Above the Noise

Oakland Sideshows: Should They Be Legal? (3x11)

: 22, 2019

What do you get when you mix car stunts, youth culture, and Oakland? Sideshows! Sideshows have become big in Oakland, where drivers will block major intersections to perform car stunts like donuts and figure eights, while large crowds gather to watch. But here’s the catch-- they can be real dangerous and because of that they are totally illegal. And chances are in some way or another there’s a clash between youth and car culture and cops near you too. In Oakland, they are creating a huge divide in the community, where many supporters say sideshows are part of Oakland culture and are calling for legal safe venues. While many opponents view sideshows as a dangerous public nuisance and are calling for harsher legal penalties. So students in the PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs program at Oakland Military Institute in Oakland, California are asking: what should Oakland do about sideshows? And chances are there’s a clash between youth, car culture and cops near you too.