Lake Merritt Circle of Peace Vigil, a Prayer for Change in Oakland
By Post News Staff
Last Sunday, approximately 200 people came to Lake Merritt’s Amphitheater to shift energy in Oakland, where, after a 12% dip in violence in 2022, the city has seen an unprecedented number of car break-ins and crimes of opportunity in 2023.
Event organizer Tanya Dennis said that though she had expected a larger crowd based on commitments voiced by several groups, the shared mission by Adamika Village and Oakland Frontline Healers to bring peacekeepers together to pray and reflect for peace in Oakland was a success.
Members of Adamika Village held signs with images of deceased loved ones lost to violence, COVID-19 or old age.
Several speakers said they believed that Oakland can transform if people focus on peace rather than violence. Others reflected on how different the outcome might have been for their loved ones lost to violence if Oakland practiced a culture of peace.
One participant shared that her brother had been killed in a road-rage incident and cautioned listeners not to respond in-kind to people on the freeway who are angry.
Other speakers present were Deana White, Adamika Village; Davina Kerrelola, senior program manager for Love Never Fails; and Kristin Clopton, manager of the Office of Violence Prevention for the City of Oakland
Alameda County Board President Nate Miley and Supervisor Keith Carson honored the day with a county proclamation, proclaiming, “April 8, as Oakland’s “Day of Peace.” Carson encouraged organizers to make the Circle of Peace an annual event.
Daryle Allums, founder of Adamika Village, leads a “Celebration of Life” during the Circle of Peace event. Photo by Darren White of Realized Potential.
Daryle Allums, founder of Adamika Village, did a “Calling of Names,” honoring those who have passed on in a Celebration of Life, with Tanya Dennis, CEO of Adamika Village finishing with an African libation, a call to ancestors to empower and support peace in Oakland.
When asked what the purpose of the vigil achieved, Dennis responded, “We are the foundation of restoring Oakland’s peace. Thanks to the support of SAVE and St Paul’s Episcopal Church, who held sacred space on the north end of the lake, positive healing energy was sent throughout our city. I checked OPD records and there were homicides on April 5, 6 and 7, but none that I can find on the day of our vigil, April 8.
“Shifting energy is real,” Dennis continued. “For the past four years there have been no homicides when Adamika Village hosts its annual “No Yellow Tape Day” at the end of the year. Imagine when more people start to believe and start focusing on peace. We have to be careful, focusing on violence attracts more violence. We are what we think. Think peace.”
On Thursday, Miley reached out to Dennis to thank her and Adamika Village for their hard work and dedication and to congratulate them on the event’s success. The violence experienced in Oakland parallels what’s going on in other cities.
“This is a national challenge that each of us experience daily — directly and indirectly– every single day, not only in the City of Oakland but throughout the East Bay,” he wrote.
There continues to be a need to address society’s ills, he noted, but a change in mindset is also critical.
And the Circle of Peace spoke to that mindset of raising consciousness about how people can treat one another better.
“Treating every person the way we would want to be treated must be at the very center of moving to experiencing daily peace,” he said.
Adamika Village and Oakland Frontline Healers will be supporting their sister agency, the Violence Prevention Coalition in hosting a citywide peace summit on June 24 at Laney College.
