Front

Portraits of East Bay activists: Alana Banks

It is the first day back since spring break. Alana Banks still has her tan from Barbados. She walks onto UC Berkeley’s campus behind Sproul Hall to the Fannie Lou Hamer Center, a small tin building named after the voting rights activist. If you weren’t familiar with the place, it would be easy to miss, as it is hidden behind the English department and to the far left of the art studio. Banks, who is from Oakland, is one of the co-founders of the center, which opened in February. It is the first space set aside as resource center for black students on UC Berkeley’s campus.

Long waiting list for Head Start, despite new federal grant

Day after day, Criselda Feria waits for a phone call that will give her good news. Her name is stuck on a waiting list that will give her a slot for federally-subsidized child care. Feria’s 18-month-old son is one of the 2,074 children still on the Contra Costa County’s waiting list to receive Early Head Start child care.

Tales of Two Cities: History

This week’s episode is about history. Tune in to hear about the journey of a thrifted musical instrument, Oakland Unified School District’s Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Festival, the last remaining Rosie the Riveters in Richmond and the Richmond Museum’s celebration of WWI history.

Rosies’ stories still riveting

Rosie the Riveter was a US cultural icon, most commonly associated with the famous poster featuring a woman wearing a red bandanna, denim shirt, and one arm curled into a flexed muscle. Half a dozen of Richmond’s Rosies still visit the historic Shipyards, but no longer as welders—they’re volunteers for the Rosie the Riveter Trust Visitor Center.

Thousands flock to Richmond boat show

Last weekend, Richmond hosted the Pacific Sail and Power Boat Show for the second time. This celebration of all things seaworthy was held at the Craneway Pavilion and Marina Bay Yacht Harbor, housing over 400 exhibits, seminars and activities. After attracting thousands of guests from the San Fransisco Bay Area and beyond, the boat show will likely stay in Richmond for years to come. Click the video above!

Feminine hygiene products unavailable to many East Bay women

It’s an early Thursday morning and a slow trickle of clients are coming through the doors of A Friendly Manor, a center for homeless women in West Oakland. The sign-up sheet for showers that day is almost full, and the women take their seats around the common room, their belongings stacked next to them and their eyes and bodies heavy from the previous night. The door to the closet, where they can get all kinds of personal toiletries including pads,…