Fundraiser Underway To Help Homeless Man

OAKLAND, CA — Last month, a white woman called police on black men because they were barbecuing at Lake Merritt in Oakland. Now, another dust-up has happened at Lake Merritt. A white man out for a jog gathered the belongings of a black man, who was not present, and threw some of them in the lake while throwing other items in the trash.

A video of the incident has been posted on Facebook.

Now, the man who played a starring role in the first incident, Kenzie Smith, has started a Go Fund Me account to help the homeless man, identified only by his first name of Drew.

Smith set a goal of $3,000, which has already been exceeded. In the appeal, Smith said, "All donations will go towards our goal of replacing everything that was thrown in the lake including:

• clothing
• shoes
• food
• bedding
• other essential items

"If we meet our goal, we'd also be able to get him a tent so he can sleep more peacefully and his belongings can be more protected."

There is no word on if the organizers will get Drew into permanent housing if enough money is raised.

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If you would like to contribute, the donation page is here.

Link to see video.

-Top image via Go Fund Me; Go Fund Me is a Patch promotional partner