by Kristal Raheem
On Oct. 15, Oakland City Council voted to adopt a resolution supporting the federal Protect Black Women and Girls Act, (H.R. 7354). The federal law would establish an interagency task force to examine the experiences of Black women in U.S. society, from education to health care to jobs to housing.
A 2020 study by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation reported that 40 percent of humans being trafficked in the U.S. are Black women. In 2022, the FBI reported 97,000 Black women were missing. That same year in Oakland, 400 Black women were reported missing.
Anyka Howard, founder of the Betti Ono Foundation and visionary of Black Tulip, expressed the core value of the movement and urgent need for change. “We’re not going to tolerate Oakland being a hotbed for dysfunction and violence and perpetuating harms against Black women and girls,” Howard said. “We deserve better, we are worthy, our lives matter, and it’s time for us to boldly and collectively proclaim that and expect the appropriate response.”
The Oct. 15 council vote was just the latest reflection of a blossoming movement in Oakland demanding greater protection for Black women and girls.
From Oct. 3-5, the Betti Ono Foundation, in partnership with the Black Arts Movement Business District and Community Development Corp., hosted their inaugural Black Tulip Cultural Week of Action. The Black Tulip event series included a write-in at the BAMBDCDC, an Oakland’s First Friday partnership, and a Day of Action at Laker Merritt.
Howard said everyone must support Black Tulip’s mission, regardless of race and other social identities. She specifically called for men to show up more as allies.
West Oakland native and founder of Black Terminus AR Damien McDuffie said the Town’s “pimp culture” has warped how Black women are treated. “Oakland has a complex history around sexual assault and pimp culture, so I think we have a warped sense of what safety might look like, especially for women and girls,” Damien saud. “I think a real impact on how women are treated here in Oakland or in the Bay Area will come from a culture shift.”
The Black Tulip Day of Action took place on Saturday, Oct. 5. Healers, poets and musicians joined forces to amplify joy, remembrance and hope.
Oakland educator and healer Venus Morris co-hosted the event alongside honorary guest speaker and singer Dawn Richard.
Richard, artist relations director with the Hip Hop Caucus, an organization that helps artists use their platform to advocate for important issues. She is also one of 120 people being represented in a lawsuit against Sean “Diddy” Combs for alleged sexual assault and abuse.
Despite the media frenzy regarding the legal case, Richard showed up in Oakland to stand in solidarity for the mission of Black Tulip. “I think our narrative has been stolen from us,” Richard said. “We’ve lost the narrative of what we represent in this culture and in this society. We are more – and I think this event exemplifies that.”
Participants gathered to honor the lives of Black women who lost their lives to violence, while also celebrating one another as the journey for justice continues.
“We are the mothers, the womb of this earth. There is no America, no globalization, no capitalism, without us.” Anyka Howard told Oakland Voices, “People are taught to see us in a particular way that does not honor who we are. Black Tulip is a reclamation of our sacredness. It’s an affirmation, a calling in, a demand.”
This story was originally published by Oakland Voices (http://oaklandvoices.us). The author previously worked as Communications and Public Relations Manager for Councilmember Treva Reid. Listen to Kristal Raheem’s report on KALW.
