OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 13: A protester marches through stopped cars while carrying a sign that reads 'Black Lives Matter' in the Alameda-Oakland tunnel during a 'Millions March' demonstration protesting the killing of unarmed black men by police on December 13, 2014 in Oakland, California. The march was one of many held nationwide. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

We must bring an immediate end to the violence on communities of color in the City of Oakland by the Oakland Police Department, and an immediate end to the violence on any member of the Oakland Police Force by any member of our city.

It is an understatement to say that our nation is at a racial crossroads. Any notion that America is a post racial society went by the wayside sometime after the Trayvon Martin or Michael Brown killings, if such a notion ever existed at all. The tensions from these and similar events have reached a fever pitch in the last few weeks culminating with the shootings of Alton Sterling, and Philando Castile, both African-American men, five Dallas police officers and most recently three Louisiana police officers. Most of the officers were white.

Video recordings of police officers beating and sometimes murdering unarmed black citizens have validated longstanding complaints by African-Americans and changed the way the our country views the issue of police brutality. The recent killings of the police officers, many of them white, on the other hand, has raised questions, for some, as to whether a full race war is brewing. The GOP nominee for President of the United States has only fanned the flames of this smoldering race war by his many incendiary comments around race. His comments have gone so far, that full blown racists, like former Klu Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke, have been inspired by the words of Mr. Trump "to take our country back" and declare his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. That such a person would have the audacity to run for one of the highest offices in our land only further illustrates how bad racial tensions in our country have become.

Last night, Saturday, July 23, a female Oakland Police Officer was shot. Allegedly, the perpetrator yelled "F" the police prior to firing at the officer. Fortunately, she was wearing a protective vest and it appears that the bullet did not reach her person. This shooting is of course set against both the national backdrop and Oakland's own history of racial violence between the police and the community, including the Black Panthers, and the shootings of Alan Blueford and Oscar Grant (Bart police). Violence only leads to more violence, and the shooting of the Oakland officer is sure to add to Oakland's own tensions.

I write as a concerned Oakland resident, former Port Commissioner and Mayoral candidate, but perhaps most importantly an assistant Football coach at Castlemont HS. Our school is located in East Oakland and our team is comprised entirely of young black and brown boys. Already among society's most vulnerable, many of our students feel a palpable fear of the police, especially against the above backdrop. We are left with the questions of where do we go from here? Can we calm tensions and keep our situation in Oakland from becoming a full race war or will it explode into a Watts like riot of the 1960s?

To understand possible solutions, I think we must understand the psychology of those who feel most oppressed. In the case of Oakland, our young black and brown boys. Many of these young men feel fear, anger and some level of hopelessness. In speaking with several black and brown young men in the tougher parts of our city, the persistent question has become "how is it that the police keep killing us and getting away with it"? It is a question that reminds me of a passage from Ta-Nehisi Coates recent work "A Letter to My son." In his book, Mr. Coates tells his son "I did not tell you that it would be okay, because I have never believed it would be okay. What I told you is what your grandparents tried to tell me: That this is your country, that this is your world, that this is your body, and you must find some way to live within all of it." In other words, the message is to our young black and brown boys that there is no hope, do your best and hope one of these despicable acts of violence does not happen to you.

None of what I describe as the mindset of many young men, and for that matter women, of color ever excuses acts of violence. We must denounce the shooting of the Oakland police officer and all officers who have been shot across our country in the strongest of terms. Their lives matter. They do a very dangerous job. Of course they should not have to worry about random acts of violence as they serve and protect. At the same time, our current narrative tells us that there is a systematic degrading and dehumanizing of black and brown lives that these officer involved killings illustrate. Therefore, cries of black and brown lives mattering are the call of the day. As intelligent people, we must be able to hold both thoughts in our head, and treat as true, at the same time.

I conclude we must have an immediate cessation of violence on communities of color in the City of Oakland by the Oakland Police Department, and an immediate end to violence on any member of the Oakland Police Force by any member of our city.

I propose and will immediately begin work, in a collaborative fashion, on the following:

1. A prayer vigil to be held the week of July 25 where the community, city officials and the Oakland police come together, pray and heal.

2. Together with faith and other community leaders, speak to neighborhood leaders, "shot callers" to call for a truce on their "turfs" / neighborhoods.

3. Request a meeting with our Mayor and Police Chief to present a list of demands from the community, including but not limited to the cessation of violence call to action and finalizing the formation of a Police Commission. I have already received commitments from the community groups Black Lives Matter and the Oakland Police Anti-Terror Network to attend the meeting and to contribute to a successful resolution.

I only propose to act as a facilitator as it will take many people to bring a successful resolution. I believe our hour, however, is at its most urgent. We must act prior to any further violence erupting. As Martin Luther King, Jr. told us we cannot tell those who have known the vicious stings of racism, of biting dogs and water hoses to wait, to be patient for justice. This justice must come now. Similarly, we must cease, immediately, to direct violence toward our police force.