Hello,
With the essential support of programs like SNAP on hold and neighbors being abducted, Oakland Peace Center is doubling down on: creating safe space for community, sharing resources/skills for peace, and deepening relationships. In times like this, we need each other, we need love. It's through love that we will overcome the divisiveness and violence of manufactured scarcity. In the words of Prentis Hemphill, "Love is a kind of reunification.... It seems to long for gesture, for expression, to be infused into all that we create. Its expression is its power." Read on below for updates on how OPC is putting love into action.
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Strengthening the OPC Board of Directors |
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Please join us in welcoming Sister Marie de Porres Taylor and Rev. LaDonna Harris to the Oakland Peace Center Board of Directors!
Sister Marie de Porres Taylor is a lifelong Oakland leader for justice and inclusion. A Sister of the Holy Names since 1965, she has served as an educator, parish and diocesan leader, and executive director—launching youth leadership at St. Benedict’s, leading the National Black Catholic Sisters Conference, advancing workforce development with the City of Oakland and the Housing Authority, and championing resident leadership. She also brings small-business experience and service on statewide boards.
Rev. LaDonna Harris is the Senior Pastor of The Church By the Side of the Road in Berkeley and a veteran public-service leader. The first African American woman promoted to Captain and Division Commander in the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office and former Chief Probation Officer, she now shepherds CBSOR with a ministry grounded in love, transformation, and daily service.
Their experience will strengthen OPC’s work for peace and justice. Read their full bios here.
The OPC Board of Directors held a retreat in October to connect more deeply and assess our strategies for peacebuilding in 2026 and beyond. We recommitted to creating space for community and programming that supports the movements working towards collective justice. |
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OPC Board Retreat October 2025 |
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New Community Folk Dance Series |
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Come join your neighbors for Garba Nights: Circle Folk Dance class at the Oakland Peace Center, Tuesdays from 6:30-7:30pm, starting on November 4th.This dance class is meant for all skill levels and ages. The teacher, Reetu Mody, has been a folk dancer since she was a child (see some of her work here or read a KQED article about it here).
We will dance together, get to know the community, and create joy and flow. All needed materials will be provided in class. From 7:30-8pm, there will be time to discuss the dance and chat with other dancers. The circle folk dance classes will start with garba, and explore other dance traditions as well. Sign up here. Sliding scale, no one turned away for lack of funds. |
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OPC Open House on Dec. 6th |
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Join us at Oakland Peace Center on Saturday, December 6th from 1pm to 3pm for an open house! As we approach the end the year, we would love to (re)connect for a gathering of neighbors, nonprofit partners, and community members.
This will be an opportunity to welcome folks back into the sacred space at OPC, break bread together, and envision/discuss peace projects for 2026. |
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Stream the Youth Sustaining Peace Documentary |
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Checkout the short documentary produced as part of Youth Sustaining Peace! The video overviews our workshop series that engaged youth in education and practice in climate justice and community advocacy this past summer. It also touches on the history of justice at OPC that these youth helped to carry forward. We are grateful to have partnered with Resilience Birthright for this program and documentary production. We will host Youth Sustaining Peace again in late spring/summer 2026.
Thanks to the efforts of these youth, we were able to share the harvested kale with folks at Project Darreis! Project Darreis is a nonprofit at OPC that provides food and clothing to our unhoused neighbors.
If you're interested in supporting the community garden, please let us know here. Our garden is an opportunity to connect with nature and neighbors while helping to feed community nutritious foods. |
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We’re relaunching the Beloved Book Club with The Gospel According to James Baldwin: What America’s Great Prophet Can Teach Us about Life, Love, and Identity by Greg Garrett. This book sits right where our work lives—at the intersection of faith, racial and economic justice, queer truth-telling, and fierce love. Greg Garrett presents the life and work of Baldwin in all his writing genres, on themes of equity, justice, and reconciliation. Baldwin refuses cheap optimism and sentimental “peace”; he calls us to a love that confronts racism, economic exploitation, and state violence head-on. This book offers an accessible way for organizers, artists, and neighbors to wrestle together with what bold, honest love requires of us in Oakland right now. Beloved Book Club will start in the new year and take place on the 4th Thursday of the month from 6:00 to 7:30pm. Depending on the book selected, we'll discuss each book over 2-3 hybrid sessions. Use the button below to get updates on the next Beloved Book Club on Thursday, February 26th from⋅6:00 – 7:30pm. |
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As part of our work to increase capacity for peace, Oakland Peace Center offers office and event space well below-market rates. Help us share this space!
If you know of nonprofits or community organizers that need affordable office or event space, please spread the word that Oakland Peace Center would be happy to host. OPC has event spaces for gatherings such as: team retreats, community trainings, art practices or performances, and meetings small or large. Nonprofit office space is also available on a month-to-month basis. Free on-site parking as well as event and office furniture are available. We operate Oakland Peace Center to provide Oakland’s diverse communities and network of nonprofits with physical space to connect, reflect, and plan various pathways to peace together under one roof. |
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We're looking forward to: -
Hosting an MLK Celebration in January. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., OPC will host a community event including a resource fair, healing arts space, and nonviolence training
- Kicking off the new year with some joyous drag performances at OPC
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A fundraising event, Paths to Peace will be a clue-driven walking experience through Oakland that invites participants to explore the people, places, and movements that build peace in all its forms in early 2026.
Peace,
Kalynn
Kalynn Blakely (they/them)
Executive Director | Oakland Peace Center |
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Peace begins with You. Violence, hate, and injustice end with Us. |
Oakland Peace Center provides space, collaborative events, and capacity-building programs for a network of community-based, BIPOC-led organizations that amplify peace in the Bay Area through the arts, mental health and spiritual practices, (youth) leadership development, and community organizing to reduce injustices resulting from hate, violence, and capitalism.
By donating to Oakland Peace Center, you support a network of artists, activists, cultural workers, educators, and nonprofits collaborating to bring about a city of hope, justice, nonviolence, and compassion. |
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