Restore Oakland Vision: The Restore Oakland building provides space and opportunities for BIPOC individuals, including queer, immigrant, formerly incarcerated residents, entrepreneurs, and restaurant workers to build power.
The Ella Baker Center is celebrating five years in our permanent home, Restore Oakland!
To uplift the important work and rejoice in our community partnerships, we’re holding an Anniversary Celebration on October 1st, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm!
Join us for free food from Understory Oakland (@UnderstoryOakland) and music from DJ Davey (@mrdaveyd). Click here to RSVP or scan the QR code below!
The Ella Baker Center and our partners at Bright Research Group recently completed a Case Study of the original Restore Oakland Campaign.
On September 5th, 2024, we hosted three panelists to discuss the case study with our community. Jocelyn Wong, Zach Norris, and Kristian Bedrossion shared an hour of their time highlighting key lessons learned from the creation of Restore Oakland, and we’re excited to share the recording of that Webinar and a PDF of the case study with all of you!
Restore Oakland: Dream, Organize, Act – Together
Located in the heart of Oakland’s Fruitvale District, Restore Oakland is a community advocacy and training center that mobilizes Bay Area community members to transform our economic and justice systems and make a safe and secure future possible.
Our community organizing and advocacy efforts help shift resources away from prisons and punishment and toward community reinvestment and restorative justice. We strengthen our communities by mobilizing our collective power to demand that local institutions and decision makers invest in neighborhoods like ours.
We believe in a local people-powered economy and accountability-centered justice system where everyone belongs and thrives, including people who have been incarcerated, working people, immigrants, and people of color.
Each partner in the Restore Oakland building brings their unique strengths and grassroots organizing power to address decades of state-sanctioned violence and systemic oppression in the East Bay.
Restore Oakland offers:
- An Organizing Hub: Restore Oakland continues to grow as a political home for people in the Fruitvale and Oakland more broadly. For example, people returning home from prison come to Restore Oakland to be connected to movement work in the community. Young people are gathering to connect to grassroots organizing, plan interventions in their schools and communities, and find mentorship.
- Healing Justice: Restore Oakland’s Peace Room offers space to heal from and transform harms in our community. In addition to offering weekly healing circles, Restore Oakland, Inc. is growing a trained network of circle keepers, and connecting healing practitioners to local political campaigns. Community members lead grief circles, restorative justice sessions, and cultural celebrations.
- Political Power: Restore Oakland is a place where people unite to build local power to challenge unjust systems of policing and prisons. EBC’s Emergent Policy Lab, an ambitious 10-year plan to incubate systems-impacted leadership to meaningfully influence key inflection points, will connect community members to movement organizations and legislators to build shared strategy. Restore Oakland, Inc. also gathers local coalitions, like the Care First Community Coalition, to divest from systems of harm and increase investments in wraparound services.
- Economic Growth: Restore Oakland creates economic opportunity in the Fruitvale. From a restaurant space will invigorate local economic opportunities to pop-ups and markets hosted at the building bring neighbors together to support local artisans. Restore Oakland Inc.’s REAL People’s Fund is supporting a growing network of small businesses which in turn increase our community’s economic vitality.
- Development without Displacement: Causa Justa::Just Cause has led the fight against gentrification by providing regular Know Your Rights training on housing rights, and supports 60+ Oakland tenants every week through their hotline.
Get Involved
The last five years have taught us so much about the importance of holding a sustainable space. Our vision of a safe place to dream, organize, and heal has only been realized thanks to the contributions of time, energy, and financial support.
To celebrate 5 years of Restore Oakland, we are launching an anniversary campaign – and you better believe we’re throwing a party! To get involved in the celebration or to learn more about partnership opportunities, please contact give@ellabakercenter.org.