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Our Political Director, Pecolia Manigo, spoke with special guest, Nola Kesia Brantley, CEO of Nola Brantley Speaks and Co-Founder of M.I.S.S.S.E.Y., who joined us to discuss the critical issue of protecting Black kids in Oakland. Recently, there has been a distressing rise in abductions of Black girls, and we must address this urgently. Join us as we shed light on the unequal reporting of these cases and explore strategies for implementing policies and protocols to safeguard our Black communities.
“Right now in Oakland, because there was a lot of recent kidnappings or attempted kidnappings of Black women and girls, it caused us to highlight this issue, which caused us to look at the data…. Then we find out last year, there was 1,500 people reported missing in Oakland, and about almost 900 were Black.” -Nola Kesia Brantley
“We know this is a problem in our community, right? We know that our children are disappearing, being taken from us in various different ways and for various different reasons. Because their bodies are in a system that does prioritize trying to sustain systemic racism, that our bodies are seen as disposable and usable for whatever.”- Pecolia Manigo
“Every Friday, we’ve been getting together at a different Park in Oakland and dispersing out into that neighborhood, and passing out the safety flyers that are two sided, one side targeted to caregivers, the other side targeted directly to young people with safety tips on how to stay safe… We’re putting together a schedule for the last two weeks of July, Free Self Defense classes across the city that they can take that’s prioritizing Black women and girls… We’re going to do a few more things. One is going to be pepper spray distribution… We’ll be giving out smart tags and air tags, along with one hour workshops on social media, internet safety, targeted at parents, elementary school aged kids… None of this stuff is staffed or funded, this is all being done because we care about the community. So we always looking for people to help.” -Nola Kesia Brantley