Friends laud late bakery owner's impact on community
Those recalling her efforts say they will pursue her vision
OAKLAND >> Friends and community members shared positive memories of Oakland bakery owner Jen Angel, who died Thursday, days after a violent robbery left her grievously injured.
In a statement Thursday night, members of a group speaking on her family's behalf said they hoped her communities would draw strength from her life's efforts and the care she modeled and drew support from.
“We know Jen would not want to continue the cycle of harm by bringing state-sanctioned violence to those involved in her death or to other members of Oakland's rich community,” the statement said in part, adding that family members would pursue “all available alternatives to traditional prosecution, such as restorative justice” for police-arrested suspects in the robbery case.
“As a longtime social movement activist and anarchist, Jen did not believe in state violence, carceral punishment or incarceration as an effective or just solution to social violence and inequity,” the statement said.
“Jen believed in a world where everyone has the ability to live a dignified and joyful life and worked toward an ecologically sustainable and deeply participatory society in which all people have access to the things they need, decisions are made by those most directly affected by them and all people are free and equal.”
According to a statement from Angel's medical team, her donated organs “will serve to lengthen and improve the lives of up to 70 people.”
In statements shared earlier Thursday by an ad hoc committee working to sustain her business, secure support for family members and ensure a legacy of principled witness and gap standing, Angel's impact as an activist and organizer was clear.
Born in 1975 and raised in suburban Cleveland, Angel grew into her pursuit of a better world, founding Aid and Abet, a social justice event-production platform that served dozens of nonprofits and activist groups, and in cofounding Clamor, a bimonthly alternative magazine published from 1999 to 2006. Her roots in independent media and activism spread far and drew deep levels of support.
“Most of the people in Oakland who experience the type of violence Jen experienced are young Black and Brown people who do not receive the level of focus, attention or support that Jen has,” Emily Harris, a friend of Angel and a co-director of programs at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, said Thursday.
“Jen and those of us who love her want a world where everyone who experiences harm gets to experience support and healing, and people who cause harm are supported to have what they need to change instead of getting locked away.”
Another friend, Ryan Fletcher, called Angel “a visionary influence and pioneering participant within multiple movements and sub-cultures that have significantly informed and shaped our world in the here and now, from punk rock and anarchism in the 1990s, through the Global Justice and anti-war movements of the early 2000s to Occupy in 2011 and contemporary fights for racial justice, climate justice, economic justice and beyond.”
Angel's activist and organizing energies followed her into her founding of Angel Cakes in 2008, where she helped provide baked goods for community events, weddings and catered events, and spent long hours at the former TJ's Gingerbread House site on Fifth Street, honing creativity in service of connection.
“Jen has worked hard to build a small business in Oakland, and to do so in a way that treats her employees as full humans, including providing a living wage. She paid herself last. She gave away cupcakes to community groups wherever she went,” Angel friend Tobias Smith said.
“Jen was at the bakery every day. She taught herself how to decorate cakes. On Friday nights, she would invite friends to hang out with her while she worked late and decorated wedding cakes.”
“Her cupcakes, her organizing work, and every other element of her life have always been an invitation into the beautiful world she hopes to build, where everyone is valued, cared for and celebrated,” Angel friend Pete Woiwode said.
The bakery will remain open, with support from staff members and associates who urged community members to support it through “buying gift certificates and committing to long-term patronage.”
A GoFundMe fundraising campaign set up Wednesday morning to raise money for medical care, family travel and support costs, as well as for the bakery, had raised $105,156 as of Thursday evening, nearing a $150,000 goal.
This campaign was online at gofundme.com/f/love-and-supportfor-jen-angel.
Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $10,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrests of the suspects. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3326 or 510-238-7950 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.