DeVon Franklin has built a career as an award-winning film producer, bestselling author and motivational speaker, but he says he's never forgotten where it all began, in the East Bay.

During a recent visit to Oakland, Franklin stopped to greet relatives at his childhood church and reflect on how the region has shaped him.

"This is my Aunt Nuna," he said proudly, introducing the 99-year-old family matriarch.

Franklin, 46, was born in Livermore and grew up between Pleasanton, Richmond, and Oakland. At just 9 years old, he lost his father to a heart attack, an event he has said defined his childhood and redirected the course of his life. The church his family established in Oakland became a place of refuge.

"Right after my father died, it was really church and going to the movies and watc

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