From West Oakland, with Love ❤️🔥
Black Earth Day | Meet the New Team! | Call for Board Nominations | Kicking off 2025 |
Black Earth Day is Almost Here
We are back with our THIRD annual Black Earth Dayon Saturday, April 19th from 10am-3pm. Every year, we partner with 7th Street Thrives, LISC Bay Area, and other local organizations to clean up our community, bring love to West Oakland, and celebrate Black arts, Black organizations, and Black neighborhoods!
YOU NEVER HAD THIS MUCH FUN CLEANING UP THE BLOCK! This year we'll have live DJ’s, an indigo dying workshop, free coffee from Soul Blends, light breakfast, and Arizmendi pizza for our post-cleanup celebration! This is a family-friendly event, so bring your friends and loved ones! Click the link below to sign up on eventbrite!** See you there! RSVP FOR BLACK EARTH DAY
Centering and Stabilizing
A very belated Happy New Year from your favorite anti-landlords at EB PREC! It's been a minute since our last newsletter, but we've been working hard and come bearing plenty of updates in this month's edition. Winter was a time of deep planning and reflection for EB PREC. We've spent the past months strategizing for the future, renewing our commitment to on-the-ground engagement, strengthening internal processes, stabilizing operations at our current properties, and recruiting and onboarding the largest staff cohort in our co-op's history. All of these dynamics converged in December during a multi-day team retreat where we reviewed our 2024 accomplishments and asked ourselves what 2025 might look like for EB PREC. During these conversations, some meaningful questions began to surface:
- We've accomplished a lot in six years, but are we satisfied with _how_ we've accomplished it?
- Is our rate of work sustainable, and how are we physically responding to it?
- Rather than pursue an aggressive 5-year strategy that assumes constant growth, what would it look like if we gave ourselves a few years to stabilize ourselves, our systems, and our relationships so were weren't operating reflexively, but with intention instead?
- As the worker-owners of our own cooperative, why hadn't we thought of this before?!
The sigh of relief from our team was audible as we collectively affirmed that we will prioritize quality over quantity to ensure EB PREC remains a meaningful experience for our members and our community. This shift demonstrates what our mission pillar #HealPeoplePower looks like in practice, and how our cooperative structure empowers us to short-circuit the capitalist dynamic of prioritizing growth at all costs. We're excited for what the year ahead holds as we welcome new staff to our team and continue to cultivate a workplace and cooperative that's as regenerative spiritually as it is economically. Speaking of which...
Welcome our new Organizing Team!
Our relationship with our community is a critical component of our work. When our former Co-Ownership & Education Facilitator, Princess Robinson, departed from EB PREC last year to become Richmond LAND's new Executive Director, we knew we had some big shoes to fill. It was critical that we build a team capable of scaling with our vision and growing membership, especially as our portfolio of liberated properties continues to grow. After months of recruitment, we are beyond delighted to introduce our newest staff members to our community. Chris, Sabine, Emmanuel, and Christina comprise the core of our Organizing Circle and will play a leading role in the development of our community-facing programs and projects, especially on the 7th Street Corridor in West Oakland. Come meet our newest staff members at our upcoming Black Earth Day event!
CHRIS WAKEFIELD
Cooperative Education & Engagement Manager. Born and raised “from Oakland to Sac-town, the Bay Area and back down,” Chris got an early education in taking care of both oneself and community from his single mom, older siblings, and extended family of artists, educators and entrepreneurs (shout-out to Oakland’s late great Dorsey’s Locker!) Chris holds a BA in Political Science from Yale University and an MBA from Mills College, and is currently working towards a financial advising certification. He strongly believes in the self-determination, knowledge, and cooperative power of indigenous people around the world to shape a sustainable future for all.
SABINE DABADY
7th Street Thrives Corridor Manager. Sabine Dabady (they/them), is a second-generation Haitian-American raised in the neighborhood of Flatbush in Brooklyn, NY. Growing up there seeded a core mission to center and uplift community health, belonging, and beauty in the everyday. Professionally their work has spanned, performing arts tour development, nutrition education and entrepreneurship development. Nearly 10 years ago, a long cross-county train ride and grad school brought them to the Bay Area. They are glad to call Oakland home.
EMMANUEL SINGH
Esther's Culture & Community Co-Manager. Born & raised in the Bay Area, Emmanuel Singh has been rooted in the local food, arts & DIY scene for over two decades. Founder of community space & hifi bar couchdate, he has shown what the local BIPOC community is capable of even with minimal resources. Emmanuel is eager to co-create a vision of what Oakland is going to look like in the next 10 years.
CHRISTINA KENNEY
Esther's Culture & Community Co-Manager. Christina Kenney is a 4th-generation Real Richmond Native with a passion for creativity, re-defining economic development, and making good trouble (aka community advocacy). Christina leverages storytelling, strategic marketing, and narrative change to support small businesses and local economies. Christina comes to EB PREC committed to supporting ecosystems where businesses thrive, communities are empowered, and economic development is both inclusive and impactful. Their mission? To bring #JoyToTheWorld.
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An Update from Earth Weave Collective
In our last newsletter, we shared how one of our Owner Groups, Earth Weave Collective, has been organizing to create an affordable and ecologically sustainable intentional living community, or "Tiny Home Eco-Village". By partnering with EB PREC and SELC to create an innovative purchase option, EWC was able to become the first permit recipient of Oakland's new Vehicular Residential Facilities ordinance since it passed in 2021.
Since our last update some months ago, EWC achieved a major milestone by purchasing an RV to serve as a communal space — a hub for connection, creativity, and shared purpose. With one tiny home nearly completed and three more on track for completion between spring and summer 2025. In recent months, EWC has been diligently working to lay the foundation for their long-term vision by expanding membership with a priority to BIPOC and low-income folx (please share with anyone who might be interested as they are currently accepting new members in 2025). EWC is also pursuing funding to expand their sewer system to accommodate more housing — a crucial step toward fully bringing their vision to life. They've created a GoFundMe campaign to support these efforts, and you can help too by contributing below!
Closing Out the Displacement Avoidance Project
For the last three years, EB PREC's Displacement Avoidance Project (DAP) connected with thousands of residents in Deep East Oakland. Our DAP organizers, Bee and Chris, produced the "Holding Onto Home" video blog series last year to highlight the scale of the housing crisis, the need for housing and resources in our most vulnerable neighborhoods, and to demystify and share different approaches folks are taking to weather the housing crisis.
Their final episode, Rooted in the Deep, is a celebration and an affirmation of Deep East Oakland's resilient spirit. The track also marks the close of the Displacement Avoidance Project – a parting gift as EB PREC's stewardship of a two-year Transformative Climate Communities grant comes to a close. Bee and Chris hope their video inspires folks to continue organizing in and with their community for the solutions and support we need to stay rooted. Moving forward, some anti-displacement resources will still be available on our website until the end of the year, however they will not be regularly updated.
Click the image above or the button below to watch the video (and see other "Holding Onto Home" video blogs). As of January, EB PREC said farewell to our Displacement Avoidance Plan (D.A.P.) Project Manager, Bee Coleman, as they transitioned out of the EB PREC's staff collective to participate in a two-year housing policy fellowship through CORO Northern California's Partnership for the Bay's Future. We wish Bee well in their next professional chapter, and are proud that our cooperative continues to develop leaders in the housing justice movement.
Discussing Oakland's Past and Future
Join our Executive Director, Noni Session, for a conversation at Spire Church on Tuesday, March 25th at 7pm. Noni will be discussing Oakland's past and future with award-winning journalist Alexis Madrigal, KQED's host of Forum and author of the new book “The Pacific Circuit: A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City,” and Liam O’Donoghue, host of the East Bay Yesterday podcast. This event will explore the themes that connect Madrigal’s book and EB PREC's revitalization projects, the history of West Oakland’s role in the global economy, the personal stories of longtime residents, and much more. RSVP by clicking the button below!
| RSVP FOR THE PACIFIC CIRCUIT
Call for Staff Director Nominations
A bit of housekeeping for our members, and some insight into our governance process for interested readers: It's time for EB PREC to elect (or re-elect) our Staff Director. The Staff Director represents our Staff Owners on EB PREC's Board of Directors, which is why only current Staff Owners can vote for this specific role. However, in keeping with the Board election process, any EB PREC member may nominate candidates for Staff Owners to vote on. Interested members can find find the nominations form here. Please submit any nominations before March 26th.
BLACspace is hiring!
One of EB PREC's partner organizations is hiring! BLACspace is working to create a thriving Black arts and culture ecosystem that enriches Oakland with economic opportunity, community-trust, and cultural permanence. BLACspace Cooperative is seeking a dynamic Mutual Aid Lead to join its small but mighty staff team. The Mutual Aid Lead is responsible for organizing BLACspace’s organizational members and the larger network of Black-led cultural groups in Oakland. This position requires a passionate and dedicated individual who is committed to fostering a culture of support, solidarity, and collaboration among cooperative members and the wider community. Click the button below to learn more (or forward this listing along to someone who you think is a good fit)!
