Our people-powered campaigns are built on the idea that when people have the knowledge, inspiration and solutions they need to address the challenges they face, they can make a difference.
Current Campaigns
Soul of the City places the well-being of Oakland directly in the hands of the community. We honor the important role that each person plays in creating a vibrant and thriving city.
Books Not Bars organizes the largest network of families of incarcerated youth and champions alternatives to California’s costly, broken youth prison system
Heal the Streets trains Oakland youth to become community leaders and violence prevention advocates.
Retired Campaigns
Our first campaign, Bay Area PoliceWatch, is being phased out as an active Ella Baker Center campaign. We will continue to provide resources via our website and have partnered with other organizations to provide victims of police abuse with lawyer referral services.
At one end of the arc we have low-income youth of color. Not yet
system-involved, but –- by virtue of race, class and geography –- at
high-risk. Silence the Violence works to build youth leadership and to promote cultural ventures and policies to end violence on Bay Area streets.