Oakland North TV

An Oaklander uses walks to inspire an active lifestyle

Meet Oakland resident Katrina Lashea, who leads walks for African-American women in the Bay Area with the goal of improving their health. Lashea is a yoga instructor and works as a program coordinator for Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre. She is also one of 10 recipients of GirlTrek’s 2012 Trailblazer Fellowship Award, which will sponsor her walking campaigns in the Bay Area throughout the year. Lashea’s next walking campaign will start Sunday, March 10, at 5:30pm, and will be an eight-week…

Children celebrate Black History Month at Ile Omode Elementary

Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and a number of famous African Americans ancestors made an appearance at an elementary school in East Oakland on the final day of Black History Month. Ancestor Day 2013 at Ile Omode, a pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school in East Oakland, consisted of four and five year-old students dressing up as notable historical figures and delivering their most memorable quotes to a room full of parents and teachers. The audience cheered as students dressed as Dr….

Reggie Bailey’s Barbershop

“My last trip in the penitentiary, I had to make a decision on what I wanted to do with my life,” said Reggie Bailey, sitting in the swiveling barber chair in his small shop in the heart of downtown Oakland. “I just decided to go to barber college.”

Homeowners confront Wells Fargo over foreclosures

Since California’s Homeowner Bill of Rights, a new law limiting the power of banks to foreclose, came into effect on January 1, homeowners in Richmond and Oakland have taken a more proactive stance in resisting foreclosures, protesting inside banking halls at Wells Fargo’s braches across the East Bay and forcing the bank to reschedule home sales.

Every Saturday, SAVE honors one of Oakland’s homicide victims with a march

On a recent Saturday morning in Oakland, a group of residents marched and chanted, “Stop the violence, stop the silence! Do something!” The group calls themselves SAVE, an acronym for Soldiers Against Violence Everywhere. “We are soldiers,” said Theresa Butler, SAVE’s coordinator. “We are here in the rain, cold doing what we do.” SAVE was initiated in 2010 by Pastor Zachary Carey of True Vine Ministries after a member of his church was murdered in Oakland. “One Wednesday night we…

An ancient Japanese tradition lives on in Oakland

You won’t often come across three accomplished koto players in one place—let alone in the same family. But Oakland is home to three generations of musicians who have dedicated their lives to the music of the Japanese harp.