CITY OF OAKLAND
CITY HALL • 1 FRANK H. OGAWA PLAZA • OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA • 94612
MEMORANDUM
DATE September 24, 2026
TO: City Council and Members of the Public
FROM: Councilmember, Carroll Fife, District 3
SUBJECT: Black Panther Party Commemorative Street Renaming Dear Council Colleagues and Community,
The attached resolution approves the commemorative renaming of Broadway between 14 th Street
and 17th Street as ‘Black Panther Party Boulevard’ in honor of the Black Panther Party; allowing for installation of plaques on 14th Street and Broadway, 15th Street and Broadway, and 17th Street and Broadway.
The Black Panther Party was established in Oakland in 1966 to fight against police violence, economic exploitation, and the systemic neglect shaping the daily realities of Black life. Through studying, organizing, and building community, the Panthers worked to transform the material conditions impacting Black people and by extension other oppressed people. The Panthers developed 65 survival programs that fed children before school, opened community health clinics, organized around sickle cell anemia, created schools that reimagined education, supported prisoners and their families, and advanced self-defense as both a political principle and a practical response to terror; insisting that Black people had the right not only to survive, but to live with dignity, political clarity, and collective power.
Through the selfless and driven actions of the thousands of youths and volunteers who made up the Black Panther Party, Oakland’s communities were lifted, while current and future leaders are inspired to keep this legacy alive.
This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the organization and it is important that the City Council continue to honor the Black Panther Party’s innumerable contributions to the City of Oakland, the Bay Area, Nation, and Global communities. Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Oakland City Councilmember
Carroll Fife, District 3