Youth

Kristie Le made a spontaneous decision last weekend to get her first tattoo. That it would be for a good cause made her more adamant.  At the Black Needle Tattoo shop near Lake Merritt, she scanned her options — flowers, animals, fish, a skeletal hand — all drawn by students from Oakland School for the Arts. Choosing a goat to match her Vietnamese zodiac sign, she mustered the courage to have a needle etch the design on her inner left…

This story was co-published with The Oaklandside. Before it was a puppet show, “Hummingbird Saves Fire” was a memory. For Deja Gould, historical preservation officer and language keeper for the Lisjan Nation, it was a ritual of her childhood — falling asleep to her mother’s voice explaining how fire came into this world. She recalled her mother using different voices to distinguish each character, and how the detail was so vivid, it felt like she was really there.  Now Gould…

At 7 years old, Roux Stunna went viral after a video of him performing the Brookfield, an iconic Bay Area dance move, was uploaded to Instagram. The clip amassed over 1.2 million views and marked his entry into the turf dancing scene. Now 9, Roux is one of the youngest dancers competing and performing in Oakland.  This year, Roux is set to perform at “The Night of Main Events,” a showcase hosted by World Wide Dance Association in Oakland. He…

When Oakland teenagers voted for the first time in the city’s 2024 School Board election, the moment was hailed as a breakthrough for youth voice and local democracy. But nearly a year later, that excitement has turned into reflection and a push for reform. Passed by voters in 2020, Measure QQ made Oakland one of the first major U.S. cities to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in school board elections. The measure came after years of organizing…

A poster of Muhammad Ali watches over the East Oakland Boxing Association’s gym, a visual reminder of the discipline and resilience it takes to be great. The only other posters in the facility are visually minimal, but powerfully messaged.  “Live everyday as if it were your last,” reads the quote on the Ali poster, “because someday you’re going to be right.” The message is personal for the EOBA.  Former Executive Director Solomon Howard was sentenced to prison in September for…

Nearly 60 students walked out of Oakland high schools Friday to march to City Hall as part of a statewide action in support of a California bill that would mitigate the impacts of fossil fuel pollution.  Students rallied in support of the “Polluters Pay Climate Superfund” bill, which was introduced in February and is in committee until January, when legislators are scheduled to debate it. The bill would require oil and gas companies who did business in California between 1990…

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…