Community Voices

On Wednesday, April 10, 2024, #Oaklandundivided joined the Digital Equity LA coalition and the California Alliance for Digital Equity (CADE) for its first ever Digital Equity LA Advocacy Day in Sacramento. Partners from Tech Exchange, Oakland Youth Commission and Families in Action joined us to advocate for policy to combat digital discrimination and secure critical funding for the middle mile.

California conducted a Statewide Digital Equity Survey to better understand why certain “covered populations” are more likely to lack access to home internet. The draft report identified “individuals with a language barrier” (see page 15) as the least connected amongst all Californians and then concluded that the main barrier preventing access was “Mistrust of government and corporations.”

On Wednesday, October 25, 2023, #OaklandUndivided joined over 35 digital equity advocates from the California Alliance for Digital Equity, and Digital Equity Los Angeles to host a demonstration to protest the State’s looming decision to divert billions of dollars in broadband infrastructure funding intended for the least connected communities to some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in California. Parents, students, and partners from numerous CBOs in Oakland joined us, including Homies Empowerment, the Kapor Center and EveryoneOn. Many gave public comment to highlight the need for broadband investments in Oakland.

On Friday, August 18, 2023, #OaklandUndivided hosted a Connected Community Celebration at the ACORN Woodland and EnCompass Academy elementary schools. The event provided an opportunity to enroll families in the Affordable Connectivity Program, capture stories about the barriers that keep our families from broadband, and share OUSD’s Emergency Connectivity Fund $13M award!

On Friday, May 6, #OaklandUndivided, was joined by community members, local, state, and federal officials, to announce a new commitment to Oakland students and an expanded vision to close the digital divide for good - highlighting #OU as a model for California and the nation. The event was Co-emceed by Oakland public school students and community partners who were integral to #OU’s creation. 

#OaklandUndivided started at the onset of the pandemic to ensure that all Oakland public school students forced to do school remotely had access to a computer, internet and tech support. Click here to read some of their testimonies and if you have a story to share, we’d love to hear it.