THE BLACK DOT CAFE

Oakland: The Black New World Social Aid and Pleasure Club/Black Dot Café From the outside, The Black New World Social Aid and Pleasure Club in West Oakland, Calif., seems like a 1930s juke joint shanty. But when you walk inside, you step into another world. The vibe invokes a soul-stirring mixture of African ancestry, 1940s Oakland •avor, and youthful, passionate revolution.“I don’t think there’s any spot like it,” says poet, artist, and commu•nity activist Marcel Diallo, founder of the club. “Not on this side of the Mississippi. It’s a continuum of the black cultural, spiritual, and political legacy in Oakland.” Diallo established the Social Aid and Pleasure Club in November 2005. Since then, the club has hosted some of the most provocative and exciting musicians, activists, and artists of our day. On a given weekend, you may see Dwight Trible, Amiri Baraka, Bobby Seale, David Murray, or the Hot Eight Jazz Band come through. The Club’s sister spot, The Black Dot Café, located two short blocks away, just reopened two months ago. Serving food and beverages from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, the café has become a neighborhood town hall. It’s also an after-hours hangout, open until 4 a.m. some Fridays and Saturdays, depending on what’s going down at the club. –Kuwana Haulsey 836 Pine St., West Oakland, Calif. 510.451.4661. blacknewworld.com.