Join our movement

In Oakland there are more vacant homes than unsheltered people. That’s because Oakland‘s elected leaders have allowed the “free market” to make our housing policy decisions for us and as long as there is a profit motive to deprive people of shelter, this housing crisis will continue. At the root of Carroll’s vision for addressing Oakland’s housing crisis is a shift from a financialized housing system to housing as a human right.

The economic disparities we see today are caused by decades of poor planning and bad policy decisions that are bound up in the histories of racism, regressive taxation and exploitative banking practices. Carroll is fighting for policies and practices that create and sustain economic resilience for the many who have been left in dire straits by unregulated market forces.

Historic and current public policies have negatively impacted Oakland’s Black residents - from eminent domain which destroyed the 7th Street Black cultural district and redlining policies preventing Black mobility, to ongoing gentrification and the impacts of urban renewal development projects. A Black New Deal intends to address the ongoing harms of the past by reinvesting in Black communities in the present.

Low-income residents and communities of color have been disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards while also being prevented from benefiting from environmental amenities, such as parks, wetlands and forests. Carroll has spoken to one too many families impacted by these harms to not make environmental design and justice a priority.

Increasing amounts of research show that the fear of punitive policing is less influential in preventing crime than strong social institutions such as family and community, that are supported through economic opportunities, access to basic resources and mental wellness. As long as we invest in crime fighting over EVERYTHING else, we will continue to create the conditions that got us here in the first place. Carroll is advocating to build new types of social institutions and safety nets that are based in a care-taking community.