Why is it powerful to know our neighbors?

Commons Archive is a creative grassroots history project that builds neighbor relationships. Started in North Oakland, our work stands on the shoulders of the long history of local community-based programs.

Since 2016, Commons Archive has been empowering neighbors as narrators and creators of their many local histories. We connect longtime and new neighbors through stories, shared resources and celebrations to build community resilience.

We all carry stories of our neighborhoods, the stories that make a place home. Commons Archive honors the many histories of this rapidly changing North Oakland and South Berkeley neighborhoods.

This starts by listening to and learning from each other - people caring about people, block by block.

Commons Archive is led by marksearch with incredible community partners: The Black Panther Party Alumni Legacy Network, Neighbors for Racial Justice, Design for Belonging and All Power to The People (AP2TP) art collective.

Support HEAR/HERE

Support HEAR/HERE

Help us keep neighbors connected. Your donation, no matter the size, continues our work in creating open spaces for community conversations that matter.

HEAR/HERE

Community Billboard

We are here to hear from you! HEAR/HERE is a mobile community billboard truck - a vehicle for empowerment and understanding, designed to gather stories, share memories, and encourage neighborhood interaction. With a large digital display screen, a sound system, and an eye-catching analog display board, the HEAR/HERE Community Billboard tours the streets of Oakland and joins community events. Check our calendar to see where we’ll be headed next!

WHAT’S NEW!

  • Partnership with Self-Help Hunger Program

    HEAR HERE Community Billboard is excited to partner with the Self Help Hunger Program, that nurtures the community through nourishment and cultural care. Over the next year, we’ll uplift the voices of unhoused neighbors through story sharing and listening sessions.

    This initiative is generously supported by the Berkeley Civic Arts Commission.

    Learn More

  • California Revealed Archive

    Commons Archive is honored to be part of California Revealed, the California State Library’s online archive.

    Hundreds of neighbor stories shared with Commons Archive since our start in 2015 will soon be part of this online archive. CA Revealed will digitize The Golden Gate Library Local Collection reference series!

    Learn More

  • Oral Historians in the East Bay

    Commons Archive is thrilled to join the stage with local oral historians on Wednesday, October 11 at the Oakland Public Library.

    This evening event is hosted by the Oakland History Center and moderated by the one and only Liam O’Donoghue of East Bay Yesterday!

    Watch The Video

  • Share your neighborhood story!

    Now you can share your Oakland memories with Commons Archive with our new online form! Sharing your experiences is a powerful way to preserve local culture.

    Stories don’t need to be monumental to be meaningful. As Oakland continues to grow and change, let’s document its people and places for the future.

    Learn More

  • Self Help Hunger Program Needs Your Support!

    One of the last remaining free food programs needs your help to continue their services of nourishing communities!

    Please donate to their GoFundMe campaign!

    Learn More

@commons_archive on Instagram

Connecting North Oakland neighbors through stories, shared resources and celebrations

The Center for ArtEsteem (Attitudinal Healing Connection, @ahc_oakland ) invited the HEAR HERE Community Billboard to welcome friends to their fundraiser event at the New Parkway Theater (@thenewparkway). HEAR HERE brightened the theater’s ent
Preserving and honoring African American history in action! East Bay Negro Historical Society was the forebarer of the African American Museum and Library of Oakland. In the mid-1940s Eugene and Ruth Lasartemay began collecting community artifact
Affordable housing lotteries! In developing discussions about housing @cityofberkeley announced - “households who lost their homes in Berkeley through foreclosure since 2005 or by the construction of BART in the 1960s-70s can apply to be inclu
Let’s address displacement and work towards policy change! Over and over again, we’ve seen the disappearance and displacement of the Black community. Gentrification changed the landscape favoring certain communities. And redlining pushe
Protect housing for longtime Black neighbors! Friends of Adeline is a passionate group of South Berkeley neighbors who came together in 2017 with a shared vision: to make sure that displaced Black neighbors can afford to return to their South Berke
Housing is a human right! Edythe Boone, African-American artist and activist, is known for her beautifully crafted murals depicting images of community. Today, she is seeking a stable home in Berkeley. To learn more about Boone’s story, check