ST EOBHCSunset 072321 - Flipbook - Page 41
“When we say we are ‘unapologetically Black’ it means we do not have to
apologize for focusing on helping ourselves. No other groups are asked to
apologize for focusing on themselves.”
—Ms. Towanda Sherry, EOBHC Transition Team, beloved community activist
“It’s time for us to talk about how to dismantle anti-Black racism and center
the experience of Black people. East Oakland up until five years ago went
from being predominantly Black to no longer, which is why it’s important to
carve out space for Black folks.”
—Nicole Lee, previous EOBHC Leadership Council member, Executive Director at Urban Peace Movement
“Black people have had the most harm and lifting them up lifts up all.”
—Tony Douangviseth, Executive Director at Youth Together
“Chinatown is a good model for allies to reconnect and bridge the gaps
between Asian, Chinese, and new immigrants with Black allies. We need
a network of cultural zones. The culture of Oakland needs to be driven by
Black people. We need cultural strongholds to fight gentrification. Black
shoulders have brought Oakland to where it is today. We have been thinking
about how to find alignment in the anti-Asian violence spurred by COVID
with the movement for Black lives.”
—Stanley Pun, Co-Director at AYPAL
EOBHC’s merger with BCZ is already showing promising results. For example, BCZ has adopted
HDG,12 a keystone EOBHC accomplishment. Many of EOBHC’s more than 40 partner organizations
have expressed enthusiastic support for the merger and the focus on Black communities;
combined with BCZ’s current network of over 100 partner organizations, they will be a force to
be reckoned with.
The vision for BCZ is rooted in a model of “community art and cultural hubs” developed by the
Eastside Arts Alliance (ESAA), a 20 year-old anchor institution, run as a community collective in
East Oakland. Elena Serrano, a leading voice in ESAA’s collective, brought the vision of this work
to EOBHC through the Health Happens with Culture, Art, Storytelling & Healing Action Team, and
worked with that team and other BHC partners to bring it to fruition. While much of ESAA’s work is
unapologetically about Black liberation and challenging anti-Black racism, its work is also centrally
focused on building bridges between disenfranchised and racially-divided communities.
12 https://www.eastoaklandbhc.org/healthy-development-guidelines
FOR THE LOVE OF BLACK EAST OAKLAND: EOBHC Sunset Report
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