ST EOBHCSunset 072321 - Flipbook - Page 4
East Oakland Building Healthy Communities sought to uplift the strength and beauty that has
always been there, and as a direct response to the deep challenges that have weighed heavily
on this beloved community. Perhaps the most important outcomes of the first five years of EOBHC
were not the community events, campaigns, and policy wins themselves, but rather the byproducts
of these efforts, the relational capital that accumulated along the way. Interviews with residents
and community partners highlight new understanding and connections among East Oakland
residents across ethnic boundaries. They also point to a strengthened network among the CBO
collaborative partners who worked together on various campaigns and issues, learning about each
other, and developing trust and camaraderie as a result.
“We did a lot of leadership development, political education, and building
relationships with other EOBHC groups. We did a lot of work bridging Vietnamese
nail salon workers with their African American clients in East Oakland, and
that has been a large focus of our work, to overcome miscommunications.
Some of the most valuable work that has happened has been to bring together
different communities, across uniqueness and commonalities.”
—EOBHC CBO partner
This report is an attempt to distill the ten-plus years of resident organizing for power in East
Oakland, galvanized by the residents and powerful organizations that made up East Oakland
Building Healthy Communities (EOBHC). It has been an unprecedented, place-based effort, solely
funded by The California Endowment (TCE)1 to transform a historically thriving Black community
that has experienced decades of systemic disinvestment and neglect.
For all of its ups, downs, and detours, EOBHC’s greatest accomplishments can be summed up as
building a strong foundation of relationships that serves as the multiplying effect of all future
power building efforts.
“The people are the real assets in East Oakland... Our history… and there’s
so much organizing knowledge in East Oakland. Let me just name four
people: Tom Hanks, Cesar Chavez, Bruce Lee, and Too Short. Imagine being
at a party and none of them were born in East Oakland but they all lived
here. It’s the soil that allowed them to be who they are. Bruce Lee had two
martial arts studios; one was here, in East Oakland. Too Short is from L.A.
There’s something about East Oakland that allowed them to come here and
have the impact they’ve had. There’s something in this place that allows
you to be your best.”
—John Jones, III, Just Cities and EOBHC Resident Leader
1 For a more comprehensive and retrospective analysis of TCE’s BHC ten-year efforts, please see
https://www.calendow.org/app/uploads/2021/03/Toward-Health-and-Racial-Equity-FULL-REPORT-.pdf
ii
FOR THE LOVE OF BLACK EAST OAKLAND: EOBHC Sunset Report