Less than a year after the ACLU released a pressing report on the dangerous militarization of American police, law enforcement agencies in California—including school police—continue to use military-grade equipment against the communities they are supposed to protect.

The killing of Alex Nieto, and other black and brown males, such as Tamir Rice and Ezell Ford, seems all too familiar. But would Nieto and others of color still be alive if they were white?

In the heart of the Central Valley, there is a dream that refused to die. In 1908, Colonel Allen Allensworth had a vision for an 800-acre plot of land in the Central Valley: to build a thriving Black community rooted in cultivating the dignity of the human spirit while creating a haven from discrimination.

This is my family's American Dream story. I am a divorced, single mother, and an undocumented immigrant. I have resided in the United States for almost 30 years.

We came from Pakistan, a country known for its government abuse, torture, and violence against women. My father, a customs agent, and my mother, an elementary school teacher, knew that the future of their two daughters in Pakistan held limited opportunities. So when I was 3 years old, my parents gave up everything and moved to the U.S. in search of a better life for their children.

Many high school students have reported being denied the opportunity to take necessary college prep classes. And a disproportionate number of those were students who were either pregnant or parenting.

Public participation in decisions about whether to equip police with surveillance technology is often the exception rather than the rule in California and across the country. Oakland knows this all too well.