At the heart of the North Richmond Farm, a new kind of public monument is taking shape.
The North Richmond Farm History Walk is a growing, community-powered storytelling installation that will preserve the legacy of North Richmond through the voices of those who have lived it. Blending oral history, public art, and shared memory, the walk will invite visitors to listen, reflect, and connect. Some stories speak of community icons, while others honor everyday life: what it meant to grow up here, how the neighborhood has evolved, and what remains at its core.
Fueling this work is the North Richmond Storytellers Guild, a powerful component of our annual Summer Youth Apprentice Program (SYAP). The Storytellers cohort is made up of young leaders learning to preserve the living history of their community. With training in oral history methods and storytelling traditions, they conduct interviews with local elders, develop thoughtful questions, and determine how those stories will be shared with the world.
This summer, we are proud to welcome our second cohort of apprentices. Their focus will turn toward uncovering and sharing the stories of Japanese Americans in North Richmond, stories that are often overlooked but essential to the fabric of this place. The interviews will be added to our expanding oral history archive and made available on the History Walk and on the Urban Tilth website.
Over the summer, the youth apprentices will study indigenous storytelling traditions, explore different art forms, and most importantly, listen deeply and intentionally. As Storytellers Guild leader Lily Ochoa puts it, “the youth themselves are the lens through which these stories are told,” giving the work both its power and its heart. The apprentices are not just participants; they are actively shaping the stories, films, and installations that define this project.
That truth was on full display with the first cohort. The culmination of their efforts was A Conversation with Our Elders, a short film featuring the memories and wisdom of North Richmond elders of African descent. In amplifying those voices, the apprentices discovered their own. The film will premiere as part of Urban Tilth’s 20th Anniversary Celebration on October 11th, offering a moving glimpse into the stories that will live on along the History Walk and a chance for the community to hear directly from the young people who brought them to light.
This work is about more than preserving memory. It is about building belonging. These young storytellers are helping keep North Richmond’s spirit alive, inviting all of us to come out, listen closely, and celebrate the people and places that continue to shape this vibrant community.
