Ruth Beckford was known as “the Dance Lady” because she mentored several generations of young women through her popular classes and introduced the Bay Area to Afro-Haitian styles with her electrifying performances. She also co-founded the Black Panther Party’s free breakfast program, which FBI director J. Edgar Hoover called “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country.” Ruth Beckford passed away on May 8, 2019. Reflecting on the diverse accomplishments of her former teacher and lifelong friend, Deborah Vaughan said “Ms. Beckford rode life until the wheels came off.”

Although an iconic mural of Ms. Beckford will soon be covered by a new development, her 93 years of joy, activism and strength still loom large. This episode explores the life of a woman who collaborated with Maya Angelou, volunteered in women’s prisons, and much more. Featuring interviews conducted by the African American Museum & Library at Oakland and by Penny Peak for the Museum of Performance and Design, listen now for a powerful trip through nearly a century of Oakland history.

To see photos and links related to this story, visit: https://eastbayyesterday.com/episodes/i-enjoyed-every-day/

To visit the African American Museum & Library at Oakland: http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/locations/african-american-museum-library-oakland

To visit the Museum of Performance and Design: https://www.mpdsf.org/

If you enjoy the episode, please support East Bay Yesterday: www.patreon.com/eastbayyesterday

Jenny Odell wrote that her inspiration for “How to Do Nothing” was “grounded in a particular location, and that is the Morcom Amphitheater of Roses in Oakland, California.” Odell’s countless hours observing birds and other wildlife in this quiet neighborhood park led to the creation of her new book, which The New Yorker praised for “elegantly aligning the crisis in our natural world and the crisis in our minds.”

For the first episode of East Bay Yesterday recorded in front of a live audience, I interviewed Jenny about how she challenges the “placelessness” that’s becoming ever more ubiquitous in our digital world. Honoring the book’s theme of “reconnecting with the world around us,” we discussed Chapel of the Chimes, the joys of AC Transit, Oakland’s oldest tree, and much more. [Big thank you to EM. Wolfman Bookstore for hosting and Katie McMurran for recording this conversation.]

To see more information about this episode, visit: https://eastbayyesterday.com/episodes/eby-qa-live/

If you enjoy the episode, please support East Bay Yesterday: www.patreon.com/eastbayyesterday

50 years ago, a group of students, activists and community members transformed a muddy, junk-filled parking lot into a park. When the University of California, under heavy pressure from Gov. Ronald Reagan, tore up the grass and surrounded the land with a heavily-guarded fence, this response triggered a surreal and tragic set of events. The maelstrom of violence that engulfed Berkeley in May 1969 would be almost impossible to believe if the cameras hadn't been rolling.

Dozens were shot, hundreds were arrested, and thousands were teargassed – protesters and innocent bystanders alike. During the military occupation of Berkeley by National Guardsmen, a helicopter launched a chemical attack on the University campus, children were surrounded by bayonet-wielding soldiers, and journalists were detained under the supervision of brutally sadistic guards. Amidst this upheaval, Gov. Reagan told a group of reporters, “If it takes a bloodbath, let’s get it over with, no more appeasement.”

This episode explores the conflict with Tom Dalzell, the author of “The Battle for People’s Park” (Heyday Books), and through archival audio captured by KPFA-FM reporters in 1969 and 1970.

If you enjoy the episode, please support East Bay Yesterday: www.patreon.com/eastbayyesterday

To see photos related to this episode: https://eastbayyesterday.com/

To purchase “The Battle for People’s Park, Berkeley 1969”: https://aerbook.com/maker/productcard-4196911-4706.html

Episode art: Photo: Ted Streshinsky; courtesy of the Streshinsky Family. Image used by kind permission of Heyday Books.

With the weather warming up, I thought now would be a great time for a deep dive into Lake Merritt (not literally!). First, this episode will explore the wild side of this body of water (which is technically a tidal estuary) with Constance Taylor, a naturalist with California Center for Natural History. Then, I’ll interview Children’s Fairyland director C.J. Hirschfield about the enchanting amusement park that’s been entertaining families on the shores of Lake Merritt since 1950. Listen now to hear about the origin of the lake’s geodesic dome, the real story behind Walt Disney’s “inspiration,” and much more.

If you enjoy the episode, please support East Bay Yesterday: https://www.patreon.com/eastbayyesterday

To see photos related to this episode: https://eastbayyesterday.com/

To learn more about California Center for Natural History: https://calnature.org/

To learn more about Children’s Fairyland: https://fairyland.org/

During the 1960s, young people from all over the country flooded into a small village tucked behind the Oakland hills amidst a grove of towering redwoods. Some of them just came to party, but many sought to build an alternative to what they saw as the violence and reckless consumerism of mainstream society. In the forest, they built psychedelic cabins out of scavenged materials and taught each other how to garden, sew, raise chickens and goats, play music, bake bread, and much more.

By the end of the decade, this hippie enclave faced several major threats: a crackdown by local government agencies and – even more terrifying – a catastrophic explosion that killed a man and left several of the town’s most important structures in smoldering ruins.

This episode explores Canyon’s fight for survival… and why it was worth saving. Featuring interviews with: Christina Bernard, Ed Johnson, Karen Pickett, Deva Rajan, Vicki Saputo, Esperanza Pratt Surls, and also an archival interview with George Menge, conducted about two decades ago by Roberta Llewellyn. (Big thank you to Digital Roots Studio for digitizing the audio cassette.)

If you enjoy the episode, please support East Bay Yesterday: www.patreon.com/eastbayyesterday

During the Gold Rush, Canyon had more residents than Oakland, but today few people know that this tiny village nestled in the East Bay hills even exists. The “Deep in Canyon” mini-series will explore the history of what author John Van Der Zee called “the last rustic community in metropolitan America.” This episode covers Canyon’s many transformations between the 1840s and the early 1960s – from its rise as a Wild West logging town to the dawn of the “hippie invasion,” with many colorful detours along the way. Featuring interviews with: Vicki Saputo, Esperanza Pratt Surls and Karen Pickett.

To see photos related to this story, visit: https://eastbayyesterday.com/

If you enjoy the episode, please support East Bay Yesterday: www.patreon.com/eastbayyesterday

Instead of the usual narrative format, this episode is a one-on-one interview with Cheryl Fabio, the director of “Evolutionary Blues: West Oakland’s Music Legacy.” I interviewed Cheryl for my KPFA radio show this week and I enjoyed the interview so much, I've decided to share it as a podcast. Also, I wanted to spread the word about Cheryl’s upcoming film & artist talk series “Resistance, Resilience & Anticipation: A fresh look at the Black Arts Movement in Oakland.” For more about those events, check out: https://www.swfcenter4sj.org/

For info & upcoming screenings of “Evolutionary Blues,” check out: https://evolutionarybluesfilm.com/

If you enjoy the episode, please support East Bay Yesterday: https://www.patreon.com/eastbayyesterday

Since this interview is about the history of West Oakland blues, I also wanted to re-share one of my favorite episodes from 2017. Here is the original description of that program, which follows the Q&A with Cheryl Fabio…

“The queen of the West Coast blues”: Sugar Pie DeSanto serves up sweet & spicy stories

From jumping off pianos with James Brown to running the streets with Etta James, Sugar Pie DeSanto has led a wild life. In this episode, the soul singer shares memories of performing in Oakland’s legendary 1950s blues clubs, stunning global audiences with her risqué moves, and making grown men cry. As Sugar Pie puts it, “I’m one of the roughest women you could ever know. I ain’t to be played with!” Listen now to find out what happened when one aggressive fan learned this lesson the hard way.

Special thanks to Mr. Jim Moore and Jasman Records. Support Sugar Pie DeSanto by purchasing her music at: sugarpiedesanto.com/

Stories about Berkeley’s rebellious student movement of the 1960s often start with the launch of the Free Speech Movement. But the roots of this pivotal event go all the way back to the previous decade, when a campus group fed up with the innocuous role of student government started rallying around controversial political issues such as civil rights. This episode explores the history of SLATE, a student-led organization that rarely gets credit for their influential role in helping spark a decade of social change.

This episode features interviews with former SLATE members Mike Miller, David Armour, Cindy Kamler and Michael Tigar. Interview were conducted by Martin Meeker and Todd Holmes of UC Berkeley’s Oral History Center. To read full interview transcripts, check out the SLATE Oral History Project: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/libraries/bancroft-library/oral-history-center/projects/slate

If you enjoy this episode, please consider supporting East Bay Yesterday on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/eastbayyesterday

Growing up in Oakland, Mike lost many friends and family members in the streets. Three years ago, he almost became a victim, too, when he was shot seven times while sitting in a car with his daughter. Since then, Mike has recovered his health and built a thriving shoe customization business*. He also moved to a safer area. Today’s episode features a deep exploration of Oakland’s violent history with somebody who understands it intimately.

*Check out Magic Mike Customs here: https://www.instagram.com/magicmikecustoms/

Tobie Gene Levingston left behind his life as a Louisiana sharecropper in the mid-1950s to work at a Oakland metal foundry. Within a few years, he started the East Bay Dragons, which grew to be one of the most legendary Black motorcycle clubs in the world. This episode goes into the Dragons’ clubhouse for a deep conversation with two long-time members, Melvin Shadrick and Picasso, to explore how the club has managed to thrive all these years – and what it feels like to cruise past another motorcycle pack on the highway going 140 miles per hour.

This episode’s art is a watercolor painted by Oakland-based illustrator and author Robert Liu-Trujillo. You can see more of Rob’s work at http://work.robdontstop.com/