Houseless Community Mounts Defense Against Illegal Eviction

In recent weeks, unhoused residents of the Wood Street Community who reside on the southern side of Wood st on Caltrans land were served eviction notices by officers of the Oakland Police Department. These residents were told that they would either have to move to an already populated area past Wood Street and West Grand Avenue or risk having their vehicles towed and possessions confiscated by the Oakland Police Department.

Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, there has been an official “moratorium” on sweeps of houseless communities. Caltrans justifies breaking this law because they claim that the area in question is fire hazardous and “unsafe” to live in. This is ridiculous because their position overlooks a very basic fact: being homeless is inherently unsafe! They want to kick people out of an “unsafe” area so they can move people to another crowded and unsafe location. This goes directly against strict guidelines about social distancing. The proposed eviction is consistent with the incompetence and inhumanity of the City of Oakland which hasn’t even provided basic resources for residents of Wood Street like access to clean water, hand washing stations, proper garbage disposal, or housing.

The global Coronavirus Pandemic still rages on, with almost four hundred and fifty thousand people killed in the past four months alone. It is clear that forced displacement would put Wood Street Community residents and all houseless people at a greater risk of infection and death. Furthermore, as the country continues to see mass protests against police brutality and white supremacy, it should not be overlooked that Oakland police is on the front lines of carrying out the city’s planned eviction at the direction of Caltrans. The fact that OPD has taken the lead on handing out eviction notices shows that the police do not serve the interests of working class black people – who make up the majority of Wood Street Community residents.

We are calling for a press conference to take place at Oakland City Hall scheduled on Monday, June 22nd at 3pm to bring attention to the illegal eviction of Wood Street Community residents and their ongoing resistance to eviction and the broader trend of inhumane practices by city and state governments towards working class people and houseless communities.