Category Archives: miscellaneous

Coming of Age in California…

More than 40 years after Anne Moody’s autobiography Coming of Age in Mississippi was published, I am amazed to see how far we still have to go in terms of race relations in America. Her book – an intimate portrait of the inequities and violence experienced as a poor, young, southern African American in rural Mississippi and her ultimate involvement in the civil rights movement – ends as she and fellow civil rights advocates ride a bus on their way to Washington D.C.

As riders sing the civil rights anthem “We Shall Overcome,” her fellow rider notices that she is not singing along. He asks, “Moody, we’re gonna git things straight in Washington, huh?” She doesn’t answer but only thinks to herself… I WONDER. I really WONDER.

And 4 decades later I find myself wondering, how is it that in some respects we’ve come so far, while in others we continue to fail so miserably?

As someone who loves the city of Oakland and the amazing state of California (I moved here from the East Coast as a young adult and have never once considered moving back), I was disheartened to see the events that transpired last night. What started off as a largely positive and peaceful protest, orchestrated by local government leaders, non-profits, clergy, citizens, and the like, was ultimately hijacked by a few, clearly hell-bent on destruction despite everyone’s pleas for peace (including the family of Oscar Grant).

I believe it will become clear as the details of these arrests come out, that the majority of these folks are not from Oakland. And the acts they commit, supposedly in the name of justice, are nothing more than senseless vandalism, theft, and destruction. They do not contribute in any way, shape, or form to the promotion of justice.

In fact, some of these horrible acts were committed by perpetrators wearing Oscar Grant masks. How f&*(ing ridiculous is that? As if it hasn’t been painful enough for the family members of Grant, to now have to witness these acts being performed by actors assuming his likeness. It’s the stupidest. StupidEST!

The photos below (borrowed from Oakland Tribune with photo credits and links to original articles) portray this idiocy.

Karl Mondon

This is AMUSEMENT?!? This is not a game people. This is a real community. Blacks, Whites, Browns, Reds, Yellows, hell, Purples, and Greens. WE ALL LIVE HERE!

Noah Berger

Please tell me how stealing shoes from local business owners promotes justice. Anyone?!?

In my opinion, these acts only hurt the cause because they continue to reinforce negative stereotypes. If the shoe fits…

Ray Chavez

FUN??? Again, I’m confounded. Is this about justice or is this about getting your rocks off?

Noah Berger

…

This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, another classic of American Literature devoted to the theme of racial injustice, among others. As the media has highlighted various events going on this week in honor of the anniversary, I couldn’t help but think about the parallels with our current day events…

In To Kill A Mockingbird, a black man is charged with the crime of rape against a white woman. Despite his innocence, he is found guilty by the jury. An unjust verdict.

In the Mehserle trial, a white police officer is charged with the murder of a young, unarmed, black man. Despite the fact that his actions clearly resulted in the death of Grant, he was convicted of only “involuntary” manslaughter, meaning there was no intent.

The trials are very different to be sure, but both involve racially charged situations in which an unjust verdict was reached (or at least what many deem to be unjust, in the current case).

I, for one, plan to re-read To Kill A Mockingbird this weekend in honor of the anniversary, and in light of recent events. Its lessons remind us to treat each other with respect and compassion. To realize “you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view — until you climb around in his skin and walk around in it.”

Peace everyone.

The Demise of Oakland’s Barnes & Noble…

So many of you already know that a few months ago, the only nationwide “chain” retailer of books located in Oakland, and the largest bookstore in our city limits, closed up shop. The Barnes & Noble at Jack London Square closed on January 31st due to declining sales… part of the company’s plan to close underperforming stores around the country.

This can be viewed in a number of ways… Certainly disappointing to many Jack London residents who no longer have this resource within walking distance, and disappointing from a financial perspective in that revenue is being taken away from our city. This store was a powerful magnet for shoppers in an area largely plagued by poor development.

But current plans are already underway to re-develop Jack London Square the way it should have been done from the get-go, and some view the closing as a real opportunity to bring other goods & services to the area that are more desperately needed. For example, despite large complexes of residential condos in the area, there is no local grocery store. (Jack London Square Growing Pains by Lisa Cartolano)  There are rumors that Trader Joe’s, which has already expanded Oakland operations, adding two new stores on College and Lakeshore Avenues in the last year, may set up shop here too.

But I digress… what I want to talk about are the bookstores.

In an article discussing the closure of the Jack London Barnes & Noble, a local columnist asks:

“What does it say about a major metropolis with more than 400,000 residents when our only major bookstore pulls up stakes and leaves?

Oakland can’t support even one of the big two chain bookstores? No Barnes or Borders? What’s up with that?

Do we not read and buy books?

What if you want to buy a book that’s not in one of the independent bookstores and you don’t have the leisure of waiting for the item to arrive in the mail from Amazon? Maybe you wanted to pick up a last-minute birthday gift and get it wrapped on the fly. Now, you have to schlep to Emeryville and deal with the parking hassles.” (Drummond: Mourning the death of an old friend)

I disagree with her. Perhaps this store failed because it was in a poor location to begin with… Jack London has never been magnet for shopping the way that Bay Street has become… there simply were few other retailers there.  Or perhaps Oakland residents prefer to shop locally, keeping their dollars not only in their city, but in their neighborhood no less.  The shop down the street has more character & charm than the chain store, but can still turn your book order around in a day if they don’t have what you need in stock.  You don’t have to go to Emeryville or turn to Amazon for fast service…

We are now a city of exclusively independent bookstores, and that’s a pretty incredible thing… Many wonderful quirky local bookstores remain in Oakland, continuing to survive despite the rise (and fall) of the Borders and Barnes & Nobles, and of course, the empire of Amazon.

In the next couple weeks I’ll be featuring many of our best indie-bookstores, and they’ve all got their own fascinating stories to tell… I hope you’ll stay tuned.

bargain books, local bookstores, oakland bookstores

Past & Present

I was cruising around downtown a few weeks ago and came across this old Art Deco clock on the corner of 16th and Broadway (below left)…

oakland street clock, art deco clock, lamp with naked figures, sexy lamp

It’s design is unusual because although the base is rectangular, the tower and clock itself is pyramidal, with only three sides. According to Bill Sturm, who runs the history room of the Oakland Library, street clocks used to be common in Oakland, erected by jewelry stores as advertising. Most of them are gone now, and Sturm says this is the oldest one in the city, hands down.

Commissioned in 1930 by the Davidson and Licht Jewelry Co. and originally installed at 1318 Broadway, this clock was uprooted twice when the jewelry store moved and has been at its current location since 1947. Interestingly enough, though no longer functional – it was damaged by a car sometime in the 1980’s – it still marks the location of a store that sells jewelry, among other things.

1635 Broadway is now occupied by The Home Fashion store. You can see their sign in the background which touts everything from “jewelry, watches, clocks, art pictures, figures, silk flowers, lamps, phones, women’s lingerie, and sunglasses.” Lingerie… really?!? That’s quite an assortment of stuff.

I spotted the lamp (above right) in their store window… Its tag reads “the unique and best lighting source.” All I can say is… WOW.