For a quiet guy, John Brockett sure takes part in a lot of noise making. He can be found in the weekly Ceasefire Night Walks filled with chants and the supportive din of honking cars. He is also active with the dynamic Illegal Dumping Local Organizing Committee that frequently organizes actions, press conferences, and educational forums.
“It is what gives me hope,” he said. “I see a lot of the community coming together from different parts of Oakland—different ethnicities, different backgrounds working for the same thing. We are no longer divided in our separate communities. We are becoming one community.”
John takes pictures at the Night Walks and maintains the Oakland Ceasefire Facebook and X accounts. He also works with the Illegal Dumping Local Organizing Committee in its many research meetings, actions, educational forums and advocacy to end the scourge of illegal dumping in Oakland.
You could say John is inspired by the energy he sees in the community. He became involved with Ceasefire Night Walks in 2013 through a friend who attended Skyline Community Church. His own faith community, Trinity Fellowship, engages in charitable projects, and he also attends the First Congregational Church in Berkeley.
“The message of the gospel is working with the marginalized and not the rich people,” said John. “It has always inspired me. It isn’t about you, it’s about the marginalized and the poor.”
He grew up in Illinois and spent a year as a young adult serving in the VISTA program (now AmeriCorps) in Des Moines, Iowa and Rapid City, South Dakota. In Rapid City he met Ruth Balyeat, a much older volunteer, whose life experience and wisdom made her a mentor to all the younger volunteers.
John has lived in Oakland for nearly 50 years. He worked for 15 years as a shipyard welder and was a member of the Boilermaker Union, serving several years as a shop steward. In midlife after taking courses at Merritt College, he worked in computer programming and software development with the Alameda County Information Technology Department for 21 years. He is married and has a son and daughter, both of whom attended Oakland public schools.
John balances the noise of his work on the streets with the quiet of hiking, quilting, and playing the violin (not so quiet).
