As beautiful and magical as the scores of cities I’ve worked or traveled
in are including Paramaribo (Suriname), Costa Carayes (Mexico) and Capetown
(South Africa), I’ve found my way back to Oakland thrilled to be here, despite
the ills plaguing her. On land once
inhabited and controlled by the indigenous Ohlone peoples, Oakland became a
city made up of late 19th and early 20th century
immigrants from Germany, Italy, China and African Americans who arrived from
the Deep South during WWII. In the last
three decades, the population grew to include immigrants from South East Asia,
Mexico and Central America. In the last
fifteen years, a growing number of people from the Middle East, Eastern Europe
and West Africa have taken up residency in the city, as the Native American
population has been diminished mostly to a cultural legacy.
I’m one of the more than 390,000 people who call Oakland home and reside
in one of its fifty neighborhoods. I
just so love me some Oakland, especially the way the morning sky unfolds as its
seasonal layers display new possibilities and the sun closes out over the Bay
each evening so purposefully. The
ascension of the Moon over the hills pierces the transitioning night sky, as
satellites dance with the stars; casting
a regal glow over the city, adding to its so underestimated charm.
I’m overjoyed to be on this ever evolving journey from Chocolate City
(DC back in the day) where I was born to living on what I refer to as the East
Oakland Riviera. I became an urban pioneer in 1977, when I bought a rehabbed
house on an eighth of an acre in the flats of the Fruitvale (Da Hood). Some mornings, as I rise to a classic photographic
and panoramic view of the Bay and beyond, Red Tail Hawks are perched on my deck
taunting feral cats scratching up a handout, while others from the
ornithological world bop and chirp Doo Wop.
Deer, raccoon, fox, wild turkey and possum also claim their territory in
neighborhoods across the city. The Meyer
Lemons, limes, tangelos and blood oranges in my orchard are ripening into their
calling, as my rescued orchids scream their way into bloom, in January no less.
On my block the sounds of a Tongan mother gathering her children up for
church, El Salvadorian matriarch using her machete to prune trees or a second
generation Norwegian American cranking up his truck to go off to work are part
of the daily doings. This is framed by
the music of an Irish fiddler practicing for her next gig; and a Puerto Rican
union organizer chillin’ on a Sunday afternoon listening to Cuban Descarga
music, eclipsed by the treble beats of rap from “caboomalatin’” car stereos. There are still far too many times when the
night sky is rife with bullets piercing a kind of sobering stillness, brought
on by the economic downturn. Across
Oakland and in many other urban enclaves, people sleep behind fortresses armed
with all manner of alarm systems and weaponry at their bedsides.
As you sweep up a mile or so from my neighborhood across 580, the tone
and tenor change; the Mormon and Greek Orthodox Temples ascend, back lit and
holding court hillside. Up above the
Temples are sometimes over built mansions with surrounding acreage, horse
stables and swimming pools. There are
even homes on gated private roads requiring codes to enter. In some of these homes, big decisions and
deals are often made about how and who will develop and run the City. And above all of that is Redwood Regional
Park crowning the city with a regal forest of 150-foot tall Sequoias, serene
streams and more than 1800 acres of other evergreens and wildlife. Along with the reassuring sounds of silence,
I go to Redwood to inhale and infuse my heart and mind with the blood enriching
oxygen (especially before I fly). From
Mosques, cathedrals and temples to ashrams, churches and natural habitats,
there are diverse sanctuaries for engaging in worship and spirituality.
Markets are filled with artisanal oils, vegetables whose names require a
pronunciation guide for me to say and stuff I didn’t even know the ocean
contained. The abundance of culinary
venues from food trucks to upscale restaurants and pop up places makes it
possible to savor the flavor from old school, taking it back to your momma’s
table, to fusion and sometimes confusion on a plate. In neighborhoods throughout the city, I can
read, eat and shop the world from independent vendors and small business owners. I buy flowers from an Iranian in the Glenview;
an African American dentist in Eastmont keeps my teeth tight; my “ride” is kept
smooth by a Vietnamese mechanic in the Laurel; and the therapist who kept my
“dome” from cracking when my husband died was a Latina.
Local iconic poets, novelists and social commentators including Avotcja Jiltonilro,
Ishmael Reed and Helen Zia, capture the many dimensions of a city in which both
the click of the Glock and camera capture lives. Images imagined and produced by Oakland
artists including sculptor Mario Chiodo, painter Mary Lovelace O’Neal and
ceramist Ron Nagel are in public spaces and major private collections around
the world. Along with outstanding collections at the Oakland Museum, traditions
and festivals abound including Art& Soul, the Oakland International Film
Festival and the Greek Festival.
Just South of Lake Merritt, a
wonderful reflection of Oakland’s Mediterranean topography, International
Boulevard begins and so too does “Little South East Asia;” an assortment of
grocery stores, fabric shops, real estate offices and restaurants serving
family style meals that put you at tables in Saigon, Bangkok and Vientiane. The ritual drumbeats from the Intertribal
Friendship House, one of the first urban Indian community centers in the US, juxtaposed
right at the beginning of this business district, mixes with the fragrance of
the boundless spices drifting out onto the streets from the myriad of Asian
restaurants. This area runs for about
ten blocks before a business district and neighborhood comprised primarily of
Mexican, Salvadorian and fast food restaurants runs for almost 85 blocks to the
boarder of San Leandro. World class chef Anthony Bourdain found himself deeply
impressed by the offerings served at Tamales Mi Lupitas, one of the scores of
food trucks along the Foothill corridor.
While wine bars and breweries continue to emerge around Jack London
Square, West Oakland and Rockridge, the ubiquitous liquor store remains mostly
in the impoverished communities of the city. The evidence of the thriving
burglar bar industry seemingly prevails on the windows and doors of homes where
owners and renters are struggling to sustain life on “incomes” that require unprecedented
economic voodoo.
Rising above this area are
neighborhoods (also not immune to foreclosures) where primarily long
established African American professionals, third generation Asian-American and
European American families (also descendants of immigrants) live. Despite a
school district rife with the problems of all too many urban centers, students
from Oakland Tech, Oakland High, McClymonds and charter schools still get
accepted into Harvard, Yale, Spelman, Stanford and Mills, a more than 150 year
old college for women (which accepts men at the graduate level). Alumnae include Congresswoman Barbara Lee,
legendary jazz musician Dave Brubeck and sports announcer Renel Brooks Moon. The current faculty includes Google Geek
Ellen Spertus; Margaret Hunter, a sociologist doing ground breaking work on
race gender and popular culture; and world renowned artist Hung Lui. Mills also serves as the landscape for three
structures built by 19th and 20th century, Oakland
architect Julia Morgan.
Along with three sports franchises—the A’s, Warriors and Raiders, a stellar blues history and as an incubator
for Hip Hop and Rap, Oakland also has a strong tradition of political activism
that spans the 19thth century to the Occupy Movement. I’m counting on Michael Morgan, Director of
the Oakland Symphony, to write the “Occupy Opera or Concerto.” By the way, the nosebleed seats in the
Paramount are acoustically superb and provide a commanding view inside our Art
Deco cultural palace. With
a steadily growing vibrant night life, the city’s center includes banks,
hotels, federal and state buildings, and slowly re-merging retail scene. I am grateful that we have no empire tall
skyscrapers. But the city center lacks
even one major grocery store, despite numerous development projects that have
brought thousands of new residents to Oakland.
The downtown corridor is populated by medical
marijuana dispensaries and students attending Oaksterdam, a degree granting
university where weed (21st century gold) is the focus for the curriculum. But it seriously grinds my guts that “Pookie”
is in the joint for a couple of ounces, while medical marijuana CEO’s make a
Wall Street-type killing. Any night of
the week, I can engage in the intersections of music by bopping over to Yoshi’s
to take in Jazz, Hip Hop or World Music.
On weekends, the 57th Street Gallery riffs with up close and
personal sounds from local and international jazz giants including vocalists
Robin Gregory and guitarist Calvin Keyes.
Oakland is also a city where people sweep their
sidewalks, tend their yards and though there are still miscreants who throw
fast food containers out their car windows or dump along freeway ramps, our
streets for the most part are relatively clean.
There are areas mainly in East and West Oakland still riddled debris. And behind the gates and doors of some of the more
elegant enclaves, at the most prestigious addresses, are things we’d never
imagined would exist therein.
Sailboats, yachts and house boats, some of which
have traveled the world, are moored at our estuary. You also can take a ferry
from Jack London Square, cruise pass Alcatraz and take in views of San
Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bel Marin Keys. While you well may have left your heart in
San Francisco, you could find your soul in Oakland. From janitors to jurists and teachers to high
tech pioneers, thousands of residents contribute to growing Oakland beyond the
Sisyphean lockdown in which it’s been mired for far too many decades. All too often our efforts and contributions
are blocked by “greedlock” politicians whose visions are stuck in reverse gear
and who remain unsophisticated in the ways of Urban Détente. While some are
hell bent on destroying it, others are occupying Oakland to leave the most
vital legacy possible for our children, grandchildren and generations to come. I love me some DC, Paramaribo and Capetown,
but Oakland is home. In collaboration
with residents, small business owners, developers and politicians, the Oakland
Renaissance has been decades in the making.
Long before the New York Times
declared Oakland number five, just after London and before Tokyo as places to
visit in 2012, we knew it was a jewel in the crown polished by the hands of thousands
who love her.
Things
I love about Oakland
Sweeping vistas that pan out into the Pacific Ocean,
even from the flats
Bibliomania Rare Bookstore
Yoshi’s Jazz Club
The Golden Gate Ferry ride around the Bay
Culinary venues that range from nouveau sassy soul
food to soul warming Southeast Asian spreads and full on fusion
Elegant evergreen, deciduous and fruit bearing trees
all over the city, including Redwood Park
The all too rare sound of children playing outdoors
Quirky, Cutting edge, world class artists, musicians,
writers and designers creating Cultural Crawls
Lake Merritt, our homage to the Mediterranean
Superb vintage and second hand stores
Barbara Lee, who still stands with me
Mills College
Some
things our city needs
Leadership that translates the potential of the city
into sustainable economic, cultural and political results
A Peace Force instead of a Police Force deeply
involved in working with citizens and citizens likewise involved in keeping the
peace and promoting viable community relations
A Jobs Plan that takes into account the size, scale
and economic as well as class and ethnic diversity of the city and what it
really takes for the City and supportive services to run
Affordable and transitional housing for young
people, the disabled and elderly
Reduction of the Dropout Rate in the school district
by 33% in three years through mentoring and partnerships
Mounting a Home Foreclosure Restitution Program, where
the City partners with community banks and credit unions to help people recover
their foreclosed homes
Creating multipurpose plans for the use of schools,
libraries and recreation centers
A collaboration, with the City and community
partners, to sponsor an annual contest to celebrate and honor people from a
range of neighborhoods and sectors who help make Oakland work
Become one of the top twenty ADA Compliant Cities in
the Country
Supporting the work of a City engineer to invent a
pothole free road pavement
Digitization and voice activation of our “Welcome to
Oakland” signs to provide reflections of the beauty of our city
©Daphne Muse January 2012
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