What Is Happening to Oakland?

I love Oakland.

I really do.

This city is bold, diverse, creative, complicated, resilient, messy, brilliant, frustrating, and beautiful all at the same time. Oakland has some of the best food you will ever eat, people who will organize a protest by noon and a healing circle by 3pm, and enough culture packed into one city to make most places jealous.

This is a city where people still show up for community.
Where folks will stand ten toes down against injustice.
Where artists, activists, educators, healers, and everyday residents continue trying to hold this city together with determination, side-eyes, and probably a group chat.

We have an LGBTQ cultural district.
One of the most LGBTQ-populated neighborhoods around.
Deep Black and Brown history.
Rich immigrant communities.
People who genuinely care.

And yet…

Oakland also feels like several completely different cities stitched together and pretending to be one.

Because depending on what neighborhood you live in, how “urban” your community is perceived to be, and how much money people think lives there, your experience in Oakland can look wildly different.

And listen, I know some folks are going to get uncomfortable reading this, but let’s all take a deep breath together because the truth is still the truth. 

You can literally tell which neighborhoods the city values most by how clean the streets are.

That’s not an exaggeration.
That’s observable science at this point.

Some neighborhoods have clean sidewalks, maintained parks, quick city response times, trees trimmed like somebody’s auntie is coming over for inspection, and potholes fixed before your tire can even file a complaint.

Other neighborhoods?
You’re dodging illegal dumping, broken glass, abandoned shopping carts, and potholes big enough to qualify for their own ZIP code.

And people notice.

Kids notice.

Families notice.

Communities notice when investment skips over them like the city suddenly lost their address.

Is Your Neighborhood Store Actually a Store?

And can we talk about neighborhood resources for a minute?

Because why are some communities filled with bookstores, coffee shops, farmers markets, and organic juice spots where the kale has its own life coach…

…while other neighborhoods have liquor stores disguised as grocery stores?

You know exactly what I mean.

A faded sign that says “Market,” but somehow the freshest thing in there is the lottery machine.

Meanwhile people are asking why health disparities exist.
Why communities struggle.
Why young people feel disconnected.

Environment matters.

What people are surrounded by matters.

And if children grow up seeing neglected parks, unsafe streets, underfunded schools, and communities treated like afterthoughts, eventually they start internalizing the message that maybe nobody expects better for them.

That part breaks my heart.

Oakland Has a Trust Problem

And then there’s the issue nobody wants to say out loud:

A lot of people no longer trust systems to protect them.

Not fully.
Definitely not consistently.

People feel like if something happens to them, they are largely on their own. That is why you see folks turning into neighborhood vigilantes, amateur detectives, and part-time security consultants after one bad experience.

Because when people stop believing systems will deliver justice, safety, or accountability, they start trying to create it themselves.

That is not healthy for a city.

That is survival mode.

And Don’t Even Get Me Started on the Schools

I mean really…
Oakland Unified School District…

Every time you think things might calm down, here comes another scandal, another controversy, another round of political chaos while families, educators, and students are left emotionally exhausted trying to keep up.

And the wild part is, there are usually only a handful of people consistently willing to say out loud when something is wrong—especially when children’s education and futures are on the line.

Because somewhere along the way, protecting reputations started mattering more than protecting kids.

And that should concern all of us.

So… Can Oakland Be Fixed?

I honestly do not believe Oakland is beyond saving.

I don’t.

Because despite everything, there is still so much good here.

There are still incredible teachers.
Incredible organizers.
Incredible small businesses.
Incredible artists.
Incredible families.
People feeding neighbors.
People mentoring youth.
People creating safe spaces.
People loving this city hard even when the city breaks their heart a little.

That matters.

But love for Oakland cannot just be performative.
It cannot just be slogans on tote bags and t-shirts and folks yelling “Oakland against the world” while ignoring the inequities happening inside Oakland itself.

If we really love this city, then every neighborhood should matter.
Every child should matter.
Every park should matter.
Every school should matter.

Not just the neighborhoods with higher incomes.
Not just the areas tourists visit.
Not just the communities politicians suddenly discover during election season.

All of Oakland deserves care.

And if we’re being honest…
Sometimes it’s hard to stay optimistic when you can clearly see some neighborhoods receiving more love, protection, and investment than others based largely on who lives there.

But I still believe this city is worth fighting for.

Even with all its contradictions.
Even with all its dysfunction.
Even with all the mess.

Because Oakland has always had one thing that keeps it alive:

The people.

And maybe the people are exactly where the healing starts.