A brand new anti-racism and social justice initiative!
Skip to series content.
What is “Open E.A.R.S. for Change” about?
The “Open E.A.R.S. for Change” program will be an on-going project that aims to build stronger allyship and co-conspiratorship among our API audiences with local Black communities in order to foster a more diverse and inclusive culture in our communities that is anti-racist and anti-discriminatory in the Oakland/East Bay Community.
The two key objectives of the series are
1) address anti-blackness in API communities and meaningfully confront issues of colorism/racism in a safe space; and
2) address Black-Asian community relations specifically in the Oakland Chinatown area.
What does this program look like?
This program series will consist of several distinct categories:
- “Activate” – events that help maintain the momentum and energy of informed, engaged individuals already involved in anti-racism efforts and learning.
- “Engage” – efforts that seek to directly engage key community sectors to cultivate a better understanding about the values expressed by the Black Lives Matter movement and address relations between API and Black communities.
- “Inform” – a message campaign to help share educational information about anti-racism across a broad area.
We cannot do this work alone. We invite community members and organizations to partner with us on this multi-layered effort. Get involved! Got questions or ideas? Email programs@oacc.cc.
Series Content
We will continue to publish and build content related to this new initiative in this section. Please check back periodically for updates!
Episode 1: “Let’s Talk Oakland Chinatown!”
What does anti-racism look like in our communities?
Local business owner Alicia Wong shares how Oakland Chinatown-based Fortune Cookie Company incorporated anti-racism as a business priority and achieved national visibility as a socially conscious enterprise. She is joined by Jessica Li (OCA-East Bay) and Trinh Banh (Good Good Eatz).
Click here to access the full transcript: English Transcript, Chinese Transcript
Episode 2: “Let’s Talk Vietnamese Community!”
How do we address anti-racism through the lens of community building and leveraging the virtual space?
We hear from Dr. Jennifer Tran (Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce) about her on-the-ground efforts to support local Vietnamese community members through the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and BLM. Vina Vo and Josie Nguyen share how The Progressive Vietnamese American Organization (PIVOT) has shifted their social media outreach to be more outspoken about anti-racism and focusing on the upcoming elections to engage and inform Vietnamese voters.
Transcripts to come!