Community
He’s long been a legendary national figure and recently, Bobby Seale was memorialized by Oakland, the birthplace of the Black Panther Party he co-founded. That changed last week, when a crowd that included Seale and his family, as well as city, state and federal officials gathered for the renaming of the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and 57th Street as Bobby Seale Way. The location has significance for Seale, who once lived in the North Oakland neighborhood and…
Visitors coming into Oakland’s Chinatown now will meet a staggering dragon watching over the intersection of Jackson and 10th streets. Its mythical presence is a reminder to stand against hate, according to the community groups and team of artists who christened the dragon mural “Together, We Rise” last week. Its unveiling served as a kickoff to United Against Hate Week, which runs nationwide through Saturday. United Against Hate began in Berkeley in 2017 as a poster campaign responding to white…
Thousands of Bay Area residents gathered in Oakland on Saturday as part of a series of nationwide protests against President Donald Trump’s policies. Many attendees tried to strike a balance between the serious issues they were protesting and a lighter, festive tone, wearing comical costumes and carrying humorous protest signs. As the crowd marched down Eighth Street, Oakland residents Max Madame and Charlie Pain, both wearing clown makeup, handed out balloon animals. “Absurdity breeds absurdity,” said Pain, when asked about…
Hundreds of people — from toddlers to teenagers to seniors and everyone in between — spilled into Oakland Technical High School’s auditorium Sunday to learn how to resist the rise of authoritarianism under President Donald Trump. Nearly 1,000 people attended Get Ready: Noncooperation Training by Bay Resistance, a group advocating for racial, economic, climate and gender justice. Some participants sat on the floor or filed into overflow rooms. The session was meant to energize and inspire people as well as…
Standing at an altar decorated with stuffed animals and candles placed around a Bible, Rena Rickles clutched a framed collage of herself and her husband next to images of their dogs. Her husband had given it to her for Valentine’s Day. He called it “Puppy Love.” “This is Huckleberry at four months, where his mom had to go to a bachelor party. We bonded over that weekend, and he was the most loving, loyal, creative dog. We lost him last…
For the past year, an exhibit at the Oakland Black Panther Party Museum has educated visitors about the community school model that was launched by the Panthers in 1973 and has since been incorporated into every Oakland Unified School District building. Recently, the exhibit’s reach was expanded, thanks to the efforts of a Madison Park Academy student and the nonprofit Ocelotl, which worked to translate the exhibit into Spanish. “The Black Panther Party, they brought communities together, and I feel…
To the untrained eye, roller derby seems like pure pandemonium — players falling over like bowling pins, knocking into each other left and right. But hours of weekly training have taught them how to dodge, shove, turn and jump on four wheels to control the chaos and rack up points. For members of the Bay Area Derby league, it’s more than just a sport. Players are there to destress, build relationships with each other, uplift their communities, and work collectively…
A landmark of the Prescot neighborhood, Oakland’s 16th Street Station is hard to miss. Just off Interstate 880, the 40-feet-tall Beaux Arts style building towers above surrounding homes and squat industrial buildings. The station is fenced off, with graffiti covering the terracotta cladding below the building’s three signature grand arched windows. Built in 1912, the former transportation hub was once the largest Southern Pacific Railroad station in Northern California. It served as a meeting place during the Civil Rights Movement…
VIDEO: Giving kids and communities hope — Youth Alive works to stop the cycle of violence in Oakland
For more than 30 years, an Oakland nonprofit has been working in neighborhoods to interrupt the cycle of violence that often leads to retaliation and incarceration. This story follows the work of Eric Adams, Keith Wesley and Doral Myles, violence interrupters with Youth Alive who at one time were caught up in that cycle and are now trained and committed to helping communities break it. Their efforts are spent on disrupting violence, along with fostering hope and healing, and bringing…