Last week, Oakland's new mayor consoled the friends and family of a beloved community college football coach who was shot on campus. The day after her visit, Barbara Lee sat with The Associated Press for an hour at her downtown Oakland office, discussing the city's struggle with violent crime and its rich culture. As the interview closed, she learned that 66-year-old Coach John Beam had died the day after he was shot by a 27-year-old man whose attorney said he was mentally ill.
Oakland's homicide rate has historically been much higher than the national average, but recent figures show a 32% decrease in murders and a 19% drop in violent crimes between 2023 and 2024. Mayor Lee credits the city's Department of Violence Prevention, established in 2017, whose 'violence interrupters'—many with personal experience of gun violence or incarceration—work to defuse conflicts.
With local crime still well above the national average, Oakland is preparing for possible federal intervention, similar to actions seen in other US cities. Lee, a former congresswoman who served from 1998 until last year, said such federal action would aim to foment racial division. 'We're not letting Donald Trump divide and conquer Black and brown and white people from each other,' she said. She added that any federal forces sent to Oakland would only create chaos.
Lee, who was born during the Jim Crow era, noted that Oakland became a hub for Black culture after many Black families left the South during the postwar boom. The city is also the birthplace of the Black Panther Party. Lifelong resident Wil Ash said it is too soon to know whether Lee can truly turn a new page for the city.
