Boots in a recent interview had noted that tension around Lake Merritt between the large numbers of African American youth and OPD has increased. In an attempt to bring this issue to the forefront, the YC organized a Take Back The Lake Rally where individuals were encouraged to show up en mass to Lake Merritt and enjoy the free barbeque chicken that Boots and company would be providing. In the week leading up to the rally, YC members noted that their hotline number was besieged with menacing and threatening phone calls from individuals who they accussed of being within Oakland PD.

The next step for YC was to mobilize the youth and get them to show up at Oakland's city council. What happened that night is not entirely clear...The local news reports depicted an exasperated Mayor Elihu Harris losing patience with Boots and other YC members who had refused to get off the mic and had been shouting down the mayor and other council members.

YC members asserted that they had an emergency item that needed to be immediately addressed...Mayor Harris noted in a recent interview that there are certain procedural laws that he and other council members are bound by...hence the YC's issues weren't deemed an emergency...however, the YC were given a half hour to speak and later promised a private meeting with the Mayor... unfortunately the council meeting continued moving to a point of disruption..

When I spoke to the Mayor this past Friday, he noted Boots and YC had not shown up for their scheduled meeting... I have not been able to reach Boots all week for his comments or assessment of the situation... One thing is for certain, political activism is serious biz for Boots...I'm certain there will be a few more chapters added to this scenario. We'll keep you posted..