Creative Mini-Grant Project Highlights

Black Liberation Walking Tour (2021)

A project of the West Oakland Cultural Action Network (WOCAN), the BLWT is a cultural asset map that celebrates Hoover-Foster’s multi-generational Black history and culture and preserves rapidly disappearing Black cultural spaces.

As a contribution to SPARC 2.0’s Holding Spaces priority, EBALDC provided $10k in seed grant funding and CCD technical assistance to resident leader, David Peters, to launch the BLWT with project management, grant writing, volunteer coordination, and connection to arts org Bay Area Mural Project (BAMP) to co-create a 3-story mural specifically for the tour.

• Project leader: David Peters

• Project partners: Bay Area Mural Program, Community Visions Capital, volunteers

Impact: The Walking Tour captures oral histories to document the lives, art, and culture of long-time residents, historical figures, and rapidly disappearing Black cultural spaces to mitigate cultural erasure and physical displacement. 

For more information visit: the BLWT website

Friends of Hoover Durant Public Library’s Street Corner Library (2017 - present)

How might we raise the visibility of the library campaign to bring a PUBLIC library back into our community?

• Project leaders: Alternier Cook, Ernest Johnson

• Project partners: Hoover Foster RAC, SPARC, EBALDC, Beat 6X NCPC, WON, WOYC, BlinkLab, and many more

Impact: The community members were extremely enthusiastic about bringing the public library back to the neighborhood, so that young children don’t have to go so far to visit a library. Additionally, the Public Library also provided a connector for all the programs operating in the Hoover Durant Foster Community.

Yield 4 Life + Music Mural (2017 - 2018)

How might we improve pedestrian safety and prevent resident injuries at 34th St. and San Pablo?

• Project leaders: Lumukanda Kukuvulu, Gregory “Coach” Brannon, Chris Hwang, Garrett Jacobs, and more

• Project partners: EBALDC’s California Hotel Resident Council, Community Design + Architecture, Walk Oakland Bike Oakland, the Open Architecture Collaborative, City of Oakland’s Department of Transportation

Impact: Reclaimed part of the street to create a safer, friendlier space. Empowered residents to advocate and shape the built environment. Added to a friendly streetscape that was made permanent.