Sights & Sounds of East Oakland

Author and educator Tongo Eisen-Martin was just named San Francisco's eight poet laureate. His work as prison activist to revolutionary poet has taken him from San Francisco to South Africa, with stops at Columbia University and Riker's Island. In this interview, Eisen-Martin shares stories behind his art, his upbringing, and his human-rights advocacy work.

Hey Area is where we find answers to questions you ask. One listener wanted to know, "Where is the best place in East Oakland to buy fresh produce with WIC vouchers?"

Oakland’s food scene has been blowing up the past few years, with an increase in new, delicious restaurants. Diane Rodriguez asked Hey Area, “Where are the good places to eat in East Oakland?” 

East Oakland residents have lived with violence for a long time. Studies show exposure can impact mental health. A listener asked our Hey Area project what kind of volunteer work are East Oakland residents involved with. 

One organization is helping black women with their mental health

Every time you pass through East Oakland and head towards downtown, you cross over Sausal Creek. But chances are you haven’t seen it because it’s been largely fenced off, paved over, or piped underground But starting at Dimond Park you can follow Sausal Creek undisturbed all the way up to Highway 13. 

Jobs in tech are growing in Oakland, but will Oakland residents be able to compete for these jobs in their own backyards, particularly in East Oakland, where the unemployment rate is about 8%?

The sideshow is a car culture movement, born in Oakland, where people build up and engineer their cars and sound systems, then go out to display their work in the streets and parking lots. This sometimes includes a car performance aspect, showing off tricks like doing donuts, or dipping.

Nehanda Imara wrote to Hey Area, KALW’s community-journalism project, and asked:  "What is the oldest black business still existing on East 14th Street?"

Ivan Garcia is only 15 years old, but he’s already working with Oakland city officials, and was appointed by Mayor Libby Schaaf to the city’s Youth Advisory Commission.

Stand outside Yaelisa’s East Oakland dance studio on a quiet night and you can hear the sound of dancers practicing their footwork. Inside the studio, about ten women in long skirts are standing in line behind their teacher.  She sings throughout her class and calls out guidance to her students as she keeps the rhythm with her hands and feet. The dancers move in unison. The sounds of their stomps take on the quality of a drum.

Click the audio player above to listen to Damu's audio story  

Evergreen Cemetery is famous for its service to the community of East Oakland. For example, Huey P. Newton, the co-founder of the Black Panther Party was cremated here.

Hip hop music originally captured the spirit of a generation that was young in the 1980s. That generation and others that came after it are no longer young, but many of the people making the music are not ready to call it quits.

Oakland Voices correspondent Kat Ferreira lives near the remains of the Ghost Ship warehouse—where 36 people died in a fire in December. She brings us this story about how a new mural is helping some neighbors process the tragedy and move on.

Most artists follow their visions in the privacy of their studios, but one Oakland artist is re-defining public space: a park. Laila Espinoza is a community artist — one whose art touches larger social themes while engaging the surrounding community. She does all this at Athol Plaza Park in Oakland nearly every weekend.

This is my grandmother’s story as much as it is mine. I lived with her, Attaway, on 2657 67th Avenue from August 2006 to May 2012 and enjoyed every minute of it. But a series of events killed my joy.

Turning down 23rd Avenue towards International Boulevard, I see the words “Culture is a weapon” painted the side of a building wall.