Song performed in lieu of Pledge of Allegiance at Oakland City Council meeting

Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan. Oakland City Council President Rebecca Kaplan. Photo: Courtesy Of Rebecca Kaplan Photo: Courtesy Of Rebecca Kaplan Image 1 of / 34 Caption Close Song performed in lieu of Pledge of Allegiance at Oakland City Council meeting 1 / 34 Back to Gallery

A musical performance took the place of the Pledge of Allegiance at the first Oakland City Council meeting of the new term.

It's long been a tradition to pledge allegiance to the U.S. flag at the start of Oakland City Council meetings, but new City Council President Rebecca Kaplan began Tuesday night with an a cappella performance by Oakland artist and musician Jennifer Johns.

"I thought it would be nice to switch it up a little, in terms of starting the meetings with a good energy," Kaplan said at the conclusion of the song.

She said the council is looking "to start the meetings with a variety of different people, bringing their gifts to this room to help us start."

Kaplan said the council was seeking suggestions for other local performers.

It's not clear if future council meetings will have a performance in lieu of the pledge. Kaplan's Chief of Staff Julie Wedge said, "Council President Kaplan has not made it a decree to open each meeting with a performance or the pledge, she is working to promote and honor local artists and create good energy in the chamber."

Wedge said people are welcome to contact Kaplan's office with suggestions for future meetings.

City Clerk LaTonda Simmons told the Mercury News that the "performance" was added to Tuesday's agenda as a one-off request, but has not been officially established as a "standing practice." She said she didn't recall a meeting without the pledge in a decade.

For years, people have called to put an end to reciting the pledge in public schools and government proceedings. Earlier this week, Cesar Vargas, a "dreamer" who came to the U.S. illegally and now runs the Dream Action Coalition, called for a revision of the pledge, writing in The Hill that it was "rooted in nativism and white supremacy."

In 2016, Kaplan remained seated during the Pledge of Allegiance at a city council meeting after voicing support for former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who took a knee during the National Anthem for each game.

"Fundamentally, the right to speak out against injustice and to make statements against injustice by staging sit-ins, or by sitting during the Pledge of Allegiance or the National Anthem, to me, is central with what American democracy is about," she told the East Bay Citizen at the time. "Not only is what he and the others who are doing this not wrong, it's actually in the noblest of traditions of change-making in America."

It is not clear whether Kaplan's omission of the pledge at Tuesday's meeting is an extension of the sentiments she expressed earlier.

Read Michelle Robertson's latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.

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