East Bay Alternative Book and Zine Fest, Berkeley City College, Berkeley, CA.

Saturday wasn’t just a cool day for meeting interesting and creative book and zine folks. It was also a great day for Black men in cool sweaters. I don’t own many cardigans because I sometimes find it hard to get just the right fit; but that doesn’t mean I don’t know a good one when I see it.

Ajuan Mance

Confession: The guy in this drawing was not actually crying when I saw him, but his big expressive eyes made me want to take a few artistic liberties.

I wonder what kinds of things do make him cry: Something beautiful? Something really sad? A Raiders win at the Superbowl? A Raiders loss on any given Sunday? Shirley McClaine’s steely maternal love in Terms of Endearment?  The emotional climax of the movie Avatar? I’ll probably never know.

Ajuan Mance

I never fail to notice the guy in the cricket sweater. It’s one of my two favorite types of sweaters; and I like sweaters a lot, so that’s really saying something. This man was standing at the corner of Center Street and Milvia, seemingly trying to get his bearings. He was with a college-aged woman who may have been his daughter. If she was a Berkeley student, then she must have confined her activities to areas closer to campus than the BCC area, or at least to the streets and shops on the other side of campus from BCC. I say this because she seemed as uncertain of her whereabouts as her dad. Since his clothing reminded me of the old-school “race man,” I have set this drawing against a background that consists of the page from a 19th-century tract on “Negro uplift” and Booker T. Washington.

Ajuan Mance

The key to wearing any afro that’s longer than about .25 inches is maintaining the proper shape and symmetry. There are a couple major categories of afro hairstyles. One consists of what some people call the casual ‘fro. It’s loosely shaped, but generally symmetrical (think Lenny Kravitz).  The man in this drawing is wearing what can only be called the traditional ‘fro. It’s both symmetrical and smoothly shaped (think the early Jackson 5).  This man was standing outside the city office building at 1947 Center Street in Berkeley, and I would never have seen him if I hadn’t turned the wrong way on my wait to the East Bay Alternative Book and Zine Fest. I wandered into the farmer’s market and all the way to this building before I realized I needed to go the other direction.

Ajuan Mance

I spent this past Saturday at the East Bay Alternative Book and Zine Fest. This was my third zines and alternative publishing event this fall, and it was definitely worth the trip. The festival was lively and packed with  more than 80 talented artists and writers, and it was very well attended, and even those people who didn’t purchase anything from me were fun to talk to. My table was between two very cool independent publishers, author Ian Kahl (writer and publisher of anxiety is a rambling dagger) and cartoonist Nancy Husari, whose comic broadsides are laugh-out-loud funny. While the event wasn’t packed with African American folks, there was a nice diversity of both artists and attendees. This tall, slim guy lingered at one of the tables across the way from me. I think he was friends with the sellers. His boyish face was a interesting contrast with his height. If he wasn’t so tall and so very self-possessed, he could easily have passed for 14,

Ajuan Mance

Brooks Brothers, Union Square, San Francisco, CA.

Ajuan Mance

I saw this guy as he was walking out the door of Butta Qutz barbershop on MacArthur Blvd. He looked like he’d just gotten a fresh clean up, but then again, he probably looked pretty much the same way before his haircut. This is all because of a phenomenon that–although I’ve been getting my Afro trimmed by local barbers since 1986–I only came to understand recently. This is going to sound incredibly stupid to brothers and sisters who are less oblivious than I am, but I’ll explain anyway: I get my own hair cut about every 8 weeks, but according my my barber  (shout out to Lance at Graham and Company, also on MacArthur), a lot of his clients get their hair cut every week; and some even get it cut twice a week, just to keep the “line” nice and clean.

After learning of the fastidious hair habits of so many of Lance’s clients, I felt like a total slacker. I’m doing well to get into the barber once a month. At one point in my life, while I was teaching at the University of Oregon, I went for several years without a haircut, because the nearest barber who could cut Black hair was nearly two hours away.

In any event, this hair on the man in this photo looked awesome, with a clean and freshly cut line than ran right across his forehead. With that level of attention to detail, something tells me he’ll be back a lot sooner than a month from now. I’m guessing he’s probably a once-a-week guy.

Ajuan Mance

I celebrated the beginning of the holiday season with a trip to downtown Oakland for a drink with a very good friend. We were heading to the bar Make Westing, but it was closed for a private party. The bouncer there was very friendly and apologetic, and he recommended that we try a different bar just one block away. Cafe Van Kleef has lots of character. Decorated with quirky antique and collectibles attached to just about every inch of wall space, it’s quite an interesting place to visit. But with smoking permitted in the alcove right outside the open front door, it was not exactly what I’m looking for in a quiet spot for early evening drinks. Still, make no mistake; Cafe Van Kleef is one of the most popular spots in downtown Oakland and, according to my friend, their greyhound, made with fresh squeezed pink grapefruit juice, is indeed the best in the city. If you don’t mind a little second hand smoke and you love vodka and grapefruit juice (which they squeeze at the bar), then check it out!

Today’s drawing is a composite of the people of African descent I encountered in my way from Make Westing to Cafe Van Kleef. Since Van Kleef has an antique kind of vibe, I made a frame for this picture that recalls the Belle Époque aesthetic.

Ajuan Mance

If you’re in the Berkeley, CA area, do drop by the East Back Alternative Book and Zine Fest. Located at 2050 Center St. in Berkeley, this event brings together more than 80 writers and artists from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.  The event includes workshops and speakers, along with tables and booths hosted by an array of amazing cartoonists, fine artists, illustrators, poets, memoirists, and everything in between. Doors open at 10am and the event ends at 5pm.

I hope to see you there! Look for me at the 1001 Black Men table.

Ajuan Mance