Black Tulip calls for action and a cultural shift in Oakland for Black women’s safety

Tomisha Wilson and Alie Jones build an altar in honor of Tomisha’s sister, Nia Wilson, an 18-year-old murdered at MacArthur BART Station in 2018. Tomisha is president of the Nia Wilson Foundation. – Photo: Kristal Raheemby Kristal RaheemOn Oct. 15, Oakland City Council voted to adopt a resolution supporting the federal Protect Black Women and Girls Act, (H.R. 7354). The federal law would establish an interagency task force to examine the experiences of Black women in U.S. society, from education to health care to jobs to housing.A 2020 study by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation reported that 40 percent of humans being trafficked in the U.S. are Black women. In 2022, the FBI reported 97,000 Black women were missing. That same year in Oakland, 400 Black women were reported missing.Anyka Howard, founder of the Betti Ono Foundation and visionary of Black Tulip, expressed the core value of the movement and urgent need for change. “We’re not going to tolerate Oakland being a hotbed for dysfunction and violence and perpetuating harms against Black women and girls,” Howard said. “We deserve better, we are worthy, our lives matter, and it’s time for us to boldly and collectively proclaim that and expect the...