Yolanda Cotton Turner is a Bay Area native who grew up in West Oakland's Lower Bottoms. Her parents were Harold Dean Cotton & Malinda Ann (Cardella) Cotton. Her father raised both her and her sister, Denise Ann Cotton Royal and permenantly moved to Oakland in 1979. Yolanda attended St. Patrick's school, Holy Names High School, and Cal State University, Hayward. She studied sociology, vocal music, and fine art printmaking. She married Elmer Howard Turner, Jr. and birthed 3 children; Mufasaa Mujaheed Dean Turner, Shah Rasheed Turner, and Aliyah Marie Muhammad. Her husband passed away January 2008 of heart complications.
She has contributed to the Oakland culture through advocating for the arts in the East Bay community. She has worked for the respected Samuel Fredericks at Samuel's Gallery in the early 1990s when it was located in the old wooden Jack London Village. She also worked with Artery Press at Jingletown Art Studios, Studio 23, and 3 Dot Gallery. She is on the board of ArtPush.org and has a printmaking studio at Blank Page Studios called Resistance Press 510. Yolanda is a published artist in "100 East Bay Artists 2020" and has had her work exhibited at the de Young Museum in San Francisco.
Her interests outside of art is hiking in the Oakland hills, discovering music in Oakland's hole-in-the-wall spots, and going on road trips.
