BELONGING

Two remarkable community-based news organizations originated in Hayward in the 1970s, one primarily focused upon the LGBTQ+ community and the other for East Bay Latinx communities. Both were remarkable in the ways they created connection and belonging through culture, support, and local and state-wide political action. Their publications and productions render visible the ways Haywardians tried to look out for each other and did the hard work of connecting people, ideas, culture, and care.

Country Press

“Serve the People. Learn from the People. Be One with the People.” Published monthly between 1971 and 1973, the Country Press provides evidence of a community of care by young students involved in a range of social movements in Hayward and beyond. A “collective” of youthful Haywardians living together in a house on Tennyson Road produced the newspaper–researching, writing, and formatting all of its content.

Barrio Expressions

Between 1976 and 1985, Latinx Haywardians participated in discussion and community events through a truly significant live call-in television show and immersive, documentary work, Barrio Expressions. The indefatigable Juan Espinoza traveled across the Bay Area and California to document daily family and community life in approximately 26 unique shows aired each year during its long run.