At the meeting, an unprecedented 100 people – mostly youth from both sides – signed up to speak, and each pleaded with council members not to shut down their programs. Council members threw up their hands and insisted one or the other would have to suffer, using this manufactured tension in order to deflect attention away from the fact that they were robbing poor people of color of essential services while maintaining budgets for things like the Police department.

It’s part of a larger systematic dehumanization of youth of color. If inner-city youth services are deemed dispensable while Oakland PD’s budget is untouchable, then youth of color lose twice over. Poor youth of color are dehumanized and then criminalized through a barrage of different laws and cutbacks aimed at taking away freedom and resources from young people who can’t vote, which then leads to violence and incarceration.

Without anywhere to go, youth will end up on the streets, and instead of promoting essential services, the city attempts to institute things like the recent controversial youth curfew. Instead of keeping kids off the streets in positive, enriching ways, the city takes actions to leave kids on the streets where their very presence is a detainable offense, and where they are in danger of experiencing violence. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The City Council ended up voting on a compromise that would amend Measure OO instead of repealing it. However, the vote was split 50/50, which means it is now up to Mayor Dellums to break the tie. But whatever he decides, the damage has been done. The city succeeded in proving to its own people that the very livelihoods of poor people of color are expendable. They taught the lesson, and Oakland’s kids are learning it well.

Ryan Takemiya is an Asian American writer, lecturer and activist based in the Bay Area.