The stop was Clark Griswold-ish in length, but it was well worth taking a moment from the 2,000+ mile trip from Oakland, CA to Vicksburg, MS.

Committed to adult and family education, the Eastmont Computing Center provides computer classes and Internet access to Oakland’s senior community, as well as after-school programs for kids. Two days of field recording at the ECC made for an excellent halfway mark in StoryCorps Griot’s Oakland tour stop.

A local institution herself, Unav Wade served as Oakland’s NAACP Chapter President for fifteen years. Driven by love for her own family’s well-being, Unav worked to achieve equality for Blacks in the workplace and for their children’s opportunities for success in the classroom.

Located in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood, our friends at the Peralta Hacienda made StoryCorps Griot’s visit a day-long community event, attracting a group of participants that included Oakland natives and men and women of multi-racial backgrounds. We look forward to Round 2 this Sunday!

The next day we ended up staying in our neck of the woods along Lake Merritt and visited Stagebridge’s offices on Harrison Street. You may remember us mentioning this organization last week and their super star storyteller, Marijo. But in addition to hearing Marijo do what she does best (tell her story), we met Evelyn and Jimmie Lee Wesley, an Oakland couple that completed two interviews that day. Between their stories of Oakland, then and now, and the wisdom they’ve acquired along the way, both storytellers made our Stagebridge morning all the better!

Our first Door to Door with Stagebridge, a senior theater company, was held at the South Berkeley Senior Center. We had the pleasure of working with Marijo, a premiere storyteller, teacher and performer in the Oakland community. She is a true StoryCorps Griot Superstar, interviewing 5 participants in one day! Talk about dedication… she even made her own StoryCorps Griot button (pictured above). Thanks Marijo!

Our first Door-to-Door in Oakland was hosted by the Chapel of the Chimes, a crematory and columbarium nearly 100 years old. In addition to providing cremation services and bereavement programs to the Bay Area, Chapel of the Chimes is also a prime venue for theater and musical performances.

Harold Logwood, StoryCorps Griot’s first Oakland D2D storyteller, is a former attorney and Oakland resident. This week Harold shared his trials of becoming a lawyer in the 1970s and his memories of Oakland’s historic McClymonds High School.

Pictures courtesy Melvin Reeves

On Tuesday, July 31st we began our cross-country driving trip from Chicago to Oakland, CA. The booth, driven by a professional driver, made a pit stop for repairs and cleaning before meeting us in Oakland on August 6th.

Driving our two mini vans, our trip took 4 days traveling along the I-80 through 5 states. We stopped overnight in Cheyenne, WY, Omaha, NE, Salt Lake City, UT, and Reno, NV. Toccarra and Brianna drove the Grey Goose while Michelle and Rose commandeered the White Horse.

We stayed at The Plains Hotel on Central Avenue in Cheyenne. The website describes it as “The historic, charming, 1911 National Historic Landmark Hotel of Cheyenne Wyoming. Host of famous guests, designed with Western High Style decor”. We’re not sure if the bricked in windows in Brianna’s room reflected “High style decor” but the little bugs that ran her out gave it a rather rough-neck appeal. The rest of us fell out pretty fast cause we were drowsy as a cowpoke at dusk.

The last stop before Oakland was Reno, land of sunshine, deserts, mafia money-laundering and gas station slot machines. We stayed at the luxurious Days Inn Reno. Our rooms faced the picturesque I-580 freeway and the hotel pool faced a roller disco and “the hood”. As Rose, Michelle and Brianna lounged by the pool they were serenaded by the honking of passing cars, men on bikes and on one occasion, the local drunk.

We finally hit Oakland the following day. Here we’re staying at the Lake Merritt Hotel just across from Lake Merritt of course. Our rooms are huge with full kitchens and for most of us, separate bedrooms, living rooms and dining rooms (sorry Rose but we picked first). The place is in transition from a hotel to becoming Barbary Lane – a residence home for gay and lesbian senior citizens. Now, how Bay area is that?