Written by ab + Raven Shavers

As Clinic Bureau leads of People’s Programs working in direct service with the houseless communities of West Oakland, we’ve come to recognize that Black/New Afrikan People are victims of chemical warfare and are routinely being left to perish in the streets. Chemical warfare is described as “using toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons.” Euro-amerikkkan news outlets often frame the CIA’s involvement with flooding Black/New Afrikan communities with crack and heroin as “conspiracy”, but community members, activists, and survivors of substance abuse have long seen the real life impact on our People.

As a convenient tactic used to divert the rising consciousness of Black/New Afrikan People in a revolutionary period such as the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, it is clear the united states government had a hand in the explosion of drugs in Black/New Afrikan communities, and the neglect of its victims that followed.

In 2021, the so-called united states was found guilty of five counts of genocide toward Black/New Afrikans, as well as Brown and Indigenous folks in an International Tribunal by The Spirit of Mandela.

Genocide as defined by the United Nations is the: “killing members of the group, causing serious bodily/mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group, and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”

Through a historical and contemporary lens it is clear that all five aspects of genocide occur in the lives of victims of chemical warfare. From the drug-related deaths, the bodily and mental wreckage, to the drug-afflicted decimation of Black/New Afrikan communities and family units, by way of incarceration at prime reproductive years- thus, preventing families from being formed, or the role the foster care and child welfare system play in separating Black/New Afrikan families affected by substance abuse.

It goes without saying that not all houseless People suffer from drug dependency, but while working to provide free services via People’s Programs, we have built relationships with folks who actively use substances, and with that comes the understanding that substances are often used as a mechanism for surviving the conditions folks are subject to while living on the streets. Many of the folks we serve were once housed in Oakland and forced out of their housing due to the violent process of gentrification; drug dependency and Oakland’s lack of detox services remains a leading factor in keeping People unhoused.

The language used when discussing victims of chemical warfare (“addict”, “knock”, “junkie”, etc.) transforms into belief systems that these People don’t need help, want to live on the street, and were not once productive members of society- belonging to communities and families who’ve also suffered the consequences of chemical warfare. These belief systems are reflected in the way society as a whole begins to engage with folks on the street. Whether it be the community that simply ignores our houseless neighbors, or the city officials who instead of doing their job to support all people and provide necessary resources, put policies in place to ensure further degradation. I.E. Oakland’s Encampment Management Policy (EMP); an Oakland city policy that makes over 90% of Oakland illegal for houseless people to live- it “legalizes” evictions and criminalizes homelessness under the guise of “supporting” the homeless. while further dehumanizing houseless communities.

We’ve talked about the problems- now let’s get into the solutions, because although The Bay Area positions itself as “progressive”, there are no detox centers or accessible mental health services that offer wrap-around care in Oakland for those struggling with substance abuse related issues.

It is time for action and that looks like community support. Drug-induced chemical warfare aka addiction, is not an individual or “homeless” issue. As the effects of chemical warfare continue to ravage Black/New Afrikan communities, we must understand it is an act of genocide on our People. And it will take diasporic and local community unity and action, to combat these acts of genocide. As People’s Programs continues to provide free health care, food, temporary shelter, and clothes to the houseless communities of West Oakland for yet another year (funded by community support), it begs the question: what would it look like if the Community supported Decolonization Program that centers holistic approaches to a community detox center for Black/New Afrikan, Indigenous, and Third World Peoples who are suffering the effects of chemical warfare?

This question has been answered and we do not need to reinvent the wheel: Dr. Mutulu Shakur, a conscious New Afrikan Muslim and now-former political prisoner and prisoner of war, pioneered the successful Lincoln Detox Center with The Young Lords in Bronx, NY, which brought NADA acupuncture to the united states. This was a major win for the community until it was shut down in 1978 by New York’s Mayor Ed Koch, who made comments that the center was harboring Leftist radicals and that “hospitals are for sick people, not thugs”. Prior to the government closure of the center, The Lincoln Detox Center also known as The People’s Drug Program, was the first community clinic to offer holistic drug_ rehabilitation options by utilizing the NADA acupuncture technique and case management services; the Lincoln Detox Center served 200 people on the first day it opened.

Before this program, the only addiction treatment available was state-backed methadone treatment, a highly addictive “alternative” to the government-created drug crisis, which does not offer the freedom that sobriety does. The Lincoln Detox Center ultimately helped thousands of people overcome their addiction to heroin without methadone by using NADA, a standardized 5-point ear acupuncture technique, which was a key advancement in the development of addiction treatment due to relleving stress, trauma, and withdrawal symptoms, thus providing the only holistic alternative to methadone and addiction.

Mutulu and the Young Lords changed the conversation of what rehabilitation can look like; they understood the importance of offering detox solutions that allow people who have been affected by chemical warfare to return to whole and healthy versions of themselves with economic and political freedom. In the current terrain, we see the neo-liberal co-optation of their work in the form of harm reduction services. Although we have respect for all of the lives saved and progress that has been made through harm reduction (the distribution of education and clean usage tools which prevents the transmission of bloodborne pathogens such as HIV and Hep-C), we recognize that it is not a true solution for our People. As Revolutionary Nationalists, our goal is to build a nation for Black/New Afrikan People and that begins with the People in our locale, thus we recognize the need to expand upon the concept of harm reduction to honor our complete humanity by offering holistic detox options.

What is “mutual aid” if it is not providing the structure and support for the liberation of our People from the conditions they’ve been made to suffer? Harm reduction services are life saving in nature, but we also want to provide an alternative option for the many People we serve who have expressed the desire to quit using.

It is essential to recognize the part the government played in not only putting drugs in our communities, but its role in halting holistic alternatives. This historical understanding sheds light on why people are still struggling with substance abuse today when the solutions exist. Introducing drugs to a community hinders people from learning about their oppression and fighting back; removing mental health and detox clinics puts an end to people receiving the treatment they need to be conscious humans that can make decisions and contribute to the world around them. People’s Program’s goal is for our Decolonization Programs to function to their fullest capacity, and in order to do so we must center the continuity of care for victims of poverty, houselessness, and chemical warfare, by not only providing food, clothing, and healthcare, but also providing holistic detoxification treatment and mental health services. Let’s bring Dr. Shakur’s life’s work to the forefront. With community support this goal is within reach. Supporting grassroots organizations who are already doing the work like People’s Programs by offering your time, skIlls. and funds Is a contribution to the worldwide struggle for positive change.

FROLINAN FORWARD!