2022 OCT 14 PH 02
omcECSr®
Approved as to Form and Legality
aikC.
City Attorney’s Office
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
8944S *RESOLUTION NO. C.M.S.
INTRODUCED BY COUNCILMEMBER TREVA REID
RESOLUTION DECLARING THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 20TH AS “LOVE
LIFE” WEEK IN THE CITY OF OAKLAND, BEGINNING OCTOBER
2022, AND CONTINUING EACH YEAR THEREAFTER
WHEREAS, On April 5, 2016, the City Council passed Resolution No. 86088 C.M.S. adopting “Love Life” as the City of Oakland’s official motto; and WHEREAS, the “Love Life” motto responds to our communal desire to build an inclusive, equitable, and authentic Oakland and demonstrates a united care and concern to inform and guide our practices in our quest to make Oakland a safe, just, sustainable, equitable and vibrant city; and WHEREAS, we seek to honor and uplift the spirit of every single life lost in Oakland from acts of violence; and
WHEREAS, we seek to provide support and love for all who suffer under the conditions that violence creates; and
WHEREAS, now more than ever, the residents of this beautiful and diverse city need to embrace “Love Life”; and
WHEREAS, Donald Lacy championed the task of making Love Life the City’s official motto and founded the Lovelife Foundation which was created to honor the work and vision of his 16-year-old daughter LoEshe' Lacy, a successful conflict resolution mediator who was an innocent victim of a shooting in West Oakland on October 20, 1997, in Oakland; and WHEREAS, the name LoEshe' is Ibo/Nigerian and means “Love life” in English; and WHEREAS, we set the intention to model love in practice, in our work, proceedings, and processes, and have established a Love Life acknowledgment to commence meetings, gatherings, events, and open spaces with this intention; and
WHEREAS, we acknowledge Love Life as our motto as we denounce violence in all forms and the conditions that create violence; and
WHEREAS, we commit to working against these conditions to create a safe space for all to operate in Love and Peace on our streets; and
WHEREAS, we acknowledge that when we demonstrate love we also manifest qualities of respect, kindness, grace, truth, understanding, humbleness, and forgiveness towards each other.
We commit to acts of love as an intentional force to generate tangible solutions, in regards to all policies, declarations, recommendations, resolutions, appointments, and actions; and WHEREAS, we recognize as leaders, we must set an example and precedent for those who have entrusted us with these duties. We accept the responsibility to make our city and community a better place by bringing inspiration instead of insults, contributions instead of complaints, constructive feedback instead of criticism, and even in our passion for all issues no matter how difficult, we lead with the guiding principle of love; and WHEREAS, we acknowledge love in practice even when there are differences in opinions, strategies, procedures, and process, and we will seek to find common ground, and tangible solutions that demonstrate love for our city, its residents, our community, and all constituents; and WHEREAS, we acknowledge and recognize that when we model this practice of love, it will establish a norm that will resonate and be exemplified throughout our city and create the change we all wish to see in our communities; and
WHEREAS, we acknowledge that when we lead with love we are able to uplift a thriving city rooted in equity, equality, justice, inclusion, and opportunity for all regardless of race, gender, age, class, socio-economic status, nationality, religion, sexual preference, housing status, or political affiliation; and
WHEREAS, we acknowledge that when we uplift love, we uplift those impacted by violence of all and any kind; and
WHEREAS, we acknowledge that when we uplift love, we uplift traditions of our ancestors, our arts, our culture, our businesses, our educators, our unhoused, our civil servants, and all who contribute to the fabric and well-being of our community; and WHEREAS, building on the initial mantra, Citywide Communications has worked to identify ways to embody the motto through messaging and communication; and WHEREAS, to activate the “Love Life” motto and more prominently uplift it to ultimately be embraced by the community, the City is working to connect it to the implementation of some of the City’s core strategies related to Violence Prevention and Cultural Arts; and 2 WHEREAS, the City is engaging the dual themes of family and belonging that underpin existing work in these two departments—leveraging existing programs and initiatives—to expand the community’s awareness of and engagement with “Love Life” as a citywide mantra against violence; and
WHEREAS, to do this, Citywide Communications brought on Cultural Strategist, Kev Choice, an Oakland-based educator, activist, and advocate for young people and artistry as a vehicle for social justice. Choice is partnering with the Citywide Communications Team to expand understanding of the City’s motto, to ensure that the motto is grounded in the community so that it is embraced and carries meaning; and
WHEREAS, during Love Life Week, the City will host a community event on October 20th that underpins the message of valuing life, uplifting love in our arts, honoring those uplifting love in their work in our city, and helping stop violence in our communities; and WHEREAS, this resolution is in alignment with the City’s commitment to uplift a model of Love Life through its action plan to implement the City’s motto with public agency partners, incorporate its use of the motto in all official communication and being firmly committed to adopting a comprehensive and holistic approach to addressing the conditions that lead to violence and toward creating a climate of restoration for the individuals and communities impacted by violence; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That the City Council does hereby declare the week of October 20th as “Love Life Week” in the City of Oakland beginning October 2022 and continuing each year thereafter. Love Life Week shall be observed the week following October 20th whenever that day falls on a Sunday and the week preceding October 20th whenever that day falls on a Saturday.
OCT I a 2022IN COUNCIL, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,
PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES - FIFE, GALLO, KALB, KAPLAN, REID, TAYLOR, THAO AND PRESIDENT
FORTUNATO BAS
NOES -0-
ABSENT
ABSTENTION
ATTEST:
City Glefk and Clerk of the Council of
thef'City of Oakland, California
3216467vl
3