ST EOBHCSunset 072321 - Flipbook - Page 45
• Give East Oakland residents
real power
“To organize residents, we need to
meet the simple needs of our people.
To do that, we need to really listen to
people about what they need. If you
don’t listen, you’re playing…they see
your game. Unless you come for real,
they’ll not trust or work with you. You’re
not so large-and-in-charge. Residents
are. We’re going to fight for what
residents need to thrive and survive. We could have accomplished so much
more if we had respected the voices of residents more from the beginning
and offered sufficient stipends to honor their time, experience, and ideas.”
—Ms. Towanda Sherry, long-time EOBHC and Resident Leader
In the early years of EOBHC, the resident engagement REAL Team got the initiative closest to building
resident power in East Oakland. Composed of African American, Latinx, and Asian residents, the Team
conducted visioning sessions, reviewed data, and charted ways to move forward. They provided
critical grassroots support for the emerging campaign to defend nail salon workers and supported
efforts to address food insecurity for Latinx residents.
Unfortunately, REAL Team members over the years reported that several institutional and
organizational leaders dismissed the need for having a resident power building component that
respectfully engaged residents who were not employed by a nonprofit or agency. Had this not
been the case, the REAL Team could have supported existing organizationally-driven campaigns,
especially those with opportunities for multiethnic organizing, bringing together folks who
have rarely worked with one another. The REAL Team resident members could have provided
meaningful input on how TCE funding got allocated. In the early years, a significant amount of funds
was set aside to stipend REAL Team members.
EOBHC did occasionally have spaces where Latinx and Asian Pacific Islander immigrants shared their
stories with African Americans and vice-versa. Immigrants were visibly moved and their consciousness
was raised as they learned from their Black neighbors about historical and structural racism.
The International Association for Public Participation proposes a framework applicable to resident power
building, with a spectrum that includes “inform g consult g involve g collaborate g empower.”
“Empower” is defined as “to place final decision making in the hands of the public” with the promise
of “we will implement what you decide.” EOBHC did not achieve this level of resident power building.
However, it did achieve the penultimate level of “collaborate,” which is defined as “partnering
with the public in each aspect of the decision, including the development of alternatives and the
FOR THE LOVE OF BLACK EAST OAKLAND: EOBHC Sunset Report
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