Community
Katana Barnes spent an hour and a half on a recent Friday driving from Sacramento to the Emeryville Senior Center, just to attend the annual drag bingo event. “I don’t know a lot of senior queer Black people, especially this level of senior,” said Barnes, 65. “It gives you an opportunity to see what life looks like as you progress,” she said. Over the past three years, Emeryville Senior Center and local drag artist Ms. Sweet Nothing have created a…
It had been years since Khalil Hamed had his own space. He bounced from the streets to a shelter in Berkeley before finally landing at a new supportive housing complex in Emeryville. “This is my first time having my own place,” Hamed said. “I am grateful.” Hamed is one of the nearly 140 residents at the Nellie Hannon Gateway complex, located on the busy stretch of San Pablo Avenue at 36th Street. Named after the founder of the Emeryville Citizens…