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• The organizing of residents and CBOs to hold City of Oakland department stakeholders accountable and the City departments’ reciprocal willingness to stay in coalition with the community;
• An uninterrupted history of hard work by and with partner organizations over several years; and
• The consistent, capable, and trusted leadership of Nehanda Imara.
In 2020, the Fair Chance Housing Coalition successfully campaigned for the passage of California’s
strongest housing law protecting formerly incarcerated citizens in Oakland and Berkeley. While this
was not the direct work of EOBHC, EOBHC leaders John Jones III and Ms. Sherry provided critical
leadership for the Coalition.
Building resident power and
voice in East Oakland
In addition to HDG, EOBHC powered two
additional initiatives, with building resident
power as its core intention: the Congress
of Neighborhoods and the East Oakland
Neighborhood Initiative.
In 2017, the Congress of Neighborhoods
(Congress) was formed by five resident
organizing CBOs: Communities for a Better
Environment, Alliance of Californians for
Community Empowerment, Causa Justa:Just Cause, East Bay Asian Youth Center, and Faith in Action
East Bay (formerly OCO). The Congress’ first convening turned out over 700 residents from eight
base-building CBOs. EOBHC staff facilitated breakout groups and coordinated logistics, including
sourcing high-quality childcare, food, and interpretation, which are typical but often under-valued
contributions EOBHC made over the past ten years of EOBHC.
EOBHC and the Congress worked together in raising awareness and participation in Oakland’s 2018
election. This included developing a Voter Guide and mailing it to 19,000 East Oakland residents,
engaging in phone banking, and canvassing four times in the four precincts surrounding EOBHC’s home
base of Roots Community Health Center. The Voter Guide included endorsements of key measures
on issues affecting East Oakland residents, namely stable affordable housing and illegal dumping.
In 2018, the Congress mobilized its text networks around the wildfire smoke crisis in East Oakland, in
which air pollution was so severe, it closed down Oakland schools for days. The Congress, working
with CBE, used its text network to communicate within East Oakland’s communities at a critical time,
when there was a lack of other information outlets, to inform residents about protective measures
they could take.
In 2019, the Congress continued providing training and leadership development opportunities to its
resident leadership. Providing financial resources and supervisory support, EOBHC supported the
FOR THE LOVE OF BLACK EAST OAKLAND: EOBHC Sunset Report
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