Channel: Nick Johnson

Category: Education

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Description: 250 homeless squatters square off with the city of Oakland for rights to land. I spent time at this Oakland camp and met many of its residents. Their story was told in a 41 minute video that has been viewed by more than three million people. After the video went viral, many news agencies reached out to this settlement, including a reporter with the New York Times who actually lived here for a while. Seems like people couldn’t get enough of this saga. So, I felt it was time for an update. A lot has happened here since I left in October of 2021. First, a little background. This Oakland settlement is about a 200 by 500 foot long piece of land that’s only about a 5 minute drive from the heart of downtown. The area has been a place for homeless squatters for perhaps 20 years. It’s in a forgotten part of downtown on the fringe of development where former warehouses are shuttered and where people have been dumping trash for years. The current residents are quite different from previous squatters. You could call where they live an encampment. They call it a settlement. This settlement isn't permitted. It’s not authorized. But for the time being, it’s tolerated by the city of Oakland. For the past 7 or so years, a group of about 250 people have made this piece of land their home. Here, they’ve built makeshift structures out of plywood, pallets and tarps, and have hauled in vans, buses, trailers and RVs. For now they squat in shanty's and live in lean tos. It's dirty and muddy and damp and sad. It looks like something you’d see in a third world country. But this is their home - where they gather to eat and sing and can regroup while trying to find a long term solution. It’s a community. But many of the people here aren’t the type of homeless you’d find strung out on drugs or panhandling at intersections. Some of these people have regular jobs, and others hustle for their daily needs. However, they might not be here very much longer. This group is currently in a standoff with the city of Oakland. Right now, the city is letting them stay on the land. But there are rumors that the city will sell the land to Habitat for Humanity, which wants to build a handful of affordable housing units for OTHER homeless people. Not for them. So, the group is in a dispute with the city. Instead of the city of Oakland turning the land over to Habitat for Humanity, they’d rather Oakland deed the land to THEM. But in order for that to happen, this group would need to overcome a series of hurdles. First, they would have to form a 501c3 and then form an entity which would be able to accept funds to build their OWN community. One that they want to design and manage. The pathway to get the non profit formed, and the amount of money needed to build their permanent community hasn’t been decided. In fact, the plans are more of a rough draft. Sort of a pipe dream. And they’d need to get the Oakland City council on their side too. So far, only 1 of 8 Oakland City council members has their support - a woman named Carol Fife. I actually emailed her office to get her perspective, and she never answered. It's an in limbo standoff between squatters and a city that either doesn't have the time or the interest in helping them. So for now they remain here - 250 vagabonds and squatters. The disenfranchised, the castaways the system quitters. They don't really know WHAT they need, but they know they need more. Support from the city. Counseling, perhaps some cash. Maybe a receptive ear, perhaps some hope. They don’t expect dream homes. They just want a place that’s their own, on land they believe is rightfully theirs. The odds are against them. So for now, this group of society shunners plots on how they can win their battle against a giant city and a wealthy nonprofit… so they can create a community where they can make their own rules. In a way, it’s very dystopian. I sat down with the group leaders on a video call and gave them a camera so they could share their story in a followup interview. I’ll also show excerpts from the previous interview I did to lend perspective. Here is that conversation. #oakland #homeless Email me: Robikmarketing1@gmail.com I have a Patreon if you love it so much! Here's the link to donate to the channel: patreon.com/NickJohnsonYouTube?fan_landing=true You can buy my music here: iTunes: music.apple.com/us/album/state-songs-an-album/1523790725 More places to get my music: -Google Play: play.google.com/store/music/album/Nick_Johnson_State_Songs_An_Album?id=Byfshzyrbjldelqferxc6vijljm&hl=en_US -Amazon Music: music.amazon.com/albums/B08D3G43VR This channel is about America! The best video on this topic!