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For the group who gathered at the South Berkeley Senior Center (SBSC) last Wednesday, Black History month did not mean reading about times past, it meant reliving them. 

With performances by Berkeley’s Mingus Amongus jazz band, the SBSC’s senior tap group, The Steppers, and 78-year-old DJ Rob, over 100 people gathered at the SBSC to participate in an event called “Back in the Day,” co-sponsored by Seniors for Progress and the Berkeley Civic Arts program.  

Like other events at the South Berkeley center, “Back in the Day” was designed to rekindle memories for participants (the majority of whom are African American) who live in a world that has moved on from the times they remember best. The event was similar to a program called imaginary cruises, where participants chose a region of the world they would like to visit and then create an event surrounding all the cultural traits of wherever they pick such as Cuba. This time, however, it was generational, not geographical. 

“The event really jogged people’s memories,” said April Watkins, a teacher at the SBSC, the event coordinator and owner of the Art of Living center on Shattuck Avenue. With old records hung on the wall and the names of old black clubs next to them, she said the event was a walk down memory lane.  

“Slim Jenkins, it’s a place you went to and if your mother caught you, you were dead,” explained Yvonne Smith, 74, from West Oakland. Smith, who comes to the SBSC regularly, remembers Slim Jenkins, a club out on Seventh street in West Oakland as the place to go for blacks when strong lines separated who could go to what clubs and who listened to what kind of music. 

“[The clubs] were the only places blacks had to go,” she said. “It was what black people had, and it wasn’t symphony music.” Instead it was the early jazz and blues greats who were blaring from the speakers or playing up on stage.  

As Mingus Amongus played, whose leader and bassist Miles Perkins is a Berkeley native, Smith remembered some of her favorite artists; Ray Charles, B.B. King, and Roy Eldridge, who according to Smith was a friend of her mom’s and used to stay at the house when he and his band came through. 

For The Steppers, the event was a chance for them to showcase their moves. Started back in 1995 in Oakland and then moved to Berkeley in 1996, The Steppers are directed by Maxine Browne, who has been teaching dance for 40 years.  

“It’s the rhythm that people like,” said Browne about the popularity of the class, which has 16 members.  

Dancing with incredible fluidity and rhythm, and dressed in classic Count Basie tuxedos with tails and a bow tie, top hats and a cane, the group (which is predominantly made up of women) quickly had the crowd cheering them on to shouts of, “You go girl.” 

Camille Parker, one of the dancers, said she had wanted to learn to tap dance since she was 16 so she jumped at the opportunity to learn. Plus, she said, the exercise is great.  

The class, which meets twice a week, is well-known around Berkeley but according to the dancers, the real claim to fame was when they danced with the famous tap dancer and actor Gregory Hines at the Paramount Theater in Oakland. 

Others including Velma Washington, a Berkeley resident, took the theme “Back in the Day,” very seriously. Washington, who is 74, didn’t come to just remember old times, she brought them along with her. She didn’t stop at her time, however, and instead went back several hundred years, wearing a bonnet and bright dress she dated back to the early 1800s. According to Washington the dress came from an aunt who recently passed away at 106 and who had inherited the dress from her mother. 

“This, is black history,” said Washington about the dress. “When I wear this I’m remembering [my family].” Washington also brought along a gourd as old as the dress, which had been dried and hollowed and used for drinking water.  

Another part of the event is a collection of old objects from the past contributed by SBCS members. Mary L. Trahan, soon to be 80, who is an avid collector, brought the majority of the items up in the display including several dolls from her extensive collection, including a doll of Louis Armstrong, as well as a ticket from when she rode the Pan American clipper, and a book of American Negro spirituals. Also up in the display are old copies of the Oakland Tribune featuring advertisements that entertained many a passerby with memories of what prices used to be. 

“I have always loved black history,” said Trahan, while guiding onlookers through the collection that is still up and open to anyone interested. “In my lifetime I have seen a lot of changes.” 

Watkins said pending funding, the SBCS hopes to put on several more similar events, but with different genre themes. Rock and roll, she said with a smile, could be the next.  

For anyone who wants to view the display, the South Berkeley Senior Center is located at 2939 Ellis St. near Ashby Avenue. 981-5170.  

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