Longfellow Community Association
July(-ish) 2021 Newsletter
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Next Meeting
The Future of Helen MacGregor Plaza
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
(by Zoom video conference - REGISTER NOW)
We're getting a head-start on July with this newsletter in order to invite you to join neighbors from Longfellow, Santa Fe and Bushrod, for a community meeting to discuss design options for the refresh of Helen MacGregor Plaza (located at 5231 Martin Luther King Jr Way).
Building upon past neighborhood surveys and meetings, two conceptual design options will be presented for a neighborhood vote. The refresh of Helen MacGregor Plaza is being supported by UCSF as part of its ongoing redevelopment of the Children's Hospital campus.
In lieu of a July LCA meeting, we're excited to host this special meeting in partnership with Santa Fe CAN, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland and Councilmember Dan Kalb.
Be sure to register in advance to receive a personalized link to join the meeting.
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#ICYMI
The Return of In-Person Social Hour!
At long last, Longfellow neighbors got a chance to mix and mingle earlier this month! Thanks to everyone who joined us for the first post-lockdown LCA social event at Arthur Mac's on June 8th. It was great to see so many new and familiar faces.
Based on your feedback, the LCA Board plans to continue holding our (almost) monthly meetings on Zoom for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, we also look forward to creating opportunities for neighbors who are comfortable meeting-up in person to gather and socialize. Stay tuned for details about our next LCA Social Hour later this summer.
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Sharing our Stories
“Hi! How are you?”: A Virtual Round Table Conversation
On June 3, North Oakland neighbors joined panelists for discussion about equity and neighbor relationships organized by Commons Archive, a North Oakland grassroots history project. The dynamic conversation was facilitated by community scholar Miyuki Baker and featured:
* Saturu Ned – Original Black Panther Party Member and Black Panther Party Alumni Legacy Network Founding Member & community architect
* Leo Mercer -- Rap-activist & leader of Oakland Communities United for Equity & Justice
* Shikira Porter -- founding member of Neighbors for Racial Justice
* Toby Lewis -- Hyperlocal community co-creator & Longfellow Community Association board member
* Heidi Herrera -- North Oakland cultural worker & Commons Archive collaborator
* Sue Mark -- longtime North Oakland neighbor & Commons Archive founder
We all carry stories of our neighborhoods, the stories that make a place home. Creating inclusive, supportive neighbor networks starts with listening to each other. Even before COVID, informal face-to-face interactions were disappearing. On any given block, neighbors thrive by collaboratively defining and redefining where they live. This conversation revealed the necessity and challenge of doing this work.
The event recording/highlight reel will soon be available here. This event was part of the ongoing existential conversation about how to be human and take care of each other, embodying the ethos of ‘Each One, Teach One’.
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News from BART
BART will run special service for SF's 4th of July Fireworks
This is the time of year we like to remind neighbors that the safety of our neighborhood depends on leaving fireworks to the professionals. With that in mind, if you plan on heading over to SF to celebrate America's birthday, BART will be running special service to get you there and back. Muni will also be running shuttles along the Embarcadero to BART. You can find all the details on BART's website.
Also, BART has announced special service for A's and Giants night games this summer.
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Join the LCA Board!
Speaking of the Board... LCA is led by an all-volunteer Board composed of neighbors who live and/or work in Longfellow. The Board is eager to welcome new perspectives and is actively seeking new members. If you are interested in serving on the Board, let us know!
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Connect with LCA on Slack!
 Though we can't meet in person for the time being, we encourage you to join the LCA Workspace on Slack, where you can collaborate with the LCA Board and other neighbors to keep our organization's community-building initiatives and resources going! (If the link above expires before you click it, contact us for an updated invite.)
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Community Calendar
LCA is pleased to provide notice of upcoming events happening in and around Longfellow as a resource to neighbors. These events are neither hosted nor endorsed by LCA.
Have an event to add to an upcoming newsletter? Send us a link to where event details are posted and we'll include it if the timing is right.
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LCA: For Neighbors, By Neighbors
 Longfellow Community Association is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that's run entirely by volunteers from our neighborhood. Our community programs and events are only possible because so many of you give your time, talent and resources to make our neighborhood great.
Would you consider helping out? Your contribution of any size will go a long way to support our programs, events and engagement.
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As always, the LCA Board welcomes your thoughts, ideas and input. Email us anytime at board@longfellowoakland.org.
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