Crosscurrents

Public radio takes the stage for a live performance of KALW's news magazine, Crosscurrents!

We'll kick off the night with a special presentation from KALW's community storytelling project, Hear Here. Then with host Hana Baba, we'll take you on a sonic journey through Bay Area news, arts, and culture, with our live house band, Tin Cup Serenade and special guests, including audience participation...you won't want to miss it!

The final program in our series on Oakland's Fruitvale and San Antonio neighborhoods, produced by KALW News and Mills College in Oakland. We take a look at a corner store on Foothill Boulevard, a funeral home that's playing a vital role in the community, and we take a ride on Oakland's bus line 1.

In 2011, Oakland experienced a spike in violent crime after four years of declining crime rates. As of April of this year, crime has risen by 21 percent. In Fruitvale, merchants are struggling to combat the violence that is plaguing the neighborhood. One unlikely business is taking part in that effort. Cooper’s Chapel Funeral Home has been in the neighborhood for almost a century and now, a new manager is set on making the historic mortuary a vital part of the community.

Corner stores in Oakland are predominantly run by immigrants from the Middle East. Most of the merchants are originally from Yemen. Some estimates report that 80 percent of Bay Area convenience stores are operated by Yemenese.

One of those stores is Foothill Market on 19th and  Foothill in Oakland’s Fruitvale district. The Hassan family runs it. Ali Farrad Hassan is a first generation Yemeni-American, and has been working in his uncle’s store for a few years now.

One way to get to know a new place is to ride public transportation – especially the bus. It’s like taking an unguided tour – a tour in which there’s often as much to see inside as there is out the windows.

The most popular buses in Oakland are the 1 and the 1R. The 1, which is the local route, makes 105 stops in three different East Bay cities. It’s a trip that takes four hours from start to finish.