February Celebrations at EBALDC!
Throughout February, EBALDC residents and community members observed Black History Month and the Lunar New Year at celebrations across our EBALDC properties and local neighborhoods. Here are two highlights from the month’s celebrations:
EBALDC Engages Community at the Lantern Festival.
On a recent Sunday evening, EBALDC’s Creative Community Development (CCD) team participated in Oakland’s second annual Lantern Festival celebration. Co-hosted by nonprofits Oakland Bloom and Sticky Rice Club and the collective AAPI Healers for Liberation, the Lantern Festival took place in the heart of Oakland Chinatown at the Pacific Renaissance Plaza on February 24th and 25th.
CCD team members Annie Ledbury and Raine Robichaud tabled to share what we have done so far on the Chinatown Complete Streets Plan, a project in partnership with Oakland’s Department of Transportation (OakDOT).
Activities at the booth included an interactive map where participants could draw a typical route they took in Chinatown – where you go in Chinatown, how you get there and what route do you take. At the booth, we also distributed literature about our work on the Complete Streets Plan, including our Engagement and Corridor Selection Memos.
Check out the City of Oakland’s page and a recent EBALDC blog post for more information on Oakland’s Chinatown Complete Streets Plan!
San Pablo Hotel Celebrates Black History Month!
On February 28th, EBALDC residents gathered for music, food, fellowship, and fun at San Pablo Hotel’s Black History Program. Says Nakia Lipsey, Resident Services Coordinator at San Pablo: “Our Black History Program was AWESOME!” The program opened with collective voices singing the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and residents and guests sharing stories and song.
“Our menu was Soul Food,” Nakia shared: “Fried Chicken, Greens/Cabbage, Rice/gravy, cornbread, punch, and water. We also played 1 blackout Bingo game. The 2 winners received a stem mop and a Target gift card. Our Bingo caller was Lori ‘Peaches’ Payne. Bless the cooks: Nakia, Phil, and Tonia brought the chicken. Our servers were Monique, Julieanna, Michael, Nakia, and Tonia.’’
Nakie concluded, “The day was beautiful.”