The year 2020 is the year of chaos. As a country, we’ve been fraught with a continual cycle of collective trauma, dread, and grief. But against that backdrop, we are also seeing unmitigated positive acts and flickers of joy. I’m not talking about our newfound interest in puzzles or our attempts (many failed) at baking bread. I’m talking about a new wave of real compassion and taking care of each other — in the activist community, this is known as mutual aid.
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Mutual aid is distinct from charity in its emphasis on community solidarity: working together to meet each other’s basic needs. Some of the activities we’re seeing right now are the result of tireless work by activists over the years to bring justice and equity to our communities. Some are the result of spontaneous actions by regular folx, who prove you don’t need to be independently wealthy to make a big impact. Outpourings of support such as these honor the histories of mutual aid work that BIPOC and queer communities have been doing for a long time before our current moment. What’s more, they create a ripple effect, inspiring others to step up as well.
Here are 10 seriously inspiring actions in the Bay that are giving us hope in the darkness. Prepare to feel all the feels!
1. Town Fridge
Notice random fridges around town? Chances are that they’re thanks to Town Fridge, a food equity group that’s been installing community refrigerators stocked with free food around Oakland since June. Evident in their rally cry of “We keep us fed,” anyone can contribute or take what they need. Every fridge is regularly filled with a variety of prepared meals, pantry goods, produce, water, and now, after a string of fentanyl overdoses in the East Bay, even Narcan (which can treat narcotic overdose). So far, the network has nine fridges, and they are quickly growing. Town Fridge has also inspired the formation of a San Francisco-based group, SF Community Fridge. You can learn about donating food or hosting your very own fridge via Instagram: @townfridge and @sfcommunityfridge.
2. SafeRideOak
Considering the dangers, including police interactions, that Black and Brown folx face, this volunteer group offers BIPOCs free rides 24/7 around the Bay Area. Founder Englesia says they prioritize safety by doing background checks on drivers, providing personal protective equipment (PPE) in vehicles, and taking note of the accessibility of drivers’ cars, including scent, height, and space. The group covers expenses for drivers and welcomes donations on Venmo via @halcyonangel to help cover costs until they can secure further funding.
3. Love Letters to Black Folks and Altar of Black Life
Before quarantine, the collective Black Feast was hosting culinary events all over the country. The idea: to make space at the metaphorical table for Black folks in the food industry while celebrating Black culinary artistry. Once communal dining became an impossibility due to Covid-19, founder Salimatu Amabebe and creative director Annika Hansteen-Izora knew they had to find another way to give back. So, Love Letters to Black Folks was born, a program that makes desserts for local BIPOCs. Every Sunday in June, at 2727 California Street in Berkeley, they offered a handcrafted treat from a pickup window. At the same site, they started a second project, Altar of Black Life, where visitors were invited to bring flowers and photos of Black family and friends to publicly honor Black ancestors and provide a symbolic space for Black joy. The duo is currently in Portland serving their free dessert program through August 23, but I suspect we will find them back in the Bay soon enough.
4. Hotels Not Graves
More than 1,500 hotel rooms in Oakland are sitting empty while thousands of houseless people are sleeping on the streets. Seem nonsensical to you? It did to the organizers behind this GoFundMe — a collaboration between East Oakland Collective, Love and Justice in the Streets, and The Village in Oakland. Created in April, the pilot program aims to provide shelter for houseless residents to protect them against Covid-19 and provide a safe place to sleep. Through crowdfunding, the initiative has raised over $150,000; it takes $700 to immediately shelter a couple or family for a week. Priority is going to pregnant women, families, and the immunocompromised. And it does not end there: They are also working to secure permanent housing for individuals after they move out of hotels. You can contribute to the collective health of the Bay and help save lives by donating to their GoFundMe.
5. Tosha Stimage’s Care Packages for Protesters
If you ever find yourself doubting the power of a single person, look to local artist Tosha Stimage to change your mind. Since June, Stimage and her partner, fellow artist Matthew Craven, have assembled and handed out over 700 care packages for protesters, more than 200 homemade meals for BIPOC folks, and dozens of floral arrangements from her business, Saint Flora. She has distributed at least $21,000 in donations to local and national organizations, bail funds, and direct cash funds for Black creatives and Navajo relief. Stimage funds her pursuits entirely through Venmo donations, artwork auctions, sales from her Etsy shop, The Black Infinity, and her own savings. What does she want others to know? “Keep showing up for your freedom daily. Every little bit counts. And register to vote.”
6. East Bay FeedER
This organization started spontaneously in late March by author Ayelet Waldman and Jenny Schwarz, a co-owner of the Oakland restaurant Hopscotch. Their brainchild began providing meals to essential health care workers all over the Bay while simultaneously paying local restaurants to make them during difficult Covid-19 closures. They quickly gained traction and in total provided 33,000 meals at 25 different health care sites plus helped to keep 78 local restaurants in business. That is some serious organizing.
7. UC Berkeley students’ One Credit Class
Less than 48 hours after Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced new regulations requiring all international students to attend in-person classes or expect to lose their visas, California students began plotting a one-unit, student-run class to help their classmates remain in the U.S. Shortly after, more than 20 universities filed a slew of lawsuits, and the government responded by reducing the order to nebulously affecting only new international students. Though their class will probably never come to fruition, students rallying for their classmates and conspiring against the government inspires us.
8. People’s Breakfast Oakland
This organization isn’t new on the scene but has stepped up even more to play a pivotal role in both the Covid-19 crisis and the Black Lives Matter protests. Since 2017, this Black-led organization has been serving hundreds of breakfasts every month to the houseless community, continuing the Black Panther Party’s legacy. When shelters and food banks began backing off due to Covid-19 risks, reducing hours and cutting back on services, PBO knew it had to step up to fill the need. With only a quarter of its usual volunteers, it has been handing out meals and hygiene packs three times a week — at one point in April distributing 1,800 meals in a matter of just three weeks. And when protests began, it ramped up other efforts as well, including providing hundreds of thousands of dollars in bail funds and legal support for Black protesters.
9. pt.2 Gallery’s Fundraising Show
This Oakland-based art gallery recently held a fundraiser exhibition titled simply Fundraiser #1. The show included artists such as Adrian Octavius Walker, Muzae Sesay, Kelly Ording, and Liz Hernandez. Each of the 23 participating artists chose where the funds from the sales of their art would go, and they raised more than $13,000 for a variety of local and national organizations, such as Anti Police-Terror Project and the Black Trans Protester Emergency Fund. Despite the immense financial strain that galleries have been experiencing due to shelter-in-place (often on top of already narrow profit margins), pt.2 owner Brock Brake has plans to expand the largesse by holding a fundraiser show every June and December going forward.
10. Mac’s Book Club Show and The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza
At the beginning of quarantine, Mac Barnett, the Oakland-based bestselling children’s book author, began hosting Mac’s Book Club Show, a virtual storytime for kids with guest appearances by his dog, Henry. Soon after, Barnett and award-winning illustrator Shawn Harris began co-creating a live cartoon called The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza. The 12-part, hand-drawn cartoon, which they recorded entirely over Zoom, already has over 100,000 views on Instagram. Besides providing much-needed entertainment for kids stuck at home, part of the proceeds from First Cat in Space merchandise benefits the Book Industry Charitable Foundation. So far they’ve raised over $20,000 for BINC, which has been providing emergency funds to booksellers affected by Covid-19.
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