At the Oakland Cottage Industry Show at the Park Boulevard Presbyterian Church two weeks ago, more than 30 artisans gathered to show their home-made products. Among them was 91-year-old Gene Goodin, who sat quietly in front of his artwork wearing a hat that read “World War II, 1941-1945, Veteran.” To his right was an oil painting of an old train on a railway in the countryside, the brown train crossing a green landscape of hills. He sold it later in…
On May 2, the Oakland Cottage Industry Show (OCIS) is hosting the first of their twice-annual shows where artists who work with wood, iron, paint and jewelry will come together at Park Boulevard Presbyterian Church in Oakland. The phrase “cottage industry” usually refers to a small-scale business carried on at home by a family or an individual using their own equipment and materials to produce a marketable product. This year at the OCIS, the show will have number of artisans…
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is presenting a new exhibition exploring Oakland through the work of local artists. The exhibition is called “Who is Oakland?” and is organized by Chris Johnson, the lead artist, in cooperation with the museum. The exhibition is featuring the work of nine local artists lead by Johnson, produced using different forms of art and different materials. “The most important material is the content,” said Johnson. In his piece, he took a map of Oakland,…
For several months, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights has urged the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to allocate 50 percent of their public safety funds to community organizations that assist people who have recently been released from incarceration. Their campaign is called “Jobs Not Jails.” Their effort paid off Tuesday, when the board passed a motion requesting of the allocation of 50 percent of its 2015-16 public safety budget towards re-entry programs and services. These funds come from…
Oakland residents gathered in Park Community Garden this weekend to commemorate the victims and survivors of violence against women. The event, which included the unveiling of several portraits, was organized by the anti-violence group Her Resilience and Mamacita’s Cafe. “Her Resilience is a testament to what can be done when women come together,” said Hazel Streete, the group’s director. She said the goal of the grassroots organization is to support women in the process of healing and dealing with trauma….
California taxi divers face a new frustration: booming competition from companies like Uber and other app-based taxi companies that have recently entered the market with new services, systems and often better cars. Standing close to his cab in a taxi garage, Ben Ezeokoli, a driver who works at the Oakland Airport, says he has been in business for nearly 30 years. Back when he started driving his taxi, the business was paying off—there were a lot of customers and few…
A young African American man enters the grocery store, hides behind a shelf, holding in his left hand what appears to be a gun. His hand is shaking. He is breathing heavily, bleeding from an injury, fighting his pain. The young man starts talking to himself. “I was born in jail, I grew up in jail,” he shouts. “I was born with an umbilical cord wrapped around my wrist, fluid in my lungs so I couldn’t say ***t. They should…
Local nonprofit works to reduce air pollution and improve people’s lives in rural areas of Darfur by producing a better cooking stove.
The first things I had to learn were Jack o’ lantern, trick or treat, and you better get a costume! A week ago, I started seeing people on the bus, in grocery stores and other places, with pumpkins, real or plastic. To me, the pumpkin is a vegetable that can be cooked with Sudanese peanut butter, or with meat, to become pumpkin stew. In some villages the dry pumpkin is cut in the shape of a cup that is used…
Nigerian Independence Day is Oct. 1, but for U.C. Berkeley Nigerians the party took place a few days later, at a hall near campus. It was a party crowded with people and colors from Nigeria and the rest of the African continent. You saw young Nigerian women in their bubas, the Nigerian blouses; their iros, wrap skirts; which in Yoruba usually worn with gele, the head wrap. People sang the national anthem. The smells of the broiled beefsteaks, platters of…
Church members and neighbors gathered at Skyline Community Church to honor their pets with an annual and unusual gift: a blessing.
It’s not a motorcycle. It’s not a scooter. It’s not even an electric bicycle. It’s a bike with a motor on it, and it might just be the best way to get around Oakland.