Overview of the East Oakland Black Culture Zone Collaborative
The birthplace of the Black Panther Party’s Community School, East Oakland is home to the nation’s most ethnically diverse population with new immigrants from Burma and Mongolia residing near third and fourth generation African-Americans and Latinos. East Oakland has witnessed both community development successes and historic disinvestment with some of Oakland’s highest rates of health disparities, crime, poverty and unemployment. Led by EastSide Arts Alliance, the Black Culture Zone (BCZ) Collaborative is a public/private partnership committed to applying racial equity principles to improve the health and well-being of people who are the most impacted by health inequities—the East Oakland community and African American residents in particular.

Today, the International Boulevard Corridor and Oakland are ground zero in the national struggle for equitable development and racial and health equity. With its proximity to San Francisco and the wealth in tech companies, history of innovation and urban grit, Oakland is experiencing unprecedented growth and attendant displacement impacts. According to a recent SF Business Times article, East Oakland is now home to the top 5 hottest housing markets in the entire Bay Area. Our work in East Oakland to build racial and health equity models such as a Cultural Preservation District and financing for anti-displacement are part of Citywide and Countywide efforts, and provide for replication opportunities.
More information about the OSNI Initiative that launched the BCZ Collaborative is available here.

Position Duties
We are looking for an Urban Equity Summer Planning Associate to help us create a new innovative model for cultural + people preservation—a Cultural Preservation District. The Associate will report directly to the Dellums Institute for Social Justice, which is leading community capacity-building and technical assistance efforts for the BCZ Collaborative. Summer activities will include:

➢ Collaborate with community organizations and institutions as part of research for the development of a Cultural Preservation District that integrates Healthy Development Guidelines, land use, community governance, and financing strategies.
➢ Conduct case study and related research and develop vibrant Fact-Sheets on effective cultural + people preservation strategies involving land use powers, community governance over land use decisions, and innovative financing for community-led and owned development models.
➢ Participate in Cultural Preservation District Report writing as part of a team with the Dellums Institute for Social Justice and UC Berkeley’s Institute for Urban & Regional Development.
➢ Interview community residents for Human Impact Profile Stories.
➢ Design visual representations to reflect the research, human and community impact.