Oakland Voices

By Tyrese Johnson OAKLAND, CA – Many would argue that music is essential to a full life. It makes us laugh, cry and think. It is this idea that musicians at the Oakland Green Youth

By Peace Harmony OAKLAND, CA – A new habitat for female artists was born last November. Valerie Troutt started The Shepeople’s, a collective of female vocalists, musicians, poets, dancers, filmmakers, visual artists, craft makers, foodies and

By Ida Hancox OAKLAND, CA – For most of Shawn Vasquez’s life, he’s been in trouble with the law. He started ditching school to sell drugs before he was a teenager. He hit the ninth

It is one of the most painful, difficult, and quintessentially American words in our language. It’s been used to dehumanize, to hurt feelings, to show love, and to sell records. When popular talk radio host

By Jo Ann Bell OAKLAND, CA – A warm and secure feeling of community thrives in the neighborhoods along Adeline Street.  Reflecting on the West Oakland stretch of Adeline during the 1940’s and 50’s brings

By Jo Ann Bell OAKLAND, CA – The West Oakland Senior Center is not an especially big place. But the two-story building, located at a quiet intersection right across from deFremery Park, is a strong

By Diana Alonzo OAKLAND, CA – After a stroke in 2002 left Myra Chang unable to walk, she needed a home that was affordable and handicap-accessible. Chang, a San Francisco native, signed up for an

  By Brian Beveridge OAKLAND, CA – While more than a thousand Oakland port trucks were replaced with taxpayer assistance or cleaned up to meet federal engine emission standards, companies serving the port say that

By Tyrese Johnson OAKLAND, CA – James Harris likes his guns. The 39-year-old West Oakland resident owns a .45 caliber pistol, a .9mm handgun and a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun. Harris’s father was a Marine who

Mom had a bad fall last year. She broke her shoulder and her wrist.  When she came home from the hospital, she was patched up in splints, wrappings, and a sling. Each morning I stepped