Oakland councilwoman has plans for man who was hassled for 'BBQing while black'

Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, The Chronicle Kenzie Smith, pictured here in 2017, had police called on him for...

Oakland City Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan has proposed that one of the men who had the cops called on him while barbecuing at Lake Merritt earlier this month serve on the commission that helps make rules for Oakland's parks.

"I recommend Kenzie Smith, for the Parks and Rec Advisory Commission," Kaplan wrote on Twitter on Wednesday morning. "Now known for 'BBQ while Black' incident, he's a magazine founder, lifelong Oakland resident and more."

"He'd make sure the regulations for our parks are clear and fair, improve jobs and keeping our parks clean."

The recommendation would need to be approved by Mayor Libby Schaaf. Smith told the East Bay Express that he was excited at the possibility of serving in the role.

"I'm not going to let someone else have a 'BBQ Becky,'" he said, referring to the nickname that's been given to the woman who called the cops on the barbecuers.

In the weeks since the incident, "BBQ Becky" has spread across the internet as a meme and been lampooned on "Saturday Night Live." Oakland residents have responded to her actions by having a party and cookout at the site where she confronted the barbecuing men.

The suggestion was not the first time Kaplan has commented on the "Barbecuing while Black" incident that went viral earlier this month, one in a string of recent high-profile incidents of African Americans getting the cops called on them while engaging in ordinary activities (napping in a dorm, waiting in a Starbucks).

A few days after the Lake Merritt incident occurred, Kaplan came out in support of loosening formal restrictions on barbecuing by the lake, and encouraged her white constituents to think twice before calling the police on a person of color for minor matters.

"For minor community disagreements, we need to be careful and consider our actions before resorting to calling for an armed police response," she wrote. "We need our police to be able to focus on pursuing and solving serious violent crimes. On an interpersonal level, we should seek to reduce, not escalate, tensions. And to maintain and improve our awareness of the widespread racial disparities in law enforcement response, which continue to need to be remedied."

Filipa Ioannou is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at fioannou@sfchronicle.com and follow her on Twitter