My Neighborhood Archives - Oakland Voices

A Black man raises his fist in the air in front of an ornamental building. The photo is in black and white.

Who are the voices at the Protests? The people behind the mics, masks, and signs

June 19, 2020 Iris Crawford and Sarah Belle Lin

We caught up with protesters Michael Houston, Alexcia Sundra, Brianna Noble, and Selena De Leon on why they protest as a part of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Tuesday Night Neighborhood Concert with Grammy-nominated Latin Jazz Artist in Oakland During Shelter-at-Home Order

April 9, 2020 Katharine Davies Samway

It’s 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday evening in Oakland and neighbors are gathering for a quickly-arranged concert on their street. People sit and stand on their porches, steps, and sidewalks. An older couple enjoys the concert

An arch over the street that says "Laurel."

Sheltering-in-Place in the Laurel District

April 8, 2020 Bill Joyce

Mine is the only car as I pull up to 35th and MacArthur early Tuesday morning. Usually swarming with students on their way to Skyline High and workers heading downtown or BART, only one man

The Lower Bottoms: The Edge of the World

September 15, 2019 Ayodele Nzinga

I like this neighborhood best late at night. When it’s quiet and bathed in a kind, artificial light, and smelling vaguely of weed, flowers, and the places where former neighbors now live on curbs. I

A Shout-Out To RBA Creative

July 27, 2018 Tonya Shipp

A big shout- out to Randolph Charles Belle for hosting Oakland Voices Cohort Group #6 at his space, RBA Creative, for our twice -a- month meetings. For sometimes entrusting his keys to our coordinator so

Flores flowering in gratitude

July 27, 2018 Patricia Contreras-Flores

Recently in the midst of so much heaviness on all fronts, I went looking for some hope. I returned to poetry, my first written love form. I stumbled upon a poem that my former student

Cruising Through The Fruitvale District

July 26, 2018 Tonya Shipp

The Fruitvale District is huge. I cruised it on three separate days. There are three business districts surrounded by residences. I rode up Fruitvale Avenue and walked along Foothill Boulevard a few blocks in each

Investing for East Oakland

July 26, 2018 Patricia Contreras-Flores

We all know the wave of development is pushing folks farther into East Oakland, the deeper parts. Parts that local folks call Deep East Oakland. Past the 70s into the 80s and 90s. An area

Food/Comida is medicine all the time everyday

July 18, 2018 Patricia Contreras-Flores

I was walking up from my house on Fruitvale towards E. 14th Street. About two blocks from my house, I found myself walking behind two womyn. One pushed a baby stroller; a baby was wrapped

What is East Oakland Now? – a series of articles

July 17, 2018 Oakland Voices

By Hannah Moore… East Oakland now is fresh tamales on the corner on your way to work. East Oakland is the woman selling tamales who tells you about her son in El Salvador and how