These videos aren't specifically about Oakland, but are relevant to us. In the video above, Richard Reynolds does a little guerilla gardening in Elephant & Castle, England. The idea is that we take back neglected public spaces by beautifying them. How many overgrown tree planters and strips of land between sidewalks and streets do we have wasting away? How many medians harbor more trash than flowers? Let us take it upon ourselves to convert these wastelands into Oakland oases.
As many of you have probably noticed, there is a clear discrepancy in the frequency of trees, flowers and greenery between Oakland's lush hills and concrete flatlands. Greening the flats won't resolve all of our social issues, but it will help us come together and renew our commitment to our communities. Knock on a few door, on the weekend or after work, and get your hands dirty with your neighbors for the sake of community building and beautification.
In the video above, rapper NYOIL speaks on the importance of being a father to our children. Too often in Oakland, fatherlessness is assumed to be inevitable, but it's really not. I know the virtues and benefits of having a good father because I have been so blessed, but many of my folks have not. That gap in their lives provides a certain degree of latitude that can allow them to lose their way in Oakland and greater society. Clearly we can and do transcend this epidemic, but the best way to overcome fatherlessness is to be great fathers ourselves. Any boy can make a baby, but it takes a real man to be a father.
As many of you have probably noticed, there is a clear discrepancy in the frequency of trees, flowers and greenery between Oakland's lush hills and concrete flatlands. Greening the flats won't resolve all of our social issues, but it will help us come together and renew our commitment to our communities. Knock on a few door, on the weekend or after work, and get your hands dirty with your neighbors for the sake of community building and beautification.
In the video above, rapper NYOIL speaks on the importance of being a father to our children. Too often in Oakland, fatherlessness is assumed to be inevitable, but it's really not. I know the virtues and benefits of having a good father because I have been so blessed, but many of my folks have not. That gap in their lives provides a certain degree of latitude that can allow them to lose their way in Oakland and greater society. Clearly we can and do transcend this epidemic, but the best way to overcome fatherlessness is to be great fathers ourselves. Any boy can make a baby, but it takes a real man to be a father.
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