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Photo by Nina Parks

Communications and Policy Director Eric Arnold has an extensive background in music journalism, photojournalism, investigative reporting, and media policy, in addition to working in the non-profit sector around social and environmental justice. A graduate of UC Santa Cruz, he is the former Editorial Director of 4080 Magazine, and a former columnist and contributor the The Source. In addition to being a pioneer of Bay Area hip-hop journalism, he was the first to give national exposure to such artists as A-Trak, Planet Asia, Nelly, and Rhymesayers. He has covered every element of hip-hop, from emceeing, to turntablism to b-boying to style writing.  he has interviewed everyone from Doze, to Futura 2000 to Mear One to Mode 2 to TATS Cru to Grandmaster Flash to Grand Wizzard Theodore to DJ Shadow to DJ Q-Bert to Richie Rich to E-40 to Mistah FAB to to Boots Riley to Mac Dre to Hieroglyphics to Quannum MCs to Fantastic Negrito. Other publications he has contributed include Vibe, XXL, Wax Poetics, Rap Pages, Transworld Stance, Murder Dog, Africana.com, Complex. com, SF Chronicle, SF Bay Guardian, East Bay Express, Oakland Local, and Race, Poverty & the Environment. He has produced radio programs for nationally-syndicated show “Making Contact,” and written policy papers for the Future of Music Coalition. He has also worked as a consultant for the Greenlining Institute, the City of Oakland, and the Oakland Museum of California. Among the numerous non-profits he has worked with are Center for Media Justice, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Grind 4 the Green,  and Urban Releaf. He is the official photographer for the Othering & Belonging conference presented by the Haas Institute for a fair & Inclusive Society, and the primary photographer for the Equity Team convened by Oakland’s Planning Department for the Downtown Oakalnd Specific Plan. A former Steering Committee member of the Oakland Creative Neighborhoods Coalition, he is currently a member of the Community Coalition for Equitable Development, and the Co-Director of BAMBD CDC.

Since joining CRP in 2011, Eric has developed the organization’s web platform, authoring blog posts and contributing principal photography. He coined the phrase “pavement to policy” and has been instrumental in developing the organization’s public art policy platform and cultural/historical research components, as well as its innovative community engagement model.

Eric’s philosophy toward mural arts is simple and succinct: Art saves lives.

 

 

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