It feels like summer, and I love it! My favorite thing about East Oakland when it's warm outside is all the people out and about. People are chillin on the front porch. People are walking around the street. Stereos are blaring. Neighbors end up hangin out and getting to know each other just a little better. There is a good vibe in the air. Now if the crime stats could just shoot down instead of up in the summer, it would be all good.
Today you can open a Bay Area newspaper or online news source and find plenty of negative stories about East Oakland. Of course, most of them are true. A few minutes ago I read a story about two boys, ages 8 and 10, who tried to rob an ARCO gas station with a BB gun on 98th and International. It's depressing, and it is reality, just like the four police officers shot down at 74th and MacArthur, and just like Oscar Grant shot in the back by a BART police officer at the Fruitvale BART Station. I suppose we do need to know that these things happen.
However, what if at this time in East Oakland, we should also make a point to lift up the good things, the people who love this community and serve fellow humans day in and day out? I'd love to see a series of articles on the life and legacy of J. Alfred Smith Sr. of Allen Temple Baptist Church. If you haven't read his biography, On the Jericho Road, you should. What about the work with young people being done over at Youth Uprising? How about some stories on Harry Williams and his book, Straight Outta East Oakland, through his own Soul Shaker Publishing? What about neighborhood leaders volunteering their time and expertise to work with our NCPC's (Neighborhood Crime Prevention Councils), serving each police beat? What about Faith Network of the East Bay, connecting churches willing to serve with under-resourced public schools in the Flatlands?
Does more attention to the violence and crime sell newspapers? Or am I just on a kick to emphasize the good in the midst of the evil and there really is a balance in the local media?
For some time I've been contemplating writing a post about the horrific events that took place just a few feet from our new facility on MacArthur Boulevard. If you are reading this I am sure you have heard or read about what happened. If for some reason you have not, just click over to the Oakland Tribune website and look at the special section under the heading "Tragedy in Oakland." I could give a summary but I've grown weary from thinking about the details. Many others have given their point of view and dissected the culture of East Oakland, focusing on the difficulties and failures.
What does strike me is that the vast majority of the people I've met around 74th and MacArthur are quite friendly to me, welcoming me to the street. I've laughed with people, been teased for missing a spot while painting, shared our plans for the Shalom Community Center, and received nothing but positive and encouraging remarks. If you were to read many of the articles about this neighborhood (and especially the comments sections underneath) you would be convinced that to walk on these streets would quickly bring a wave of racial tension, robbery, drug abuse and violence. Instead, I've found that people are simply doing what they do, walking to the grocery store, pushing babies and toddlers in strollers, working at barber shops and convenience stores, smoking cigarettes and enjoying the sunshine. Obviously, there are problems lurking around many corners, some obvious and some more subtle, but there is also hope. There is also an openness to conversation, smiles, help, prayer, friendship and cooperation. Perhaps if we would simply engage the people we talk about and debate about the stories would be told differently. Perhaps there is hope in the midst of pain. Perhaps there is potential for relationship beyond boundaries of race and class. Perhaps resurrection can still happen and is still happening.
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