Compared to what? Pullman Porters 1926

Set in 1926 West Oakland's Prescott Oakland Point neighborhood, at the end of the transcontinental railroad and the beginning of social and economic mobility for African Americans through the founding of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.



This compelling story centers around two veteran Pullman porters rooming in a Prescott Oakland Point boarding house where their tales of unbearable working conditions unfold. Other characters include an Irish immigrant boarding house owner and a wealthy African American club woman, illustrating the diversity of the Prescott Oakland Point community during that era. A young male character, recently migrated from the rural south to potentially find work as a porter, helps personify the intergenerational dependence and impact of the Pullman Porter profession on African American’s social and economic mobility in the US after the civil war.

“These porters stayed the course for more than 11 years to achieve respectable working conditions,” says playwright Judith Offer. “They are high on my list of heroes. This play will reaffirm your belief in the rights of all working Americans. This is a labor story, an Oakland story, and a love story,” Offer added.

COMPARED TO WHAT? an Anniversary Productions offering, written and directed by Judith Offer, will be performed May 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25 at 8:00pm and May 12 & 19 at 4:00pm at the First Christian Church, Fellowship Hall, 111 Fairmont Ave., Oakland, CA.

But we need your help to put on a great show!

Support COMPARED TO WHAT? and watch Oakland history come to life!

For more details on the play, photos and bios of the cast, plus historical images of Pullman Porters and Oakland visit us on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/ComparedToWhatThePlay

Every month I hear a siren

As a young child attending school in my kindergarten year, I remember how we learned to crawl under our (school) desk, stand within a door opening or line up and walk in a single line when we heard an emergency alert siren. The siren would indicate an air raid, earthquake, fire or any other emergency.

Because of 9/11 in Oakland, every first Wednesday of the month at noon, 27 alert warning system sirens are tested. Most siren sites are located in city parks, fire stations, corporation yards, schools, utility areas, and open spaces.

Chip Johnson, a columnist for the SF chronicle wrote in his February 2003 column:

After 9/11, Oakland expanded Capability made us aware of the new alert system in place for the City of Oakland.

The sound is a steady signal. Initially, it will sound like a fire truck siren, then increase in pitch and sound a constant tone signal until the alert is complete. At the end of the 3- minute alert, the siren will shut down. During the shutdown, the siren will decrease in pitch for 20-30 seconds until it turns off.

African American Caregiving and Wellness Forum: Alzheimer

 

In the Prescott Oakland Point neighborhood, we have seen a rise in deaths related to Alzheimer. I know of five community members within the Prescott Oakland Point neighborhood who lives drastically changed as caretakers for their mother or father who subsequently died of Alzheimer in the last 2 years. Alzheimer the most common form of dementia, accounting for 50 to 80 percent of dementia cases is  the sixth leading cause of death for Americans in general, but according to UC Davis’ Alzheimer’s Disease Center, it is the fourth leading cause of death for African Americans 65 or older.

SOME DEVELOPMENTS:

Scientists have developed a new technique to detect a range of age-related conditions such as diabetes, dementia, and Alzheimer’s.

The team of chemists and biochemists at University of Bath’s Departments of Biology & Biochemistry and Chemistry have developed a technique that detects levels of glycated proteins in blood and tissue samples, which can be used to assess the damage caused by sugars in age-related diseases.

Jean Van Den Elsen, explains, “We are currently using our technique to understand how these age-related diseases work, by identifying new biomarkers for diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and testing how new treatments affect levels of glycated proteins.

Marta Pereira Morais, adds, “So far we’ve proven this test is able to detect glycated proteins in blood and in a caterpillar model for diabetes. We have also been able to distinguish between brain material from healthy mice and those with AD pathology.

“We hope in the future to develop this technology into a simple blood test for diseases such as AD, so that patients with the condition can be diagnosed and treated earlier.”

StemCells' Alzheimer's program taps $19.3M loan from CIRM — finally California Institute for Regenerative Medicine known for its work in cervical spinal cord injuries, said Thursday that it closed on an unsecured $19.3 million loan from the agency for its Alzheimer's disease program.

WHAT CAN WE DO? GET EDUCATED!

While whites make up the majority of the 5.4 million people in the U.S. with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, research shows that African Americans are at a higher risk – approximately two times that of whites – to develop Alzheimer’s.

This is why the Alzheimer’s Association is partnering up with the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the Alameda County Area Agency on Aging to offer an African American Caregiving and Wellness Forum, 

“A Family Approach to Wellness,” to help the Bay Area community learn more about Alzheimer’s disease and how it is disproportionately affecting the African American community.

Research shows that African Americans are at a higher risk – approximately two times that of whites – to develop Alzheimer’s.

One of the key topics of the event will be the depression-dementia connection. According to Dr. Ladson Hinton, professor and director of Geriatric Psychiatry at the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center, there is a strong connection between depression and Alzheimer’s disease.

“Depression may be a risk factor for memory loss and it can cause symptoms of dementia,” said Dr. Hinton. 

“It’s a common symptom in persons with Alzheimer’s.”

However, the dementia-depression connection is not limited to people with dementia – caregivers are at risk for depression as well.

“Depression and stress may put caregivers at increased risk for memory loss; it’s also common in caregivers,” said Dr. Hinton, who will go into more detail about depression and dementia at the forum.

One of the key topics of the event will be the depression-dementia connection. According to Dr. Ladson Hinton, professor and director of Geriatric Psychiatry at the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center, there is a strong connection between depression and Alzheimer’s disease.

In addition to this topic, the forum offers information about Alzheimer’s basics, caregiver advice and support and a discussion about the correlation between Alzheimer’s and other diseases prevalent in the African American community, such as diabetes and heart disease. Attendees will learn how to grow caregiver relationships, plan for the financial impact of future care needs, reduce stress and gain mindfulness.

According to Alzheimer’s Association Outreach Specialist Craig Wingate, “This conference will help our community understand risk factors for Alzheimer’s, provide practical caregiving tips and offer individuals the opportunity to get help and support.” Story Via

This is your opportunity to learn more about Alzheimer’s disease, and interact with other caregivers in similar caregiving situations as you. According to recent data, African Americans are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias, and are more likely to be diagnosed in the late stages of this disease. In addition to learning more about Alzheimer’s disease, caregivers will learn how to navigate through negative family dynamics, how to manage the financial aspects of this disease, and various ways to reduce the stress of being a caregiver.

The forum will be held April 20, 2013 9:00 am - 2:30 p.m. at the North Oakland Senior Center, 5714 Martin Luther King Jr. Way Oakland, CA  94609;

Register for this free event, call (800) 272-3900 or visit http://forum.kintera.org/2013AfricanAmerican.

For more information, email Craig at cwingate@alz.org or Gwen at gmgates@usdavis.edu.

Learn more about Alzheimer’s at alz.org.

UPDATE:  Mae Mays, wife of Giants legend Willie Mays for 41 years, died Friday (April 19, 2013) morning in her sleep at the couple's Bay Area home after a 16-year battle with Alzheimer's disease, the club announced. She was 74.

Pretty Lady in the Prescott and EBX

 A Korean-American Diner 

Pretty Lady serves up classic diner fare, fist bumps, and homemade kimchi.

At the West Oakland (in the Prescott Oakland Point neighborhood) diner known as Pretty Lady, every customer receives a fist bump from Sung Son, the Korean woman who runs the place. It's an endearing quirk at a restaurant full of endearing quirks. English might not be Son's native language, but any regular customer will attest that she is fluent in grooving to oldies and in making guests feel welcome. You seat yourself at the horseshoe-shaped counter and, after the bumping of fists, you can ask Son or her husband (who helps out on busy days) for a complimentary plate of kimchi.

According to Son, the greasy spoon has existed at its Peralta Street location (at 1733 Peralta Street) under the same name since the Fifties. She and her husband took over eight years ago, and they kept the focus of the menu more or less the same: omelets, pancakes, burgers, and other American breakfast-and-lunch standards. 

For the complete story, click the via

Remembering April 4, 1968

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Assassination

 

Dr. King’s Forgotten Speech on Peace By Paul Rockwell, Oakland, California, In Motion Magazine, [4 May 1999]

Fifty (one) years ago on Dec. 28, 1962, during a rare visit to the Bay Area, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke before an audience of 7,000 at the Oakland Municipal Auditorium to mark the 100 year anniversary of the issuance of the (Emancipation Proclamation) document. During the ensuing months of the following year, King and his followers would advocate for a so-called Second Emancipation Proclamation in order to further efforts of social equality throughout the nation. This effort would culminate in the famous "I Have A Dream" speech he delivered on Aug. 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before a quarter-of-a-million people. Story Via