OAKLAND, CA — The Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP) and the Black Arts Movement Business District Community Development Corporation (BAMBD CDC) are calling on the Oakland City Council to restore funding for the city’s cultural affairs manager position, following a budget proposal that eliminates the role.
Their demand comes in response to Councilmember Janani Ramachandran’s advancement of a budget that includes funding for a five-year, $4 million contract with Enterprise Rent-A-Car to lease vehicles for the Oakland Police Department—an agreement that would cost the city $800,000 annually.
“Her decision not only reflects a misunderstanding of the importance of the arts,” the groups said in a joint statement, “it endangers Oakland residents by further defunding critical programs that serve to reduce crime.”…