36 minutes in West Oakland

The home of Jilchristina Vest, featuring a mural dedicated to the women of the Black Panther Party. Photo courtesy of San Francisco Chronicle.

We’re starting a new series that focuses on the lesser known places in the Bay Area. Over the coming months, we’ll travel to each of our 50 stations in search of local artwork, off-the-radar restaurants, and other locations hidden from tourist crowds.

Inspired by The New York Times travel series, “36 Hours,” we think that many hidden gems in the Bay Area can be experienced during part of your day, often in just 36 minutes. You’ll find that some spots won’t take long to enjoy, while other spots will motivate you to spend an entire day exploring a new area.

For our first location spotlight, we head to West Oakland to see a new mural honoring the women of the Black Panther Party. In 2020, Jilchristina Vest began fundraising to have the mural painted on her home at the corner of 9th and Center Streets. Vest has lived in West Oakland since 2000, and says she moved there because of the Black Panther Party’s history in the neighborhood.

The mural is one block away from where a Huey Newton bust will be unveiled later this year, and on the street that was recently named for the deceased Black Panther Party co-founder.

Watch the video below from the San Francisco Chronicle to see the homeowner, Jilchristina Vest and muralist, Rachel Wolfe Goldsmith discuss the project.

To see the mural in person, take BART to West Oakland and walk four minutes to the corner of 9th and Center Streets.

To see more features in our 36 minutes series, click here.

Let's talk about it. 

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