ST EOBHCSunset 072321 - Flipbook - Page 38
hiring of two community organizers to staff the Congress, both young organizers born in Oakland and
now East Oakland residents.
The East Oakland Neighborhood Initiative coalition (EONI) consisted of residents from nine East
Oakland neighborhoods (Brookfield, Colombia Gardens, Highland Elmhurst, Coliseum, Lockwood,
Melrose, Rudsdale, Stonehurst, and Sobrante Park) and 12 CBOs participating in community
grassroots land-use planning that addressed climate justice, economic opportunities, and leadership
development for East Oakland residents, with a number of themes coming from HDG.
In partnership with the City of Oakland Planning and Building Department, hundreds of residents
engaged deeply in a process of asset mapping and community development planning, producing a
comprehensive Community Plan. In addition, the process created new relationships between the City
and community, one of evolving mutual respect and a narrative shift of how the City views the needs
of East Oakland. In 2020, the City of Oakland and EONI won a Transformative Climate Communities
grant of $28 million from the California Strategic Growth Council.
Searching for a generative
EOBHC structure to support
its purpose
In late 2018, EOBHC selected Roots
Community Health Center (Roots) as its fiscal
sponsor. This arrangement served to stabilize
EOBHC and prepare it for its next iteration.
EOBHC prioritizes “...organizing and power
building formations...aimed at...owning and
controlling resources in the community….”9
Roots is a stellar example of a Black-led and
Black-operated holistic clinic and workforce
development provider that, like EOBHC, is
committed to “uplift those impacted by
systemic inequities and poverty.”10
Roots’ CEO Dr. Noha Aboelata is a recognized healthcare leader who is often sought out by the
media to comment on the state of health equity in Alameda County. Dr. Aboelata leverages these
opportunities to draw attention to health and economic disparities based on institutional and
structural racism. In addition, she consistently calls for more resources and changes in the systems to
better serve people who are unhoused and who have been formerly incarcerated. In fact, a significant
portion of Roots’ entry level staff are formerly-incarcerated people. Clearly, Roots has been making a
critical contribution toward East Oakland owning and controlling resources in the community.
9 https://www.eastoaklandbhc.org/collaborations-work
10 https://rootsclinic.org/history/
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FOR THE LOVE OF BLACK EAST OAKLAND: EOBHC Sunset Report