2012 East Oakland Project Blogs

My Magic Pill

This piece was done in collaboration with the What’s Your Story? Project of KQED’s California Report. By Sabirah Mustafa I used to wish for a magic pill what would enable me to swallow away my […]

2012 East Oakland Project Blogs

The Vegas Effect

By Sabirah Mustafa What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. It’s an ad slogan with some truth to it. People take the phrase seriously, shunning those who come back from Sin City with perpetually loose […]

No Picture
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs

Recovery

Recovery by Sabirah Mustafa   Tell me What is recovery? Is it what you recover from? Like the opposite of subtraction that uncovers a sum? Or, Is it what you recover to? Like a transparent […]

No Picture
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs

Health of the Hood: Merritt/Cleveland Heights

By Sabirah Mustafa – I began my journey through my family’s neighborhood in the Lake Merritt area of East Oakland. My starting point was on Lester Avenue. This diverse, working-to-middle class, ethnically mixed neighborhood, is what I’d like to call the “Oakland Riviera”. The name might seem misleading, because depending on which direction you walk, you might also find blight as well. Located within a three-block area of Lake Merritt, there is plenty of contrast – so much so that at times my journey felt like I crossed city limits into an entirely different town. […]