Home Depot, High Street, Oakland, CA.
Ajuan Mance
Category Archives: Oakland
1001 Black Men #884
So…last January I joined Planet Fitness. Although this rapidly expanding fitness chain has received a lot of criticism–for its ultra-bright color scheme and a handful of dubious practices (like pizza night for its members)–the equipment looks pretty impressive and the price is an eye-popping ten dollars per month.
Joining a gym is not, of course, the same as going to the gym; and I still haven’t managed to do a single workout. I did, however, show up to the gym for a tour of the facilities. That’s where I spotted this stylish fellow, bringing 1970s style to the weightroom, with his sideburns and applejack hat.
Ajuan Mance
1001 Black Men #883
Purple and green is one of my favorite color combinations. It’s one of the reasons I like Wimbledon so much. (I think that makes the wrong kind of tennis fan.) My love of purple and green is also one of the reasons I particularly like this drawing. The man in this drawing was wearing the most wonderful purple sweater, with matching purple glasses and an olive green shirt.
On the day I saw him, I was already in a good mood. It was my first trip to Sweet Bar Bakery, and I’d had the most wonderful plate of chicken salad there. Then I ran into an old friend, and we laughed and drank iced tea and talked about our creative projects. When this man walked in to the bakery, with his remarkable purple and green ensemble, it was the perfect exclamation point on what had already been a pretty great day.
I’ve gone back to Sweet Bar several times since, but I haven’t seen the guy in the purple sweater and eyeglass frames. Then again, I’m not sure I’d even recognize him if he wasn’t wearing purple.
Ajuan Mance
1001 Black Men #835
I first noticed the man in this picture at Zocalo cafe in San Leandro. Part of the reason he caught my attention is because I’d been reading a lot about Black dandies and preppies, and he reminded me of the men in The Black Ivy, that amazing photo gallery at streetetiquette.com. A few days later, I spotted him a second time, in downtown Oakland. I’d never seen this man anywhere before, and all of a sudden we were crossing paths twice in one week. If the universe was telling me to make him one of my 1001 Black Men, then who was I to say no.
Ajuan Mance
1001 Black Men #831
Waiting for service at Broadway VW, Oakland, CA.
Ajuan Mance
1001 Black Men #827
Spotted in line at the Broadway Volkswagen service desk.
Ajuan Mance
1001 Black Men #829
This is one of the kind employees behind the service counter at Broadway Volkswagen. No matter how irritated and impatient the customer, he was able to maintain the placid expression you see in this drawing. There aren’t many people who could keep their cool the way he did. Watching him interact with each person in line was like watching a master at work.
Ajuan Mance
1001 Black Men #828
I love going to the Peet’s Coffee & Tea in the Temescal district of Oakland. It’s tucked into a busy-but-unassuming strip mall right off Telegraph, and it’s conveniently located between a great Italian deli and a well-stocked cheese store (just across the street). That makes it the perfect stop during specialty food shopping trips.
The Temescal Peet’s also features one of the most diverse groups of regular customers of any cafe in the area. In addition to African American, white, Asian American, Native American, and Latino customers, there are a critical mass of regulars who represent those parts of the African diaspora that do not have their roots in the Middle Passage.
The Temescal Peet’s has become a gathering place for folks from Ethiopia and Eritrea, and whenever I’m there I get a little bit of a kick out of being in a place where so many ways of being Black are on display.
Ajuan Mance
1001 Black Men #826
Here’s another portrait from Broadway Volkwagen.
Ajuan Mance
1001 Black Men #825
Here’s another portrait from Broadway Volkswagen. You may wonder how I had the time to do preliminary sketches of so many men during one trip to the mechanic. Well, on weekday mornings, Broadway Volkswagen is kind of a zoo. On this, my most recent trip there, there were at least 12 people waiting just to drop off their keys, and the process was happening none too quickly. I’m not sure how the guys at the counter stayed so friendly. There were so many customers, and few of them seemed to be in a good mood. I was in a great mood, because I was getting so many drawings done.
Ajuan Mance