Ryan Barba's life has been interupted by COVID-19. As a community college student and part-time essential worker, he is adapting to new routines and communication.
Last Friday, in response to the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak, the Oakland Unified School District announced that all schools and child development centers would be closing for three weeks at the end of the day. On[Read more]
On Wednesday, November 13, 2019, parents, students, teachers, and community members protested at the Oakland Unified School District school board meeting held at La Escuelita. Teachers criticized the board for school closures that harm Oakland[Read more]
I was a troubled student who had lost all sight of direction in middle school and officially dropped out in the 10th grade. Besides a desire to become a professional writer, there was nothing[Read more]
The recently intensified ICE presence and threat of attack reminds me of the City of Oakland’s Fruitvale Gang Injunction, the last time I saw the community so vulnerable in a collective way. It was[Read more]
One’s journey through grade school is supposed to be a time that builds children into young adults with the opportunity of a brighter future. But in today’s American society, it appears to be anything[Read more]
Class was almost over; we were finishing up when Mario jumped out of his seat. “Awww shit,” he sighed with a look of disdain on his face. “What’s up, you ok?” I walked over[Read more]
Why do some people become peace and justice activists, when other people who grew up in the same environment don’t? This question has intrigued me for a long time as I can’t explain my own[Read more]
Have you ever been put on hold for a long time and then been disconnected? Maybe you’ve searched and searched and searched online and can’t find what you’re looking for? Or, perhaps you’ve called and[Read more]
It’s Saturday afternoon and three rows of children stand frozen in anticipation, waiting for their Martial Arts Master, Sifu Bill Owens, to walk them through the next sequence of gestures. After the children mirror his[Read more]
