Chief LeRonne Armstrong’s Stand Up For a Safe Oakland!!! rally and march was a beautiful thing. About 1,000 people showed up, filled with the spirit of Oakland, with pride in our city, and with grief in our hearts for the 71 individuals who have been murdered so far this year.
We gathered on the south side of Lake Merritt, Oakland’s jewel. The weather couldn’t have been better. It was baking hot inland and foggy and cold on the coast, but Oakland is right in the middle, in in the sweet spot. The sun shone in a brilliant blue sky, and a gentle west wind brought refreshing breezes to the 80-degree temperature.
Who knew that Chief Armstrong was such a great speaker? He was fiery and passionate, and his clear, strong voice, amplified, drowned out the handful of pathetic losers who held signs derogatory to the police. What was really disgusting about them was that this was a rally for Peace, yet they preached hate. We had young Black people read the names of the 71 murder victims, while other young Black youth wheeled a coffin symbolizing their deaths. We had twenty young Black women and men hold up giant photos of their slain neighbors. People wept openly; others praised Jesus as speaker after speaker thundered into the microphone, imploring God and the citizens of Oakland to keep our streets safe. And those nasty losers held up their anti-cop signs and insulted the dead. Chief Armstrong had the last word for them. “If you don’t want safe streets in Oakland, then leave!”
There is so much good will in Oakland. So many people are working 24/7 to fight violence. Religious leaders. The civilian head of Oakland’s Department of Violence Prevention. Other leaders of groups working for peace. Victims’ families. All spoke, all bore testimony to the love that exists in Oakland, and to the outrage we feel from continued violence. We held white carnations to honor the dead. It was a very beautiful thing. I wish every one of you could have been there.
With Chief Armstrong
Steve Heimoff