East Oakland, Oakland, California: Map

Categories: African-American culture > United States communities with African American majority populations > Neighborhoods in Oakland, California

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East Oakland is the southeastern portion of Oakland, California

, and takes up the largest portion of the city's land area. It stretches between Lake Merritt in the northwest and San Leandro in the southeast. Many areas of East Oakland have been plagued by high crime in the postwar period and are known for violence and drug activity.

Geography

East Oakland stretches between Lake Merritt

in the northwest and San Leandro

in the southeast. It generally has a diagonal layout. East Oakland has numbered avenues (1st to 109th) that run northeast to southwest, and numbered streets (East 7th to East 33rd) that run northwest to southeast. Interstates 580 and 880 also run northwest to southeast. Main northwest-southeast thoroughfares include East 14th Street (renamed International Blvd. in 1996 (within the city of Oakland only)), MacArthur Blvd., Foothill Blvd., and Bancroft Ave. Main northeast-southwest thoroughfares include Fruitvale Ave., 35th Ave., High St., Seminary Ave., 73rd Ave. (which becomes the Hegenberger Expressway south of East 14th St. to Oakland International Airport

), and 98th Ave. East Oakland is home to Mills College

, the Oakland Coliseum

and the Oracle Arena

.

Some residents identify themselves as being from the numbered avenue in their proximity when claiming turf. Neighborhoods in the Deep East Side or D.E.O. [Deep East Oakland](between 70th and 109th Avenues and near the airport) became known as some of the most notorious streets in all of California after much of the area experienced a drastic socioeconomic decline following the 1970s; prior to this, most of East Oakland was middle-class and almost suburban in nature. Many middle-class families relocated to the suburbs, leaving the poorest citizens behind (in the Deep East Side these were almost exclusively African American). Also, many long-time industrial jobs in the area disappeared as the economy changed and factories along the Southern Pacific railroad tracks shut down, most notably regional facilities for Granny Goose, a regional snack foods brand, and Gerber.

Some areas of East Oakland, such as Maxwell Park And The Hills, are higher income families, led by young professionals. The entire area was designated the Central City East Redevelopment Area by the City of Oakland in 2002. With this designation, the City will support redevelopment projects within the area that will be funded by tax-increment financing.

Numerous East Bay rappers and singers, such as Raphael Saadiq, Keak da Sneak, Dru Down, Too Short, Digital Underground, MC Hammer, The Luniz and Keyshia Cole have originated from Deep East Side. This area is also home of rappers Philthy Rich, D.B. Tha General, and more.

History

Today's International Blvd. was called the Oakland-San Leandro Road in the 19th century, a county road connecting Oakland with San Leandro. Along this road, small settlements developed with names such as Melrose, Elmhurst and Fitchburg. All these were annexed by the city of Oakland after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. After annexation, the Oakland-San Leandro Road was re-named East 14th Street, a name which lasted for most of the 20th century. Both Foothill Boulevard and MacArthur Boulevard, which run through the heart of East Oakland, were a part of the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway, from 1913 until 1927.

The area known as Brooklyn (until it was also annexed by the city in 1909) was once suburban and predominantly white until World War II, when it became the backbone of Oakland's African American community due to an influx of workers from the southeastern U.S. and the exodus of more prosperous whites to suburbs south and east of the city, such as San Leandro, Hayward

and Walnut Creek

. In the 1950s and 1960s, many areas of East Oakland remained predominantly white. In recent decades, the African American population has been steadily declining (as more middle-class African Americans are seeking opportunities in the very same nearby suburbs white residents moved to years earlier, and even outside of the Bay Area altogether) and is being replaced by a thriving Latino and Asian (primarily Cambodian

, Lao, and Chinese) population. Fruitvale

has become the backbone of Oakland's Latino community and has a thriving shopping district. A diverse Asian population, including Chinese, Vietnamese, Laotian, and other southeast Asian ethnic groups generally inhabit the area of East Oakland closest to downtown, from Chinatown, Oakland, California

, east to San Antonio.

The Brookfield district is located from 98th-85th Avenues. Residential streets are named for letters of the alphabet (A st...B st ...C st, etc.) This is a part of the Deep East area which has some of the highest rates of criminal and drug activity in the entire Bay Area.

Sociological perception

Many areas of East Oakland have been plagued by high crime in the postwar period and still remain a haven for prostitution and drug activity. Companies and corporations continue to bypass Oakland because of its image problem. East Oakland continues to have high unemployment and dropout rates, and its most poverty-stricken neighborhoods continue on a cycle of despair and apathy. The prostitution scene in the city was exposed in the 1970s with movies like "The Mack", and in the early 1980s was one of the first areas in the United States where crack cocaine became a serious epidemic. During that time much of the drug trade was run by the notorious Felix Mitchell.

Unlike South Los Angeles

, there are no major affiliations with Bloods or Crips in Oakland. Drug turf determines its street politics. East 14th Street was plagued with a prostitution and drug problem for years. Oakland City council changed the name of East 14th Street to International Blvd in 1996. After the change, prostitution continued for years until the California Highway Patrol stepped in to patrol the stretch (also known as State Route 185 to 42nd Street) until crimes went down.

Culture

East Oakland, together with West Oakland

and North Oakland, remains the heart and soul of Greater Northern California's African American community and its hip-hop community. The prostitution and drug culture inspired a new sub-genre of hip hop by the late 1980s. Rappers like Too Short incorporated this culture into the music, in sharp contrast to much of the East Coast hip hop of the day. The result was music that had more reality-based lyrics. Too Short was also one of the first rap artists to promote and sell records independently, and is one of the pioneers responsible for the birth of Northern California's independent hip hop scene, inspiring many to pursue success in the music industry without the assistance of a major record company.The sound of the music was different from East Coast hip hop, which is known for its technique of sampling and looping to create a song. Instead, Funk and Blues were infused with synthesizers and drum machines, giving birth to the Bay Area

hip hop sound known as Mobb music. Today, mainstream hip-hop continues to lyrically and musically incorporate much of what was pioneered in East Oakland. Much of East Oakland's street slang has also become mainstream; phrases like "hella" (hell of), and "fa sho" (for sure) have their origins in Oakland. Another key term is "hyphy", meaning crazy and out of control, often used in conjunction with "going dumb" which generally has to do with dancing. Known as "oaktown" throughout Northern California, and "The East" to Oaklanders, it is now nationally famous for its sideshow, in which cars do various stunts in intersections at night. Fights, as well as car crashes and reckless driving, have claimed many victims at sideshows in Oakland in the recent past.

Neighborhoods

Elmhurst

Elmhurst was originally a separate town, it was annexed by Oakland in 1909, and today is considered part of East Oakland. Although it was historically a white working-class neighborhood, it became predominantly African American after World War II, and today, Latinos now form about half of Elmhurst's population.

Elmhurst was the site of one of the large carbarns for the Key System's streetcars, the Elmhurst Carhouse.

Chevrolet opened an auto assembly plant in Elmhurst in 1915, which shut down in the 1950s.

Brookfield Village

Brookfield Village is located near Oakland International Airport

. The main streets are 98th Avenue and Edes Avenue. The Brookfield district is located from 98th-85th Avenues. Brookfield Village stops at the train tracks after railroad st.

Brookfield Village was built during World War II in response to the influx of workers needed for the war industries, on land which had been zoned for industrial uses.

Eastmont

Eastmont is the name of a former regional shopping mall built on bounded roughly by Foothill Boulevard, Bancroft and 73rd Avenues. The mall opened in 1970 (on the site of a 1920s-era Chevrolet truck factory) and was a popular and heavily-used shopping destination during most of the 1970s and 1980s; but declined by the 1990s due to a huge drop in the average income level, and a corresponding increase in the crime rate, in the surrounding inner-city neighborhoods; as mentioned earlier in this article, many long-time middle-class residents relocated to nearby suburbs elsewhere in Alameda County

during this period.

Eastmont's primary anchor tenants were JCPenney, Mervyns and Safeway; several well-known regional Bay Area

and national retailers such as Woolworth's were also well represented.

JCPenney and Mervyns closed their Eastmont locations in the early 1990s. In the early 2000s, the mall was only 30 percent leased and had fallen into bankruptcy. Local real estate developers purchased the mall in 2000, and emphasized a focus on neighborhood and community services beneficial to the surrounding residents; many of the now-abandoned retail stores were converted into office space (the Mervyns location was converted into a substation for the Oakland Police Department and the JCPenney location was converted into a joint City of Oakland/Alameda County social services center). A handful of existing retail tenants stayed on, and a few new ones were attracted due to the success of the renovations. In the spring of 2007, the mall was sold to a group of real estate investors based in Oregon.