2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
Name it, Oakland!
By Sabirah Mustafa Growing up in Oakland I used to imagine I was the mayor. Playgrounds and basketball courts would stay open 24 hours if I had my way. Big wheels and dirt bikes would […]
east oakland
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
A Message to Oakland: Love’s in Need of Love Today
Is there any love left in The Town? If we look at the homicide rate of 2012 alone, one might say that love is impossible, if not non-existent. But I beg to differ. I see the love here. […]
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
East Oakland Poet ‘Bossman’ Puts in Work to Heal, Teach
Growing up in East Oakland, Dre Johnson, “the violence and crimes that go on, you don’t talk about. You’re just not supposed to name names, you’re not supposed to say shit out loud.” He says his spoken word allowed him to express his feelings about “how the shit went down.” Poetry became one of the few ways he saw to address some hard experiences. […]
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
The Lam Vo You(r’e) Looking For
Dear Ms. Gordon, Unfortunately, I am the Lam Vo your (sic) looking for. […]
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
Reactions: Cop-on-Black vs. Black-on-Black
It seems that if you’re not killed by a cop, you’re a just a garden variety homicide victim. People don’t get too upset. You might get an impromptu curbside memorial. The local TV news might mention the killing in passing. And then, the victim of the day will be forgotten until the next man, woman, or child gets shot and killed. People seem to get up in arms only if a cop does the killing, à la Oscar Grant or Alan Blueford. If it’s black on black, it’s business as usual. But if it’s cop on black – oh, damn, it’s on! […]
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
Former Drug-Dealing ‘Street Star’ Becomes Youth Mentor
Like Sankofa – the mythical bird in West African culture that symbolizes going back to retrieve things lost in order to move forward – Michael Gibson also had to go back and reconnect, while he was incarcerated, with his own history. He regularly draws on his past struggles to help him improve his life, and those of others. […]
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
Native American Mental Health More Than A Dream
By Sabirah Mustafa Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes asked the question,”what happens to a dream deferred?” “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?,” goes his famous poem Harlem, “or does it explode?” […]
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
‘Get a Straight Job’ & Stop Gang Banging!
I responded to the email Lam sent from Juvenile Hall within an hour of receiving it. That was more than 5 years ago, so I am trying to look back and remember what I was […]
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
Cease Fire Redux: Oakland Relaunches Crime Plan, This Time with Broad Coalition
By Howard Dyckoff Oaklanders are marching to demand an end to gun violence. There have been youth rallies, peace marches and on-going night walks in the most violence-plagued areas of East Oakland. Many of these […]
2012 East Oakland Project Blogs
Citizens, Clergy Appeal for Peace During East Oakland Night Walk
Three East Oakland Night Walks have been organized so far by City Team and Lifelines, in support of the Oakland’s Cease Fire program. I was on the second walk, which began several weeks ago at the Israelite Missionary Baptist Church at 21st Ave and 21st Street in the San Antonio area. People began arriving at 6:30 in the evening – all committed to making a difference on the violent streets of Oakland. […]