Violence in Oakland: ‘We Can Fix This’
There is a maxim in journalism, “If it bleeds, it leads,” and there have been seemingly endless stories of violence both far and near. Here in Oakland, there is a seeming daily litany of violence[Read more]
Tag Archives: violence
Her Resilience: Women in Control of their Own Image
Mural concept art by Nicole Gervacio Early in the morning on April 5th, 2014, the body of a young woman by the name of Kimberly Robertson was found, raped and beaten in Oakland’s F.M. Smith[Read more]
A Day in the Life of Lam Vo
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[Read more]
Looking at Lam & What Needs to Be Done
By 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[Read more]
A Call to Lam’s Mother
By 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.[Read more]
School-to-Prison Pipeline
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[Read more]
Going to Prison, Part III: Lam Tells His Story
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[Read more]
Going to Prison, Part II: Getting In, the Visiting Room, and Lockdown
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[Read more]
Alicia’s Story
I asked her what she would say directly to Lam if she could speak to him. At first, she was silent. And after a moment, tears flowed from her eyes, and her mother followed suit.[Read more]
‘Want to spend the rest of your life in prison?’: A Judge’s Advice & Some Murky Testimony
“You’re only 19 or so," Lam's judge said to him at the hearing. "I’m sure it’s difficult to conceive or imagine that many years in custody. But I think that leads some people to go[Read more]
