the peak of Oakland's infamous gang wars over the crack cocaine trade.
The marches, the rally and a related anti-violence conference at Laney College were organized in response to Oakland's skyrocketing homicide rate, which includes six homicides in one weekend in May.
STAGGERING STATISTICS
Fifty-five people have been killed in Oakland so far this year, compared with 40 by this time last year. This includes two killings in the past week. Another man was nearly killed when he was critically wounded Saturday with a gunshot wound in the head about 3:15 a.m. in the 3100 block of Cuthbert Avenue.
Police said the reasons behind the increase are complex and include drug disputes, a tanking economy and an abundance of guns.
But many of those marching beneath clear blue skies didn't care about the hows and whys of the killings. Foremost in their minds were the lives lost and the pain it left with loved ones.
"No mother should have to go through this," said West Oakland resident Lowanda Johnson, whose 28-year-old daughter Alina was killed Oct. 28, 2000. "These young people have so much hatred, so much anger. They are desperate."
Even as the throngs marched through Oakland, hundreds gathered at Laney College for a conference called "Release the Peace." They listened to clergy, public officials and former gang members talk about preventing violence and attended workshops aimed at teaching young people to control their anger and resist negative peer pressure.
"The root cause of the violence that we're seeing in young people goes all the way back to the family," said conference organizer Rev. Brondon Reems, pastor of Center of Hope Church in East Oakland. "We have to work with one family at a time, and each community has to look at its own issue as we try to stop the violence."
HOPING TO CONNECT
Reems said he hoped the conference would help "make the connection" between young people and those who can help them.
Many conference participants were teens who have had run-ins with the law. Several said they face a huge amount of peer pressure from friends and gang members to "stay in the life."
"It's not like you can do an about-face," said a 17-year-old East Oakland man who would not give his name. "Yeah, I don't want to be in prison, but I am who I am. That's me."
Rainier Griffin said he made the same tough journey to reject gangs, violence and the allure of making quick and easy bucks selling drugs. He offered to help guide others.
"We need all these marchers to pick a corner and talk to these dope fiends, " said Griffin, 18. "We need strong mentors, people with credibility to tell these guys not to sell dope. I mean City Hall didn't kill anybody. It's us killing each other."
The march down East Oakland's International Boulevard inspired many people, including Jose Gonzalez, who lives in the daily fear of violence of crime- ridden neighborhoods.
"They give me hope," said Gonzalez. In Spanish, he described how every night he walks home in fear from the bus stop near Seminary Boulevard and International after his swing-shift custodial job.
Anthony Todd, 43, stood on the sidewalk in front of the seafood restaurant, waving at marchers, cheering them and offering the occasional hug.
A CITY IN NEED
"My heart is with them," Todd said. "I really believe they may save a few lives just by showing they care. Oakland really needs this."
But others who watched the marchers pass were more cynical, including several young people who were well on their way toward the bottoms of the 40- ounce beers they carried in brown bags at 9 a.m.
"I hope they save some souls, because it's late in the game for some of us, " Shirley Byrnum said between gulps. "Maybe they will say a prayer or two for me. God knows I could use it."
A block away, 37-year-old parolee Michael Palmer said people like Byrnum were exactly who he was trying to reach. He handed out leaflets to pedestrians before hoisting a banner for Men of Valor, a program that helped him change.
"I come from these streets," he said. "My mission as a Christian is to help others see it is never too late to let go of the hate. I spent years in prison.
Any punk can pull a trigger. I know the strongest, toughest guy is the one who can let go of his own anger."
E-mail Jim Zamora at jzamora@sfchronicle.com.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/07/14/MN63717.DTL
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Thousands demand end to plague of killings
Jim Herron Zamora, Chronicle Staff Writer Sunday, July 14, 2002
Oakland -- In the largest rally against violence in Oakland since the 1980s, thousands of people marched through the streets on Saturday, demanding an end to the spiraling homicide rate plaguing their neighborhoods.
Bearing hand-lettered signs reading, "Thou Shalt Not Kill," "Spread Love Not Drugs" and "Brothers Don't Let Brothers Kill," the marchers converged on City Hall for an emotional noontime rally and prayer service.
The huge rally followed three simultaneous marches that began at churches in North, East and West Oakland, where the violence has been especially prevalent. Though led by African American ministers, the columns included Latino, Vietnamese and Chinese American congregations.
Many marchers knew firsthand the agony of the violence being inflicted on Oakland.
"Please do not let your babies die in vain," a teary-eyed Marilyn Washington shouted, after describing to the crowd how her son Khadafy was gunned down two years ago. "I am not afraid to tell men on the corners to put away their guns and their hate. I am afraid of no one but God."
Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and Police Chief Richard Word were among those who spoke at the rally.
"The bullet was in the gun, the gun was in the hand, the hand was in the body that had a soul. We need to get to that soul. We have to get to that person before the gun is fired," said Brown, a former Jesuit seminarian.
Scores of people in the audience wore T-shirts bearing photographs of young men and women killed on the streets of Oakland. Few of their deaths made headlines, and many remain unsolved.
"I may never know who killed my husband," said Shona' Mooney, whose husband,
Russell Walker, was shot to death March 6 while driving with their 6-year-old son. "My son still has nightmares and we are both in therapy. We cry a lot."
Each march began with prayers, songs such as "Onward Christian Soldiers" or chants of "Go Jesus! Go Jesus!" Before the West Oakland contingent left Mount Zion Baptist Church at 12th and Willow streets, Deputy Police Chief Michael Holland asked God for inspiration and residents for help.
"Without you we can do nothing at all -- without God we are nothing," said Holland, to resounding chorus of amens. "As you march today, think what you will do tomorrow and the next day" to make peace.
Estimates on the size of the crowd differed among police and organizers. Some officers said there were no more than 4,000 people, but others placed the number closer to 10,000.
But everyone agreed it was the biggest such event since 1986, when a crowd between 10,000 and 12,000 marched on City Hall during the peak of Oakland's infamous gang wars over the crack cocaine trade.
The marches, the rally and a related anti-violence conference at Laney College were organized in response to Oakland's skyrocketing homicide rate, which includes six homicides in one weekend in May.
STAGGERING STATISTICS
Fifty-five people have been killed in Oakland so far this year, compared with 40 by this time last year. This includes two killings in the past week. Another man was nearly killed when he was critically wounded Saturday with a gunshot wound in the head about 3:15 a.m. in the 3100 block of Cuthbert Avenue.
Police said the reasons behind the increase are complex and include drug disputes, a tanking economy and an abundance of guns.
But many of those marching beneath clear blue skies didn't care about the hows and whys of the killings. Foremost in their minds were the lives lost and the pain it left with loved ones.
"No mother should have to go through this," said West Oakland resident Lowanda Johnson, whose 28-year-old daughter Alina was killed Oct. 28, 2000. "These young people have so much hatred, so much anger. They are desperate."
Even as the throngs marched through Oakland, hundreds gathered at Laney College for a conference called "Release the Peace." They listened to clergy, public officials and former gang members talk about preventing violence and attended workshops aimed at teaching young people to control their anger and resist negative peer pressure.
"The root cause of the violence that we're seeing in young people goes all the way back to the family," said conference organizer Rev. Brondon Reems, pastor of Center of Hope Church in East Oakland. "We have to work with one family at a time, and each community has to look at its own issue as we try to stop the violence."
HOPING TO CONNECT
Reems said he hoped the conference would help "make the connection" between young people and those who can help them.
Many conference participants were teens who have had run-ins with the law. Several said they face a huge amount of peer pressure from friends and gang members to "stay in the life."
"It's not like you can do an about-face," said a 17-year-old East Oakland man who would not give his name. "Yeah, I don't want to be in prison, but I am who I am. That's me."
Rainier Griffin said he made the same tough journey to reject gangs, violence and the allure of making quick and easy bucks selling drugs. He offered to help guide others.
"We need all these marchers to pick a corner and talk to these dope fiends, " said Griffin, 18. "We need strong mentors, people with credibility to tell these guys not to sell dope. I mean City Hall didn't kill anybody. It's us killing each other."
The march down East Oakland's International Boulevard inspired many people, including Jose Gonzalez, who lives in the daily fear of violence of crime- ridden neighborhoods.
"They give me hope," said Gonzalez. In Spanish, he described how every night he walks home in fear from the bus stop near Seminary Boulevard and International after his swing-shift custodial job.
Anthony Todd, 43, stood on the sidewalk in front of the seafood restaurant, waving at marchers, cheering them and offering the occasional hug.
A CITY IN NEED
"My heart is with them," Todd said. "I really believe they may save a few lives just by showing they care. Oakland really needs this."
But others who watched the marchers pass were more cynical, including several young people who were well on their way toward the bottoms of the 40- ounce beers they carried in brown bags at 9 a.m.
"I hope they save some souls, because it's late in the game for some of us, " Shirley Byrnum said between gulps. "Maybe they will say a prayer or two for me. God knows I could use it."
A block away, 37-year-old parolee Michael Palmer said people like Byrnum were exactly who he was trying to reach. He handed out leaflets to pedestrians before hoisting a banner for Men of Valor, a program that helped him change.
"I come from these streets," he said. "My mission as a Christian is to help others see it is never too late to let go of the hate. I spent years in prison.
Any punk can pull a trigger. I know the strongest, toughest guy is the one who can let go of his own anger."
E-mail Jim Zamora at jzamora@sfchronicle.com.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/07/14/MN63717.DTL
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Comments
I have been told that "God helps those that help themselves." I don't see those folks in California demanding to be able to exercise their rights and protect themselves, do you?
Would the Punks and Gang Bangers be so quick to draw and point their guns and to shoot if they thought someone might be armed, also? I doubt it! Stay away from Oakland.......just another unarmed "Killing Zone!" Just like the rest of the Repugnant of Kalifornication!
If You Can't Buy a Pair, Get a Spare!
Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.