I don’t always walk the International Blvd. corridor between 23rd and 25th Street alone. I try to convince myself that it’ll be fine and that I’ll be safe, but a few months ago, a random man followed me in his truck for about a block and half near the intersections. He kept pulling over beside …Read more…
About Marilu Aguilar
I found myself in East Oakland through a series of events that affirmed my passion for social justice and community service. As a southern California native, I witnessed socioeconomic disparities that fed tension among communities and disenfranchised entire groups of people. These experiences led me to pursue higher education at Long Beach City College, where I studied English Literature as a means to better articulate and understand the world around me.
Home in the Fruitvale
A video walk through my neighborhood?I frequented Oakland’s Fruitvale District before I called it home. When I walked along International Boulevard from the Fruitvale BART station, I used to sneak a curious look at the smaller neighborhood streets, the pale rows of Victorian houses, the corroded high fences. I’d look around and think, “Yeah, maybe, …Read more…
My father perseveres for his children
Success is not the same as resiliency. Success is the pinnacle at the end of the journey, it is the accomplished dream. Resiliency on the other hand, doesn’t have the same sense of finality that success has. Resiliency is in the will to get up and work when your eyelids are like heavy weights begging …Read more…