HEAR/HERE
NORTH OAKLAND COMMUNITY BILLBOARD
We are here to hear from you! “Hear/Here” is a community billboard truck coming to your North Oakland block soon featuring your stories! The first of its kind of mobile message community vehicle coming soon to your neighborhood…
SIGN UP NOW
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Dream it.
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Build it.
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Grow it.
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Sell it.
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Style it.
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Share it.
COMMONS ARCHIVE
Commons Archive is a creative grassroots history project organized by artist and cultural researcher Sue Mark of marksearch. With North Oakland community groups and the Golden Gate Branch Library, Commons Archive connects neighbors through stories, shared resources and celebrations.
In doing this deep history work, Commons Archive acknowledges and honors the Muwekma Ohlone people past and present who have settled, nurtured, and loved North Oakland and the surrounding region.
Connecting North Oakland Neighbors Through Stories, Shared Resources & Celebrations
@commons_archive
Commons Archive is a creative grassroots history project organized by artist and cultural researcher Sue Mark of marksearch. With North Oakland community groups and the Golden Gate Branch Library, Commons Archive connects neighbors through stories, shared resources and celebrations.
Read the full history of Commons Archive @About
Join us on INSTAGRAM
Upcoming Events
"WE HAD HISTORY UNDER THE BED. WE HAD THE WHOLE HISTORY OF BETH EDEN BAPTIST CHURCH UNDER THE BED."
Eugene Lastartemay, neighbor since 1920s
In the mid-1940s, Eugene and Ruth Lasartemay, along with several other members from their church, started collecting artifacts and stories to celebrate the achievements of African Americans in the Bay Area and beyond. They formalized their pioneering Black history efforts by creating the East Bay Negro Historical Society (EBNHS) in 1965.
In the mid-1980s, after being housed in several store fronts in North Oakland, EBNHS was hosted by the Golden Gate Library. The Lasartemays welcomed school groups to their museum, showcasing “our history [that has been] purposely omitted.” This people’s museum for Black history became the basis for Oakland’s African American Museum and Library (AAMLO) in 2002. Commons Archive honors the Lasartmays’ spirit and tremendous legacy.
While renovating the family home, Mark Lasartemay discovered boxes filled with his grandparents’ personal archives. In 2017, Mark worked with Commons Archive to annotate these treasured materials. Now safely stored at AAMLO, anyone, from neighbors to researchers, can explore this incredible collection.
PRESS
“Having a farm plot has taught my kids invaluable lessons about food and ecology.”
— Jennifer W. (name or more w/ link)