City council members and other elected leaders have a responsibility to foster public debate, discussion and dialog, not suppress it. But that's not what happened in Oakland last night.
More than 5 months ago I attended an incredibly sad event in Oakland that unfortunately has been common place in the city I call home. It was the funeral of a young black teenager slain on the streets of Oakland- Alan Blueford.
The attack on democracy is not just something taking all the way in Texas, Mississippi or Egypt, it is something taking place right in our own backyards, here in Oakland and in San Francisco as well.
For nearly 3 years now, the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy has worked side-by-side with coalition members of ReviveOakland to ensure that redevelopment at the West Oakland Army Base would create actual community benefits for the city and its residents.