WHAT WE DO
Oakland's city systems have failed to meet the basic needs of Black communities for decades—through disinvestment, neglect, and policy choices that have left people to fend for themselves. Public safety is one of the clearest examples: crisis response, violence prevention, safe parking sites, and mental health support all remain underfunded, while the systems meant to fill those gaps too often don't.
We're working to change that by researching people's experiences with public safety systems, developing policies designed to respond directly to what communities are asking for, and building campaigns that bring organized voices to the table to pass those policies and ensure they're properly implemented.
Our Approach
Partner with community-based organizations.
Our partners are Black-led organizations that run programs and serve people across Oakland's neighborhoods. They hear directly from residents about what they are experiencing and what they need. We work with our partners to understand what the community is dealing with. We handle the policy research, community engagement, and campaign planning.
Listen to the community.
The starting point for our projects is learning what residents are experiencing. We do that through research in collaboration with organizations already rooted in Black neighborhoods. We help translate the ideas of directly impacted communities into concrete policy initiatives that can shift conditions.
Do research.
We spend time in city budget documents, program data, and policy records. We look at what comparable cities are doing across California and the country, and we connect with subject area experts in academia and policy organizations as needed. When we are done with our research, we generate accessible reports and memos and share them with partners and residents.
Build proposals.
We draft policy proposals based on community-based research, academic research, and best practices around the country. We get feedback from our partners and residents and adjust them to meet community needs.
Get policies across the finish line.
We help partners coordinate when it's time to move a proposal forward. We analyze the landscape, identify likely allies and opposition, develop strategy, track decision-making timelines, develop messaging, and pay attention to how the politics around an issue shift so people can respond.
Ensure proper implementation.
We stay involved after a vote. How a policy gets carried out matters as much as whether it passes, so we keep working with partners to track implementation and flag problems early.
Projects & Research
Trusted by Community Partners
