Culture

East Africans in Oakland: A mother’s long journey, and sacrifice

Many of the 20,000 people from Ethiopia and Eritrea living in the Bay Area call Oakland home. Oakland North is taking a look at the culture and history of the Ethiopian or Eritrean community in Oakland with “North Africans in Oakland” a series of profiles of everyday people living in the city.

Girls Inc. headquarters moving to Oakland, rehabbing downtown building

Last June, Girls Inc. of Alameda County purchased a five-story building as the site for their new headquarters located in downtown Oakland. The 34,000 square foot structure is strikingly different from their current headquarters in a 1950s warehouse in San Leandro, and it will include staff and administrative offices, a mental health clinic, fitness center, teaching kitchen, and other amenities for the 145 teenage girls who are served by the organization.

Spoken Word in the Bay Area

Spoken word, a form of poetry that expresses social commentary,  life experiences, and emotion has become particularly strong in the Bay Area where performances happen almost every night. Youth development programs such as Youth Speaks have flourished over the years attracting thousands of teenagers around the nation to take the stage and perform. Spencer Whitney got an inside look at how spoken word poetry groups are giving youth a voice in the Bay Area.

For transgender people, a life without binary norms

As a child, West Oakland resident Jack B. Pierson, 27, hated wearing the pink and purple outfits his mother chose for him. He craved the sensible, utilitarian clothing his older brother got to wear, the kind that permitted a more rough-and-tumble lifestyle. Pierson was a girl back then.

Tech girls bring home OAL hoops title

Oakland Tech finished off the OAL season with a 76-59 win over Castlemont in the league championship game on Saturday afternoon at Laney College. The Bulldogs will move on to the Northern California playoffs for the third consecutive time.