Oakland Remembers Nino Parker, the “Black Homeless Advocate” Who Organized Green Teams
Nino Parker, a San Francisco native and outspoken advocate for Oakland’s homeless residents, died Sept. 1 at 72. In an obituary published Thursday, The Oaklandside recalled a man who introduced himself at City Council meetings as “Black Homeless Advocate.”
By the Bay Area Brief staff · Edited by Seamus McKenna · · 2 min read
Downtown Oakland skyline over Lake Merritt at dusk. Photo: Darin Marshall / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped, resized and color-graded). Archive photo of the area; not a photo of the events in this story.
Nino Parker, a San Francisco native and outspoken advocate for Oakland’s homeless residents, died Sept. 1 at 72. In an obituary published Thursday, The Oaklandside recalled a man who introduced himself at City Council meetings as “Black Homeless Advocate.”
Parker organized Green Teams of unhoused residents to clean parks and encampment areas, pushed the city to provide trash pickup and helped get cleaning crews paid. The East Bay Express documented that work in 2018.
Friends told The Oaklandside that his advocacy also meant distributing clothing and hygiene supplies and helping vulnerable neighbors. Talya Husbands-Hankin described him as someone who could bridge the distance between people living on the street and elected officials.
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