Here’s one more drawing from my college reunion. This is one of the undergraduate temporary workers who was staffing the college reunion events. In this image, he is peeking into the door of Sayles Hall where the members of my graduating class were attending our reunion dance. When we graduated, back in the late 1980s, the student in this drawing hadn’t yet been born. I can only imagine how curious it must have looked to see a room full of middle-aged men and women laughing and talking, and dancing to a bizarre assortment of 1980s and late-’70s tunes.

Thinking back to the moment at the dance when I saw him peering into the door of the hall, I wonder if seeing older folks come back to campus gave him the same feeling that it gave me when I was a senior. When I graduated, reunioning alums from the class of 1983 all the way back to the class of 1913 were in attendance, reconnecting with members of their classes and welcoming us, the newest crop of grads, into the family of alumni. Back when I was a 21-year-old graduating senior, the sight of all of the older folks returning to the campus gave me a profound sense of being a part of something bigger, and that recognition filled me with gratitude and pride. 25 years later, I wish all of the current grads–the members of the class of 2013–the same feelings of mingled gratitude, pride, and connection.

Ajuan Mance

Hi everyone! I’m so glad to be back! Between creating new work for a show and traveling to see my parents, I have been away from my online sketchbook for the longest time yet in the nearly three years since I began this project.

I have not, however, been away from my real life sketchbook and I have 38–that’s right, 38 new drawings to post. I’m going to get as many as possible out in the coming week, because even when my posting gets a bit slow, I continue to make new art in my offline sketchbook (from whence the drawings originate).

I was recently in the airport and, even though my flight was delayed and I had to be completely rebooked on a different itinerary, I actually had a very pleasant day. The secret? Leaving my computer in my office and checking my luggage. When I fly, I usually carry my anvil-sized laptop and I also bring my clothing in a carry-on bag. Between carrying the computer bag over my shoulder and wheeling the suitcase, moving around through the airport is kind of awkward. Without those items, I felt light as a feather, and that alone was enough to put me in a good mood for all four legs of my roundtrip flight to Nashville, TN and back. Add to all of this my Bose noise-cancelling headphones (and I mention these by name because they are pretty much the best there are and you should really, really buy them), and I actually enjoyed my 4.5 hours on board each way.

The man in this drawing is one of the many Black men I saw in the various airports through which I passed. He was standing in the food court area near my departure gate in Oakland, wringing his hands over the apparent stress of deciding between Burger King, Otaez (a local Mexican restaurant with a food stand inside the Oakland airport, and Peony Asian Cafe (yes, I realize how vague that name seems to be, given the immense size and diversity of Asia). In the end he went for the King, taking comfort, I suppose, in the  flame-broiled familiarity of America’s number two burger chain. Personally, I can still remember my time as a teenage employee of the number one and number three chains, and that alone has destroyed my faith in the idea that fast food burgers are made of food. (They are fast, though.)

Ajuan Mance

Contrary to popular belief, dreadlocks can be a very high maintenance hairstyle. Whenever I see someone with beautiful locks, not only do I admire their hair, but I am also impressed by the level of effort that they are putting into maintaining that style. The Whole Foods in downtown Oakland seems to be a gathering place for people with amazing locks. This guy is just one of the many folks with well-groomed dreads who I’ve encountered there. Some days it’s like a hair show, with some of the most fabulous and creative natural Black hairstyles on view.

From time to time, I’ve heard people say that Black folks don’t shop at Whole Foods because its too expensive, it’s too far from Black neighborhoods, and it doesn’t sell the kinds of foods that African Americans like to eat. The reality of the Oakland and Berkeley Whole Foods stores, though, is that African Americans are some of their most frequent and faithful customers. The same is true of most of the other natural food stores in this area, as well as the farmer’s markets, and that’s a wonderful reflection on our East Bay Black community. This level of interest in natural foods will pay off down the road in less frequent diagnoses of diabetes, high blood pressure, and the other illnesses that afflict Black folks disproportionately.

Ajuan Mance

Piedmont Ave., Oakland, CA.

Ajuan Mance

There are the brothers on the court who are tall and wide, and then there are the brothers who are on the shorter side. In the NBA, the shortest guys are always some of the most dynamic. Players like Spud Webb (5′ 7″) and Muggsy Bogues (5′ 3″) more than earned the respect of both their teammates and the fans with their highlight-reel playing skills. At the gym, I’ve noticed the same sort of dynamic. The shorter guys tend to work a little harder than all the other players. Even among adults, far removed from those high school gym classes where some of the shortest guys were picked last, the guys who look the least like your typical athlete have to work a little harder to earn the recognition of their peers. The guy in this drawing is a case in point. He was sweating so much that his shirt was sticking to him like a second skin, he was running harder and breathing harder than anyone else in his half-court game, and he seemed to be everywhere at all times. He was like a hydra. One guy would cut him off, and then he would seem to materialize on the other side of the court. He was not a natural born rebounder, but he was an amazing blocker, and the way he moved his arms in front of the other players faces made him seem like he had an 80-inch wingspan. Mad props to the short brother who works harder.

I gotta love the big ol’ brothas on the basketball court. There are always a lot of tall Black men on the basketball courts at my gym. Some brothers, however, are both tall and wide, and there’s something kind of awesome about those Black men who don’t let size keep them out of the game. This guy wasn’t necessarily sprinting up and down the court, but from his spot under the basket, he was a killer at getting rebounds. He wasn’t trying to earn a triple double, but he pulled off a single double with much flair.

Ajuan Mance

Have you ever been to the Harrison St. Whole Foods at dinner time. It’s swarming with people picking up a quick dinner on their way home for work. The deli and food bar, in particular, represent fast food at its best. Unlike McDonald’s, Burger King, and Taco Bell, Whole Foods ready-to-eat items are made of real food. And the working folks of Oakland just love this place. Anyone who thinks Black people don’t care about healthy, natural food has never gone to the Whole Foods in downtown Oakland between 5 and 7pm, where African American shoppers are out in force, asking for samples, checking ingredients, and using their dollars to support a different approach to quick and easy meals. My natural foods preference in Farmer Joe’s Market on Fruitvale Ave., but that doesn’t prevent me from really, truly enjoying the experience of being surrounding by men and women of African descent who are trying to put better, healthier food into their bodies.

Ajuan Mance