Akonadi Foundation President Lateefah Simon said, "Progressive philanthropy must play a key role in supporting electoral activism in communities of color this November and beyond.... Our Movement Action Fund grantees are galvanizing the new majority across Alameda County to vote and hold elected officials accountable during this...

"Laneisha Butler, a community organizer with Oakland Rising, said many young people in Oakland are focused on leaving the area instead of on trying to change things. So Butler not only tries to get them registered to vote, but also connects them with volunteer and career opportunities.

'You need to really engage folks year...

by Zach Spedden on November 18, 2017 in Major-League Baseball

The ballpark would be built at the current site of the Peralta Community College District headquarters, across the street from Laney College.

Oakland Rising, an alliance of nine Oakland grassroots groups, conducted a poll of 2,526 registered voters between Oct. 21 and Nov. 6 to find out where people stand on the...

Oakland Rising Director Jessamy Sabbag appeared on KTVU news this week to talk about the proposed A's new stadium. [Watch the segment]

The 2,526 Oakland voters were asked, “should the A’s stay at the Coliseum and invest in East Oakland?” 82 percent favored the A’s staying at the Coliseum.... “This poll is a true reflection of what Oakland communities want” -- Oakland Rising Executive Director Jessamyn Sabbag.

 "They’re co-opting with our name with an agenda of everything we stand against," said Jessamyn Sabbag, executive director of Oakland Rising. "When they talk about Oakland rising, they’re talking about rising profits. We’re talking about working class communities of color trying to defend Oakland against...

Hear Kimi Lee from our regional partner Bay Rising break down the ballot Props on Hard Knock Radio:
Part 1: https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=245661
Part 2: https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=245662

By Howard Dyckoff, Oakland Voices, Tom Webb, Oakland Voices and Bill Joyce, Oakland Voices

OAKLAND — This election season, community-based organizations are getting out the vote on a number of local and statewide initiatives with tactics ranging from the old school — knocking on doors and phone banking — to the...

By Darwin BondGraham

On the same day that Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf released her comprehensive plan to address the city's housing affordability crisis, a coalition of tenant advocacy groups filed a voter initiative called the “Renters Upgrade” that, if it qualifies for the fall ballot and is approved by voters, would...

By Saleem Gilmore

In 2006, Jerry Brown was Mayor of Oakland, Arnold Schwarzenegger was Governor of California, and grassroots politics in Oakland was losing its voice. Local communities felt locked out of City Hall, their voices not being heard. From this landscape came Oakland Rising (OR).

By Ben Casselman

When Richard Martin was convicted of felony drug possession two decades ago, he decided it was time to get clean and get a job. Getting clean was hard. Getting a job was even harder.

By Cy Musiker

On Nov. 4, Oakland voters will be ranking their top three choices from among 15 candidates running for mayor. As part of our Election Watch 2014 coverage, we’re previewing issues on the minds of voters — among them crime, gentrification and the economy. KQED’s Cyrus Musiker talked to some Oaklanders about...

By Tracy Seipel

When she answered her front door the other day, East Oakland resident Cynthia Williams, who's been unemployed and without medical insurance for nine years, was greeted by a bubbly 25-year-old woman wondering if she'd heard about the new health care law.

Williams said she had, but didn't know how it would affect her...

By Esperanza Tervalon-Daumont

Executive Director, Oakland Rising

The beautiful possibility of Oakland is that there is real opportunity for everyone, not just people from some neighborhoods. Working together to build a 21st century Oakland we can be proud to call home means that we won’t leave anybody behind.

But the...

By Jessamyn Sabbag and Jahmese Myres

Public transit is critical to keeping Oakland affordable. The low-income community members our organizations serve often ask: “Is your office near BART or bus?” because they depend on transit to complete their daily routines.

Fortunately, our offices are accessible and we can refer...

 By: Becca Andrews

In a quick four-minute window in between several other hot-button issues, Map 26 was chosen in the first public hearing for Oakland’s redistricting at last night’s City Council meeting.

By: Tracy Seipel

When she answered her front door the other day, East Oakland resident Cynthia Williams, who's been unemployed and without medical insurance for nine years, was greeted by a bubbly 25-year-old woman wondering if she'd heard about the new health care law.

Williams said she had, but didn't know how it would...

 A marketing campaign to make people aware of the president’s new health care law includes a call center in Oakland and neighborhood canvassing.

More than 70 Oakland residents came together on September 18th at Hub Oakland to share their vision for Oakland and ideas about new district boundaries for City Council and School Board. The event was hosted by the Oakland Votes coalition, of which...

By Lanese Martin 

Oakland Rising

This fall, Oaklanders may not be heading to the polls to vote, but the City Council will be making an important decision that will impact our future...

The last weeks of summer are supposed to be a lazy time, but hundreds of Californians have been hard at work throughout August and September preparing for November’s high-stakes elections. California Calls, a statewide alliance of 32 organizations, is behind a mobilization aimed at changing the face of the California electorate and re-...

Rose Morton, an Oakland ironworker, testifies in support of the good jobs plan at City Council

by Kate O'Hara, Oakland Local, Posted: Fri, 10 Feb at 11:13 a.m. 

By Cecily Burt, Oakland Tribune, Posted: 08/17/2011 06:29:06 PM PDT, Updated: 08/18/2011 05:56:25 AM PDT

The Oakland City Auditor has found that Oakland Rising, a nonprofit organization, did not misuse public funds it received to educate residents about the ranked-choice voting system used in Oakland for the first time...

 By: Nwamaka Agbo

The June 30 deadline is fast approaching for Oakland City Council and Mayor Jean Quan to pass a budget that closes the $58 million budget deficit looming over the city.  And organizations and staff of the Oakland Rising are pressing our elected officials to pass a budget that minimizes the sacrifices for low-...

Oakland Rising's Executive Director, Esperanza Tervalon-Daumont was recently honored with the Robert Redford Center's Art of Activism Award.  The Art of Activism is an Award and Event that "celebrates the work of extraordinary leaders."  It is designed to provoke, inspire and engage people around the lives and work of the...

Jean Quan made history this week by becoming the first female and first Asian-American mayor of Oakland, CA. Her victory, decided by less than 2,500 votes (out of 106,000 votes cast), came as a result of Instant Runoff Voting (also known as “ranked choice” voting).

 Wow, was this a great night!  Oakland Rising's Young Progressive Benefit Party displayed the many communities in Oakland who are excited about empowering one another for a better city in a vibrant Wednesday night party filled with happy people.

"Only in Oakland can a diverse group of people be in one room. Oakland is a...

 On the heels of New Mexico’s June 1st Primary Election, Tomás Garduño, SWOP’s Director of Mass Base Political Organizing and Michael Montoya, SWOP’s Mass Base Political Organizer hopped on a plane to head out to Oakland, California to lend a hand in getting our communities out to vote for California’s...

On Tuesday, Oakland's City Council finally voted to start using Instant Runoff Voting (IRV).  This means that Oakland will no longer have June Primary Elections for local elected officials, but rather a ranked choice election of candidates, including Mayor, in November.  Various governmental and community groups will work together...

Today, OaklandSeens' Aimee Allison posted a note on her Facebook site that said that Councilmember De la Fuente, and his senior policy analyst and possible City Council candidate Libby Schaaf were trying to defeat IRV at tonite's city council meeting.

 This article shares the perspectives of 5 organizers who answer the question:  How does electoral work support or undermine grassroots organizing efforts?

The new website OrganizingUpgrade.com runs a monthly "Fast Forum" column with the hope of drawing out new ideas and encouraging new voices to take a stab at the freshest challenges facing our community. This month, we asked four organizers for their reflections on the question:

...

All community stakeholders are invited to come to this introductory gathering with Oakland’s new Police Chief, Anthony W. Batts, to hear how he plans to approach the complex issues in Oakland.

The hosts of the event are community leaders and a wide-range of social justice and grassroots organizations that represent youth, various...

The City of Oakland has a 17% reported unemployment rate, foreclosures are high, and times are rough for almost everyone, but that doesn't mean everything in Oakland isn't going well--there's new vibrancy downtown, urban gardens and new initiatives to improve corner markets...