Since 2006, the Ella Baker Center has helped build a movement to bring peace to Oakland's streets through our Silence The Violence campaign. By focusing on solutions that address the root causes of violence, we've brought together individuals, community organizations, businesses, and elected officials to uplift young people in the Bay Area with a mix of social activism and street culture. We are proud of what we've accomplished together.
Our time and energy was divided between:
- Systemic Change: Advocating for policies that promote opportunities for work and education as alternatives to violence.
- Individual Transformation: Turning around the lives of those who are most at risk for violence.
To better meet the needs of our community, Ella Baker Center is excited to transition its violence prevention work to a new project,
Heal the Streets, designed to train up young people for advocacy work around violence prevention/reduction policy. And we're excited to introduce our newest ally,
Urban Peace Movement, which will focus on the individual transformation part of the equation.
Heal the Streets
A ten-month fellowship program that will train Oakland's young leaders (ages 15 - 18) to develop and advocate for policies that bring peace and hope to our streets. Through this exciting new program, Ella Baker Center will continue its legacy as a training ground for social justice leaders, and Heal the Streets Fellows will have the opportunity to tap into our staff's experience working on the front lines of public policy reform. Coming Soon!
Urban Peace Movement
A brand-new organization founded by the leaders of the Silence The Violence campaign. Their goal is to create a shift in urban youth culture away from violence and fear and toward hope and empowerment for the city's most at-risk young women and men.
The project was born out of the need to connect the dots between Oakland's most difficult-to-serve young people and the opportunities that are being created for them (like green jobs, employment training programs, civic engagement, etc.), and to create a shift in what young people see as possible for themselves and for their communities.
Learn more
