First Published: Revolutionary Worker, Vol. 1, No. 36, January 11, 1980.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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Oakland, January 8–Two thousand people packed the Oakland Auditorium Wednesday night as the city council had a special meeting to discuss their plan for a police review board. The council hoped to provide people with a vent for their rage and then eventually smother it under a blanket of boring pronouncements by “respectable members of the community.” What they got was a big dose of the problem that they’ve got in front of them–a community outraged by nine police murders of Blacks in the last year, people who were being thrown into action, who were refusing to live at the mercy of the racist dogs who patrol the streets.
Coming on the heels of the latest coldblooded murder this past Sunday, the council was unable to even make its proposal to the crowd. Councilman Sutter began the report with, “We have a fine police force...” and for Councilman Sutter it was all downhill from there. After five minutes of jeers and catcalls the meeting had to be recessed and the floor turned over to the audience.
It was clear from the outset that the council was resigned to the fact that they couldn’t run the show, so rather than trying to strong-arm people to attention, they hoped to control the mike with a parade of reactionaries and poverty pimps. The plan was to keep discussion focused on the “citizen review board” with the white reactionaries alternating with NAACP types, so that the only alternative to the racist garbage would be the “respectable, accessible” reforms like the review board or more Black cops.
What actually happened was that the raw anger that many thousands of people in Oakland feel poured out and along with it a lot of different ideas on what was the cause and what was the solution. Virtually everyone who stood against the murdering pigs was applauded, no matter how limited their proposals were. The sentiments were so strong that even Oakland’s Black mayor, Lionel Wilson, felt compelled to accuse one reactionary speaker of being a well known KKK supporter. (Although he apologized shortly after.)
Dozens of pigs in street clothes simmered in their seats, while the council gritted their teeth and referred to the many “complex” aspects of the problem, pointing out that they had read volumes of material, even “doctoral theses,” in an effort to come up with a solution.
To most people there, however, the problem wasn’t so goddamn complex: nine Black men murdered in one year, constant harassment and brutalizing at the hands of the racist pigs. Did it take a Ph.D. to understand a racist murder? The council and its loyal servants tried to present the review board like it was the answer, while at the same time one man ran around the hall with a bottle of vaseline to symbolize “what we’re going to get” as he put it.
Another man put it this way: “I don’t care whether this review board passes or not, all I know is that if the police come after me, I’m not going to turn the other cheek!” One TV news station, referring to an RCP banner, reported, “One banner said, ’Nine Black Men Dead, Pigs Go Free, That’s What the Rich Call Democracy’–this seemed to sum up the feelings of people in Oakland tonight...”
While the idea of the review board as well as dozens of other schemes are not fully exposed to a lot of people, a good section of the crowd came for action. The shit had to stop, period. They were not concerned with following “proper procedures.” One guy burst into the meeting from outside and demanded to know why there were 50 tac squad members out there. Two young Blacks took a pig’s head from an RCP supporter and paraded it around the auditorium, agitating to the crowd.
This wasn’t a “reasonable dialog” among “responsible citizens.” This was a little taste of the masses in action, with a lot more to come, a feeling that was beautifully put when one of the two waved the pig’s head and shouted, “I’m an Iranian student.” The determination and daring of people like them was summed up by the RCP speaker during the meeting: “This murdering system has already been reviewed, the time for execution is long overdue!”
The evening was a good look at what’s happening in Oakland. As the anger and frustration of the Black community grows, everyone is looking for the solution. Over 100 RWs were sold outside the meeting. The ruling class hopes that “open forums” will buy them a little time, while they increasingly have to use naked force. This only forces them to scramble more desperately to keep a lid on things. Tonight was another sign that the pressure cooker is getting ready to explode.