Down for the Town

During Women’s History Month, we are excited to celebrate the leadership of strong women of color like Nikki Fortunato Bas, who is running for Oakland City Council District 2. Team Down for the Town will be running the 26.2 mile marathon relay in the Oakland Running Festival to lift up women of color, queer and trans leadership and what it means to be down for the town. Our team includes: Nikki, Gabriel Haaland, longtime union organizer, Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, and Jahmese Myres, City of Oakland Planning Commissioner! Click their names to learn more about why they are Down for the Town!

What does it mean to be down for the town?

Love for Oakland runs deep. Being down for the town means we honor and protect Oakland’s culture, history and future. It means standing with Black, Brown, Asian and Indigenous working class communities to ensure we are building a city that honors their contribution and their long history in our City. Being down for the town means being rooted in our communities and being a champion for equity! It means building a future where our children have the right and reality of housing, education, jobs, safety and a healthy environment. Being down for the town means committing ourselves to a lifetime of service to our community. It means building strong teams of people with different strengths and experience. Together, we can get the job done.

Here’s how you can support Team Down for the Town:

Contribute to Nikki’s campaign - Our goal is to raise at least $2,620 for the 26.2 miles we will run together. Can you contribute $1, $2, $5 or $10 for each mile we run - $26, $52, $130 or $260?
Like Nikki‘s Facebook page and invite your friends to like it.
Volunteer on race day (Sunday, March 25, 7am - 2pm) to cheer us on, take photos and give us water! Then celebrate at a community picnic 1 - 2pm near the playground next to the start line, look for the blue and green balloons.

Down for the Town Credits: Photos by Annette Bernhardt. Logo by Sulaiman Hyatt. Art by Brad Erickson.

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