I’ve been getting nudges about needing to visit Oakland for years.
I was born in Monroe, Louisiana. Many Monroe natives migrated to Oakland during the Great Migration. The first I knew of was Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, who moved to Oakland from Monroe at three years old.
One of my favorite books, The Warmth of Other Suns, features a Monroe native, who moved to Los Angeles whereas most others from Monroe, the book stated, went to Oakland.
And I have family there; I just don’t know ’em. So for years, I knew I’d eventually go. In the last month, though, Oakland demanded my attention:
- In One Crazy Summer, a book that me and my 9-year-old daughter read in July, the three pre-teen sisters leave New York to visit their mother in Oakland for the summer.
- I read Belva Davis’s autobiography a couple weeks ago. She was born in Monroe but moved to Oakland.
- KweliTV said their August 2019 film screening would be in Oakland. (I went to their DC screening and it was bomb!)
- Last week, my homegirl Akilah said she was in Oakland, just as I was considering it (but leaving the exact same day I’d arrive).
- The night before my trip, my homegirl Yanie said her cousin was in town from Oakland.
Although all these signs said go, I still wasn’t confident about going that weekend. San Fransisco is the country’s priciest city. New York Times wrote that you can make 6 figures there and still be low income. So Oakland, being 20 minutes from San Fran, is getting pricey as it’s being gentrified.
Same story: Middle class folk (usually white) moving from the suburbs into inner cities, property taxes inflating, and folk without the financial means (usually non-white) being priced outta neighborhoods they’ve lived their whole lives.
The night before the trip, I still hadn’t decided. For the bare minimum cost of Cali, I could have a helluva time in the Caribbean. Frustrated, I closed the laptop to scroll Instagram. This was the VERY FIRST post I saw. After you finish staring, peep the location under her name.
Okay, God. I’m going.
Budget was tight. At the bare minimum, I could’ve swung the trip for $500. Why not throw in another $100? I set a budget for $600, including the hotel and car, and we packed our bags.
The miracles showed up immediately.
Miracle #1: I found a hotel the night before the trip. Got dizzy with comparing prices, so I took a nap. Woke up around 1 in the morning and the price had jumped almost $100! I called to see if they’d reverse it for me, and my Triple A made it cheaper than the original price!
Miracle #2: I didn’t reserve the car before leaving; my app was tripping. I chose Turo instead of a traditional car rental to dodge the security deposit. Soon as we landed, I resumed my car search. A Jeep popped up that wasn’t there the night before (it was the owner’s first time renting). I’m assuming because he was new, he set his prices much lower than others.
Miracle #3: We check into the hotel and I’m chatting with the front desk agent. Come to find out, she’s from Monroe!
Miracle #4: The next morning, I call the front desk to see if breakfast is free. “For Gold members,” the agent tells me. “Would’ve been too good to be true,” I answered. “How many people are in your room?” she asked. Homegirl gave me free breakfast vouches, y’all!
Miracle #5: Get to the film screening and introduced myself to the one other early bird there. She said her people were from Bastrop, Louisiana (less than an hour from Monroe). And she’s a writer!
Miracle #6: Less people than expected showed up for the screening, so they encouraged us to take food home. That was lunch for me, CJ, and Kobe.
Miracle #7: During Kweli’s film screening tour, they have one of the featured film’s creators present for Q&A. This one was Maria Judice. One of my questions was, “My recent mantra is to just show up. In doing so, the resources will align. If it has, how has that proved true for you as an artist?” She dropped so many gems from that question. Then come to find out, she has Louisiana roots!
Once she told me her folk were from Louisiana, the vision crystalized. In the words of Biggie, “I’m going going back back to Cali Cali”…to document the impact of Black Louisianans on Oakland 🙂
And in the words of Oprah, “What I know for sure is that”…if you just show up, the resources will align. Nevermind what you ain’t got. Just show up.
P.S.: Swinging a $600 budget wasn’t just because of a cheap Jeep, free breakfast, and one free day of lunch. Lot more to it than it! I vlogged the details on YouTube. [Click here to watch.]