I destroyed a community

Over the past decade, a group called Youth ALIVE! has worked to stop the needless deaths of hundreds of Oakland youths. The organization also works to end retaliatory cycles of gangland violence and to raise up peer educators who teach young people to make peaceful choices.

EMILIO MENA

Adam Hanson interviewed several of the youths involved. Interviews were recorded on location.

“I destroyed a community … I had to come back and help rebuild it.”

Mena grew up in East Oakland. He was deeply entrenched in a gang until a mentor helped him out of his dangerous lifestyle. “I destroyed a community. I pushed drugs into this community, … [so] as a man, I had to come back and help rebuild it,” Mena says...

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Building Community, One Meal at a Time

Posted by Tamrah Schaller ONeil on July 9th 2009 in Organizations Edit



Onion and garlic sautéing with hot oil in a pan is a common denominator of most cultures. When Marnita Schroedl and Carl Goldstein cook for one of their events, their guests feel a touch of home, enriched by the aroma of sautéed garlic. Together Marnita and Carl have welcomed nearly 4,900 people into their Minneapolis home by hosting more than 125 meals.

You may be thinking, 4,900 friends? Why would you invite that many people over for dinner, and is that really possible? It is for the wife and husband who started the nonprofit Marnita’s Table with the goal of bringing together socially, culturally and economically diverse groups of people for what Marnita calls “intentional social interaction.”

Intentional social interaction builds community based on trust and understanding across cultural divides, according to Marnita. She believes that this is the solution to stopping racial inequality. On a night I joined the table, half the guests were people of color, and half were white.