[Stone obelisk, The Alameda and El Dorado] Station 8: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

The stone structures that indicate the intersection of streets along The Alameda, and in the Northbrae neighborhood were erected as part of the development of these neighborhoods as early as 1907. As Berkeley has reckoned with racist structures and policies, restrictive language preventing white homeowners from selling to persons of color has been uncovered in historical titles of homes in the Northbrae neighborhood. These restrictions coupled with redlining practices that made it hard for persons of color to get approved for a loan and impossible for persons of color to buy homes above what is now Martin Luther King, Jr, have furthered the disenfranchisement of African Americans, Asian Americans and other communities of color. Though Berkeley prides itself on being a progressive community, we live with the legacy of generations of racist policies and practices, and reparative initiatives must be a priority.

Today, even as cities consider how to right the wrongs of the past, gentrification is creating a new wave of housing discrimination when persons of color are pushed from their homes by predatory corporations. Like the women of Jerusalem, women in the East Bay are walking the path of justice with Jesus. In 2020, a group of moms in Oakland known as the Moms of Magnolia Street or Moms 4 Housing, refused to leave a house they were living in when it was bought by the Wedgwood corporation after a foreclosure. Speculative real estate practices by companies like Wedgwood in which homes are bought and flipped, or held without tenants has resulted in four times as many empty houses in Oakland as there are people without homes, by some estimates.

Through arrest and harassment, the moms were ultimately successful and have created a new nonprofit seeking to return homes in Oakland to moms. When we think of the women that Jesus met while carrying his cross, we know they offered him support and solidarity as persons who also had known the pain of marginalization and violence. May their strength and spirit live on.

Station 8: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem