Rise East has a 10-year plan to address decades of harm. And it’s East Oakland natives who are leading the effort with hopes of keeping Black families in the neighborhood while encouraging the return of those displaced by economic barriers and systemic disinvestment.
Carolyn Johnson, CEO of the Black Cultural Zone, which, among other things, addresses the displacement of Black People and Black businesses in Oakland, emphasizes the need for affordable housing and job creation. For a community to exist and thrive, there has to be a place reserved for the community.
“There hasn’t been an effort like this that actually has the voices of folks who are born and raised in the area to be a part of the conversation,” Johnson told my colleague Brian Watt in November. “My vision is to see commercial corridors that are thriving, that are vibrant, that are filled with cultural artisans, makers.”
The Liberation Park project, a formerly abandoned lot that has been converted into a cultural hub, and the 8321 International Welcome Center are key Rise East initiatives. Johnson, who grew up in East Oakland, said Rise East is focused on healing and strengthening the Black community.
“If we don’t hold ‘place,’ we won’t be here,” she said. “So real estate is an important part, and really giving people opportunities to build economic wealth is critical.”
The $100 million is an investment in the health, safety and prosperity of East Oakland. It’s not enough to cure systemic inequities, but it can change the fortunes of a neighborhood and city.
The $100 million experiment offers a glimpse of what reparations could look like — not as a payout, but as an investment in public safety, a response to the decades of mass incarceration that undermined a generation of Black and brown families and destabilized their communities. Ballooning police budgets won’t solve what that kind of harm has done.
Oakland residents deserve hope that doesn’t hinge on an election. Oakland is the birthplace and home of much of the Bay Area’s culture. Just ask the people rooted there; the people determined to build the future they want to see. For KQED, Olivia Cruz Mayeda chronicled how the $100 million investment could bring its long-time residents relief in Deep Down, a five-part Instagram video series.
Deep Down captured the beauty and realness of East Oakland, as well as the artists, business owners, community leaders and residents who dream of a better future. The series centered East Oakland’s cultural intersections — Black, Japanese, Filipino, Indigenous and Latino families living next to each other — that cracked under the weight of history.
