The Oakland, California, chapter of the NAACP has had enough of the lawlessness produced by Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies and is demanding that the city declare a “state of emergency” due to a lack of safety.
In a blistering letter, the local branch of 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.”
The letter, written by Oakland NAACP President Cynthia Adams as well as Bishop Bob Jackson, Senior Pastor of Acts Full Gospel Church, put the blame squarely at the feet of leftist activists and politicians.
“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,” the letter noted. “If there are no consequences for committing crime in Oakland, crime will continue to soar.”
As of July 16, Oakland has seen a 15% rise in overall violent crime this year compared to 2022 — including a 49% increase in motor vehicle theft and a 22% increase in robberies.
Many place the blame at the feet of Soros-backed District Attorney Pamela Price. Price is implementing the kind of policies that have contributed in large part to the skyrocketing crime that we’ve seen around the country — these can be described as “restorative justice” — or the idea that criminals can be “restored” through community programs and other assistance.
Essentially, politicians who back “restorative justice” believe that most or all crimes are committed simply because the individuals who commit them are victims of systemic racism or other forms of oppression. So, rather than give them jail time, Price often pursues more lenient sentences.
To really emphasize how bad things have become in Oakland, criminals are so brazen that even a county judge was mugged outside his courthouse last spring.
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While the letter noted that black Americans suffer the most from these policies and their consequences, the duo also encouraged “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,” the letter added. “It is not racist or unkind to want to be safe from crime.”
“No one should live in fear in our city,” Adams and Jackson wrote.
While the letter did say the city needs to provide more opportunities for youth, it failed to mention the need for strong fathers and a two-parent household for society to properly function. Until that is fixed in cities across the country, crime will proliferate.
For right now, the woke justice policies allowing crime to run rampant must be tossed out along with the leaders who implemented such rules. It is abundantly clear they have failed. Good on NAACP Oakland for calling it out.
The full letter can be read here:
Oakland NAACP editorial today: “Failed leadership, including … 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.” pic.twitter.com/QmUUuf3e9H
— Dan Noyes (@dannoyes) July 28, 2023
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.