National Night Out 2005 Community Block Party - Oakland

On its face, it seems like a good thing to bring neighbors together in the evening for inspirational speeches about community building, live music, and food. Many if not most of the attendees likely would not be hanging out on this street together on any other evening. At least this incarnation of the block parties was billed as "A Community Tribute For the Contributions of African-American Men to the Bay Area" in flyers passed out in the neighborhood in advance to announce the event and the tribute was noted in several of the speeches as well.

Local community organizations such as P.U.E.B.L.O. and others had tables set up to introduce themselves to participants. One woman passed out flyers and had numerous photographs displayed of ceremonies currently held in Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park north of Bakersfield. The park is a formerly all-African-American town preserved for posterity after water shortages, the moving of a rail-line, and the death of their inspirational leader, Allen Allensworth, led to the economic decline of the town in the early part of the 20th century.

The creepy thing about these nationwide block parties is that they were sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch. The event's official name is "National Night Out: America's Night Out Against Crime," it is billed as a "police-community partnership," and it claims the support of the U.S. Department of Justice (http://www.nationalnightout.org/). By the way, there is no "community" policing in this area -- police simply roll around inside their well-equipped vehicles, often seen stopping to roust homeless people. The really creepy thing about this sponsoring group is that they have chosen as a mascot on their website an illustrated, white, blue-eyed "knight" that could well elicit memories of "grand wizards" and police-klan partnerships to anyone sensitive to hate crimes of the past or present. Fortuitously, or deliberately, the "knight" did not make a live-action appearance in costume at this block party. Perhaps that would play better in another American city.

Two local Clear Channel stations were present with painted vans and tents full of swag for those who signed up for their mailing lists. One station had an inflatable "moon-bounce" which the children seemed to enjoy.