What is Berkeley Speaks?

Detail from “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet” (c) 2005, Precita Eyes Muralists, Directed by Susan Cervantes

Berkeley Speaks is you.

Berkeley Speaks is…your community newspaper.

Berkeley Speaks is…your go-to place for news of social justice in Berkeley.

We created Berkeley Speaks to shine a light on the struggles for affordable housing, decent healthcare, outstanding education, reimagined public safety, fair employment, and a livable planet for generations to come.

But your community newspaper will only succeed with your participation.

There is a role for everyone! We’re looking for solid, clearly-written reporting on government policies and practices, investigative reporting, whistleblower reports, trends in the community, and human interest stories.

We want letters to the editors. We promise never to print trolling, mean-spirited, malicious and false letters from the public. But we need your feedback. These times are full of challenges. All of us together, all who seek social justice solutions, will find them by listening to each other, and working together.

And we are always looking for photos and graphics, web development skills, and fund-raising talent!

Berkeley Speaks needs readers.

We don’t charge for this newspaper, or have paywalls, because we don’t do this to make money. Berkeley Speaks exists to help those who strive for peace and social justice learn about each others’ work. As Mokhtar Paki put it in our interview on his mural “Sinbad’s Voyage,” it is a “a love letter to the City of Berkeley and its people.” We just say: “same.”

We do, however, offer free subscriptions, meaning that you need never miss an issue. Please write us at BerkSpeak@gmail.com to be placed on our listserv to be notified when we publish.

And after three issues over the last nine months, we’re ready to expand our work. We want to come out more often than the current four or five month cycle. We’re ready to move from a Web-only publication to include a social media presence, including text alerts.

Please send us a quick message to let us know you’d like a free subscription to the online newspaper. Also, if you would like to receive a text update a few times a month on “news you can use” for social change, please let us know the phone number you want us to text to. Just say, “add me to Berkeley Speaks’ text group” and provide your cell number.

Berkeley Speaks needs donations too.

Though we are a free online newspaper and we have kept our expenses low with all-volunteer labor, we know that funding could help us provide more effective coverage of the community. If you like what you’re reading so far, please consider donating to make Berkeley Speaks even better!

To give a tax-deductible donation, please write a check to “East Bay Media Center” and put Berkeley Speaks in the memo line. Send your donation to East Bay Media Center, 1939 Addison Street, Berkeley CA 94704.

If you don’t need the donation to be tax-deductible, you can just make the check out to “Berkeley Speaks” and mail to Berkeley Speaks, 2000 Allston Way #362, Berkeley CA 94704.