Community
It’s the last day of the year to buy tomatoes at the Temescal Farmer’s Market.
Etelvina López, a 33-year old mother of two, is grooming the 400 square-foot nursery room located on the first floor of the headquarters of Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA), an Oakland-based advocacy group for Latina domestic workers. She’s preparing for the arrival of the children who she takes care of every Thursday evening. López came to Oakland from Guatemala almost 16 years ago to seek job opportunities. In addition to this job, which pays $15 per hour, López works as…
The Crucible is a nondescript warehouse in West Oakland. Except for a few brightly colored metal signs and a large wooden crucible outside the building, the nonprofit industrial arts school could be any other structure in the freeway wrapped landscape. A swinging door in the lobby opens to a large, high-ceilinged workspace with bare cement floors. The constant hum of machinery vibrates throughout the space. In various nooks carved out throughout the expansive warehouse, people work. And they work mostly…
Thomas Denesha pulls up a purple bike on a rack and proceeds to take the front wheel off. The helmet is still attached to the handlebar. Its owner dropped it off at Uptown 19th Street BART Bike Station Friday morning, knowing his bike will be well taken care of while he goes to work. “He parks here every day and noticed some problems with his shifter,” said Denesha, who works there. The bike is now dismantled into two parts. The…
There’s a liquor store or a church on every corner, Bryan Appleton likes to say of the West Oakland neighborhood where he lives and has run an industrial salvage shop since 2010. One nearby church was torn down recently and the pastor offered him the 16-foot cherrywood pews, which are now lined up neatly along one wall in the back studio. Appleton recites their history easily: they’d been in three churches over their century of use, starting in Oklahoma before…
Oakland artists strive to improve working conditions for public art creators in the city.
Earlier this month the Institute for Policy Studies, a Washington, D.C. think tank, reported that the average white family today has net assets of $141,900, compared with the $11,000 for African American families. This hollowing out of the African American family asset base is a nationwide phenomenon that can be explained by the shrinking African American middle class. It’s even more a factor in “strong market” regions like the Bay Area, where housing costs are soaring.
On Friday, December 4, Oakland’s Jack London Square drew crowds for a festive tree-lighting ceremony to celebrate the holiday season. Live music filled the square as the Oakland School for the Arts’ Vocal Rush, Chamber Choir and Jazz Guitar Ensemble performed holiday favorites. Other entertainment included performances by the Tap Dancing Christmas Trees and West Oakland Middle Schools’ Oakland Spirit Orchestra. Attendees petted live reindeer, decorated ornaments, and met with Santa Claus — among other activities sponsored by local organizations.
The Oakland City Council voted 5-1, with two abstentions, to approve a grant tied to hiring 15 new police officers after protesters disrupted the meeting, calling for funding for housing instead of more law enforcement.