West Oakland Matters is a free public celebration featuring paintings and photography, film and fashion, music and community memories. This celebration of "living heritage" brings together longtime residents and elders sharing archival materials, vendors offering vintage clothing, and information about local treasures including the historic 16th Street Train Station, maker crafts, and area walking tours.

Program Highlights

Opening Welcome: MC Julian Glover, ABC7 News Anchor and Reporter introduces guests 

Artists Panel: Local painters and photographers present their work that is on display on site 

Community Panel: Features acclaimed West Oakland enterprises and community leaders, including:  
Alexis Madrigal, journalist and author of *The Pacific Circuit* (March 2025)

David Peters, lifelong resident and founder of the Black Liberation Walking Tour

Malcolm Ryder, award-winning photographer and creator of "West Oakland Matters"

Noni Session, third-generation West Oakland resident, cultural anthropologist, renovator of Esther's Orbit Room

Jilchristina Vest, proprietor of The Women of The Black Panther Party mural and the Black Panther Museum

Fashion Show : A celebration of Black aesthetic spanning decades, highlighting the West Oakland heyday of the 1940s and 1950s. and a fashion show featuring Saint Maurice designs.