On Saturday night, Frank Ogawa Plaza was packed with impeccably dressed partygoers dancing to the beats of South African superstar DJ Black Coffee. Swirling beams of multicolored lights flashed across the facade of Oakland’s 18-story City Hall while thousands shuffled and swayed across the crowded lawn below.

Around the corner on Clay Street, a second stage, constructed to look like a giant tree, featured DJs from Afrobeats Oakland blasting reggaeton and amapiano for a smaller but no less enthusiastic crowd. This joyous party in the heart of downtown stood in stark contrast to the endless barrage of negative headlines painting Oakland as a crime-ridden dystopia.

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