Yesterday in church we focused on gun violence prevention. The city of Oakland, CA, where Montclair Presbyterian Church is located, has seen escalating gun violence over the past few years. Some blame it on fewer police officers, some blame it on fewer jobs, and others blame it on gangs. Wherever the blame gets put, one thing is certain. Every single person living in the city of Oakland is concerned. Just in January alone, a grandmother and an 8 year old girl were both shot in drive-by shootings that were not targeting them. They were the innocent bystanders in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe it’s true in other cities as well, but most of the shooters and those shot are young men of color.
A few weeks ago I attended a joint meeting of the Oakland Community Organization and the Oakland Pastor’s group. My invitation came from OCO. I wasn’t even aware there was an Oakland Pastor’s group! There are a number of clergy whose congregations are a part of OCO who meet once each month. I have been meeting with them for close to 2 years. I am not like most of the other OCO pastors. My church is in “the hills” as they are referred to, which is a direct contrast with “the flatlands.” Most of the OCO pastors are serving churches in the flatlands and most of them know violence in a very intimate way because it happens right outside their churches or in the neighborhoods in which they live or to the people in their congregations. Those of us up in the hills are somewhat shielded from the worst of it, though crime has also been increasing in the hills.
The purpose of the meeting I attended a few weeks ago was to give all of us gathered new information and a new sense of purpose in some of the actions the City of Oakland has taken. The City has called upon the clergy to encourage their congregations to join in the movement to prevent gun violence. There were several speakers lined up, including the Chief of Police. One of the first speakers explained the concept behind the Ceasefire movement. Ceasefire was adopted by Oakland a few years ago, didn’t get anywhere and has now been re-adopted with great energy and resources being put into it to ensure its success. The Rev. Billy Dixon, local pastor and board member of OCO, described it beautifully in an Op-Ed piece he wrote for Oakland North. He said, “Ceasefire, a proven strategy that has been implemented throughout the country with great success, has three major components: call- ins, community policing and night walks. Call-ins are a collaboration of law enforcement, faith and community leaders, and service providers coming together to tell those involved in gun violence that the “shooting has to stop.” Community policing focuses on the local beat officer working with the community in the area of service to prevent and solve crimes. This takes the “cops vs. the community” mentality and makes it the “police and community vs. crime” approach. The night walks are a critical element in the Ceasefire strategy. Every Friday night, people of faith walk the most dangerous neighborhoods of our city—not to proselytize but to manifest a ministry of presence, hope and concern.”
So those of us who are more protected up in the hills have to decide how far we are willing to go to stop the epidemic plaguing our city. Will we join with other faith communities on Friday evenings and do the Friday Night Walks even though they occur in neighborhoods in which most of us are uncomfortable and even afraid? If our sons and daughters and grandmothers were dying, would we do anything we could to stop the violence? Of course! And the truth is that none one of us is free until we are all free, so in essence these are our sons and daughters and grandmothers who are dying. Throughout history we have seen what small groups of committed people can do to change the world so it’s time to join those who are committed to change the city of Oakland.