From the buzz around the Oakland Gang Injunction to Instant Runoff Voting and Dellums' State of the City address there's never a dull moment in Oakland. Here are a few of the most promising cultural events over the next few days along with some other news around The Town.

Tonight filmmaker, writer and Oakland Local contributor Nijla Mumin is screening a working version of her film "BACK UP: Concrete Diaries" for a small audience at The Theater on Telegraph. The film is structured as a series of interviews addressing issues of street harassment. The screening is being hosted by MAAAN UP! an organization dedicated to addressing patriarchy and male privilege, particularly among African American men.
 Also tonight the West Oakland Senior Center is hosting a meeting to discuss the future of the 16th St. Train Station in the Village Bottoms. Late last year the Oakland Redevelopment Agency loaned money to an organization called the Restoration Association for Improving the Landmark 16'" Street Station (RAILS). Tonight's meeting continues the discussion on how best to use those funds and restore the historic station.

If you've ever found yourself downtown near Alice St. on a Saturday morning, you've likely heard the drums pounding from the top floor of the Malonga Casquelord Center. The center's African drum classes are among the most respected in the nation and regularly draw attendees and master teachers from around the world. This Thursday's class features a workshop led by respected Parisian Master Drummer Hyacinte Massamba and is open to the public.

As fees for tuitions rise and students and teachers protest around the state, there's been a lot of attention on education lately. This Saturday's "Decolonizing the University" conference at UC Berkeley takes a different approach, investigating the structure of the American educational system and it's effectiveness and continued relevance in an increasingly multicultural nation.

If you have a skate boarder in your life, have ever known the joys of rocking a Fakie Noesgrind 180 or just appreciate the concrete sport then take a minute and vote for Town Park and Youth Movement Records in the Pepsi Refresh Project. Winners of the contest receive $25,000 for a community based project and the Oakland team is proposing a series of skating and large multimedia functions. If you've been to one of the Hood Games events in the past, you know it's a worthy cause.

And while you're in a voting mood, take a minute to vote for the best youth submissions from the Dream Reborn/My President is Green art contest, sponsored by Green For All. Young people from around the country submitted the artwork detailing their visions of the green collar jobs industry. Winners receive $1,000 and a professionally shot video of their story.

And while he might have still been just a bit too "radical" for White House, Green For All's founder Van Jones is still getting major attention. Earlier this week NAACP President Ben Jealous announced the Oaktown hero is the latest winner of the Image Award, one of the organization's highest honors. In an op-ed for Cnn.com Jealous calls Jones a "national treasure" and praises Jones' "powerful new ideas."

Know any national treasures or powerful ideas we should be covering? Drop a note to editor@oaklandlocal.com