East Oakland, Oakland, California

East Oakland is the southeastern portion of Oakland, California, and takes up the largest portion of the city's land area.

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, McAfee Coliseum, the Oracle Arena, Knowland Park and Oakland Zoo, and Lake Chabot Golf Course.

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 98th 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 neighborhoods between 98th Avenue and the San Leandro border are gentrifying as higher-income families, headed by young professionals, are rediscovering the area and advocating neighborhood improvements. The general high cost of living in the entire Bay Area is creating the effect of making East Oakland increasingly unaffordable for lower-income families.

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, 2Pac,Spice1, Dru Down, Too $hort, Digital Underground, MC Hammer, The Luniz and Keyshia Cole have originated from Deep East Side.

Neighborhoods

Fruitvale

• Dimond District
• Laurel

Lower Hills District

• Crocker Highlands
• Glenview
• Lakeshore
• Lincoln Highlands
• Redwood Heights
• Trestle Glen

Central East Oakland

• Havenscourt
• Maxwell Park
• Melrose
• Millsmont
• Lockwood Gardens
• Ridgemont
• Seminary
• The Twomps
• San Antonio
• Jingletown

Southeast Hill

• Crestmont
• Sequoyah Heights
• Sheffield
• Woodminster

Elmhurst

• Brookfield Village
• Eastmont
• Sobrante Park
• Oak Knoll

History

Melrose and Elmhurst were annexed by the city after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. The area known as Brooklyn until it was 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. 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 nearby suburbs 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 New Chinatown 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 city.

Sociological perception

Many areas of East Oakland, however, 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 made popular in the 1970s with movies like "The Mack", and in the early 80's 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 and the Flowers family. Unlike South Los Angeles, there are no major affiliations with Bloods or Crips in Oakland. Drug turf determines its street politics. Then-East 14th Street was plagued with a prostitution and drug problem for years. Due to synonymous effect it had on the street's name (as it was one of the deadliest arteries, mostly from the San Leandro city limits to at least High Street), city council changed the name of East 14th Street to International Blvd. in 1996. Even after the change, prostitution continued for years until the CHP 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, California, 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 $hort 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 $hort 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 sheezy" (for sure) have their origins in Oakland. Another key term is "hyphy", meaning crazy and out of control, often referring to a style of dancing called "going dumb". Known as "The Town" throughout Northern California, it is now nationally famous for its sideshows, 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.