Oakland's New Year

"Oakland is one community, one city, and we have to come out of our little districts and neighborhoods and become a city where we are delighted by diversity, not paralyzed by parochialism."

By Anyi Howell

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This has been a week of inaugural events for the new mayor of Oakland, California - former congressman Ron Dellums. Dellums was the first African-American to represent Northern California in Congress, back in 1971. Youth Radio's King Anyi Howell says as a young person, this is the most energizing moment he's witnessed in San Francisco Bay Area politics, mostly because of the Mayor's goals for Oakland's youth.

When Ron Dellums was elected Oakland's mayor this past fall, I immediately started looking forward to 2007. I just hope that an election is not the only significant event in 06 to carry over into the New Year.

For example, last year, Bay Area rappers introduced Hyphy music to the nation. Hyphy represents Oakland's unique communication style and a community that has its own dialect, car culture, and signature moves called "turf dancing." Oakland's influence on the music industry hasn't been felt at this magnitude since the days of rappers like Too Short, MC Hammer, and the Hieroglyphics crew more than a decade ago, giving young folks like me a sense of collective identity in our culture.

Something that doesn't make me as proud is the turf wars that have fueled the already notoriously high Oakland murder rate. It peaked at 148 homicide victims by year's end, leaving countless families mourning and insecure. Here, it's not as common for miscreants to quarrel over colors as it is for arguments to turn fatal over whose neighborhood or turf is the most action packed. And I can imagine a young fool saying to me in response, "What you trying to say, we don't go?" Mayor Dellums even addressed this attitude in his inaugural speech.

Dellums (On Tape)
Oakland is one community, one city, and we have to come out of our little districts and neighborhoods... and become a city where we are delighted by diversity, not paralyzed by parochialism.

A lot of times, the "turfies" Mayor Dellums is referring to just bask in any attention the city receives, be it constructive or destructive. Luckily, Oakland's new mayor is giving proper attention to this up and coming generation in hopes we will be the key to ending violence. Ron Dellums has publicly validated youth and proactive programs that support their expression. That's a dramatic deviation from other reactive solutions, like more police, proposed by previous mayors. Dellums has even gone as far as to commit to the goal of appointing youth to sit on all city commissions.

Dellums (On Tape)
When I was West Oakland Ronnie D, I knew what was happening. Now I'm an old guy so I need to hear young people, and we in Oakland need to provide the mechanisms for them to speak for us to hear them, to engage them, to involve them as people who need to be respected in this community.

Even as a first step, that invitation should work to eliminate the exclusion that many youth feel when it comes to decisions that affect them. While I can't say Oakland native Ron Dellums will single handedly save the city, he definitely has a clear vision of what Oakland: the Model City could look like.

Dellums (On Tape)
A coherent cohesive city anchored in a vibrant economy where citizenry is healthy, well educated, well trained, well informed capable of effective interaction with the civic, economic, social, and cultural institutions of our community.

It might sound like Ron Dellums is just telling citizens what they want to hear. Still, I've never heard anyone in his position address Oakland's real problems as thoroughly and articulately as Dellums. And he's not just some dude who's been here kickin it. He left Oakland to become accomplished in Congress, and that put him in an even better position. Now he's coming back to lead. I'm glad 2006 is behind Oakland... and I hope 2007 doesn't bring the same amount of simultaneous stress and excitement. Only progress.