Community members in Oakland, CA are using digital media to give public testament to the richness and diversity of their neighborhood in a city often plagued with a negative and violent image in the media.

“There’s wonderful things and there’s real people here with real stories and we’re giving people outside of East Oakland a fresh or new perspective and interaction with East Oakland residents,” said Anthony Propernick, the senior library assistant to the neighborhood’s new public library that houses a digital storytelling station.

Not In Our Town—which also believes in the power of story and of individuals to change communities for the better—joined the public art project Our Oakland: Eastside Stories at the new 81st Avenue branch of the Oakland Public Library for a community-building celebration in February. Organizations and residents of East Oakland came together to share their stories and make connections.

“There’s a lot of potential to educate not only people outside of East Oakland about the wonderful things and people’s stories and drawing those connections, but also people in different parts of East Oakland, from the next block, from 81st to 82nd,” says Propernick.

The goal of Our Oakland: Eastside Stories is to give community residents and groups an opportunity to voice their stories publicly and hear the stories of others in the community. It allows residents to build connections with their neighbors through shared experiences and talk about their community from their perspective.

“Story is something that everyone understands. Sometimes when we try to talk ideas, it just gets too big, too abstract. Stories are real,” says Rene Yung, artistic and project director of Our Oakland: Eastside Stories. “When you start telling a story you realize it doesn’t matter whether you’re in this state or that town or what color you are. Everybody has experienced certain kinds of human experiences and emotions. If you can connect with people on that level you really make a bond and from there you can go on and make greater connections.”

The project launched its website, OurOakland.org, last year, and it serves as a digital archive of personal testaments to East Oakland’s resilient history. Community members can upload their own videos and other content to the website, or they can record their stories at the digital storytelling station on Community Storytelling Days held at the new library.

In addition to the website, the state-of-the-art library includes an interactive pod where library visitors can access the collection. Equipped with 62 computers, the library allows East Oakland families who do not have computers—nearly half the population—an opportunity to access and contribute to the archive.  

For more information visit OurOakland.org [1].