ABOUT US
OUR VALUES
Safer Communities
Oakland is in the midst of a public safety crisis. We have one of the highest rates of violent crime in the entire US, with the Black community particularly impacted. Murder is all too common, muggings happen in broad daylight, and one Oaklander in 30 had their car stolen last year. This level of lawlessness is unacceptable as it erodes at the very foundation of civilized society.
Increasingly, residents avoid patronizing businesses in Oakland, causing the failure of our small business ecosystem as well. Black residents of Oakland have repeatedly asked for a greater police presence to curb the violence and restore Oakland to the vibrant city it once was.
Homelessness
Oakland has seen the largest increase in homelessness in the entire bay area–much higher than the overall increase in the state. We have not enforced our existing encampment management laws and other laws meant to discourage a homeless presence on our streets. As a result, we have become the jurisdiction of last resort for many of the state’s homeless, with many traveling miles to set up camp in Oakland. Our city leadership’s historic and recent failure to effectively deal with this problem has led to Oakland importing homeless from all our neighboring cities and from all over the state of California.
Affordable Housing
Oakland is affected by the housing affordability crisis that has impacted all of California and the US overall. That said, there are many wounds that are self-inflicted. Oakland has made it extremely difficult to build new housing stock with restrictive zoning and overly burdensome rent control laws that discourage investment in our community. Oakland’s Black residents experience housing insecurity at far greater rate than that of the general population. BAA supports leaders and policies that will cut the red tape and allow developers to build the housing that our community so desperately needs.
Economic Development
Small businesses are the backbone of strong communities, and we have treated them poorly in Oakland. Our high crime rates, terrible police response times and extremely low property and violent crime clearance rates have created a crisis for small business owners in Oakland. Many suffer such catastrophic losses that they are forced out of business entirely, while others plod along with fewer customers and higher insurance premiums. These businesses provide vital services in the Black community, and we are already suffering as many have closed down due to rising crime. In addition, small businesses provide economic opportunity for black and brown families in Oakland as well as vital employment for our youth and other members of the community. We must not lose them and we must see them grow and thrive.
Better Public Schools
Oakland’s schools have largely failed our kids for decades. This is especially true in Black and brown neighborhoods where only ~10% of students meet grade level standards for math and ~20% in reading by the end of high school. In addition, the deterioration of Oakland’s public schools has led to a mass exodus for many parents of means by middle school. This robs our schools of much needed revenue and resources to provide high quality education to OUSD students. Oakland has too high an average parental educational level and too high a tax base for this to be the case.
We support school leaders who will raise the bar on expectations for our Black children and provide them with the tools and support they need to be successful. We are leaving generations of children behind, and this is unacceptable.