Community

Oakland Black Cowboys parade celebrates 40 years

Some historians estimate that as many as one third of cowboys in the old West were black, but black cowboys are largely absent in mainstream pop culture. As the Oakland Black Cowboys Association celebrates 40 years, its members reflect on what being a black cowboy means to them and their families.

Community photo of the week: Walk around the lake

Every week, Oakland North will publish a photo submitted by one of our readers. This week’s image is by Lauren Stewart. “This photo was taken spontaneously while on a morning walk around the lake,” she writes. “My heart was filled with gratitude and love for Oakland, and I thought to myself, ‘How many cities in America have a beautiful lake in their downtown?’” If you’d like to contribute to “community photo of the week,” just send a favorite photograph taken in…

Oaklanders surrender heaps of drugs to feds in Drug Take-Back Day

The sidewalk at Telegraph and 27th Avenue was lined with signs reading, “Got Drugs?” and, “¿Tiene drogas?” The bilingual placards marked the site of the nation’s ninth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, where the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Alameda County District Attorney’s office worked with Oakland and three other Alameda County cities on Saturday to take possession of old, unused and unwanted drugs until the DEA could destroy them. Nationally, drug take-backs have collected and destroyed about 4.1…

Uptown named one of the “Great Places in America”

The American Planning Association recognized Oakland’s Uptown neighborhood as one of the “Great Places in America” in a ceremony yesterday. In the warm afternoon sun, APA Board of Directors member Kurt Christiansen and Hing H. Wong, president-elect of the organization’s California chapter, lauded the neighborhood’s homegrown artistry, entrepreneurialism and diversity. They also praised its revitalizing planning efforts, which have been 15 years in the making. “As a teenager, I lived less than a mile from this location and have seen…

Mills College takes on the nuances of transgender admits

Mills was the first U.S. women’s college to create a formal written admissions policy that includes transgender and gender fluid applicants. The policy went into effect this semester and the changes are making waves among Mills students and alums, as well as other women’s colleges around the county.