General
In the corner of Vicente Way and Claremont in Oakland lies what is a hidden treasure to many, but to others, a jewel in plain sight: Alem’s Coffee, which serves Eritrean food and is a gathering spot for the East African community. As you enter the strategically-placed corner coffee shop, the scent of coffee hits you in the face, then the scent of different spices punches you in the stomach. The sun shines brightly into the seating area through the…
The Nevin Community Center is in Richmond’s Iron Triangle neighborhood, a few yards from Kaiser Hospital. The center’s playground is fenced off from a large patch of grass that stretches from the center to the sidewalk on the 800 block of Macdonald Avenue. Across the grass, a couple of older men are hanging out, sipping beers at a picnic table. A woman with a stroller walks by and asks them for a cigarette. Standard park sounds—like the laughter of toddlers—mix…
The corner where this incident occurred is currently a construction zone
It is a very precise place. No plastic bags, no empty bottles, not even in the corners or under the bench. The red plastic edging seems to fence the monument in, to protect it from stranger things. The four bronzes inside are placed symmetrically on two sites framed by a gallery of little busts, bronzed and brushed. Global humanitarians next to local champions: Marcus Foster, Carmen Flores, Oleta Abrams, Fred Korematsu, Rosa Parks, Oskar Schindler, Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela….
Swoosh. The automatic doors slowly open and close as people enter the building. At first glance, you notice the grocery store. Rows of healthy food options and beautifully displayed fruit catch your eye. To the left of the door is a bulletin board filled with pictures of the events held in the neighborhood. While admiring the photos, your nose fills with the aroma of fresh-baked biscuits. As you walk closer to the smell, you see Zella’s Soul Food Kitchen. Zella’s…
On the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and 39th Street in Oakland lies a quaint, red brick bookstore decorated with murals of prominent black figures and tattooed with bold lettering. I spotted Malcolm X on one side of the building and on the other, the outline of Africa accompanied by the virtues “dignity,” “honor,” “respect,” “justice” and “compassion.” Inside Marcus Books, a wealth of stories echo the same themes—from Maya Angelou’s complete poetry book to James Baldwin’s I…
Past a forest of white masts, a harbor bell rings in the distance. But the days of riveters and warships, smoky jazz clubs and worker’s unions, are long gone. Now, yachts and skiffs and sailboats bob up and down, tightly packed together, under a clear blue sky. This used to be one of the spots where tens of thousands of African Americans and immigrants came to make their wages during the second world war, turning generations of oppression and hardship…
Tobacco products like Swisher Sweets and Backwoods are mainstays in corner stores across the country. Some say that the bright wrapping and flavors like peach and fruit punch make these products attractive to the kids who encounter them while buying snacks. That’s why the city of Richmond bans menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco products.
With President Trump recently ramping up restrictions on immigration, Stand Together Contra Costa, an effort by local organizations and agencies to assist people who may be deported, is training legal observers in how to deal with ICE raids.