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BOOK REVIEW: “Twisted: My Dreadlock Chronicles”

Published

10 years ago

July 2, 2015

The path to something important is never straight.

You may take that first step forward… then backward, decide one way, then another, changing your mind like you change clothes. Knowing your desires will eventually get you there, yes, but you might flirt with the idea awhile before you take the leap.

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For author Bert Ashe, a new look on his head sat in his head for years. In his new book “Twisted: My Dreadlock Chronicles,” he explains.

Who invented dreadlocks? That question was on Bert Ashe’s mind when he pondered, once again, the idea of growing out his hair. Humans began adorning their bodies and shearing their hair some 5,000 years ago – so, he thought, maybe 1998 was the year to take the leap with a new ‘do.

Ashe had grown up in Los Angeles , on a street that was filled with residents of many backgrounds. He never gave much thought to his own culture until he went away to school and realized that he’d been “cocooned.” He began to expand.

That was in the ‘80s, and a Jamaican girlfriend talked him out of having dreadlocks. Since he wasn’t Rastafarian, she claimed, growing dreads was an insult so

Ashe tabled that idea. Every now and again, he got the urge to try dreads but didn’t: the timing was wrong or his job was new or it just didn’t seem like a good idea. He never was all that into reggae – was that a prerequisite?

Was it as easy as not combing his hair anymore? Having cut his own hair for years, Ashe decided to quietly find out.

That was in early March of 1998 and, within days, his wife noticed that he was growing his hair.

His children saw, too, and were less than thrilled. Even his parents were taken aback, but Ashe stayed the course.

Having dreads took time, he learned, and it wasn’t cheap; it wasn’t easy, either, since he could neither shampoo his hair nor touch his head for weeks, which became a challenge.

“I loved dreadlocks long before I wore them,” he says.

And once he wore them, he was surprised to learn that he loved them even more.

In his introduction, author Bert Ashe says that this memoir of hair “is not linear, cannot be linear…”

That’s a pretty big understatement: for the first couple dozen pages, “Twisted” rambles quite a bit.

Once you’re used to that, however, the stream-of-consciousness feel fades and Ashe’s thoughts eventually coalesce into somewhat of a meditation on Black history and Black hair.

As his mane grows and twists, Ashe does likewise with his tales, with his thoughts, and, delightfully, with the process of the style, the reasons why he waited to grow his dreads, and why (at the time of the writing) he’s kept them.

Students of culture and people-watching readers will enjoy this book, I think, as will anyone who’s pondered a change of pace. Be aware, again, that it may take perseverance: though it ends well, in its beginning, “Twisted” is exactly that.

“Twisted: My Dreadlock Chronicles” by Bert Ashe, c. 2015, Agate, $15 – 250 pages.

Oakland Post

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Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

6 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

11 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

11 months ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.