By the Oakland Local Editorial Team
Slideshow by Eric Arnold

Eastside Arts Alliance presented the 12th Annual Malcolm X JazzArts Festival on  Saturday, May 19, 2012 in San Antonio Park, Oakland, CA. This annual event has become a community institution and thousands of Oaklanders turned out to bask in the sun, stroll, see friends and enjoy the music.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. Skyline High School senior Alan Blueford was just weeks away from graduating Skyline High School.

Instead, his family is preparing for a funeral and searching for answers.

Blueford died after being shot by an Oakland police officer on May 5. According to police, Blueford pointed a gun at officers after he ran when they ordered him to stop.

In the past three years, more than 500 girls from across the country have participated in the Technovation Challenge Program sponsored by Iridescent - a nonprofit science and discovery center that works to connect entrepreneurial professionals and university engineering students with under-served and under-represented youth.

In a neighborhood with no bookstores, one teacher has helped her students to become published authors. 

My mouth is on mute.
Let my hands do the talking
Even though I don't like writing
My voice is still walking

~ Curtis