OAKLAND — While families gathered for block parties and barbecues with police for National Night Out, more than 100 Oaklanders met for an alternative to the event Tuesday night at Lowell Park.

Residents gathered to talk about what they believe safety is without the added police presence during the annual Night Out for Safety and Liberation, which was organized by the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. No police officers were seen at or near the block party.

Hip-hop artists performed songs fueled by ongoing tensions between police and people of color while children colored signs and parents visited tables with information on social justice issues.

“The goal of this evening is to promote safety and liberation in a way that’s not promoted with National Night Out,” said Darris Young, a community organizer for the Ella Baker Center.

The event drew Oaklanders from several different neighborhoods and backgrounds.

Kristen Dwelley, of the Oakmore neighborhood, said her family chose to attend the event over the National Night Out block party because it represents the entire “Oakland community versus a small neighborhood.” She attended with her son Easy, 7, and his grandmother Willette Clark.

“I think this event really speaks to that the answer to so many of our problems is strengthening the connections in the community rather than increasing law enforcement,” Dwelley said.

The more traditional National Night Out focuses on police relationships with the public and promoting neighborhood watch programs. Organizers of the alternative event say increasing policing and individuals becoming suspicious of their neighbors can create unsafe communities for people of color.

“That narrative right there led to the killing of Trayvon Martin,” Young said. “It actually didn’t make communities safer; it led to more violence in that aspect.”

The idea of an event that promotes increased surveillance and policing in neighborhoods has left some residents feeling uneasy.

Keisha Turner, of Oakland, said the police department has been the cause of harm and scandal in the community.

“I feel like the community needs to take back that power to surveil itself,” Turner said.

Events like Night Out for Safety and Liberation are becoming more popular because there has “been more focus on how policing in America has led to more violence than it has to safety,” Young said.

“While people want good relationships with people that enforce the law, they also want alternatives rather than how we’ve been doing things in America for hundreds of years,” Young said.

More than 25 cities nationwide hosted the alternative event this year, versus six cities that participated last year.

Held at Lake Merritt the last two years, organizers this year wanted to bring the block party to West Oakland.

“This year we wanted to bring the event into a community where we would find people who were impacted by things going on around them,” Young said.

Although Dwelley and her family reside on the other end of Oakland, she said it is important to understand what other communities are going through.

As a white parent to two adopted black children, Dwelley said that community events organized by the Ella Baker Center really help her grasp how she and her husband can support her children.

“I think this gathering really reflects the diversity that makes this city so beautiful,” she said.

Contact Katrina Cameron at 925-945-4782. Follow her at Twitter.com/KatCameron91.