On Friday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “On Balance,” Oakland NAACP President Cynthia Adams discussed a letter she wrote calling for officials in the city to declare an emergency on crime and blasted “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” for creating crime and “progressive policies and failed leadership” for harming economic opportunity and stated that crime is so bad people are afraid to even check the mail, take out the garbage, or get groceries.
Adams said, “You can’t go to the grocery stores. You can’t put your groceries in your cars. You can’t do anything. … We [were] too quiet…and we had to open our mouth. We had to say something.”
She added, “Our seniors are crying out.” And people are afraid “to go to the mailbox” or get the garbage due to how bad crime is.
Adams concluded the city can and will come back with work.
In the letter, Adams and Bishop Bob Jackson wrote, “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. … People are moving out of Oakland in droves. They are afraid to venture out of their homes to go to work, shop, or dine in Oakland and this is destroying economic activity. Businesses, small and large, struggle and close, tax revenues vanish, and we are creating the notorious doom loop where life in our city continues to spiral downward.”
They also stated, “We are in crisis and elected leaders must declare a state of emergency and bring resources together from the city, the county, and the state to end the crisis. We are 500 police officers short of the number that experts say Oakland needs. Our 911 system does not work. Residents now know that help will not come when danger confronts them. Worse, criminals know that too.”
The letter also argued, “Our youth must be given alternatives to the crippling desperation that leads to crime, drugs, and prison. They need quality education, mentorship, and, most importantly, real economic opportunities. … Unfortunately, progressive policies and failed leadership have chased away or delayed significant blue-collar job development in the city, the Port of Oakland, and the former Army Base.” And “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.”
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