At the First Friday, an Oakland youth tragically shot and killed another Oakland youth. Both youth were African American. The Oakland Tribune titled one of its columns “Shooting Bad PR for Oakland Art Murmur.”

By Kheven LaGrone

When news leaked out about the Port of Oakland's internal audit, it became known as the "Port Scandal." 

The port did not release it immediately, but announced that the audit led to further investigation. This built suspense, speculation and gossip. 

Earlier this year, the Oakland Planning Commission denied a permit to build the dog park at Lake Merritt. Dog park supporters will be appealing the decision at the Dec. 4, City Council meeting.   

A few years ago, there was a notorious “drug-dealing” corner near Lake Merritt.  It was a predominately African American neighborhood and most of the citizens simply avoided the corner.  They stayed inside at night.  There was little police presence there. Drug dealers ran the corner.
 

While standing in front of the Oakland Public Library, a young white man gave me a flyer to Occupy Oakland’s “Weekend of Action!” While I agreed with some of Occupy Movement’s positions, I disagreed with a lot of their tactics.  I told the man I had problems with Occupy Oakland.  Though it was called “Occupy Oakland,” the media focused on white protesters from other cities.  I he

Occupy: to take possession and control of (a place), as by military invasion
~Dictionary.com 

For years, some Oakland leaders seem to have portrayed financially-strapped Oakland as a blank canvas in need of occupation from the outside.

Perhaps it was meant to be a comedy skit or political satire. 

Last Monday, I watched CNN cover the “controversial” University of California, Berkeley’s, “Increase Diversity Bake Sale.” The bake sale was to protest affirmative action at the UC campus.

Bruce Norris’s “Clybourne Park” has been called a provocative play on race relations and gentrification. He wrote it after seeing Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun.”