perspectives
It’s taken me some time to process everything that has been going on with the inexplicable, inhumane and unjust murders we continue to see take place in our country. I’ve written and deleted at least five drafts of this edition, wondering if I‘m even allowed to say anything; I write a small-timey newsletter about coffee and cocktails. But here we are.
It’s easy to cover our ears and eyes when things make us uncomfortable, but so many of our friends, family and neighbors do not have the luxury. Cruelty, hate and violence can come to them in the most mundane of circumstances - buying groceries, going for a jog, sleeping in bed. Millions of black Americans are not given a choice for how they will be perceived or treated by the people around them. They are born. Like everyone else. And despite that, so often can be treated as lesser-than, or in these recent cases especially - not worthy of life. And I can’t quite wrap my head around how after centuries, this continues to happen - even when so many of us read these stories, watch these videos and come face to face, eye to eye with the inhumanity in our society.
Over the years and especially the past few weeks, I’ve tried to spur my grief, frustration and disappointment into action - supporting a handful of causes (I’ve listed some below). I’ve had tough conversations with friends. Bought books to self educate and share all different cultures with my child. Marched alone through my neighborhood with a sign. Yet that still feels insufficient.
But this isn’t about me. So I’ll use this tiny platform the best I can to elevate the causes, talent, voices, creativity and work of others.
Here are some ways to give your time, your money, your voice and your eyes and ears to foster a deeper connection and understanding with our local black community and hopefully inspire lasting change:
Local non-profit organizations to support:
Black Earth Farms - a Berkeley-based farming collective is accepting donations to deliver free food to people that have been arrested during the protests and are organizing bail funds. Thrillist says you can donate via Venmo @blackearthfarms, or through the Cash app at $blackearth.
Chapter 510 - an Oakland-based non-profit that provides “a safe space and supportive community for young people ages 6-18 to bravely write”. They offer writing workshops and intensives and publish students work which you can buy at the “Dept. of Make Believe”, an interactive retail store.
East Oakland Collective - The East Oakland Collective (EOC) is a community group invested in serving deep East Oakland by working towards racial and economic equity. They offer programming in civic engagement and leadership, economic empowerment and homeless services and solutions. There’s a link to donate a meal or supply box for families in need.
Roots Community Health Center - this organization was founded to “to address the growing need for accessible, culturally appropriate, community-responsive, comprehensive health care in Oakland”. They offer everything from a youth clinic, to diaper pick up and support for chronic illness.
YearUp - I served on the leadership committee here for many years - the organization’s mission is to bridge the opportunity divide for young adults to give everyone equal opportunity to a career - no matter where they come from, where they live or what their parents do.
Get to know and actively support Black Owned Businesses: Soleil Ho from The Chronicle pulled together a list of black owned restaurants to visit in the entire bay area. Some east bay stand outs are Abesha (ethiopian), Brown Sugar Kitchen, KC’s BBQ, Lois the Pie Queen (Father’s Day feels like a good weekend for pie, doesn’t it?), Stay Gold Deli, The Cook and her Farmer, and I’ve been eager to try out Juanita and Maude in Albany.
Open your eyes and ears to more perspectives from our local community:
📽Blindspotting - as featured in our very first east bae: set in Oakland, with the city serving as a character in the film: beautiful, gritty, honest and evolving. Blindspotting was written by and stars East Bay natives Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs and explores racial inequality and injustices in a gentrifying city through genre-bending rhythmic poetry and high emotional tensions while interweaving the light-hearted slapstick of a decades old friendship.
📽Sorry to Bother You - also set in Oakland and released in 2018, written and directed by Oakland-native Boots Riley, starring Tessa Thompson and Lakeith Stanfield - Sorry to Bother You is a political satire centered on a black protagonist who uses a “white voice” for his telemarketing job. The film was unlike anything I’d seen before (I won’t spoil it!), highly worth a watch. Plus read this 2018 interview with Boots on “Art, Activism and the Optimism of Fighting Back”.
🎙Listen to the Berkeley Talks podcast from last year with Georgetown Law Professor Paul Butler, on his viewpoints on how the prison system continues to fail society and the opportunity for reform.
📰 Read perspectives from black activists with Oakland roots as they reflect on the protests. Carroll Fife, Oakland regional director of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) and a co-founder of the Community Ready Corps said “Right now, the old systems of patriarchy, oppression and racism are dying. I think it is the job of those of us who want to rebirth systems steeped in equity and justice to stay calm and remember to keep our eyes on the prize; to stay focused on what we’re trying to build and create: that which is regenerative, life-giving and nurturing. Because systems are stressed [by the pandemic], we have an opportunity to grow something from the fire and ashes. We’re not accepting ‘no’ for an answer.”
📽Black Panther apparently just rolled off Netflix and onto Disney+, but this Marvel superhero film is probably the only one on this list that can be watched with young kiddos. The film, directed by East-Bay born and raised Ryan Coogler opens in Oakland before moving to the stunning scenery of Wakanda, a spectacularly beautiful and technologically advanced civilization in Africa.
📽Fruitvale Station - the Sundance-winning docu-drama directed by the aforementioned Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B Jordan about the life and death of Oscar Grant who was shot and killed in Oakland’s Fruitvale station on New Years Day in 2009. It’s heartbreaking to think that this murder happened more than ten years ago and was on film — and we’re still seeing similar crimes play out throughout the nation.
📰Read about Brianna Noble and her horse Dapper Dan and her efforts in the Oakland protests and bringing more young people to learn about horse riding.
🎨 Visit downtown Oakland, which is bursting with beautiful, colorful street art:
And some news
Yesterday 10,000 people peacefully marched through the port of Oakland in honor of Juneteenth
Last week young people joined together to march to Oakland mayor Libby Schaff’s house to demand defunding of the police. As one teen said on the local CBS news “We have been defunding education for years. We're not saying to cut the police ... We're just saying to relocate funds into different communities.”
Berkeley banned the use of tear gas - which makes sense to me, given that back in 1925 the Geneva Protocol determined it was too dangerous to use in war…
Read Berkeleyside’s “sit list” on five things you can do to support the black community.
A real Oakland-based media outlet launched this week- check out the Oaklandside for smart reporting on local issues, and food too - already dreaming up an order from “Gourmet Puffs”.
Oakland continues to make global news for its forward-looking perspective on how it will continue minimizing pollution after lockdown lifts
Coronavirus is still here. Everyone here did a pretty good job at the start of all of this, so much so, that case counts were consistently low in the Bay Area compared to other cities. But it seems that our numbers are now on the rise. I certainly was skeptical at the start of this, so I understand the cynicism, but the U.S. is 2M cases in now (and those numbers happened while everyone has been locked down for 3 months). Wear a mask. If not for you - for everyone else around you.
Have ideas for how East Bae can share more and be better for our community? Let us know.