Matt's Writing

Boots Riley was spotted at 23rd St. and Telegraph Ave. at the start of Oakland's Art Murmur on August 3, 2012. Oakland First Fridays Art Murmur is one of the largest regular gatherings of artists, street vendors, food vendors, and performing artists on the West Coast. I asked Boots Riley what he thought about the New York Times Magazine article  "Oakland, the Last Refuge of Radical America" profiling him. He replied that he wasn't entirely happy with it. He expressed a sentiment similar to what he wrote on Twitter , that "Oakland isn't the end of an old radical movement. It's the beginning of a new one." For a good recap of the night--the art exhibits, speakers, and food--read Susan Mernit's piece on Oakland Local . For photos of the event, see my photo album on Google+ . Click below for photos of past Art Murmurs by Joe Sciarrillo and myself : July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012

"There" photo by Joe Sciarrillo How can one city be both the object of praise and blame in the same publication? That’s what happened in Sunday’s New York Times . The Travel section , in a piece subtitled “New restaurants and bars beckon amid the grit,” ranked Oakland, California as the 5 th top place to visit in the world in 2012. The same $6 newspaper published the article Shootings Soar in Oakland; Children Often the Victims in its Bay Area edition. The article gives the sad details that in 2011 over 2,000 people were victims of gun violence and 110 people died from homicide in Oakland. To further complicate things, as I write this, Gang Wars: Oakland, Part II is on TV. How am I to reconcile Oakland being celebrated as one of the top-5 places to travel in the world in 2012, while at the same time being called a gang war zone? I’ve been reading a lot and attending events all over Oakland to research for the essays that accompany the in...