East Bay Yesterday

The East Bay’s KKK started by burning crosses in the hills, and they quickly captured power in City Hall. This movement didn’t last long—their rise and fall all happened around the time of the 1920s. But they did make an impact that changed Oakland forever. The kind of impact that Trump could have on America. This episode features an interview with Professor Chris Rhomberg, author of “No There There: Race, Class, and Political Community in Oakland” [Also available on iTunes and Stitcher]

“Black Ahab’s” adventures made him an Oakland hero and one of the most powerful men of color in California—but there’s a dark side to his story that’s rarely discussed. This episode weaves together histories of slavery, whaling and a flood of African American seamen into 19th century Bay Area to explore William Shorey’s rise to the top of a bloody, brutal industry. [Also available on iTunes & Stitcher]

When Brock Winstead bought a house in the Golden Gate district, he decided to research the history of his property and find out the identity of every single person who had ever owned that plot of land. What he discovered reveals much about the patterns of land use and displacement that continue to shape Oakland today. From colonization to redlining to rebranding, this episode explores the powerful forces that have shaped the East Bay’s development. [Subscribe to this program on iTunes or Stitcher]

From 1973 until 1982, the Black Panthers operated a school in East Oakland that has been called “arguably the Party’s most important organizing legacy.” Although the school solved many problems that continue to plague America’s education system, these lessons have been largely forgotten. Today’s episode explores the history of the Oakland Community School with a former student, a former teacher, and the school’s former director, Ericka Huggins. [Subscribe to East Bay Yesterday though iTunes or Stitcher]

Bobby Mardis had one hit song in the 1980s and then hung up his leather pants and retired his dreams of pop music stardom. Thirty years later he was re-discovered, thanks to a random encounter at the Oakland museum. The surreal night of partying that followed shows what can happen when you get to re-live the glory days of your youth—for a single, sweaty night. [Please subscribe to this podcast on iTunes or Stitcher]

“When they demolished it, it’s like a little part of you… goes with it.” That reaction from a former regular customer of Biff’s Diner was shared by many when the spaceship-shaped building was finally torn down last month. This episode explores the stories of Oaklanders who ate and worked at Biff’s—and why so many of us hold a special place in our hearts for diners. [Also available on iTunes & Stitcher]

What better time than election season to explore the first novel to predict the rise of fascism and a brutal government run by corporate elites? This episode features Tarnel Abbott, the great-granddaughter of Jack London, discussing “The Iron Heel,” Occupy Oakland, and a conspiracy to commercialize the East Bay’s most famous writer.

Loretta Nguyen spent the first few decades of her life living in the only house on the grounds of Oakland’s oldest cemetery. As a young girl, she learned that people are much scarier than ghouls and spirits. This episode explores the nature of fear through stories of grave-robbers, escaped convicts and a very spooky basement. [Also available on iTunes]

Get in the mood for Día de los Muertos with this history of Oakland’s “lost” Latino neighborhood. Tina “Tamale” Ramos and her mother Natividad share delicious stories from their decades of running one of the Bay Area’s oldest Mexican restaurants. This episode explores everything from the “birth” of Old Oakland to the dubious origins of Taco Bell. [Also available on iTunes]

Oakland has been an epicenter of minors engaged in the sex trade for a long time. A recent OPD scandal put a spotlight on this crisis, but failed to illuminate the roots of the problem. This episode features four women with an intimate knowledge of this history – and explores an often overlooked factor for why there are so many underage girls out there on Oakland’s “track.” [This episode is also available on iTunes]