Oakland is known for its diverse and varying cultures. For this assignment, I chose to talk to people at the melting pot epicenter for this diversity, Lake Merritt. I asked, “How has the cultural diversity of Oakland influenced your personal experiences or identity?”
I believe this question forces us to think about the impact of this diversity on our personal lives.
My hope is that it encourages further broadening of our perspectives, thus creating a more connected and supportive community.
Julio Rufferman
“I think it’s done a lot for me, basically gave me balance. Because it’s so diverse here in Oakland, it’s a great town. There is no dividing, everybody comes together here, no matter what. Especially down here at the lake where I’m at today, everybody comes together. You have a picnic, you hang out, you do what you do, and Oakland is just great for that. I love it for that reason, that’s why I’m still in the Bay Area and that’s why I love it here.”
Julio Rufferman
Rannisha Hughes
“Well, I say personal experiences… It made me dip into other cultures and not just my own. Like, I love learning new foods, new cultures, different people, because I just want to see something outside of being Black. Like, I love being Black. I love my people, but I like to dip into other cultures as well. And it’ll stop a lot of racism if people are just dipping into other cultures and trying to be like, “Oh, this is alright, you know, it’s cool, like, It’s nothing wrong…” So, with my personal life, I guess I look at everybody the same. I mean, I do see color, but, like, I don’t look at it like, oh, no, I’m not going to talk to this person because they’re, you know… so I guess that.”
Rannisha Hughes
Raul Medina
“It’s a very good thing for me to be able to get to know multicultural people and I think we’re lucky because not many other people in other places can experience sharing everything with different cultures. From my perspective, it’s a great thing you know, I like it. I like the community in Oakland even though it’s a lot of crime and things like that but definitely like the cool people that’s out there and I think… crime is always gonna be everywhere but hopefully it gets better anyways.”
Raul Medina
Polina Kharnas
“I’m an immigrant, I’m originally from Russia but kind of lived in a bunch of places before coming to the States to like San Diego and then my spouse and I moved up here to Oakland about nine years ago now so… having been from a different country where there is a different culture and different dynamics of power just because the different culture… I think I’ve learned a lot from being in Oakland.
I think Oakland is so rich in history and so rich in people and art and rich in like really obvious tumultuousness, right? you can really see in Oakland… a struggle I guess? I don’t know… and then the ever-changing… maybe not as much as it is in San Francisco but it’s happening here as well like things are changing so so fast. With all of that you get to meet a lot of really really different people and I think living in Oakland really reinforces the importance of community.
Because living in Oakland and being part of this community, be it queer, be it whatever it may be, but I’ve really learned how to show up for my community and different communities, right, and the privilege that I have and understanding what I can redistribute.”
Polina Kharnas
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