Justice for James Edward Oakley, swept to death in Vallejo

“I don’t have any more energy to move.” “But the sweeping machines are coming for us, Mama.” “Whatever …” – her last syllable trailed off as she looked down. 

I remembered this terrifying conversation with my mama when I heard about the violent death by sweep that killed lifelong Vallejo resident James Edward Oakley. Me and Mama were crumpled up in a doorway of an abandoned building. We had already had our car-home towed. We had already had our tent and all of our precious belongings stolen. And now they were coming again. To sweep us out of this doorway. To nowhere.

“They knew James was there when they ran that backhoe through that lot,” said Shawn O’Malley, longtime friend of James and a currently houseless organizer with the Vallejo Homeless Union. 

JUSTICE FOR JAMES! The crowd in front of so-called Vallejo City Hall joined me in a scream, a cry, a wail for another houseless relative’s life stolen by the violence of sweeping us like we are trash. 

Watch Poor News Network’s video of our press conference here (https://www.poormagazine.org/post/swept-to-death-in-so-called-vallejo-justice-for-james-edward-oakley).

The terrifying death of 58-year-old James Edward Oakley, from the violence of sweeping humans like we are trash on Christmas Eve of 2024, was hastily adjudicated by the Vallejo District Attorney soon after his death, which conveniently released them from all criminal liability, likity split. But all of us houseless and formerly houseless poverty skolaz from Vallejo Homeless Union, POOR Magazine and Mixed Collective knew better. 

We barely live though these violent attacks known as “sweeps” on our bodies and lives and sadly many of us don’t survive. Lo and behold when Shawn said the City of Vallejo knew he was there, the newly released evidence is proving him right. 

Shannon Marie Bigley, Cornelius Taylor, Desiree Quintero and James Edward Oakley were all murdered by a “sweep.” They should all be alive today… tiny aka povertyskola 

Truth comes to light 

A coroner’s investigation released Monday showed contradictions between what city workers told police and what investigators discovered upon arriving at the scene.

According to the report, Oakley had been lying on a mattress under blankets and clothes when one of the “sweepers” – employed by the City of Vallejo – smashed him with the bucket of the city-owned backhoe The backhoe operator then scooped up a pile of debris and began moving it toward a dump truck. Another member of the work crew then spotted Oakley’s leg dangling from the bucket of the backhoe.

‘Sweeping us since 1492’ – Aunty Kim De Ocampo 

“They have been ‘sweeping’ us since 1492,” declared Miwok warrior sister, aunty and board member of Sogorea Te Land Trust, grounding the day in the original theft of Turtle Island, the reign of terror that the settler colonial governments have been perpetrating violent removal and genocide on Black, Brown, Indigenous, disabled and poor bodies since the beginning of the colonizers’ reign of terror. Kim was one of many powerful houseless, poor, indigenous speakers and prayer bringers from occupied Sogorea Te (aka so-called Vallejo) and POOR Magazine who spoke at an emergency press conference held on Tuesday outside the Vallejo City Council.

Following the Grants Pass vs. Johnson Supreme Court ruling that deemed houseless residents of the US no longer protected by the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, state and city legislators, police and sheriffs enhanced their already violent “sweeps” policy of houseless people by directing state agencies to dismantle homeless encampments on state land. Hundreds of houseless elders’ and disabled adults’ lives have become gravely endangered and have died in increasing numbers due to this state sponsored violence over the last several months that is being threatened to get worse under the new administration.

We have demands and solutions

“Stop the homeless sweeps,” said Kat of the Vallejo Homeless Union, reading off a powerful list of demands for the City of Vallejo that have already been presented to the City by the Vallejo Homeless Union.

Kat continued: “2) Stop indiscriminately moving us around; 3) The City of Vallejo needs to provide services to all residents of encampments; 4) They need to release all records we’ve requested; 5) We need pest control and safety from people who target us; 6) We need the City of Vallejo to stop people from illegally dumping on homeless encampments; we are no different from housed folks; no one wants to live in a trash pile; 7) The City of Vallejo needs to release all records on James Edward Oakley. 

“We want to work with the City of Vallejo. You cannot solve the problem of homelessness without our input.” Kat concluded this beautiful list of very logical “demands” for life from a City government who would rather remove, sweep and ultimately kill us rather than listen to us. (To read the complete list of demands from Vallejo Homeless Union, go to poormagazine.org at this link.)

“They killed my kittens in a sweep,” Kathy, another long-time houseless resident of so-called Vallejo and powerful co-leader of the Vallejo Homeless Union spoke about her story of surviving a violent sweep that resulted in the bulldozing death of her beloved kittens and the loss of all of their belongings and so much more. 

“The city is not saying their actions were criminal, but they sure sound criminal to me. James was a human being! The city needs to change their policies; hopefully they will, but we won’t stop until they do,” concluded Shawn.

JUSTICE FOR JAMES… Stop Sweeping Us Like We Are Trash

“I am a longtime Vallejo resident, just like James was and I experienced homelessness and as all of us Vallejo residents know, there isn’t much support here for any of us in struggle, said Lori Herrera, artist and founder of Mixed Kollective and povertyskola reporter and Po Poet with POOR Magazine.

“JUSTICE FOR JAMES! We have actual solutions, not more pain,” I added. “We have actual solutions, not more sweeps, solutions like Homefulness, which currently houses 23 houseless youth, adults and elders in rent-free forever housing, houseless folks like me who are now securely housed with my daughter and partner,” said LeaJay Harper, formerly houseless resident of Wood Street Commons and now Homefulness resident. 

We aren’t seen as humans. That’s why they keep using these hygienic metaphors about our bodies: sweeping, cleaning, removing and endlessly gentriFUking us from our communities,” I observed. 

“He was a gentle giant kind of guy. If I needed a jump or something, he’d be right there, many times actually. You could always count on him,” Shawn spoke through tears.

JUSTICE FOR JAMES – JUSTICE FOR JAMES- JUSTICE FOR JAMES!!! 

For updates on the ongoing case for Justice for James Edward Oakley, follow @vallejo.homeless.union and @poormagazine on IG. For more information about homeless people’s solutions to homelessness, go to www.poormagazine.org/homefulness and www.WoodStreetCommons.org. Gratitude to Matthew Brown of Open Vallejo media for facts on the coroner’s report. Watch video of the press conference here (https://www.poormagazine.org/post/swept-to-death-in-so-called-vallejo-justice-for-james-edward-oakley).

Lisa “Tiny” Gray-Garcia, aka “povertyskola,” is a poet and teacher and the formerly houseless, incarcerated daughter of Dee and mama of Tiburcio, author of “Criminal of Poverty: Growing Up Homeless in America” and many more and co-founder of Homefulness, a homeless people’s solution to homelessness. Reach her at www.lisatinygraygarcia.com or @povertyskola on Twitter/X.

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