Month: September 2012

2012 East Oakland Project Blogs

Racially Profiling: The Blacks of East Oakland, Part 2

September 26, 2012 Ronald Owens 0

“I’m an evangelist and a motivational speaker. I can read people. I could see that you were a guarded person when you asked if you could talk with me.” I couldn’t disagree with her. “You’re passive-aggressive. Writing down what people say. I used to be passive, too. I can show you how to use aggression. Give me three hours, I can have you rewired.” Just three hours? I asked Ward if she could give me a weave, and joked that I’d come in for one and she could straighten me out then. She laughed. “Give me three hours. I’m gonna call you! I’m serious!” […]

2012 East Oakland Project Blogs

Poverty Puts Young Women on the Verge of Prostitution

September 24, 2012 1

Some women are forced to walk the streets, selling their bodies for cash. Mary Moore has never done that. Her exchange was different – not for drugs, or money, but just to keep a roof over her head. “I never done it before but I contemplated it. No woman should ever have to think about selling herself,” Moore said. […]

2012 East Oakland Project Blogs

Oakland Pride: Did Family Focus Strip All the Gay Away?

September 24, 2012 Edward Cervantes 0

To me, Pride has always been a celebration of our status as sexual outsiders. By being outrageous, gender-fluid, kinky, and obscene, we hoped to change society and make it more accepting of gender and sexual variance – work that is far from over. Now more than ever, we need to shock, disgust, inspire, and teach. Including within our own community. The LGBT rights movement is now equated with gay marriage, the ultimate goal being acceptance of our relationships as “normal.” I fear that with each victory, the LGBT movement will loose a little more of its edge and increasingly turn against those that fall outside the new norm. […]

2012 East Oakland Project Blogs

Sweet Memories: Sizing Up Obesity & My Love of Sugar

September 20, 2012 Katherine Brown 0

If good food, exercise, and low stress are keys to fitness and beating back obesity, then I know lots of communities that are in big trouble. In order for us to even move the needle on this obesity issue, we have to consider so much more than what people or eating and how physically active they are. Bear in mind why people are eating what they eat, and why they aren’t being as physically active as they would like to be.
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