The People and the Police: Oakland (1974)

This television news program is about police brutality in Oakland, California, 1974. The narrator talks about how the town was over half black in the 1960's and the police force was all white, and how blacks were generally treated with disrespect. Some of the policemen interviewed say they were hired as super cops and did not want to change the way things were run. Changes were implemented, blacks were hired, and blacks in the community were beginning to feel a change as older policemen were told to be less aggressive or be fired. An Action Review Panel was set up to review police-community relations. Several incidents resulting in arrest of blacks and charges of disorderly conduct were heard by the panel. Speaking in this film is Ron Dellums and police chief, George Hart. The song, "Hey, You Old Oakland Town" is heard as the camera scans streets and black community of Oakland. Fro the US National Archives.

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