Alameda Native History Project Calls On City of Alameda To Dedicate Park In Memory of Mario Gonzalez
12/15/2023
Alameda, California
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
On Thursday, December 14, 2023, the City of Alameda announced that it had reached an $11M settlement with the Estate of Mario Gonzalez, and a $350,000 settlement with Mario‘s Mother, to settle claims arising from the death of Mario Gonzalez, who was in Alameda Police custody when he died on April 19, 2021.
While no amount of money will ever bring Mario Gonzalez back—and while this project considers $350,000 a paltry sum for the life of a son, father, brother, and care-taker—we applaud this settlement as the first step in seeking justice for Mario and his family.
The City of Alameda, and the Alameda Police Department still have a long way to go repair the historic harms they have committed against all people of color. Even today, the City of Alameda, and especially the Alameda Police Department are still widely known for their unfair bias and treatment of non-white citizens and visitors to the island.
As the City of Alameda, and the Alameda Police Department, reflect on what this settlement means to the status quo of their enforcement and policing, a permanent reminder should be put in place to help us all remember that every human life is precious, no matter who you are, or where you are from.
We call on the City of Alameda to do three things now:
- Officially establish a Park (or “Parklet”) at Oak Street and Powell Street, where the Mario Gonzalez Memorial and ofrenda now stands;
- Name that park “Mario Gonzalez Memorial Park”;
- Affirm their commitment to protecting the people who live in, and visit, Alameda from excessive force, harm, and death at the hands of Alameda Police, or while in their custody.
For more information about this release, or to support the effort to create the Mario Gonzalez Memorial Park, contact Gabriel Duncan, press@alamedanativehistoryproject.com, (510) 747-8423
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About the Alameda Native History Project
Alameda Native History Project is a Two-Spirit, Native-run Organization based in Alameda, California, committed to combating anti-indigenous bias and inaccuracies in textbooks, museums, curricula, etc., in the San Francisco Bay Area, and beyond. Find us on Instagram, or on our website: AlamedaNativeHistoryProject.com
Alameda is Muwekma Ohlone Territory.
