ST EOBHCSunset 072321 - Flipbook - Page 44
• Plow investments into
improving the material
conditions for residents in
East Oakland
“To me, ten years of work will
never eliminate and heal 100 years
of oppression in our communities.
It will be really hard to destroy
redlining in ten years. It was super
optimistic. We are not supporting
people directly. If TCE had ten
million dollars, they should be
buying land all over the place.”
—EOBHC CBO partner
It could be argued that EOBHC’s most impactful work was done by individual CBOs and selforganized coalitions outside of the BHC framework imposed by TCE. We have lifted up HDG and
other achievements realized under the EOBHC brand, but could this work have happened without the
$500,000 annual investment into EOBHC operations?
While it could be argued that EOBHC made critical work in East Oakland possible by convening
spaces for CBOs from different sectors to meet one another, did it really require $5 million over ten
years? Could those resources have been more strategically invested in ways that would have more
significantly improved material conditions for residents? For example, with the benefit of hindsight,
EOBHC could have facilitated a dialogue with East Oakland power-building groups, asked them
what they needed from each other, and resources could have been invested in addressing those
aspirations. TCE could have invested in land purchases to endow for CBOs and the community to
have permanent gathering places. TCE could have also invested more in meeting very concrete
needs. For example, in BHC Del Norte, residents asked for a washer/dryer because folks had to drive
up to 50 miles away to get to a laundromat, and BHC Del Norte delivered.
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FOR THE LOVE OF BLACK EAST OAKLAND: EOBHC Sunset Report
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