Oakland activists launch “Cancel Piedmont” campaign targeting affluent enclave

Jesse Rosemoore, a 44-year-old transit planner from Oakland, spearheads the “Cancel Piedmont” campaign that seeks to dismantle the small, affluent city encircled by Oakland. By handing out stickers and selling $10 T-shirts, he aims to draw attention to Piedmont’s median home price of nearly $2.6 million and its roughly 70% white demographic, contrasted with Oakland’s more diverse and less expensive housing market. Rosemoore says the enclave’s existence underscores deep societal divides and that true inclusion requires affordable housing.

Piedmont officials, such as Jean Chen Takazawa of the school district, argue the city is actively working on diversity and implicit-bias training and ask critics to stop judging. The district has faced national scrutiny over a “White Student Support Group” email and a 2022 effort to bring 200 Oakland transfer students to boost enrollment and diversity. Mayor Betsy Smegal Andersen notes that other Bay Area towns face similar zoning issues, but Piedmont feels uniquely targeted. Rosemoore acknowledges that annexation is unlikely without resident approval, positioning Piedmont as a symbolic case of regional wealth and race disparities.