Only Black Man In A Cafe In Oakland – Sign Of A Diversity Problem In 2016 Before BBQ Becky
Oakland – In this vlog at Perch Cafe on Grand, I noted the first time being the only black guy in a cafe In Oakland in my life – ever. This at Adams Point in Lake Merritt on Grand Avenue in 2016. And this was before the nation was introduced to such Oakland racists as BBQ Becky.
At the point of the vlog, I had never been to a single cafe in Oakland that didn’t have blacks in it, and I mean plural. Now, the good news is the owner of the cafe is black, and also owns a barber shop next door, but I’m sure he would be both surprised and not surprised by this vlog. It notes the passing of a time when there were enough African Americans in the Lake Merritt Area such that a scene like this would be unthinkable even in 2006 – ten years before this.
It is also a sign of the impact high rents and little good jobs for non-tech Oaklanders, many who are black, will have on a neighborhood like Adams Point.
Hopefully, this vlog makes you look around Oakland using a different lens.
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