APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
________________________
CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. ______________ C.M.S.
INTRODUCED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT NIKKI FORTUNATO BAS AND
COUNCILMEMBER TREVA REID
RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 20TH, 2024
AS “LOVE LIFE” WEEK IN THE CITY OF OAKLAND
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, 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; and
WHEREAS, LoEshe', whose name means "Love Life" in Ibo/Nigerian, was a successful conflict resolution mediator and an innocent victim of a shooting in West Oakland on October 20, 1997; and
WHEREAS, the "Love Life" motto responds to our communal desire to build an inclusive, equitable, and authentic Oakland and demonstrates 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, through the adoption of this motto, we denounce violence in all forms, the conditions that create violence and seek to honor every single life lost in Oakland from acts of violence and provide support and love for all who suffer under the conditions that violence creates; and
WHEREAS, through this motto, 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, as a city, we commit to acts of love as an intentional force to generate tangible solutions, in regard to all policies, declarations, recommendations, resolutions, 2 3375244/LL
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 and accept the responsibility to make our city and community a better place, leading with the guiding principle of love; 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 preferen ce, housing status, or political affiliation; and
WHEREAS, building on our Love Live acknowledgment, the City Administration has worked to identify ways to embody the motto through citywide communications and activations; and
WHEREAS, on October 18, 2022, the City Council passed Resolution No. 89445 C.M.S. declaring the week of October 20th as "Love Life" week in the City of Oakland, beginning October 2022, and continuing each year thereafter; and
WHEREAS, to activate the "Love Life" motto and more prominently uplift it to ultimately be embraced by the community, the City will continue its work through the implementation of some of the City's core strategies related to Violence Prevention and Cultural Arts; and WHEREAS, during Love Life Week, the city will host and uplift community events during the week of October 20th that underpins the message of valuing life, uplifting love in our arts, honoring those spreading love through their work, and helping to stop violence i n 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 be firmly committed to adopting a comprehensive and holistic approach to addressing the conditions t hat 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 recognize the week of October 20th, 2024 as "Love Life Week" in the City of Oakland.
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IN COUNCIL, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,
PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES - FIFE, GALLO, JENKINS, KALB, KAPLAN, RAMACHANDRAN, REID, AND
PRESIDENT FORTUNATO BAS
NOES –
ABSENT –
ABSTENTION –
ATTEST:
ASHA REED
City Clerk and Clerk of the Council of the
City of Oakland, California