Reflections on Lake Merritt

Reflections on Lake Merritt is an upcoming documentary film that explores “the crown jewel” of Oakland, California. The film includes extensive interviews with Boots Riley, Corrina Gould, Katie Noonan, Dorothy Lazard, Davey D, and Liam O'Donoghue. We have been producing the film on a volunteer basis since 2014, but we would like to raise funds so that we can dedicate time to finishing the project. We need to raise funds to cover editing, animation, audio recording/mixing, and some of the licensing costs for archival music and footage.

About Lake Merritt

Since becoming the first official United States wildlife refuge in 1870, conflicts over this site have epitomized fractures at the heart of American society. Although thousands gather around its shoreline every day to enjoy the sparkling beauty of its calm waters, raging conflicts are constantly brewing below the surface—and they often come to a boil.

What was a fertile Ohlone village site for thousands of years is now a scene of luxury apartments and homeless encampments, wetlands restoration and frequent gun violence, protected bird habitats and drumming circles, street vendors, rowing clubs, rollerskating parties, protests, and countless family picnics. The rapidly changing racial and economic currents of Oakland imbue all these features with heightened significance, making the lake a focal point for the anxieties and ambitions of an entire town.

By interviewing developers, environmentalists, politicians, musicians, artists, educators, historians, longtime residents, wealthy newcomers, and unhoused people about their relationships with the lake, the film brings to life debates over how to balance private interests and the public good. With California’s unprecedented housing crisis, skyrocketing inequality, and ever-worsening environmental catastrophes, the competing visions for Lake Merritt have come to symbolize issues that loom large far beyond the Bay Area. By delving deeply into Oakland’s rich history, “Reflections on Lake Merritt” will also explain how our society got to this breaking point -- and highlight stories from the past that may hold valuable lessons for the future.

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