Bay Area

Opinion: Black East Oakland and Green Spaces

Published

5 years ago

September 5, 2019

By Marquita Price

Black folks’ love East Oakland’s naturally green environment almost as much as its ancestral rebel spirit.

But locally and nationally, there is heightened concern about Black culture being unwelcome in outdoor green spaces.

This is another type of displacement Black folks are being subjected to since the boom of market rate developers and other private entities entered Oakland’s economy.

That is one of the reasons the East Oakland Black Cultural Zone is encouraging East Oakland residents to join us for a tour along San Leandro Creek, burgers at the MLK Jr. Regional Shoreline Park and fun activities to design concepts for way-findings (signs) and bridge art reflecting Black culture.

Called the “Creek 2 Bay Remix: Burgers + Design,” the event on Sept. 14 engages Black people in the National Estuary Week and Creek to Bay Day highlighting our bay, creeks, and estuary.

The Black Cultural Zone is co-host of the event with the Brower-Dellums Institute for Sustainable Policy Study and Action.

Recognizing East Oakland as the ‘Last Frontier’ against gentrification and rapid displacement of Black people from Oakland, the East Oakland Collective and East Oakland Black Cultural Zone Collaborative agree that:

1) Black folks should unapologetically activate green spaces and parks in East Oakland through art, storytelling, education; and

2) There is a need to increase the Black community’s awareness of and support for green space and parks to promote healthier environments and workforce development opportunities accessible to Black residents.

The economic and environmental benefits of local green infrastructure should directly contribute to the transformation of Black communities into healthier, more stable and wealthier communities.

To ensure Black residents’ needs are considered, we need to drive the planning and community engagement processes of upcoming green space and infrastructure development in our communities. A green infrastructure development currently underway is the San Leandro Creek Greenway (SLCG) Project.

About 1.2 miles of this creek runs through the neighborhoods of Sobrante Park and Columbia Gardens, connecting Stonehurst and Brookfield via the concrete corridor of 105th and 98th avenues.

The three main goals of the SLCG Project are to revitalize the San Leandro Creek for public access by adding a trail and park, work with the community to develop stewardship and safety components as an alternative to armed policing, and locally build a portion of the trail amenities using Fab Labs.

One of the gems of deep East Oakland, tucked behind the Oakland Coliseum and I-880 freeway, surrounded by the Oakland International Airport and Alameda, is the beautiful Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline Park, which offers tranquility, jet skiing, biking, fishing, and, of course, barbecuing.

Located by the San Leandro Bay, the park is connected both to the Oakland Estuary and San Leandro Creek. Back in the 1990s, when I enjoyed my yearly family reunions at the grill area near the Shoreline Center, we referred to all those connecting areas as “The Estuary.”

The estuary would fill up with all types of people, in particular, Black people enjoying recreational activities through cultural social gatherings.

Join us at the San Leandro Creek Staging Area, 213 Hegenberger Rd., Oakland, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m on Sept. 14. Spaces are limited! To

By Marquita Price

Urban and Regional Planning Officer for The East Oakland Collective (EOC

Posts by By Marquita Price

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

5 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

1 week ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”