A conversation with Native American Health Center’s Dr. Gerard Jenkins on how and why COVID-19 and bad air are impacting three East Oakland zip codes so badly—and what it will really take to help.

Author Archives: Jacob Simas
Jacob Simas is Managing Editor of The Oaklandside. He joined us from Univision, where he led social-impact initiatives and established the Rise Up: Be Heard journalism training program at Fusion for young people and community organizers in underserved areas of California. He was a senior editor and director of youth and community media at New America Media, where he led a community news network that amplified student and youth reporting in California news deserts. He is an advisory board member for Youth Beat, a graduate of UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and a former producer with KPFA's First Voice apprenticeship program.
Update: Smoke postpones a 2nd mass COVID testing event
Organizers pulled the plug on a mass testing event in Fruitvale, where Latinos have been hit hard by the pandemic.
Air pollution cancels a massive East Oakland COVID testing event. Organizers say they’ll come back stronger
The Eastmont Mall testing event represented an impressive collaboration between grassroots groups—and those partnerships aren’t going away.
How El Tímpano passes the mic to Spanish-speaking and Indigenous immigrant communities
Journalist Madeleine Bair on Oakland’s media deserts and reaching communities where they’re at.
The long history of curfews against anti-racist movements
To understand why countless Oakland residents will gather to defy the curfew tonight, it’s important to understand how curfews have long been used to quell pain and fury in communities of color.
Relief for East Bay artists, mapping food security, and goodbye Stork Club (for now)
News and notes from our Oakland newsletter.