Reflections, gratitude, and Street Spirit’s new archive
Thirty years ago this month, in March 1995, Street Spirit ran through the linotype machines at Inkworks Press in West Berkeley for the very first time, solidifying the East Bay’s role in a growing international movement of homeless advocacy through print journalism.
As stated on the masthead of that inaugural issue, “Street Spirit is a monthly newspaper reporting on homelessness, poverty, and economic justice in the East Bay.” Three decades later, this street newspaper—as a publication, as a project, as a community—continues to do just that. But out there in the streets of Berkeley and Oakland, Street Spirit has become much more than a monthly stamp of ink on recycled newsprint.
This paper prioritizes the experiences of those who know the streets better than most, and the people in our community who often call the streets their home. It offers those experiences to our readers in the form of news, commentary, poetry, art, and finally, community with unhoused people themselves. Simply taking a moment to stop and purchase a copy from your local Street Spirit vendor each month, exchanging a brief hello or laugh as you scrounge for loose bills or pocket change, thumbing through its contents on the commute back home, becomes an act of participation and connection with those streets, and the communities that know them so well.
Introducing the Street Spirit archive
Street Spirit is bought and sold in many of the very same places that are highlighted in the stories within. It is very likely that the place where you bought this edition has also served as the backdrop of stories that have appeared in the folds of this paper at some point over the past thirty years.
In this way, Street Spirit documents the underground history of this region with vivid intimacy. In order to make this history available to readers and researchers into the future, we have recently achieved a goal that we have been working on for years: Our nearly complete archive of over 300 newspapers dating back to 1995 is now available to the public at UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies Library—or “IGSL”—on the first floor of Philosophy Hall, just south of the Campanile. The IGSL library displays collections that shine a light on the impact of governmental policies locally and across the nation, making it a fitting permanent home for the 30 years of history that are documented in Street Spirit. You can also access a searchable digital archive online, thanks to California Revealed and the Internet Archive.
To access the archive, visit archive.org, click “Advanced Search,” locate the query field labeled “Creator,” and type in “Street Spirit.” Or simply click here. The archive is also searchable by keyword.
We feel very lucky to publish this paper, to be a part of its living history. Grassroots outlets don’t often survive the decades: Founders pass away, philanthropists change their focus, and advertising strategies age into oblivion. Since setting out as an independent publication in 2023, we’ve learned about the fragility of grassroots media all too well, and do not take our ongoing publication for granted.
30th anniversary party
Street Spirit is a project in motion, a project that has grown a lot over the past year, and is only possible with continued support and participation from the larger community. Beyond the pages of our newspaper, we hope to create more opportunities to gather in person this year.
To kick this off, we’re having a birthday party!
On Friday, March 28, we’re teaming up with our friends at Left in the Bay and East Bay Yesterday to host a panel discussion about the legacy of underground print media here in the East Bay, followed by a proper afterparty. We are still finalizing the details, so look out for additional information on our Instagram page: @streetspiritnews.
Street Spirit is based in Berkeley, CA and run by Alastair Boone, Bradley Penner, and Kevin Sample. We are fiscally sponsored by Independent Arts & Media, a 501(c)(3) organization.