Oral Historians in the East Bay, 2023 Fall History Series

Hear from people who are collecting, sharing, and archiving community stories in the East Bay. You'll hear about a variety of local oral history projects, learn where to listen to them, and maybe even get inspired to make recordings of your own. Liam O'Donoghue will host panelists Elena Botkin-Levy, Roy Chan, Shanna Farrell, Sue Mark, and Dr. Saturu Ned.
The panelists:
Elena Botkin-Levy is an audio producer and educator with a mission for amplifying queer voices. Drawn to oral histories as an opportunity to map our own narratives, she founded GEMS Oral Histories & Audio Storytelling to support individuals and communities in collecting and preserving stories that matter, produced Mapping Queer Oakland that documents stories of LGBTQ+ Oakland elders and lead the Oakland Belonging: Voices of Swan's Market audio storytelling project with youth at Chapter 510.
As a local oral historian and urban planner, Roy Chan has been director of the Oakland Chinatown Oral History Project since 2007. Roy brings both an intergenerational and place based approach to this growing community archive. He grew up in Oakland where his father was a cultural keeper in Chinatown for many decades.
Commons Archive empowers longtime and new neighbors as narrators and creators of their many local histories. Commons Archive’s projects: build community at the block level; encourage community connections; honor neighborhood history keepers; amplify neighbors’ voices; make neighborhood histories accessible. Sue Mark, longtime Oaklander, artist and educator, initiated Commons Archive in 2016 with many community partners. Dr. Saturu Ned, original Black Panther and co-founder of the Black Panther Party Alumni Legacy Network is a Commons Archive strategic partner.
Shanna Farrell is an interviewer with the Oral History Center where she works on a wide variety of projects and specializes in the environment, arts and culture, and food and beverage history. She is the producer of their podcast, The Berkeley Remix, and is the author of A Good Drink: In Pursuit of Sustainable Spirits and Bay Area Cocktails: A History of Culture, Community and Craft.
Moderator Liam O’Donoghue is the host and producer of podcast East Bay Yesterday and co-creator of the Long Lost Oakland map.
This discussion was presented at the Main Library on October 11, 2023 as part of the Oakland History Center's 2023 Fall History Series.