The Anti Police-Terror Project announced that its seventh annual “March to Reclaim MLK’s Radical Legacy,” which takes place Jan. 18, will be a car caravan that begins at the Port of Oakland. The caravan will drive down International/East 14th Street and end at Eastmont Mall in East Oakland with a short program. This year’s theme is “Reimagine.”
“For decades, MLK’s legacy has been whitewashed,” the event announcement stated. “Often portrayed as a passive figure, in truth he was a radical leader demanding rational change: an end to capitalism, to war, to empire, to poverty, and to white supremacy. Communities in Oakland and across the country take this opportunity every year to celebrate the true spirit of this revolutionary. We intend to follow in his legacy through our campaign to defund the police and refund the community.”
The organizers said on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, rally-goers will take action to demand the city cut Oakland Police Department’s allocation from the General Fund by 50 percent; redirect funds to invest in housing, jobs, youth programs, restorative justice, mental health workers and other services; discontinue unauthorized overtime by OPD; and respond to violence in a way that is not rooted in the carceral state.