Gun Violence Archives - Oakland Voices

News

Trump defunded gun violence prevention programs

October 6, 2025 Bram Sable-Smith

Among the groups impacted are Oakland’s Youth Alive.

Oakland Peace Summit calls for action, policies, solutions

November 10, 2023 Daniel Swafford

The inaugural Oakland Peace Summit, held on June 24, 2023 at Oakland’s Laney College, brought together organizations and individuals working to address the causes of violence with the hope of healing damaged communities.

A Day in the Life of Lam Vo

March 5, 2013 Debora Gordon

By Debora Gordon Lam ended a recent letter with “Write me when you find the time. I certainly have all the time in the world to wait.” This prompted me to ask him what it

Looking at Lam and what needs to Be done

February 23, 2013 Debora Gordon

Lam was, and perhaps still is, a young man with a lot of potential. He could have gone on to lead a life of commonplace trials and triumphs; having a family, a job or a career,

A Call to Lam’s Mother

February 20, 2013 Debora Gordon

Many, perhaps most, parts of this story have been hard to tell. I often imagine someone who might be personally affected by a particular part of the story looking over my shoulder. As I write

School-to-Prison Pipeline

February 13, 2013 Debora Gordon

By Debora Gordon Every time a student does poorly in school, or drops out, there is likely a great increase in the chances he will wind up in prison. I recall in my discussion with

Going to Prison, Part III: Lam Tells His Story

February 11, 2013 Debora Gordon

By Debora Gordon On Sunday, December 9th, I headed back to prison. When I arrived, I learned the previous day’s lock down had been lifted. Many of the same visitors were there again. The woman

Cut Gun Clip Sizes for Fewer Shooting Victims

February 6, 2013 Howard Dyckoff

By Howard Dyckoff After a year with 131 murders in Oakland – not the city’s highest ever, but the most since 2005 – and after the massacre in Sandy Hook took 26 lives, mostly children,

Going to Prison, Part II: Getting In, the Visiting Room, and Lockdown

February 4, 2013 Debora Gordon

By Debora Gordon After my visit with Lt. Smith, I had some time to kill that Friday evening in Delano, California. While there may be more than meets the tourist eye, what the casual passer-through

Going to Prison, Part I

January 28, 2013 Debora Gordon

By Debora Gordon I drove down to visit Lam in the Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) the weekend of December 7ththrough December 10th. I checked in by phone and email with the Public Information Officer,