Qilombo, Self-managed social center in West Oakland, US
Qilombo was a self-managed social center in West Oakland housed in a building on San Pablo Avenue. The location offered spaces for meetings, education programs, recreational activities like chess and dominoes, and an adjacent community garden.
The center was founded in 2011 as The Holdout and renamed Qilombo in 2014 to strengthen its focus on supporting Black and Brown communities. The name change reflected a shift toward the histories and struggles of these groups.
The center served as a gathering place where neighbors attended classes in Swahili, literacy, African history, and yoga. The community used the space to share knowledge and cultural practices that held meaning for Black and Brown residents in the area.
The center was accessible without barriers and offered different activities for varied interests, making it easy to return multiple times. Visitors could choose between the library, freeshop, games, and gardening depending on their needs.
The name comes from the Portuguese word quilombo, referring to historical self-determined settlements in South America where escaped enslaved people sought freedom. Choosing this name connected the local Oakland story directly to liberation struggles across the continent.
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