City Government

Oakland Releases First Cultural Plan in 30 Years

Published

7 years ago

September 17, 2018

This week, the City of Oakland released a new Cultural Plan, its first in thirty years. Titled “Belonging in Oakland: A Cultural Development Plan,” the document provides a roadmap to support and lift up the role of culture in building a just and equitable city – so that every Oaklander in every neighborhood has access to cultural amenities. The Plan was adopted by the City Council after a robust community engagement process. The final Plan is now available on the City’s website at www.oaklandca.gov/resources/cultural-plan.

The tagline for the Plan “Equity is the Driving Force, Culture is the Frame, and Belonging is the Goal” indicates how the plan was developed and suggests the foundation needed to strengthen Oakland’s cultural ecosystem and the city. The Plan offers up a new lens for supporting culture in Oakland, recognizing that an alignment of culture and equity is required for Oaklanders to realize their potential – and offers specific strategies for getting there.

“The Cultural Development Plan illustrates the vibrant and diverse ways our city understands itself as a community of creativity and care – and how we envision the path forward to maintain our unique identity,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. “It gives voice to the idea that we all belong to each other as Oaklanders, and affirms that our civic well-being is deeply rooted in Oakland’s long-term artistic and cultural health. It is a wonderful achievement.”

Building on the Plan and its vision, the City’s Cultural Affairs unit will launch two new initiatives in 2019:

1.) The “Neighborhood Voice: Belonging in Oakland” grant program will support art-based civic engagement projects throughout the city that will enliven a healthy, just and vibrant civil society.

2.) An Artist-In-Residence (AIR) program in City government designed to bring new approaches to civic challenges and service delivery by engaging Oaklanders in unique ways, advancing the missions of various City departments and benefitting neighborhoods.

“For the last 18 months, we have listened to and learned from Oaklanders about their concerns, hopes and priorities and what they value about the cultural vitality of this city,” said Roberto Bedoya, the City’s Cultural Affairs Manager. “I am thankful to the hundreds of Oaklanders who shared their passion, insights and desires with the Cultural Planning team. Their thoughtful comments have illuminated the pathways that will advance the cultural life of Oakland and inform the future work of the Cultural Affairs Division.”

Launched in April 2017, development of the Cultural Development Plan included a research and discovery phase as well as robust community engagement with a series of 14 meetings throughout Oakland, about 450 responses to an online survey, the creation of a draft cultural asset map and two community meetings to garner comments on the initial draft document which informed the final plan adopted by City Council.

Oaklanders made it clear that they value the role culture plays in our city and in their communities with 91% of people surveyed responding “Essential” or “Very Important” to the question: “How important are arts and cultural activities to your life?” While one would expect artists, makers and arts professionals to respond with those answers, it’s significant to note that 50% of the respondents said that they were not professionally involved in the arts.

The Plan comes at a moment when two feature films (“Sorry to Bother You” and “Blindspotting”) by native Oaklanders and a national bestseller (“There There”) also by an Oakland native are bringing attention and acclaim to our city’s unique culture and the phenomenal works of artistic expression originating here. Further national exposure of our dynamic cultural scene will come as Oakland hosts the 2018 Grantmakers in the Arts Conference in late October.

The Plan was prepared by the City’s Cultural Affairs Division and a team of local planning experts, using an equity lens in engaging the community and researching best practices to create a cultural development plan that recognizes and embraces the diversity of Oakland. The team was led by Vanessa Whang, an independent consultant with over 30 years of non-profit arts/culture/philanthropy experience at the local, state and national levels and included Communities in Collaboration | Comunidades en Colaboración, a community engagement consultancy led by Susana Morales. Data research was provided by Alex Werth, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Geography at UC Berkeley focusing on the regulation of expressive culture.

A celebration of the Cultural Plan and the City’s most recent round of cultural funding grants to local artist and arts organization will be held in early October.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

5 days ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.

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Black Arts Movement Business District Named New Cultural District in California

Located in the heart of District 3, the BAMBD is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most important centers of Black cultural production — a space where artists, entrepreneurs, organizers, and cultural workers have shaped generations of local and national identity. The state’s recognition affirms the district’s historic importance and its future promise.

Published

1 week ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Councilmember Carroll Fife celebrates major milestone for Black arts, culture, and economic power in Oakland. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

Oakland’s Black Arts Movement Business District (BAMBD) has been selected as one of California’s 10 new state-designated Cultural Districts, a distinction awarded by the California Arts Council (CAC), according to a media statement released by Councilmember Carroll Fife.

The BAMBD now joins 23 other districts across the state recognized for their deep cultural legacy, artistic excellence, and contributions to California’s creative economy.

“This designation is a testament to what Black Oakland has built — and what we continue to build when we insist on investing in our own cultural and economic power,” said Fife.

“For years, our community has fought for meaningful recognition and resources for the Black Arts Movement Business District,” she said. “This announcement validates that work and ensures that BAMBD receives the support it needs to grow, thrive, and continue shaping the cultural fabric of California.”

Since taking office, Fife has led and supported multiple initiatives that strengthened the groundwork for this achievement, including:

Restoring and protecting arts and cultural staffing within the City of Oakland.
Creating the West Oakland Community Fund to reinvest in historically excluded communities
Advancing a Black New Deal study to expand economic opportunity for Black Oakland
Ensuring racial equity impact analyses for development proposals, improving access for Black businesses and Black contractors
Introduced legislation and budget amendments that formalized, protected, and expanded the BAMBD

“These efforts weren’t abstract,” Fife said. “They were intentional, coordinated, and rooted in a belief that Black arts and Black businesses deserve deep, sustained public investment.”

As part of the Cultural District designation, BAMBD will receive:

$10,000 over two years
Dedicated technical assistance
Statewide marketing and branding support
Official designation from Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2030

This support will elevate the visibility of BAMBD’s artists, cultural organizations, small businesses, and legacy institutions, while helping attract new investment to the district.

“The BAMBD has always been more than a district,” Fife continued. “This recognition by the State of California gives us another tool in the fight to preserve Black culture, build Black economic power, and protect the families and institutions that make Oakland strong.”

For questions, contact Councilmember Carroll Fife at CFife@oaklandca.gov.