Debora Gordon

About Debora Gordon

Debora Gordon is a writer, artist, educator and non-violence activist. She has been living in Oakland since 1991, moving here to become a teacher in the Oakland Unified School District. In all of these roles, Debora is interested in developing a life of the mind. “As a mere human living in these simultaneously thrilling and troubled times,” Debora says, “I try to tread lightly, live thoughtfully, teach peace, and not take myself too seriously.”

A young African American man, Akil Riley, stands in front of a fence for a photo.

Oakland Voices: Youth activists leading the Black Lives Matter Movement

July 1, 2020 Bill Joyce, Debora Gordon and Sarah Belle Lin

Oakland Voices interviewed five young leaders who have taken the Black Lives Matter Movement by storm and reminded us that not only are our youth the future, but they are also the present.

A smiling man carries a cardboard box filled with plastic face shields for Kaiser nurses. The cardboard box says "avocados" on it.

Oakland Teacher Jeadi Vilchis Produces Face Shields for Essential Workers with 3D Printer

May 5, 2020 Debora Gordon

Oakland High School graduate creates laser cut face shields for Kaiser nurses.

School to Prison to School Pipeline

July 24, 2018 Debora Gordon

Suspensions and bouncing back and forth between various schools, crack- addicted parents and grandparents, running away, physical abuse, early fatherhood (age 17), teen-age drug use, multiple arrests, several incarcerations in local, county and state jails

Shalita Williams, Unshackled

January 11, 2018 Debora Gordon

Shalita Williams, recalls some early brushes with the law. “I started coming in contact with the law when I was 14, when I was caught stealing at Woolworth’s. I wanted to see if I

The Trials and Tribulations of a Parking Control Officer

May 16, 2017 Debora Gordon

You might not be happy to see Janea Martin lingering around your car, or the calling card from the City of Oakland she leaves behind. But you should know that she is helping you contribute

Leaving the streets behind

April 10, 2017 Debora Gordon

Prospective Berkeley Law student Clarence Ford, 28, has a 360-degree perspective on the law most lawyers lack. He was first arrested for marijuana possession at 17. Ford’s rap sheet eventually included armed robbery — three

Seeking Refuge, Teaching Refuge

February 27, 2017 Debora Gordon

Student panelists at the Sanctuary Education Conference at the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California described feeling isolated at school, not having any Arab or Muslim teachers or curriculum that includes their history and literature,

On the way to new prison “home,” Lam Vo sees outside world for the first time in seven years

October 17, 2016 Debora Gordon

“I’m told Tehachapi does snow, so I can’t wait to see the hills powdered with pure white snow. It will be a wonderful sight that I have not seen in a long time since going

The Education of Lam Vo

July 21, 2016 Debora Gordon

Since arriving at Kern Valley State Prison seven years ago, Lam Vo has completed his G.E.D. But his education has gone further than book knowledge. He’s come to accept his responsibility for a heinous

Underground Scholars: Prison To School Pipeline

June 20, 2016 Debora Gordon

The 14 graduates at the May ceremony shared an experience most college graduates couldn’t claim – they had all served time behind bars. “This feels like a surreal moment for me right now,” said Clarence