By Keesa Ocampo & Sydney Williams
Photo courtesy of Hon. Treva Reid
Many things come to mind when you hear the word Oakland but there’s a much deeper, richer, broader story that exists for those who have true roots in The Town. No one would know this better than East Oakland’s newly elected City Council member for District 7, Treva Reid.
A daughter of Oakland, Treva lived in the city until she moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where she was raised and attended school. Treva is a community leader and advocate, born to a family of educators, entrepreneurs, civil servants, and laborers with a deep respect for hard work. Hard work, they say, is a mark of one who has grown in Oakland. This city is as strong in labor, manufacturing, shipping ports, builders, and warehouses as San Francisco was with its gold rush and Silicon Valley with its tech boom. Oakland’s values are deeply rooted in social justice and a movement of anti-racism. With its communities and Black Panthers long ago declaring that Black is Beautiful, political activism flows through the veins of the people who call it home.
As a young single mother in college working multiple jobs, Treva soared with these very strengths, providing for her daughter and graduating from Hampton University. In 2013, she was faced with her life’s biggest challenge while working for then Assemblymember Nancy Skinner, advocating for her gun legislation package. Treva shares, “My heart is full and (my) mind is racing as I reflect on my son, Brandon, who was murdered in 2013. He would be turning 30 years old today. I’ve had much on my mind approaching this day.”
At the dawn of a new decade, primed by a movement to elect more women into office and a more progressive battlecry around social issues, Treva brings her experience with childhood trauma, gun violence, domestic abuse, poverty, and housing instability as motivation for her passion to fight for justice and challenge inequities. As a survivor, her leadership style will be known for courage, determination to overcome adversity, and a powerful resilience - the very things that Oakland now needs in its struggle to make it to the pandemic recovery line.
Approaching with an aggressive plan for her district, Treva battles against the inequitable opportunities for Black residents and Black- and women-owned businesses, illegal dumping and blight, and the unexpected enemy in the COVID-19 pandemic. So much of her first few months have been dedicated to aiding in the recovery of her district and the greater Oakland community and Councilmember Reid shares some groundbreaking efforts that she co-leads to get Oakland back on its feet.
Photo courtesy of Hon. Treva Reid
What inspired and prepared you to run for District 7 City Councilmember?
I’m an overcomer, advocate, and community leader who ran to lead transformative and sustained change in East Oakland. I’ve experienced many of the issues and challenges we face today - real life issues. I fight for families who have endured like my family, the deep trauma of losing loved ones to gun violence, overcoming housing instability, food insecurity, unemployment, domestic abuse, struggling to pay rent, relying on affordable housing, mental health care, living-wage jobs, and keeping their business doors opened. All of that and more motivate me to fight for justice, challenge inequity and influence solutions. I’ve championed those issues, having served with a number of organizations, including East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC), Satellite Affordable Housing Associates (SAHA), Youth Alive!, Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA), and regional business chambers.
I worked as the Senior Field Representative in the office of then Assemblymember Nancy Skinner, advocating for housing policies, gun violence prevention, job training programs, legislation for incarcerated and formerly-incarcerated individuals, and other critical efforts for East Oakland. I have the policy, lived and professional experience to advocate with community members and organizations to develop courageous policies, equitable outcomes that empower Oaklanders and small businesses to remain rooted in Oakland.
I co-founded Triumphant Women where we’ve worked in partnership with organizations like Oakland Elizabeth House, a transitional home for single women, and Wardrobe for Opportunity, and others to help women--primarily single mothers like me--thrive in every season of life, with a supportive network.
I am inspired to serve with a strategy of love for our community, working to ensure equitable access to opportunities, policies and practices prevail for all of us to stay and thrive in Oakland for generations to come. For those who have felt left out or pushed out to remain rooted, housed, raising their families, enjoying quality schools and growing their businesses, safe, sustained and stable with lasting change.
What was your campaign experience like?
It was empowering for me as a Black woman to step out and lead during a historic time of women of color rising. I found affirmation in my call to champion change in our community through District 7 neighbors/voters. It was truly inspiring to be uplifted by many family, friends, community leaders and supporters and to have my fearless foundation in faith and action was encouraged. I was strengthened in character as I endured harassment, attacks, lies and threats. It was reassuring to know I was more prepared than I ever imagined for this race, running with grace and finishing strong. Victory has been humbling as I now hold a role as a public servant leader.
How does being a single mother, trauma survivor, and woman of color affect your approach to policy making and reform?
Those aspects of my life impact where and how I show up in serving my community and influence my policy making approach to lead transformative change. I’m committed to lead out on policies affecting those most overlooked and underserved, including policy areas I’ve faced or engaged in relationships with those I support in the community.
I never imagined that I’d be in this role today. I saw my life ending in several seasons with what I was enduring, drawn into a cave of fear, shame, and regret - early years of childhood trauma, pressing through my undergraduate college years as a single mother, walking away from an unhealthy relationship, coming off of welfare, taking on multiple jobs, seeking stable housing, food and diaper money. It’s by the grace of God that I am here, emerging out of dark seasons in life as a triumphant woman in politics, serving with the tenacious heart of a mother and fearless fighter, advocating to help others overcome life issues. It’s an incredible alignment of my most treasured role as a mom with my passion to serve others.
Councilmember Reid has supported clean up, recovery and small business outreach for funding for East Oakland businesses that have been impacted by protests following the George Floyd murder and still struggle to sustain their livelihood during COVID. Photo courtesy of Hon. Treva Reid.
What plans do you have in place to address the economic and social effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in your community?
The greatest disparities of COVID are faced by Black and Brown community members, with the highest impact of COVID positivity rate, hospitalization, and death in East Oakland. I continue to advocate with city, county, state, and federal leaders to secure and equitably allocate funding and anti-displacement/COVID relief funds for residents and businesses, deploying equitable public safety resources, mental health care, essential services, housing solutions, accessible testing, contact tracing and prioritized vaccination in East Oakland to overcome this pandemic. It’s going to take a more unified strategic approach to engage the opportunities, overcome the challenges, and champion equitable outcomes.
We are faced with unprecedented and rising racial, economic and social impacts due to COVID-19. Too many families in East Oakland are struggling through COVID, are unhoused, unemployed, hungry, facing increased threat of violent crime, blight, traffic safety, loss of business (nearly 140 businesses were lost in District 7 in 2020) and the devastating loss of life from COVID, health disparities and homicides.
I serve on the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Joint Power Authority (JPA), where we established a COVID task force to work with the Biden-Harris administration, CalOES and the County to ensure we prioritize equitable vaccine distribution, appointments, access, transportation and outreach to our most at-risk seniors and community members. I launched a District 7 Community Covid-19 Task Force to partner with credible community and faith-based organizations to register and serve more residents of color at community vaccination pods. There remains concern within these groups that the Coliseum site will not serve the greatest number of Black and Brown seniors/residents we seek to prioritize vaccinating.
I’ve worked in partnership with BWOPA and the Black Cultural Zone to advocate for equitable COVID relief funds and community grants to keep us housed and safe, to keep businesses opened, increase public health and mental health care, access PPE for community health centers, more testing sites, contract tracing, emergency preparedness/wildfire safety resources, and targeted funding to support Black and Brown families and businesses. Many small businesses owners of color were shut out of the federal funding process with technical issues, language barriers and access to banking partners. They have rent/mortgage and employee benefits to pay and unemployment insurance to sustain their business. I am working with my colleagues and business chamber partners to preserve more businesses and nonprofits with anti-displacement funds.
Hon. Treva Reid in partnership with JusLa Catering and 25 Women donate and distribute food to frontline essential community health workers during the initial weeks of the pandemic. Photo courtesy of Hon. Treva Reid.
How do you plan to revive East Oakland and turn it around? What can we do to participate and help you get this done?
As we face the economic crisis before us, I will tackle the city and district issues with a strategy of love in where and how we invest in our community. Leading with wisdom, sound judgement, strategic insight, and collaborative execution with community partners to deliver equitable and just outcomes, one day and decision at a time.
It’s going to take all of us to get through this pandemic and help lead the transformative, sustained change East Oakland deserves and demands. Join our collective work to identify funding partners to secure our own designated District 7 city staffed illegal dumping crew, show up at our clean up initiatives, invest in and provide workforce opportunities for our residents, partner on housing, violence intervention, prevention and healing strategies, help beautify and build community gardens and actively participate with me in city council meetings to champion equitable policies, programs and funding needed to move East Oakland Forward.