by Wanda Sabir

Whoopie Goldberg as Celie confronts Danny Glover as Mister in the 1985 film, “The Color Purple.”

This story of redemption and love is amazing. It is certainly an up from slavery story in every sense, as Mister’s father was formerly enslaved, his son, first generation free. Similar to how formerly incarcerated persons hit the ground running trying to make up for lost time, Old Mister feels the same way about life projected onto his son. He tells his son he doesn’t have time to dream or fall in love; he doesn’t have time to waste as Black folks have to catch up economically, 400 years behind everyone else in accumulating wealth.

Mister’s life, unhappy that it is, is testament to the fact that cliche though it may be, “Money really can’t buy happiness.”

It is this tension and Mister or Albert’s inability to stand up to his father that makes him bitter, and he takes this anger out on his family, his first wife and then Celie.

The brutality learned through conditioned response in slavery plays itself out here in the lives of both Mister and his son Harpo, who finds his true love in Sophia.

The stage production is the best introduction to the story for those who do not know the world of “The Color Purple.” In it, Alice Walker’s work is given a visual and physical interpretation – Donald Byrd’s choreography and music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, Stephen Bray, that is so electric second to the novel, and perhaps the biography, “Alice Walker: A Life,” by Evelyn C. White, it’s mighty hard to match. In “Alice Walker: A Life,” White shows us an Alice Walker whose characters in “The Color Purple” are first met. We meet Walker’s relatives who are the prototypes for Mister, Shug and Celie.

There is a context and a history Walker draws from in her fiction and “The Color Purple,” given its immediacy, shows us how close to Africa we still are and how close we also are to slavery’s legacy as a people and as a nation, especially when one looks at what happens to Sophia, Harpo’s wife, a strong, independent Black woman who exercises what she thinks are her rights as a citizen and learns she has no rights where white rule is the law.

Terrorism is not unknown to Black people. I am reading a book now, “Mare’s War,” by Tanita S. Davis, where Mare speaks about the racism in the ranks between white enlisted men and Black soldiers, between white Red Cross workers and Black enlisted women. Segregation was not even suspended during war time – crazy!

And it drives people crazy, look at Gabriel in August Wilson’s “Fences” and look at Pa or Ol’ Mister in “The Color Purple.” To a certain extent, Pa, portrayed by D. Kevin Williams, is shell shocked by slavery and doesn’t recover, but in Walker’s tale there is hope, ‘cause at the end of the story, “Women are wearing the pants” (smile). The company song: “Miss Celie’s Pants” with Celie, Shug Avery, Sophia and the women is a foot tapping show stopper.

Celie’s song, “I’m Here,” speaks to the change that has to happen so that the Black family and the Black community can heal. Mister hears her, especially the way Dayna Jarae Dantzler sings it. He is also afraid of the consequences, but so many characters in “The Color Purple” are afraid – yet they work through those conflicts with faith.

Pam Trotter’s Sophia’s rendition of “Hell No!” with her sisters and the sweet duet, “Any Little Thing,” with Harpo are other moments in the story where one can measure the transformation, a personal transformation that brings the characters the joy they so deserve.

Alice Walker

The women carry this story and for the San Jose production, starting with Dayna Jarae Dantzler’s Celie, Traci Allen’s Nettie and Pam Trotter’s Shug, more capable hands couldn’t have been found and what an appropriate or fitting story for Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 23-28, 2010. No, it isn’t a chick-play or musical, nor is it a male bashing free for all, which is how some people viewed the film without even seeing it or reading the book 25 years ago. I would advise folks to take heed and not do the same thing regarding Tyler Perry’s “For Colored Girls,” based on the book by Ntozake Shange.

Why are the stories about Black dysfunction and pain getting a lot of play? Perhaps if we owned the medium of production, these tales would not be what gets the most play, no matter how true, but ultimately, “The Color Purple” is a great story and it is not just a Black story. It is a tragedy that happens in many communities; it’s just portrayed here in Black skin. This is also true with “For Colored Girls,” the “colored” was literal, Ntozake told me in a radio interview. She intended a multiracial cast, which is how she produced it initially. How it ended up with just Black women is an artistic choice of many subsequent directors.

Redemption is certainly an evergreen story and the presence of Sankofa can be seen at every turn as each character, especially these women, learn to use the past to inform their future decisions – whether that is Celie realizing that most of her life was a response to someone’s definition of who she was and what she was capable of or Shug’s pain regarding her relationship to her father and Mister’s cowardice regarding their love. Sophia speaks of her love for Harpo, Mister’s eldest son, portrayed by Lee Edward Colston II and how tired she is of fighting.

These three women reach back and grab the strength of their ancestors, also depicted symbolically in the scenes set in Africa where Nettie is working as a nanny for a Black missionary family who have adopted two children.

At the end of the story when the cast sings the finale, “The Color Purple,” the audience is on its feet clapping and swaying.

This production is fantastic and I saw the San Francisco production twice. I’d go see this one again if someone gave me a ticket (smile). Visit www.broadwaysanjose.com for tickets.

The cast has varied backgrounds and the synergy between the characters is exciting. My favorites after the three principles are the chorus: Church Lady Doris, Church Lady Darlene and Church Lady Jarene: Nesha Ward, Virlinda Stanton, Deaun Parker. I also liked Allison Semmes’s Squeak; she is so funny with those skinny legs (smile). Girlfriend can sing too! In fact, the entire cast can blow: Edward C. Smith’s Mister among those who have really memorable numbers, along with the male ensemble numbers, especially the scene “Big Dog,” “Shug Avery is Coming to Town” and “African Homeland,” among others.

I love the duet between Celie and Shug, “What about Love,” and the solos: Celie’s “Somebody Gonna Love You,” Sophia’s “The Color Purple,” the company’s “Miss Celie’s Pants” and, of course, Celie’s triumphant “I’m Here.” Pam Trotter’s “Hell No!” is a classic rendition of this favorite. It’s too bad with these traveling shows the only sound track is the initial Broadway one. The touring company certainly has much to recommend it and since I never saw the Broadway production, I want a copy of the soundtrack for the show I witnessed in San Jose and, like the show in San Francisco, it isn’t available.

This is another reason why folks need to get over to the lovely San Jose Civic Auditorium. I’d never been there before, pretty opulent. It’s not the Orpheum or the Paramount Theatre for art deco fans, but for a new building …

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wsab1@aol.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 6-7:30 or 8 a.m. and Fridays at 8-10 a.m., can be heard by phone at (347) 237-4610 and are archived on the Afrikan Sistahs’ Media Network.

by Wanda Sabir

Refa One with Malik, a youth artist exhibiting in AeroSoul 2 at the Satellite Exhibit – Photo: Wanda Sabir

Congratulations to Regina Carter for the MacArthur Genius Award and the fabulous concert with the Oakland East Bay Symphony Feb. 25. No, I wasn’t there but with composer Billy Childs at the helm, Maestro Michael Morgan at the aft or starboard, it had to be a wonderful premiere of the new composition, “Planets and Stars.” Visit http://www.oebs.org/. The next OEBS concert is March 18, 8 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre, “More Notes from Persia.”

Activism 101 an Oakland Standard: A Review

I was in the OZONE Feb. 25-26, as Oakland toasted February goodbye and with it, Black history. Well actually, Feb. 25 at the Oakland Museum of California did just the opposite. With “resistance” as the theme of the evening – from the classic poster art of Emory Douglas and Faviana Rodriguez, to tasting revolutionary tortillas with cheese and Angela Davis on the outer shell, to roses for Rosa Park and a Huey (fig) Newton – all edible; a new line called consciously delicious – patrons had a multisensory experience at the museum, an idea which is a part of the OM motif.

The place was full to capacity with patrons forming lines early for the special celebration “Soundtrack – the Drum” with Anthony Brown and CK Ledzekpo narrating, joined by the Stanford Steppers, the CAL Drumline from UC Berkeley and, as a special treat, Mr. Hambone himself, Derrick McGee. It was a wonderful walk from Africa to California – Oakland, to be exact (smile). Drums filled the stage – African percussion drums played by CK and students and/or members of his ensemble from East Bay Center for the Performing Arts and the trap drummer, another student of CK’s who is traveling to Boston to attend Berkley College of Music this summer.

As CK explained the music he was playing and where in Africa it originated, dancers led by Mrs. Ledzekpo performed to the music. At one point the audience was invited to participate; I was one of the first persons on the floor – a cold night, dancing warmed me up.

Duane Deterville gave a lecture on resistance in Black music, while a distinguished panel with former Minister of Culture Emory, artist Favianna, Carol A. Wells, Center for the Study of Political Graphics, and political poster historian Lincoln Cushing discussed art and politics. That room filled to capacity early and I couldn’t get in. I met a brother named Jesus who is a visual artist.

Refa One and one of the youth designers featured in the AeroSoul 2 Youth Exhibit, which is up through early March, said he explained to security that there were hardly any Black people in the room, and to tell two to four white people to leave so he and Malik, the young artist, could go inside. From what Refa shared, it sounds as if those persons in the audience really didn’t know how art can change minds, even hearts. Think about the power of music to “soothe the savage beast – right?

The brother coming out of the lecture looked like a work of art, as did his striking friend. Most of the events repeated at least once. The only problem was I was attending another event at the same time. Then as one walked between classrooms, the tent, or the Blue Oak café – there were art stations where one could silkscreen a political poster. I made three: Nina Simone singing “Mississippi Goddam,” another “Free the San Francisco 8,” the last one a poster celebrating the end to tyranny in North Africa. Across from that very popular table at any given moment there were two and three clothes lines filled with posters drying. There was another artist across the way doing spray can art. His image was of the WikiLeaks founder. What was interesting was watching him apply the multiple layers.

The Oakland Standard Poster Jam participants were the San Francisco Print Collective, Great Tortilla Conspiracy, Eddie Colla and Jesus Barraza. Patrons were able to silkscreen posters with Nina Simone, “Drop the Charges SF 8: Francisco Torres” and “The People Want the System to Fall” with a woman kissing the cheek of an Egyptian soldier. There were postcards with actions planned for the next month and an e-list.

Revolutionary Art 101!

The finale was the Lagos Roots Afrobeat Ensemble featuring members of Fela Kuti and the Africa 70, Sonny Okosuns and others. DJ Wonway Posibul with a live percussionist was excellent – his jams were right on. In the café, there were board games out for people to play from 9-11:30 p.m.

Artist and poster designer Dunya Alwan with a friend – Photo: Wanda Sabir

Missing was the African Diaspora use of Catholicism to practice Ifa, big in Oakland presently and in California. In the section which I enjoyed the most there was nothing and within the exhibition itself I didn’t see an African presence or perspective at all. When one thinks about California, named for an Amazon Queen Califia, one has to consider the impact of missions or Catholicism on African people in California.

Judge Glenda Hatchett to deliver keynote at 13th Annual Madam C.J. Walker Luncheon

The 13th Annual Madam C.J. Walker Business and Community Recognition Awards Luncheon is Friday, March 4, at the Marriott Marquis, 55 Fourth St., San Francisco, at 10:30 a.m., featuring a VIP reception, NCBW grant exhibitions, booksigning. Lunch is at 12 noon. Tickets are $150 per person. Other awardees and special guests include A’Lelia Bundles, author and great-granddaughter of Madam C.J. Walker

I recently completed Tananarive Due’s historic novel, “Black Rose” (2001), drawn from the research on Madam C.J. Walker that Alex Haley began before he passed. “Black Rose,” a pet name Madam Walker’s second husband, C.J., called her, is a wonderful testament to the first Black woman millionaire, whose parents were enslaved Africans. I place this book up there with Dorothy Height’s autobiography, “Open Wide the Freedom Gates” (2003). Due will be at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, March 28, 11-5, for a Writer’s Conference which invites writers to the table to honor the work and legacy of speculative fiction writer Octavia Butler (June 22, 1947-Feb. 25, 2006). For information, contact writers@mec-cuny.ed or (718) 270-6976.

Empress Meditations Tour with Queen Makedah, Sistah Beauty and Irae Divine

Queen Makedah, Sistah Beauty and Irae Divine were on my radio show Friday, March 25, 9:30 a.m., speaking about their upcoming tour in honor of International Women’s History Month, March 2011. Oriyah Music presents the Empress Meditations West Coast Tour, a series of presentations featuring live performances by the three women with the Sheba Warriors all-star band, plus the cream of local female DJs, spoken word, and dance competitions. The purpose of the tour is to spotlight conscious female artists in reggae music whose music speaks to the historical cultural contributions of women from antiquity to the present day and addresses issues pertinent to women and the family unit.

William Rhodes, San Francisco print artist – Photo: Wanda Sabir

Art, jazz and spoken word

“Transformative Visions 2011: Lifting Up Visions of Peace, Justice, and Possibility” is Saturday, March 12, 2-5 p.m., at Studio One Art Center, 365 45th St., Oakland. Visit http://www.onelifeinstitute.org/.

Annual Collage des Cultures Africaines

Diamano Coura West African Dance Company presents its 16th Annual Collage des Cultures Africaines at Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland, and Laney College, 900 Fallon St., Oakland, Thursday-Sunday, March 10-13. Workshops are at MCC and the performance, “Celebration of the Mask,” is Saturday evening, March 12, 8 p.m., at Laney College Theatre. The marketplace opens at 6 p.m. March 12. For information, contact (510) 508-3444 or diamanoc@aol.com.

Dimensions Extensions youth dance fundraiser

Dimensions Extensions performance ensemble presents its Seventh Annual Fundraising Concert, “Something to Be Proud Of,” Saturday, March 19, 7 p.m., at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts Theatre, 1428 Alice St., Oakland.

Lorraine Hansberry Theatre presents ‘Fabulation’ by Lynn Nottage

“Fabulation or The Re-Education of Undine” by Lynn Nottage will be presented by Lorraine Hansberry Theatre at Fort Mason Center’s Southside Theatre, San Francisco, March 3-27, directed by Ellen Sebastian-Chang, featuring Margo Hall. A high-powered public relations executive suddenly finds herself divorced, penniless, pregnant and forced to return to the family home in the projects. “Fabulation” is an inspired and imaginative look at family, pride and love by one of America’s most outstanding new playwrights, who just received the Pulitzer Prize for her latest play, “Ruined.”

Tickets are $40 Thursdays and Fridays and $50 Saturdays and Sundays. Thursday performances are at 8:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday performances are at 8 p.m.; Sunday performances are at 2 and 7 p.m. Discounts are available for groups, students and seniors. Preview performances will be held on March 3 and 4 with the opening on Saturday, March 5. Sundays, March 6, 13 and 20, will be Target Family Matinées, where all seats will be half price, $25. “Fabulation” will be presented at The Southside Theater, Fort Mason Center, Historic Building D, San Francisco. For more information, ticket availability or to subscribe, call (415) 345-3980 or visit www.LHTSF.org.

Berkeley Rep presents Lynn Nottage’s ‘Ruined’

This March, Berkeley Repertory Theatre proudly presents “Ruined,” winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. A powerful new play about the harrowing lives of women in Africa, “Ruined” is written by Lynn Nottage and directed by Liesl Tommy. A collaboration between Berkeley Rep, Huntington Theatre Company and La Jolla Playhouse, this production has already earned seven awards – including Outstanding Dramatic Production – from the San Diego Critics Circle. It begins previews in the state-of-the-art Roda Theatre on Feb. 25, opens March 2 and closes April 10.

Selassi Morgan, CK Ledzekpo, David Williams – Photo: Wanda Sabir

Tickets to “Ruined” start at only $29. Additional savings are available for groups, seniors, students and anyone under 30 years of age – meaning discounted seats can be obtained for as little as $14.50. These prices make Berkeley Rep more affordable to people in the community who are just starting school, starting careers and starting families – because lower prices are now available for every performance. Tap into the power of “Ruined.” The Roda Theatre is located at 2015 Addison St., near bus lines, bike routes and parking lots – and only half a block from BART. For tickets or information, call (510) 647-2949 or toll-free at (888) 4-BRT-Tix – or simply click berkeleyrep.org.

Jazz at East Side Arts

Eastside Arts Alliance presents “The Grassroots Composers Ensemble” in concert every first Friday – this month, Friday, March 4, 8 p.m. Admission $10. ESAA is at 2277 International Blvd., Oakland, (510) 533-6929. Under the direction of trumpeter Mark Wright, featuring pianist Muziki Roberson and the inimitable stylings of Mack Rucks, Dr. James Bailey, Joe McKinley, Greg Germain and featured guests, these home grown jazz artists have been composing and arranging original and classic jazz compositions for five horns for the past six or seven years.

These dedicated artists meet religiously every Tuesday night at the digs of Muziki Roberson. The music is fresh and exciting. Please come out and support them and also pass the word on. The Eastside Arts Alliance is a gem in our community, offering music, dance, spoken word and theater with a level of consciousness unparalleled in our community. They also sponsor the annual FREE Malcom X Jazz Festival. Let’s support them in a venue that is family friendly with reasonable admission. Light refreshments and drinks available for purchase.

Women in jazz

Anna Maria Flechero at Yoshi’s Oakland on March 1 for one show, 8 p.m. I had her on my radio show, www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks, maybe two years ago. She was speaking about fundraisers and shows leading up to the Filipino-American Jazz Festival in San Francisco that year. KPFA and KPOO radio personality Avotcja is the host. Multi-talented song stylist and songwriter Anna Maria Flechero brings to the jazz stage original compositions and well-known jazz standards with the release of “Special Edition: Journey into the Fourteenth Hour.” Accompanying Ms. Flechero for the evening is Little Brown Brother featuring Vince Khoe, piano; Ben Luis, bass; Chris Planas, guitar; Marlon Green, drums; Mio Flores, percussion; and Eddie Ramirez, horns; with special guest vocalist, contralto Myrna Del Rio.

Ashford and Simpson

Ashford and Simpson’s exclusive Bay Area appearance, “The Real Thing,” is Tuesday-Friday, March 29-April 3, at the RRAZZ Room in Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. at Ellis, in San Francisco. Visit www.therrazzroom.com.

Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre at Cal Performances

Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre makes its annual sojourn to Cal Performances on Tuesday–Sunday, March 29-April 3. The three distinct programs include three premiers. The first of two Bay Area premieres is “Anointed” (2010), choreographed by Christopher L. Huggins in tribute to those who have led the Ailey company past, present and future; “Cry” (1971), the second work new to Berkeley, was choreographed by Alvin Ailey for Judith Jamison and is dedicated to “all Black women everywhere – especially our mothers.” The West Coast premiere of “Three Black Kings” (1976) is the last major work composed by Duke Ellington for Alvin Ailey. Every program presented will also include Alvin Ailey’s timeless “Revelations,” now celebrating its 50th year.

Alvin Ailey dancers

For the school matinee, tickets are $4 per student or adult chaperone, available in advance only through Cal Performances at (510) 642-1082. SchoolTime performances are open to students in kindergarten through grade 12 in Bay Area public and private schools. Supplemental study guides for the classroom are provided. For more information about the SchoolTime program, contact the SchoolTime coordinator at Cal Performances by email at eduprograms@calperfs.berkeley.edu or by phone at (510) 642-0212.

Hope Mohr Dance Looks at Women Veterans

“The Unsayable” will be presented by Hope Mohr Dance and “She Dreams in Code” by guest Liz Gerring Dance Company Thursday, March 3-6, at Z-Space, 450 Florida St., San Francisco. Tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com or 1-800-838-3006. All shows are at 8 p.m. except Sunday, March 6, there’s a 2 p.m. matinee with a post show Q&A on veterans’ issues. Friday, March 4, is an artist talk.

Coser y Cantar: To Sew and Sing

Written by Dolores Prida, directed by Tania Llambelis, “Coser y Cantar” asks the question: Can we survive walking the tightrope of desire strung over two separate languages and cultures? “Coser y Cantar” opens March 17-19 at 8 p.m. at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, 2868 Mission St., San Francisco, (415) 821-1155 or www.missionculturalcenter.org. Take BART to the 24th Street Mission Station.

RRAZZiversary Gala Celebration and Benefit for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital

I first learned of St. Jude’s work with children through a series of love and hope novels by Black women romance writers, Sandra Kitt’s “For All We Know” and Gwynne Foster’s “What Matters Most” (www.novelsofhope.org). It was a pleasant surprise last year to find out about the second annual gala, which is now having an encore this month, Thursday, March 17, 8 p.m., $75-$175, for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This is the premier nightclub of the West Coast celebration with a star-studded lineup including Sarah Dash, Joyce DeWitt, Sally Kellerman, Florence LaRue, Gloria Loring, Deana Martin, Melba Moore, Kim Nalley, CeCe Peniston, Martha Reeves, Paula West, Edna Wright and Honey Cone and Pia Zadora. Visit http://conta.cc/hHSzca and https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?t=tix&e=a0c5d4086f7c093bd39316fcd9f23a9e.

On the fly

Branford Marsalis and Terence Blanchard are in town Friday, March 11, 8 p.m. at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Auditorium. There is a free Lobby Talk at 5-6 p.m. with UC Berkeley Jazz Director Ted Moore. Sunday, March 6, Balé Folclórico da Bahia are back for one performance, 7 p.m. at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Auditorium. Chuy Varela hosts the Lobby Talk 4-5 p.m. Les Percussions de Strasbourg, March 13, 3 p.m., in Hertz Hall looks interesting. Visit www.calperformances.edu. The sidelines talk is 2-2:30 p.m. Cheryl West’s play, “Jar on the Floor,” directed by Buddy Butler with C. Kelly Wright and other stars in the cast, opens Feb. 26 and continues through March 6 at Mexican Heritage Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Ave., San Jose. Visit www.acteva.com/go/sjmag or call (408) 272-9924. This production celebrates SJMAG Tabia African American Theatre Ensemble’s 25th Anniversary.

“What do the Women Say? An Evening of Poetry and Performance by Women of the Middle East,” is Tuesday and Wednesday, March 8 and 9, at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Oakland, www.lapena.org. Nicole Klaymoon Embodiment Project, Friday-Saturday, March 24-25, 8 p.m., with special guests Byb Chanel, Valerie Troutt, Makana Muanga and others at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Oakland, www.lapena.org. “Words First,” a monthly solo showcase, is March 2, 7:30 p.m., with “How the hell did we get here?!” Unhappy endings … with a twist, with performances by Vanessa Lee Khaleel, Ericka Lutz, Howard Petrick, and Sarah Weidman. Visit http://counterpulse.org/programs/words-first. CounterPulse is located at 1310 Mission St.

Paula West and the George Mesterhazy Quartet have their annual RRazz room engagement Tuesday, March 1, through Sunday, March 13. Check the show times, which vary. Visit the RRazz room at Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. at Ellis, in San Francisco. Tickets for Performances at the RRazz room are available at www.therrazzroom.com and (800) 380-3095. Visit www.moadsf.org for their programming related to the current exhibition celebrating jazz and quilts.

With Mardi Gras almost here, the lecture and performance “West Africa to New Orleans: African Masking Traditions” with New Orleans native Shaka Zulu is Sunday March 13, 2-4 p.m., is sure to be a hit. Visit www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks for interviews with many of the artists mentioned here and others who are not (smile). Live shows are Wednesdays, 6-7 a.m. PST, and Friday mornings, 8-10 a.m. PST. Disney on Ice’s “Let’s Celebrate” reaches Oakland March 2, 7:30, all seats $15. Join Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse on a magical journey through the holidays with 52 characters from 16 Disney stories, one of them “The Frog Prince” with Princess Tiara. I interviewed Farryn Johnson on Friday, Feb. 4. Visit www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks and look in the archives for the interview. Check San Francisco Performances website too, at www.performances.org/education/calendar.html.

Activism 101, an Oakland Standard

One could tell the kids were into it – by kids, I don’t means children, just neophytes to Liberation Struggles getting their collective awakening Friday night at the Oakland Museum’s OZONE. Without the acid rain, snow, clouds or high winds the O was certainly in a zone, scientifically unspecified. Laying it on with a spatula, as in thick and indelibly stuck to all in the ZONE that night. The DJs were spinning all the hits from a time when lyrical content meant original unsampled thoughts … well, I take that back; nothing is original. Just like the air we breathe and the land we occupy, it is all dead and reborn. Like the revolutionary fever sweeping the planet, the O was a pot flavored and simmering with the spices present that evening.

Have you even had air stuck in your esophagus and couldn’t get a good enough belch? That was the O. Some call it the last days, others indigestion. The planet has had enough and now all its inhabitants have declared or put the lords and ladies on notice: The people are taking over!

Linguistically, the Oakland Standard’s OZONE (OS launched January 2011), one of its programs, continues thematically. It’s all about opening the space to art which is kinetic, participatory, useful – wear it, feel it, do it, be it! Art is not for lazy minds or innocents lost – perhaps it is, but for the active mind or citizen, those people who generally find themselves in museums in the first place, reluctantly as kids and then selfishly as adults, the Oakland Standard concept makes art a part of life for those who really enjoy living, really living as free citizens of Oaktown and Oak-Universe.

Prophet Fred Wilson’s museum space sojourns says this. He also speaks with his work to the exclusion of certain audiences when one talks about museums and other “high art.” OZONE is a way to demystify such phenomena. The audience was predominately white, even though the material or presentations were about the Black aesthetic, yet typically the subjects were absent. There wasn’t even consideration given to the few Black folks in the audience that evening – we couldn’t get into major lectures and concerts.

This would have been OK if the sound had been broadcast and if there had been a video simulcast – in the past, the Oakland Museum always provided such, especially for programs where it expected large audiences. African people do not like the cold and the idea of standing in a line for 45 minutes was a turn off to many elders, who left early. At midnight the majority of folks still at OM were 30 and younger, unless they were working and white.

Consciousness is hard work, yet it can be fun and in its second program since launching Oakland Standard, OZONE proves that yes, consciousness is the only way to live a life fully committed to justice as a revolutionary or change agent.

Similar to programming at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Oakland Standard, as its premise, shouldn’t toss out what worked in the past. New doesn’t mean nothing old allowed: people, ideas, customs. I guess with the new exhibit on Our Lady of Guadeloupe, the old suffering Christ – nailed to a cross, bleeding – is an image I couldn’t stomach. However, the newer images of this mysterious patron saint, a way of flipping the colonial baggage into something not just new, but liberating, is what I see Oakland Standard providing for its East Bay constituency – if they are extended the proper invitation.

I saw a few parents with their children out for the evening, but not enough. I know the museum has its Family Sundays which are kid-friendly, early in the day and often outdoors.

Some audiences don’t come if you open the door; you have to go get them. Audience development is still a weak area for many presenting organizations like Oakland Museum, which has ethnically specific community advisory boards. I suggest OM solicit their expertise. There was no reason why there were not more Black youth ages 15-25 in the OZONE, especially for “Soundtrack: The Drum” and the Oakland Standard Conversation, not to mention the Oakland Standard Political Poster Jam. Even the Game On! was a place for families and friends to sit around and talk, not to mention the open galleries where in Art History in the back I heard a woman interviewed for her Oakland Story, a program of Story Corps.

Standard implies a flag or flagship idea which is self-promoting; carry it long enough and it becomes you. Certainly Oakland needs a new standard and with a new mayor and a revised vision for an Oakland institution, the Oakland Museum of California, the concept is timely and necessary. But historically Oakland seems to be receding from focus. After all, museums are nothing without people – human beings are the greatest work of art imaginable. The African presence seems the first to go when institutions are formed or changed. I am rattling the cage so OM doesn’t follow in the footsteps of its many predecessors.

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival

The 29th Annual San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), a presentation of the Center for Asian American Media, showcases the best Asian films from around the globe between March 10-20, in San Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose. Films screen in San Francisco at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St.; Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, 1881 Post St.; VIZ Cinema, 1746 Post St.; and the Landmark Clay Theatre, 2261 Fillmore St. In Berkeley, go to the Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft Way. And in San Jose the festival is at the Camera 12 Cinemas, 201 South Second St. and the Montgomery Theater, 271 South Market St. in San Jose. For tickets and information about CAAM membership benefits and levels, please visit www.caamedia.org.

The San Francisco Asian American Film Festival will be giving South Asian films much of its most prestigious real estate this year. Both the San Francisco and San Jose opening night curtain-raisers are South Asian works – Andy De Emmony’s “West Is West” in San Francisco and Hoku Uchiyama’s “UPAJ in SJ.” SFIAAFF alumnus Gurinder Chadha will be honored with the Filmmaker Spotlight, showcasing her award-winning “Bend It Like Beckham” and her newest film, “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife.”

Other superlative offerings representing a sampling from the region include narrative features, “The Taqwacores,” from Eyad Zahra, a rock epic about the Muslim punk rock movement; Mani Ratnam’s “Raavanan,” a modern re-telling of the epic Ramayana legend starring megastar Aishwarya Rai; and the documentaries “Summer Pasture” by Lynn True and Nelson Walker, which pits the seductiveness of modernity against traditional pastoral life in Tibet, and “Made in India” by Vaishali Sinha and Rebecca Haimowitz, an illuminating tell-all about outsourced surrogacy in India.

As part of the festival’s beefed-up interactive programming, there will be a panel on the exciting developments in Indian cinema, “Stepping Forward, Looking Back.” Experts will discuss international collaborations, the emergence of independent works, and what these new developments mean for financing and distribution. SFIAAFF will also present a prototype of the CAAM-produced game, “Climbing Sacred Mountain,” based on the film, “Daughters of Everest,” which documented the first Nepali women’s expedition on the highest peak in the world. The game will be part of CAAM’s inaugural independent games exhibition and the related panel, “The Power of Play.” Rounding out the live events will be “Bollywood Under the Stars,” a free screening at the close of Festival Forum.

Excluding special events, panels, galas and special screenings, advanced general admission tickets are $12. Students, seniors 65 and over and disabled adults are $11, with a limit of one per program with ID only. Center for Asian American Media members are $10, limited to two per program per ID. Tickets go on sale to CAAM members only on Thursday, Feb. 10, and open to the general public beginning Monday, Feb. 14. Become a member of the Center for Asian American Media and start receiving discounts on tickets for the festival, avoid all processing fees and get tickets to the films you want before they go to rush.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wsab1@aol.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 6-7:30 or 8 a.m. and Fridays at 8-10 a.m., can be heard by phone at (347) 237-4610 and are archived on the Afrikan Sistahs’ Media Network.

by Wanda Sabir

Maafa 2007 – Photo: TaSin Sabir

We want to have a moment of silence for the wonderful man Eddie Marshall, drummer, flautist, composer, who died suddenly last month, too soon for most of us who loved his work and appreciated his graceful presence in the world. This is the month we remember our ancestors.

Maafa 2011

Maafa Season is upon us. The term Maafa refers to the Black Holocaust, that period when African people were stolen and traded in the greatest, most widespread cooperative economic venture to date, which resulted in the displacement of human beings as commodities. The Maafa became so normalized internationally to traders in human flesh as to create a new people. Africans no longer recognized themselves as Africans, as they lost connection to their heritages: land, language, customs and, in many instances, spiritual traditions.

The Kiswahili term Maafa extends that definition of loss and trauma, that is, PTSD or post-traumatic slave syndrome – the flashbacks, both conscious and unconscious, reoccurring instances of the atrocities 150 years after the end of slavery which have direct association to the brutality of chattel slavery.

By this we mean the prison industrial complex as well as daily manifestations of post-traumatic slave disorder in Black communities throughout the United States, the Americas and the Pan African Diaspora. Look at the gun violence and criminalization of public education through state sanctioned miseducation and police terror. Much of our community, especially the youth, have internalized the Maafa and, while no longer chained, many are enslaved as their ancestors were. The difference is while our ancestors resisted and so remained free, we don’t.

The Maafa also references the benefits to some and the harm to others connected to this trade in human beings 500 years later. Everyone is affected by the Maafa, everyone needs to address the role of the Maafa in their community and in their personal lives, both as descendants of the perpetrators and descendants of the victims, and how these legacies are confining and perhaps barring each of us from personal greatness, and by greatness I am speaking of greatness as human beings, which is not necessarily a given.

Maafa 2006 – Photo: TaSin Sabir

The Maafa Commemoration addresses this imbalance of wealth, the poverty that affects disproportionally Black communities here and abroad. The repair or reparations movement is both an internal and external one.

The month of October is Maafa Awareness Month in the city of Oakland, the county of Alameda, the state of California, and the 9th Congressional District. This year the ritual is Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011, predawn at Ocean Beach, Fulton at the Great Highway. Visit http://ramadanridesrides4everybody.blogspot.com/.

Getting healthy: a reflection

I am a woman over 50 who lives in an area of Oakland where it is unsafe to ride one’s bike. I decided to start this club to get folks out into areas of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, especially south of High Street on bikes. I am not necessarily encouraging people to ride down International Boulevard alone, though I have on many occasions.

Oakland is not a bicycle friendly town. Just look at the recent repaving of San Leandro Street. It would have been a great time to shift the two lane traffic to one and add bike lanes. No one can ride down International; it is too narrow. Bancroft Avenue is the only street with bike lanes and it is too far north. We won’t even mention MacArthur Boulevard. International or E-14th Street, is the location of many drive-by shootings; however, there are lovely Bay Trails seconds away – one that’s easy to reach is at 66th Avenue and Zone Way, just past the Coliseum BART.

Getting to Zone Way from 66th Avenue is treacherous, to say the least. One can get hit by a vehicle while waiting for the light to change. I have been. Lucky for me it was my bike that was hit and the driver, making a right turn on a red light didn’t even stop after he hit my bike – he just looked at me and kept rolling.

Hegenberger isn’t any better as a street to ride up to get to the Bay Trail. Cars speed up as they pass me and then at the freeway entrances, one cannot see the cars approaching from below so technically one could get run over in the crosswalks, the way they are situated. I always cross diagonally so the drivers can see me.

This is as one is riding to enter the Bay Trail which is just before Doolittle. Once on the Bay Trail one doesn’t have to worry about car emissions or traffic, and the Bay Trail connects one to Alameda and San Leandro. Many folks who live in the ‘hood don’t even know about this treasure.

Just the other day, I learned of a new entrance to the Bay Trail connecting Alameda and Oakland to San Leandro by way of (for me) Bay Farm Island. I usually cross the Blue Bridge. This time I went across the pedestrian bridge and voila, what a pleasant surprise! There are miles and miles of trail along the San Francisco Bay. Across the liquid tapestry I could see South Shore Shopping Center.

Ramadan Rides is an effort, a movement to take back our public spaces. After all, despite the crashing economy and higher taxes for those of us who bought into the American Dream and own property, which, in my case, depreciated, $300,000, one can’t bask in despair – life does go on. We should look at the weed as a prime example of dogged determination. Can’t kill ‘em, can’t uproot ‘em, can’t even cover ‘em. They just keep pushing through the most enormous and gargantuan challenges (smile).

I ride for sanity, I ride to stay calm, but riding alone is not safe. I have been harassed. I have fallen badly on ill maintained streets. So I said to myself, why not start a club for women, for Muslims, for riders 30-80 years old. Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, is a time for reflection and introspection. It has been a fun journey so far.

The first ride, when the club was in its brainstorm form, was Aug. 7, 2011. It was the weekend The Brotherhood of Cyclists was in town for a large conference. I felt left out of their loop completely, so I drove to Union City to ride with a friend. The two of us rode the trails, kind of rocky, dusty, not necessarily the kind of terrain I prefer. Afterwards I rode the Bay Trail by the house. I still had a bit of energy left to burn. It is my hope that the club can grow from two on two women riders to at least 10 people in the next two weeks. I’d like at least half to be women 50 and over.

Since writing this, I fell down the stairs and haven’t been able to walk, let alone ride for a month. PTSD. It was the day before Katrina and I am a New Orleans native. But I hope to be back on the road before winter, at least by Spring 2012. Visit us at http://ramadanridesrides4everybody.blogspot.com//.

‘Still Here,’ a 3.9 Collective Group Exhibition

The curator says he will be transforming The Sirron Norris Gallery, 1406B Valencia St., San Francisco, for the group show “Still Here.” The word “black” recently has become all too synonymous with the act of vanishing, especially in San Francisco where the 2010 census revealed that the African American population has dropped to 3.9 percent.

What does that mean for a city that prides itself on its cultural diversity when members of its population are no longer represented? The loss of a culture, the absence of differentiation, even the lack of a visual presence can be devastating to a community. With the exhibition entitled “Still Here,” San Francisco artists Nancy Cato, Rodney Ewing, Sirron Norris, William Rhodes and Ron Moultrie Saunders have adopted this statistic and created a banner of support and defiance.

The work they will be creating confronts this anomaly of absence by representing how at least one segment of the Black community is alive and an integral part of San Francisco culture. The work may not stem the tide of the exodus, but to paraphrase the poet Dylan Thomas, “We will not go quietly into that good night.” Opening is Oct. 8, 7-9 p.m. We are very excited to have a live performance by Kippy Marks, 7-9 p.m., http://kippymarks.us/, and also Rocky Yazzie’s amazing frybread! Visit http://www.sirronnorris.com/or call (415) 648-4191.

Black Panther History Month 45 years later! Film Festival and Art Exhibit

The Black Panther Party 45th anniversary photo exhibit is open Oct. 3-Nov. 3. A reception and panel are Oct. 6, 4:30 to 6 p.m., in the Student Center, Fourth Floor, Laney College, 900 Fallon St., Oakland.

The Black Panther History Month Film Festival is at the Main Library in the Bradley Walters Community Room, 125 14th St., Oakland, Saturday, Oct. 8, 12-4:30 p.m. Featured films are “In the Land of the Free: The Story of Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox and Robert H. King,” collectively known as the Angola 3, who have been in solitary confinement for more than 39 years. The second feature is “COINTELPRO 101,” interviews with activists victimized by illegal surveillance and witnesses to murders committed by the FBI and other police agencies. Rare historical footage provides a provocative introduction to a period of intense repression. For information, call (510) 238-3138 or visit http://www.oakland.org/. For the entire month-long series of events, visit http://www.itsabouttimebpp.com/.

‘Trolley Dances’ features Antoine Hunter’s Urban Jazz Dance Company

Epiphany Production’s eighth annual San Francisco “Trolley Dances” features ODC/Dance, Sweet Can Circus, Salsamania, Capacitor, Urban Jazz Dance Company, Epiphany Productions Sonic Dance Theater and Tat Wong Kung Fu Lion Dancers Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 15 and 16. Tours leave from the San Francisco Main Library, at 100 Larkin St. between Fulton and Grove, every 45 minutes at 11:00 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 2:00 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. Performances are FREE with regular Muni fare of $2 – youth and seniors $.75. For information, call (415) 226-1139 and visit epiphanydance.org.

Mill Valley Film Festival

The Mill Valley Film Festival runs Oct. 6-16; visit http://www.mvff.com/. On Oct. 9, 4:30 p.m., at the Smith Rafael Film Center, there will be a tribute to Gaston Kabore, director of “Wend Kuni” and “Buud Yam.” The historian turned filmmaker made the third film in his country, Burkina Faso. “Wend Kuni” is about a child who is mute, the child symbolic of a colonized people. How will this child regain his voice? How will he move past the trauma into healing light, a place where he can trust his words again? Kabore’s lovely film takes us to a place not long ago, but too long ago for easy recall. The director, who opened a film academy in Burkina, Imagine, in 2003, received the first FESPACO award for his second film, “Buud Yam,” also screening at the MVFF.

There are films from Morocco, FESPACO 2011 awardee director Mohamed Mouftakir’s “Pegasus” and another film, “The Mosque,” directed by Daoud Aoulad-Syad. My favorite of the African films so far is “Sarabah,” US/Senegal. It’s a sad yet triumphant story of a DJ, Sister Fa. Another film I enjoyed of African American interest is that of 85-year-old Mr. James Armstrong, “Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement.” “A Brush with the Tenderloin,” featuring muralist Mona Caron, and “Hip Hop Maestro,” directed by Christine Lee, which profiles Geoff “Double G” Gallegos and the daKAH Orchestra, is pretty good as well.

The orchestra is raising funds through KickStart to come to MVFF for a closing concert, Valley of the Docs, Oct. 15 and 16. “Play Like a Lion: The Legacy of Maestro Ali Akbar Khan,” directed by Joshua Dylan Mellars, and “Deaf Jam” are outstanding! “Deaf Jam” is about deaf slam poets – pretty awesome.

More film festivals

The Silicon Valley African Film Festival is Oct. 14-16, http://www.svaff.org/.

The 10th Annual Documentary Film Festival is Oct. 14-27, http://www.sfindie.com/. Of African Diaspora interest are “Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey,” “The Furious Force of Rhymes,” “Scenes of a Crime,” “How to Start a Revolution,” “Yoga Woman,” “Left by the Ship,” “The Creators.” Films screen at Shattuck Cinemas Oct. 14-20 and the Roxie Oct. 14-27.

“American Teacher,” directed by Vanessa Roth, profiles four teachers: Erik Benner, Jamie Fidler, Rhena Jasey and Jonathan Dearman, a former San Francisco teacher at its first charter school, Leadership High, who joined me on the air on Wanda’s Picks, www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks, Sept. 22 to talk about the film and his decision to leave the classroom. Dearman, perhaps the filmmaker and certainly Leadership High students, faculty and friends will attend opening night, if not opening weekend screenings Oct. 7 at the Roxie.

Other films opening are “Finding Joe,” an exploration of the famed mythologist Joseph Campbell, which opens at Landmark in San Francisco and Berkeley. “All She Can,” directed by Amy Wendel and Daniel Meisel, which opened Sept. 16 is certainly worth looking for. It is the story of Luz Garcia who wants to go to college, but the only way to get there when there is no scholarship money for children of color in Beavides, Texas, is to literally flex her muscles and train in weightlifting. Sometimes all one can do is still not enough.

‘She Who Laughs Lasts’

Rape is not a laughing matter. But humor becomes a powerful tool in fighting sexual assault at “She Who Laughs Lasts,” a night of comedy, on Friday, Oct. 21, at the Brava Theatre, featuring comedians Nina G, the world’s funniest comedian who stutters; Karinda Dobbins, an aggressively laid-back comedian hailing from the Motor City; Tamil Sri Lankan-American performer-comedian D’Lo of D’FaQTo Life and returning for her third “She Who Laughs Lasts”; and Micia Mosely of “Where My Girls At?” There will also be a special video screening of “Labels are Forever” by Jenesha de Riveira. Don’t miss the silent auction and comedian meet-‘n-greet pre-show. Light appetizers and other refreshments will be served; doors open at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15-$50 and can be purchased on www.sfwar.org; no one turned away for lack of funds. The event is wheelchair accessible. San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR) is a grassroots, political rape crisis center established in 1973 committed to anti-oppression and providing support to survivors of sexual assault and their friends and families, using education and community organizing as tools of prevention.

‘Women, War and Peace’ on PBS

“Women, War and Peace,” a bold new five-part PBS mini-series, is the most comprehensive global media initiative ever mounted on the roles of women in peace and conflict. “Women, War and Peace” will broadcast on five consecutive Tuesday evenings: Oct. 11, 18, and 25 and Nov. 1 and 8. Check local listings. Visit http://www.itvs.org/films/women-war-and-peace.

On the fly

Did you know? I didn’t. UpSurge! Jazz Poetry Ensemble is at Freight and Salvage Oct. 1 in Berkeley. Should be a great show! Visit http://www.upsurgejazz.com/upsurgehome.html. This Sunday, Oct. 2, 11 a.m., at Lakeside Park Bandstand is the Centennial Suffrage Parade: 100 years of women gaining the right to vote! Visit http://www.waterfrontaction.org/parade/parade_details.htm. The West Coast premiere of Faustin Linyekula/Studios Kabako’s “more more more … future” is Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 29- Oct. 1, 8 p.m., at the Novellus Theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, http://www.ybca.org/faustin-linyekula. “Night School: Faustin Linyekula” is Oct. 1, 6-10 p.m., in the Theater Terrace Lobby, $35-$40 regular admission, $30-$35 for members, students and seniors; call (415) 978-ARTS (2787). “The Kipling Hotel: True Misadventures of the Electric Pink ‘80s” is Don Reed’s latest installation on his life, following the “E-14th: True Tales of a Reluctant Player” at The Marsh San Francisco, Oct. 8 through Nov. 13. The Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, hosts its Sixth Annual MoAD Gala, Saturday, Oct. 15, Palace Hotel, San Francisco. Visit http://www.moadsf.org/visit/.

Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s “red, black and GREEN: a blues” (rbGb) is having its world premiere at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Forum, Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 13-15 and 20-22, at 7:30 p.m. Visit ybca.org or call (415) 978-2787. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s back on the block this 31st season with two one-act plays, “Almost Nothing,” a mysterious and unnerving yarn by Brazilian playwright, Marcos Barbosa, and Douglas Turner Ward’s clever satire, “Day of Absence,” Oct. 11-Nov. 20, at 450 Post St., San Francisco. Call (415) 474-8800 or visit http://www.lhtsf.org/. On Sunday, Oct. 16, after the 2 p.m. show, there will be a post-performance discussion with director Steven Anthony Jones and the playwright, Douglas Turner Ward.

The 29th Annual SFJAZZ Fall Season presents R&B goddess India.Arie with Israeli keyboardist and composer Idan Raichel on Oct. 15 at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland. Visit http://www.sfjazz.org/. Berkeley-raised pianist Benny Green celebrates Thelonious Monk’s birthday, re-creating “Monk’s Dream” on the album’s 50th anniversary on Oct. 10. Tenor player Javon Jackson heads a John Coltrane salute with a dream quartet of Mulgrew Miller, Jimmy Cobb and Peter Washington Oct. 28. Master pianist McCoy Tyner pays tribute to his legendary collaborator with “The Gentle Side of John Coltrane,” joined by Chris Potter and José James Oct. 16. The Cuban timba celebration of Tiempo Libre is Oct. 9, and Malian ngoni master Bassekou Kouyate with his band Ngoni Ba perform Oct. 30.

Urban Music presents Al Son del Tunduki Quijeremá with Classical Revolution’s Musical Art Quintet featuring guest poets Michael Warr and Avotcja, Monday, Oct. 3, at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s San Francisco, 1330 Fillmore St., San Francisco. Listen to an interview with Maria, one of the founders of Quijeremá, and Michael Warr, poet, on Wanda’s Picks Radio Show, Sept. 30, 8 a.m. Clairdee is at the Rrazz Room in Hotel Nikko Tuesday, Oct. 4, 8 p.m., in San Francisco. One long set. Listen to an interview with Clairdee Oct. 4 on Wanda’s Picks Radio, 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. PT live or archived.

Visit http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picksfor continued Picks like the Stone Soul II concert preview with Sheila E.

‘Limyè pou Ayiti, Lavi Kontinye! An Evening Celebrating Haitian Culture’

“Limyè pou Ayiti, Lavi Kontinye!” (“Light for Haiti, Life Continues!”) is Rara Tou Limen’s choreo-prayer and artistic offering to Haiti, featuring music, dance and song. The performance is on Saturday, Oct. 8, 8-10 p.m., at Laney College, 900 Fallon St., Oakland. Nineteen months after the earthquake, the media’s attention has shifted to other topics, while Haiti remains deeply wounded. Life has moved on for some, but for Haitian people, life will never be the same. We must continue to shed light on Haiti and remind our audiences through artistic expression that Haiti still needs us!

“Celebrating is a way of resisting.” – Faustin Linyekula

Jeanguy Saintus will collaborate with RTL for “Limyè pou Ayiti, Lavi Kontinye!” Mr. Saintus is the artistic director of Ayikodans, the premiere professional dance company of Haiti since being established in 1987. To further enhance the collaboration, Ayikodans’ awe-inspiring principle dancer, Linda Isabelle Francois, will also accompany Mr. Saintus from Haiti to the Bay Area. As earthquake survivors, this proposed collaboration is critical! Their personal accounts, testimonies and post-earthquake experiences need to be revealed to a wide audience. “Limyè pou Ayiti, Lavi Kontinye!” will serve as group therapy for cast members, while reminding audiences of Haiti’s strength and courage.

Tickets, available at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/196319,, are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. 25 Advance tickets are also available at RTL’s weekly class locations: on Sundays at the Malonga Center, Oakland, 2-3:30, and on Saturdays at the Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco, 1:30-3 p.m.

Cal Performances presents the U.S. premiere of ‘Desdemona’

The visionary director Peter Sellars brings the U.S. premiere of “Desdemona,” a collaboration with Nobel Prize-winning writer Toni Morrison and Malian singer-composer Rokia Traoré, to Cal Performances’ Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Dana Court, Berkeley, on Wednesday, Oct. 26, through Saturday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m. “Desdemona” explores issues of gender, race, love and destiny as the title character and her African maid Barbary reach beyond the grave to give voice to the mysterious forces behind Othello.

A free two-part symposium on the creation of “Desdemona” and the cultural forces in Shakespeare will be held Oct. 27, 5-6:30 p.m., and Oct. 28, 12-3:00 p.m., at Zellerbach Playhouse, featuring Toni Morrison (via Skype), Peter Sellars, Rokia Traoré and UC Berkeley scholars. Sightlines, pre-performance talks with director Peter Sellars, is Oct. 28 and 29, 7:00-7:30 p.m., in Zellebach Playhouse. Tickets are available through the Cal Performances Ticket Office at Zellerbach Hall and at the door. Call (510) 642-9988 to charge by phone or visit http://www.calperformances.org/.

Director Peter Sellars will discuss giving voice to the unheard characters in Shakespeare’s Othello. On Oct. 28, three conversations will be held: the first between writer Toni Morrison (via Skype), composer Rokia Traoré and Sellars; the second between UC Berkeley scholars Abdul Jan Mohamed (English Department), Tamara Roberts (Music Department) and Darieck Scott (African American Studies); and the final, titled “Africa Speaks,” between Traoré and Sellars. These events are free and open to the public. To learn more, go to calperformances.org.

‘Feast of Words: A Literary Potluck’

SOMArts Cultural Center presents “Feast of Words: A Literary Potluck,” Oct. 18, 6:30-9 p.m., a monthly dinner party where writers and foodies come together to eat, write and share. Join co-hosts Lex Leifheit and Irina Zadov the third Tuesday of each month to discover local chefs and writers, bring a dish on the monthly theme, and share your work to be entered in a drawing for edibles, books and other prizes. Composer, vocalist, and writer Ron Ragin is October’s literary guest. Ragin will read from his upcoming memoir, which traces the history of his family’s ancestral home. Oakland-based performer, choreographer and chef Amara Tabor-Smith, whose performance “Our Daily Bread” celebrates what we eat and illuminates the cultures which underlie our eating practices, will contribute as October’s culinary guest.

The event will also include a short, on-the-spot writing exercise inspired by the theme. The house opens at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18, and space is limited. Tickets are $10 in advance, $5 with a potluck dish, or $12 at the door, cash bar. Purchase tickets online at feastofwords.eventbrite.com.

‘Illuminations: Dia De Los Muertos 2011,’ 12th Annual Day of the Dead exhibit

El Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, exhibition and programming curated by René and Rio Yañez provides a way for people to embrace the beauty of life and to honor the spirits of the dead. Intricate, traditional altars and complex art installations are on display in “Illuminations: Dia de los Muertos 2011” at SOMArts Cultural Center. Visitors are invited to attend the opening reception on Friday, Oct. 7, 6-9 p.m., to enjoy music, interactive performance and the unveiling of over 30 altars and installations. The exhibition is open from Saturday, Oct. 8, through Saturday, Nov. 5, at SOMArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan St., San Francisco.

“Illuminations” also features a collaboration with actor and visual artist Herbert Siguenza of Culture Clash fame. Siguenza has been touring the U.S. in a one-person show called “A Weekend with Pablo Picasso.” In addition to contributing an altar, Siguenza will perform and paint as Picasso during the opening reception on Friday. Oct. 7. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, 12-7p.m., Saturday, 12-5p.m. The opening reception is Friday, Oct. 7, 6-9 p.m., $5-$10 sliding scale, dayofthedead.eventbrite.com. The closing reception is Saturday, Nov. 5, 6-9 p.m., $5-$10 sliding scale, muertos.eventbrite.com.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wsab1@aol.com. Visit her website at http://www.wandaspicks.com/ throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 6-7 a.m. and Fridays at 8-10 a.m., can be heard by phone at (347) 237-4610 and are archived on the Afrikan Sistahs’ Media Network.

by Wanda Sabir

Wanda’s niece, Wilda Aiysah Batin, about six years ago

Youth poet laureate call for submissions

The Cities of Oakland and San Francisco are each about to gain new, young and articulate representatives. For the first time ever, the Oakland Public Library and San Francisco Public Library, in partnership with Youth Speaks (the country’s leading nonprofit presenter of spoken word performance, education and youth development programs), are staging competitions that will result in two Youth Poet Laureates, one from each city. The winners will each be honored with $5,000 in scholarships and the opportunity to officially represent their communities through poetry, media, and public appearances. The search for talented young writers (age 13-18) begins Sunday, April 1 – just in time for National Poetry Month – when judges will begin accepting submissions. The deadline for all submissions is May 15. Finalists will be announced in early July, and the winners will be announced in September. Youth, parents and teachers can learn more and apply online, at www.youthspeaks.org/2012poetlaureate. Help sessions for applicants will be held in late April and early May. For more information, contact Amy Sonnie at (510) 238-7233.

Oakland International Film Festival

The Oakland International Film Festival is Friday-Sunday, April 6-8, at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Street, Oakland. Visit http://www.oiff.org/2012schedule.pdf. This year’s headliner is one of the most controversial independent films ever made, “The Spook Who Sat by the Door.” Written by Sam Greenlee, “The Spook Who Sat by the Door” tells the story of an FBI agent who uses his experience in the FBI to educate and mobilize gangs in the hood to start a revolution. When the film was released in 1973, it was removed from the theaters by the FBI. “The Spook Who Sat by the Door” closes out the festival, screening Sunday, April 8, 6:30-9 p.m. (Want to see it again? It’s posted at the end of Wanda’s Picks.) Writer Sam Greenlee will be present for the question and answer session.

Adimu Madyun’s “Hunter Listening Party” March 31 opened with a libation poured by none other than Sister Oyafunmike Ogunlano, who reminded me when asked how long it had been since she starred in “Sankofa,” featured this year at the Oakland International Film Festival, that it has been 19 years. Imagine! The classic “Sankofa,” directed by Haile Gerima, follows Mona, a contemporary model, as she is visited by spirits lingering in the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana and travels to the past, where, as a house servant named Shola she is constantly abused by her slave masters. Nunu, an African-born field hand, and the West Indian, Shango, continuously rebel against the slave system, and Shola too finally chooses to fight back. – Photo: TaSin Sabir

Come out and support your favorite filmmaker and discover some great films you’ll be talking about for years. A plethora of great films awaits you. For tickets and all the details, go to www.oiff.org.

Hear the Cry II

April is Rape Awareness Month. I remember many years ago, on a Good Friday, drizzle present, the sky gray, the day cold, hundreds of people gathered in front of Oakland City Hall, 14th Street and Frank Ogawa Plaza, to bring attention to sexually exploited and trafficked minors in Oakland. It was a good thing to do on Good Friday, a day that marks the death of something followed by rebirth. Wouldn’t it be great if the instance of sexual exploitation and trafficking of minors was significantly impacted by what we do collectively in gatherings such as Hear the Cry. At Hear the Cry I, Assemblyman Sandre Swanson shared recently passed legislation which made conviction of perpetrators swifter with stuffer sentences, and in Oakland another official spoke about the decriminalization of the children who are victims and should be protected from harm, not blamed for its occurrence. Three hundred candles will be lit for the children’s lives. The program is 5-7 p.m. For information, call (510) 482-4656 or visit www.vooakland.org.

Pearl Cleage’s ‘Blues for an Alabama Sky’

Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s “Blues for an Alabama Sky” by Pearl Cleage, directed by Michele Shay, featuring Robert Gossett (TNT’s The Closer), opens April 7, with previews April 4-6. It’s a classic story of doomed love, set during the Harlem Renaissance, rich with history, culture, music and dreams. The run at Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, 450 Post St., San Francisco, is through May 12. Visit www.lhtsf.org or call (415) 474-8800.

Stopping Our Silence (SOS): Silencing the Inner Critic

This third annual healing conference and performance, hosted by Lyric Dance and Vocal Ensemble and Osun 07 Fashions, is Saturday-Sunday, April 14-15, at On Stage Studio (Kids N’Dance), 3840 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, (510) 434-6773, stoppingoursilence@gmail.com, Facebook.com/StoppingOurSilence. Saturday, April 14, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. there is a free conference, followed at 7 p.m. by a performance for mature audiences. To listen to an interview with presenters, visit http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2012/03/23/wandas-picks-radio-show.

‘Love Balm for My SpiritChild’: Bay Area mothers use theatre of witness to fight for justice for murdered children

“Love Balm for My SpiritChild: Testimonies of Healing Justice through Mothers’ Memory” is a four-part healing performance workshop series that celebrates the spirit of commemorative justice in mothers. The “Love Balm” performance features testimonies from the mothers and grandmothers of Kenneth Harding Jr., Oscar Grant III, Kerry Baxter Jr., Christopher La Vell Jones, Daniel Booker and more. The performances will take place at The Black Dot Cafe in West Oakland on April 14 and 21 at 2 p.m. Tickets are sliding scale: $7-$20 at the door. The performances are encores of the original reading at Eastside Arts Alliance in January 2012.

Floyd Pellom’s 57th Street Gallery

Dr. Terence Elliott, an accomplished pianist, composer and producer as well as an educator of humanities and music, performs at the 57th Street Gallery, 57th Street and Telegraph in Oakland, Saturday, April 28, 8:30-11 p.m., with Greg Simmons, bass; Mike Spencer, drums. The doors open at 5 p.m. Admission is $15.

Bower Hammer Skins, a Bay Area based jazz quartet featuring vocalist Raja, Herb Ruffin on keyboards, Karese Young on viola and Mike “Phat Foot” McCoy on drums, performs originals and jazz standards Sunday, April 29, 6-9 p.m.; doors open at 5 p.m. Admission is $12-$15. For information, call (510) 654-6974, email Contact@57thStreetGallery.com or visit www.57thStreetGallery.com.

Quijeremá

Quijeremá will be performing with special guest guitarist Alex de Grassi at Yoshi’s Jack London Square, Thursday, April 12, at Yoshi’s Oakland. For more information, visit http://www.quijerema.com.

‘Down the Congo Line’

Dimensions Dance Theatre presents “Down the Congo Line,” an evening of dance choreographed by LaTanya Tigner and Isaura Oliveira and directed by Dimensions Dance Theater artistic director Deborah Vaughan on Saturday, April 14, 8 p.m., at the Malonga Casquelourde Center, 1428 Alice St. at 14th Street, Oakland. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, children under 18 $15, available through www.brownpapertickets.com or at the Malonga Center, Dimensions Dance Theater office, third floor, Monday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. For information, call (510) 465-3363 or visit www.dimensionsdance.org.

The performance at Diamano Coura’s Collage des Africains was just a smidgen, just a taste; the full production will have live music provided by MJ’s Brass Boppers, Katrina Diaspora Survivors living in the Bay, plus Kiazi Malonga, lead drummer for Fua Dia Congo with other drummers from his troupe and Abel Damasceno Moura and Vinicius Oliveira accompanied by other percussionists. Listen to an extended interview with the choreographers and DDT director at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2012/03/16/wandas-picks-radio-show.

‘John Brown’s Truth’

Poster: Doug Minkler

One Life Institute’s Spirit Sound Silence Retreat

Gather for a day of spiritual renewal, inspiration and healing surrounded by the beauty of nature. Retreats are held quarterly and meet on a Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 9:30 arrival and registration. This next one is April 21 at Holy Redeemer Center, 8945 Golf Links Rd., Oakland. A hidden oasis at the foot of the Oakland Hills, it is three tenths of a mile west of the intersection of Highway 580 and 98th Avenue. As you enter the wooded property and drive over the creek, look for the large meeting hall on your right. Visit http://www.onelifeinstitute.org/retreats.html.

Listen to an interview with Dr. Liza who, along with the OneLife Angel Team, facilitate the retreat at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2011/10/26/wandas-picks-special-wrevliza-j-rankow-destiny-harpist. Destiny Muhammad, the “Harpist from the Hood,” also in the interview, is the musical inspiration. Tuition is based on a sliding scale $35-$100, more if you can, less if you can’t – no one turned away for lack of funds. Scholarships are available. Advance RSVP requested for planning purposes. Email OneLife at onelife@onelifeinstitute.org.

Black Panther Party at the Oakland Public Library, plus other programming

April 7, “Let Us Not Forget: History and Art by Black Panther Party Minister of Culture Emory Douglas” is at the West Oakland Branch Library, 1801 Adeline St., Oakland, (510) 238-7352, 1-4 p.m.

Also at the Oakland Public Library: April 20, E-Government Made Easy: Learn how to navigate government resources online, Main Library, 10-11:30 a.m.; April 25, Mysterious Places, an evening with best-selling mystery writers Cara Black, Rys Bowen and Owen Steinhauer, Main Library, 6-8 p.m.; April 28, Lunch Bucket Paradise, a book talk with author Fred Setterberg, Dimond Branch, 2-3:30 p.m. The link to Oakland Public Library events is http://www.eventkeeper.com/code/events.cfm?curOrg=OAKLAND http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/PR/pr032812youth_poet_loreate.pdf.

Community Forum on Solitary Confinement

“The Outer Limits of Solitary Confinement: A Public Forum to Support the California Prisoner Hunger Strike” is Friday, April 6, 6-8 p.m., at UC Hastings College of the Law, Louis B. Mayer Lounge, 198 McAllister St., San Francisco.

This free San Francisco event, organized by the International Coalition to Free the Angola 3 and co-hosted by the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal and the Hastings chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, will mark 40 years of solitary confinement for Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox of the Angola 3 by exploring the expansion and overuse of solitary confinement and mobilizing support for the Amnesty International petition to remove them from solitary confinement and support for the California Hunger Strikers. There’s a keynote with Angola 3’s Robert H. King, two films and additional speakers.

The International Coalition to Free the Angola 3 stands in solidarity with the courageous prisoners who recently initiated hunger strikes throughout California prisons, www.prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/. The event will examine how the torture and wrongful convictions of the Angola 3 are part of a much larger problem throughout U.S. prisons. With presentations from several speakers involved with supporting the hunger strikers, the audience will be presented with many ways in which they too can lend their support in the fight against solitary confinement and other forms of torture in California prisons.

The keynote speaker will be Robert H. King of the Angola 3, who was released in 2001 when his conviction was overturned, after 29 years of continuous solitary confinement. King says today that “being in prison, in solitary was terrible. It was a nightmare. My soul still cries from all that I witnessed and endured. It does more than cry; it mourns, continuously.”

Since his release, Robert H. King has worked tirelessly to support the other two members of the Angola 3, Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox, who have been in solitary confinement since April 17, 1972. This coming April 17, which marks the 40th anniversary of their solitary confinement, King will be joined by Amnesty International and other supporters at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge to present Amnesty International’s petition to Gov. Bobby Jindal demanding that Wallace and Woodfox be immediately released from solitary confinement. Read more about Amnesty International’s Angola 3 campaign, here: http://www.amnestyusa.org/angola3.

At the UC Hastings event, King will talk about the Amnesty International petition demanding transfer from solitary and the broader struggle to release Wallace and Woodfox from prison altogether. Interviewed in a recent video by Amnesty International (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kotf68mrqCI), King says about Wallace and Woodfox: “All evidence shows that they were targeted simply for being members of the Black Panther Party. There is really no evidence, forensic, physical or otherwise, linking them to the crime. When I think about the 10 years in which I’ve had time to be out here, that is 10 more years that they are there.”

In their investigative report (http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/usa-100-years-in-solitary-the-angola-3-and-their-fight-for-justice), Amnesty International similarly concluded that “no physical evidence links Woodfox and Wallace to the murder.” Even further: “Potentially favorable DNA evidence was lost. The convictions were based on questionable inmate testimony … It seems prison officials bribed the main eyewitness into giving statements against the men. Even the widow of the prison guard has expressed skepticism, saying in 2008, ‘If they did not do this – and I believe that they didn’t – they have been living a nightmare for 36 years!’”

Additional speakers will include:

• Hans Bennett, independent journalist and co-founder of Journalists for Mumia
• Terry Kupers, professor at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California
• Manuel La Fontaine, Northern California regional organizer for All of Us or None
• Aaron Mirmalek, Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee, Oakland
• Kiilu Nyasha, independent journalist and former member of the Black Panther Party
• Tahtanerriah Sessoms-Howell, youth organizer for All of Us Or None
• Luis “Bato” Talamantez, California Prison Focus and one of the San Quentin 6
• Azadeh Zohrabi, co-editor-in-chief of the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal

In addition, two short films will be featured: “The Gray Box: A Multimedia Investigation” by Susan Greene, The Dart Society, and “Cruel and Unusual Punishment” by Claire Schoen, for the AFSC Stopmax Campaign.

Event notes: Hastings is on the corner of Hyde and McAllister, two blocks from the Civic Center BART station. The Hyde Street side entrance is wheelchair accessible. Refreshments will be served and signed books will be for sale. This event is free and open to the public. Donations for prisoner support will be gratefully accepted.

More SF Bay Area events with Robert H. King:

• Let Us Not Forget: Honor Fallen Comrades and Political Prisoners, Saturday, April 7, 1 p.m., West Oakland Library, 1801 Adeline St., www.itsabouttimebpp.com. For more information, call (916) 455-0908.

• Oakland International Film Festival, Sunday, April 8, 3 p.m., Oakland Museum, 1000 Oak St., at 10th Street, http://www.oiff.org/. King will be speaking in conjunction with a screening of the new British documentary about the Angola 3, entitled “In The Land of the Free…”

On the fly

The Stage Bridge Senior Theater Storytelling Concert is Sunday, April 29, 3:30 p.m., $10-$12, at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. Visit www.lapena.org. Jon Fromer with Friends and Family performs April 21, 8 p.m., also at La Peña Cultural Center. Julia Chigamba and Chinyakare Ensemble with special guest, Musekiwa Chingodza, are at Ashkenaz Music and Dance Center, 1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley, Saturday, April 7, 9 p.m. Visit www.ashkenaz.com. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door.

First Annual Bay Area Community College HIV/AIDS Hip Hop Showcase is April 12, 6-9 p.m., Laney College Theatre, 900 Fallon St., Oakland. For information, call (510) 689-3967 or email hiphop4hiv@gmail.com. Keith Josef Adkins’ “The Final Days of Negro-Ville,” a part of the Rough Reading Series April 16-17, to present early drafts of new plays by rising national playwrights. Come every month, on a consecutive Monday or Tuesday evening to witness a new play in the making! Visit http://playwrightsfoundation.org/index.php?p=53. To RSVP email rsvp@playwrightsfoundation.org or call (415) 626-2176. Readings are free with a suggested $10 donation. To attend Stanford readings, email davidg1@stanford.edu.

Cal Performances: Sunday, April 1, 2012, Keith Jarrett performs at 8 p.m. in Zellerbach Auditorium at UC Berkeley. The concert celebrates the release of his newest solo piano CD “Rio,” recorded live in concert in April 2011 and considered by Jarrett to be his best solo piano recording since The Köln Concert. Thursday, April 19, 8 p.m., Seun Kuti with EGYPT 80. There will be a free preconcert talk in the lobby at 7 p.m. hosted by Chuy Varela, music director of KCSM radio. Visit http://www.calperfs.berkeley.edu/performances/2011-12/world-stage/seun-kuti-felas-egypt-80.php.

Cuttingball Theatre presents “The Tenderloin” by Annie Elias with the company directed by Annie Elias April 27-May 27. In this ethnography, the denizens of this historic yet blighted area of San Francisco get to have their say, much the same way director Paige Bierma gives voice to the same population in her short film, “A Brush with the Tenderloin,” which chronicles muralist Mona Caron’s work, a mural that incorporates a bit of history mixed with currency and future hope. Visit http://abrushwiththetenderloin.com/ and http://cache.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2011/10/05/wandas-picks-radio-show.

SFJAZZ presents Sierra Maestra on April 4, 7:30 p.m., at YBCA Forum in San Francisco; Anoushka Snakar presents “Traveller: A Raga-Flamenco Journey,” Thursday, April 19, at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco; Charles Lloyd New Quartet featuring Maria Farntouri, Sunday, April 22, 7 p.m., at the Herbst Theatre; Paco de Lucía is at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, Friday, April 27, 8 p.m. Visit www.sfjazz.org for the complete lineup.

‘The Old Settler’: a review

John Henry Redwood’s play, “The Old Settler,” at the Black Repertory Group Theatre has been extended April 5-8, Thursday-Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 3 and 8 p.m. to Easter Sunday, 5 p.m. Produced for Women’s History Month, this play looks at the relationships between three generations of women, ironically attached to the apron strings of one Husband Witherspoon (actor Clarence “Ray” Johnson Jr.). It is a play that looks at honor and fidelity, kinship, especially that between women that society judges past their prime, as if value could be judged by shelf life or refrigeration – neither the case in the 1940s when one kept items cold with blocks of ice. But I digress.

It’s directed by Tico “Choir Boy” Wells, one of the original cast members when the play opened at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, N.J., and the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Conn., in 1997. The original production was directed by Walter Dallas. Since then the play has been performed numerous times, including a television production with Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad. The play, which boasts a stellar cast in this production, looks at what happens when one migrates North, where often, as is the case with the youngest woman, Lou Bessie (Tavia Percia), there is no one waiting for you. The opposite is true for Quilly (Paula Martin), whose sister Elizabeth provides shelter for her younger sister in Harlem when their mother dies and the younger sister relocates.

I’ve seen several interpretations of “Old Settler” and until the current production at Black Rep, I didn’t know there was another way to play it. In the capable hands of the current cast with first one then another director, the newest Dr. Arletha “Angel” Lands, who also appears as Elizabeth, Lou Bessie’s rival, the play, which is about an older woman who rents a room to a young man and the two fall in love, is deepened when actor Clarence Ray Johnson Jr.’s “Husband” conveys a genuine love for Elizabeth and the decision reached about their relationship more hers than his. This not only allows Elizabeth’s character more control and a way to save face; it also leaves space for the two sisters to reclaim their severed ties.

Is the playwright hinting here that sisterhood is a stronger bond than any transitory or temporal relationship with a man, young or old? Is he also saying, in his juxtaposition of a young hot thing, Lou Bessie, and Elizabeth, who reminds Husband of his recently deceased mother, that when one changes, loses the values which build strong character, then one loses herself, which is what happens to Lou Bessie, who compromises, perhaps even leases if not sells her soul, to stay in her beloved Harlem. Husband refuses to follow her lead, even if he seems to follow her everywhere else.

People take a lot when they are lonely; they are also extremely vulnerable when they are alone as well. Elizabeth is prime for the take, yet this Husband is gentle with her and I appreciate that, especially in 2012 when the “Old Settler Factor” is real for a lot of women who are getting infected with HIV disease, losing their homes and possessions to men younger than they. And then there is Lou Bessie, who one cannot altogether fault for playing her cards right to get with the in crowd, even if that means sleeping with her child’s father, Bucket, at night, while cleaning for a white woman by day. She latches onto Husband, flattered he came North to find her. She also knows he has land and money, so why not play the country hick. But Clarence Ray Johnson Jr.’s character might be from a small town, but he certainly is not small minded or as naïve or in love as she thinks. A single mother, whose child is being raised by her mother back home, Bessie aka Charmaine seems to be careening along in a caboose without a driver.

Just because one is called an old settler, and in Elizabeth’s case “an old, old settler,” does not mean the woman is willing to “settle.” She is excited and in love, but she is not a fool. Perhaps if John Henry Redwood had pushed the envelope and let the affair work out as it might have if set in another place or time. One wonders if, when there is a span of over 10 years between partners, is it love or lust or usury or a little of both?

The set and sound design are also really wonderful. Black Repertory Group Theatre is located at 3201 Adeline St., Berkeley. For information, call (510) 652-2120. Visit http://blackrepertorygroup.com/Main_Stage.html.

‘Soldier’ (2000) by June Jordan: a book review

Last month was the 20th anniversary celebration of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People. Held at UC Berkeley, the organizational home where it resides in the African American History Department, it was a wonderful two days if one could get through the floods and torrential rain that opening Friday night. Hosted by Aya de Leon, poet, teacher and new administrator of the program, with alternating P4P alumni or current students who hosted workshops and shared poetry. The two days culminated with a performance and reading with Patricia Smith, and of course an all-star Bay Area line-up.

Since then, I have been reading June Jordan; I ordered “the Blueprint,” short for June Jordan’s “Poetry for the People: A Revolutionary Blueprint,” as well as another copy of her memoir, “Soldier.” I am going to make my way through her collections of essays and poetry, my goal to have read her entire body of work by summer’s end. I have just been feeling like poetry lately, June Jordan’s in particular, but Climbing PoeTree with Alixa and Naima at the Lyricist Lounge at La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley a couple of weeks ago was mind altering, just as the 20th anniversary of June Jordan’s P4P was.

In fact, some of the poets there were also at UC Berkeley that weekend, folks like Ariel Luckey. Perhaps I have always liked June because her name is my birth month, warm days into heat waves, short days running endurance races with one another – until the winner is crowned equinox. Her name is the beginning of personal droughts and a reminder to drink water, June is Flag Day and Father’s Day – father a nebulous entity for both of us – June is just before summer fun really begins. It is an anomaly, both a crab and a twin, air and water, masculine and feminine.

I start my journey with “Soldier: A Poet’s Childhood” by June Jordan. I remain transfixed – the life narrated here is so amazing and horrific at the same time, yet I can hardly put it down. It is an intensely quick read. When I was just half way through, I didn’t think little June would make it to 12 – a short event-filled childhood.

Her dad wanted a boy, so given a girl he was still determined to treat her like a boy. She was his helper on building projects around the house. He took her deep sea fishing at 2 a.m. in the morning – she the only girl on the boat and he beat her daily, waking her from sleep with punches. He taught her to spar and if her guard was down, he’d knock her flat on her back. This same father also took her to the symphony and to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He taught her to look people, even adults, in the eyes and to stand up straight, to throw her shoulders back and walk confidently and proudly, even if the only people she saw walk like this were white.

Jordan’s descriptions of her neighborhood in Brooklyn contrasted with that in Harlem where her family lived before her dad bought a house which brought with it childhood illnesses for June. She had a timeline, before Harlem and after – the before always a better time, a time when her mother and father seemed happier. In Brooklyn she learned the word “sacrifice” and hated its sound and rhythm. She also hated the term “first,” as in first Black child to attend the Robin Hood Summer Camp or Midwood High or the girls’ prep school, Northfield, where she was the only Black child. She says:

“There were 1,500 students standing outside that school, and I was the ‘only’ one. / I didn’t like it. / I felt small. / I felt outnumbered. / I was surrounded by ‘them.’ / And there was no ‘we.’ / There was only me. / I didn’t like it. / And because I’d been skipped two years ahead, I was like a pint-sized mascot to my class: I was 12 years old and a sophomore, and the whole thing felt wrong” (pp. 248-249).

Her mother tries arguing with her husband about his fascination with white people. One of the only times she challenged his beliefs, he slapped her so hard, June ran down the stairs to rescue her.

She writes that she never had to do anything except read and study: no cooking, cleaning, even making her bed. June’s brilliant cousin Valerie stayed with their family. Valerie could play the piano and was good in school too. She also looked just like June’s beautiful mother. Yet, despite the beatings, June seemed to have enough pleasant moments during childhood to make it happy.

I kept thinking she was going to grow up and kill her mean father, but she just takes the abuse. She asks for a gun, she starts sleeping with a knife, but the beatings continue. When she reports her father to the police, they tell her to be a “good girl.” She falls in love often – this daring, resilient, brilliant little girl who uses the pronoun “he” to describe herself – girls like June always win. However each notch on her belt is measured in light years or a pound of her flesh.

I don’t understand why her mother married this man or why she lets him continue to beat her child. Why she doesn’t leave, why she doesn’t tell someone is a mystery all the way to the end. Later in the book we meet Valerie’s mother and stepfather, Uncle Teddy, who went to law school. Uncle Teddy provides a buffer for June, but he treats her like a boy too and ridicules Valerie, his step-daughter, for being a girl.

I love the passages where Jordan speaks about listening to language a different way, her economic enterprises –she wins a poetry contest and learns that she could start a business, writing poems for her friends. I also appreciate her childhood rationale for the brutality she sees and witnesses from her father and from the police when they knock all her neighbor’s teeth out when they don’t believe he lives where he says he lives – sound familiar? I also appreciate June’s rationale and continued affection for her mother when her mother also starts knocking her down without warning.

She writes about going to the Dodgers games to see the handsome Jackie Robinson. She says her parents “acted like the Dodgers were going to save the world. They’d hired Jackie. … And Jackie could play, couldn’t he? Nothing was impossible anymore. And if Jackie hit a home run, then the shouts and pounding feet could wake the dead” (247).

Despite all this, Jordan recalled how long a bus ride it took to find a good grocery store or fruit stand. She also writes about the first Black laundromat and how exciting it was to have such a business in the neighborhood. She writes about broken promises and straight As on report cards. “Soldier” is quite the journey, and the voice, the voice is that of a little girl trying to learn her way through a mine field littered with cluster bombs, which go off too frequently. “Soldier” is the story of immigration and how one family lives with the Pan African dissonance that occurs between the two cultures, American and Caribbean, as represented by Jordan’s father and Uncle Teddy, two seemingly different, yet very similar men.

“Soldier” looks at beauty coupled with the African American color complex. June was told often she was not beautiful, so she had to use her brain, but the little boys whom June liked told her otherwise. Perhaps the most endearing aspect of “Soldier” is the author’s ability to juxtapose the good with the bad, more often than not, these attributes never the property of one single character, which made these “good character” slips all the more surprising. June’s maternal grandparents offered a continuity for June not present anywhere else. Her grandmother and grandfather modeled a patience and love for family June could wrap up and sleep next to at night, offer a seat to at the breakfast table, or hold in her pocket when she needed an ace to win yet another battle, a lone soldier on the field.

55th Annual San Francisco International Film Festival April 19-May 3

What is it about a love story that pulls one in? Is it the lovely people, the tragedy our love of weeping while guests in another person’s tragedy? Right, it can always be worse that what we let on, so we learn to let go. Artistically inclined, filmmaker Terence Nance mends his heart over a treatment and then short film, “How Would You Feel?” This film becomes the catalyst for the runaway hit at Sundance, where the director both won best film for his first feature, “The Oversimplification of Her Beauty,” he also wowed the audiences with his live musical performance. What I loved about the film which still intrigues me was its nonlinear format and the musicality of its imagery, whether it is cartoon, claymation, or black and white or color, documentary format or surrealism. At one point, when granted I was lost, I just admired its artistry and beauty. “Oversimplification” is a lovely work – filled with people who are Black and beautiful. Now, how often does one see a film like that?

Host of the March 31 “Hunter Listening Party,” Adimu Madyun said this was his prom night. We came dressed for the occasion and were certainly treated to a wonderful time, enjoyed by all, including Adimu’s wife Khalilah and her father, Allen Goodlow. – Photo: TaSin Sabir

This is not a documentary, but it is based on something that happened to the director, and the woman in the film is actually the woman in his heart at one point. But then, I could be totally wrong. “An Oversimplification” is rightly titled and as such defies description. You have to go see it for yourself. On his website, the director has other films, shorts, which he is not thinking of making into features. There is one, “Clap,” I highly recommend, given Trayvon Martin and the child who inspired the work, Aiyana Jones, a 7-year-old girl murdered and burned alive by the police in Detroit, Michigan. The work “Clap” is Pharoahe Monch’s first visual from W.A.R. (We Are Renegades). Visit http://media.mvmt.com/2011/03/14/clap-a-short-film/. The director and I had a wonderful conversation Friday, March 30, about “An Oversimplification,” “Clap” and the film he is working on presently, music and his album coming out soon. Visit http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2012/03/30/wandas-picks-radio-show.

The film, which has its California premiere at the 55th Annual San Francisco International Film Festival, April 22, 8:30 p.m. at Pacific Film Archive, will screen three more times in San Francisco at the Sundance Kabuki: Monday, April 30, 9 p.m., Tuesday, May 1, 12:15 p.m., and Wednesday, May 2, 4 p.m. The director will be in town for the San Francisco screenings and for the Sacramento International Film Festival, also this month. Visit http://www.sffs.org/ and http://www.sacramentofilmfestival.com/.

Check back later for other recommendations for the SFIFF.

‘Black Flight: Our Sojourn. Our Connections. Our Stories’

“Black Flight” is in the Hall of Culture, Third Floor, 762 Fulton St., San Francisco, through Sunday, June 17. I enjoyed walking through this exhibit during and after intermission at the African American Shakespeare production, “Julius Caesar.” Phenomenal production. I perused the Black Dolls exhibition first, which appealed to me in varying degrees. Uneven, the dolls which used craftsmanship appealed to me more. There were just too many Cabbage Patch dolls and others like this, which while certainly a part of a collection, left out the more obscure dolls like Little Souls, the pendant dolls in a locket I had which one could wear around her neck, the child size doll I got when I was maybe 6 or 7. I could hold her hand and walk with her, the Chatty Cathy – older and younger – which I owned as well.

I was a doll collector and I gave away my collection when I reached 18 and got married and moved away from home. Since then, I have started a new collection, so while this show, curated by Neshormeh Lindo, has its virtues, the breadth is limited especially given the huge Black doll craftswomen who host a show yearly in the fall in Oakland. There one can see Black dolls going back to the early 19th century, as well as craftwomanship featuring both abstract and classical Pan African dolls of all sizes and shapes and materials. I have purchased a few and received others as presents. Some of these dolls made from cornhusks remind me of the wooden dolls I have from Quilombos in Brazil.

Upstairs though, I was amazed by the wonderful photography and murals looking at the African presence throughout the world, in places like Vietnam and Germany. While most of the photographs were on the wall, there were several artists whose work was installed as slide shows. I really loved the one with work from the artist’s trip to Haiti. I loved the photographs from Congo, South Asia, Mexico, and my daughter, TaSin Yasmin’s photographs of her work in Madagascar. Dr. Marcus Lorenzo Penn’s photographs of Ghana are at this point iconographic given the many exhibitions they have graced since the one at the African American Center at the San Francisco Main Library many years ago, the Float Gallery in Oakland and last year’s Maafa event at the Oakland Main Library, where we had a Teen Poetry Reading and a screening of “Traces of the Trade.”

Dr. Penn’s photographs are so lovely, and when one thinks about Ghana, his imagery inevitably comes to mind. The exhibition is a beautiful statement about the beauty that is Pan Africa. I wish there were on-going conversations between the artists and the public throughout the exhibit in response to the query the curator posited: Where are we going? What is carrying us across the waters? How do we define this new expatriate experience, not to mention the cultural connections these artists from America made on their trips and the stories these photos hold. All exhibitions are FREE and open to the public Tuesday-Saturday, 12 noon-5 p.m.

All of Us or None at OMCA

At the Oakland Museum of California, see “All of Us or None: Social Justice Posters of the San Francisco Bay Area” and “The 1968 Exhibit,” both up March 31-Aug. 19. Visit www.museumca.org or call (510) 318-8453. A film series, “Final Fridays,” starts April 27, 8:30-10:30 p.m. Also on Final Fridays from 5-9 p.m. are OMCA Summer Nights, with half price admission and, from April to July, Amoeba Records DJs spinning hits from 1968.

I completely missed the press preview, but I informed Kelly, the publicist, that I might not make it – it’s too hard getting to an event on a Friday after a radio broadcast. It involves a lot of preparation and then the actual production I am literally sitting on needles until it is over, no matter how early I woke up to prepare, how well the conversation is going technically and in the studio, I enjoy the shows more once I can sit back and just listen to the podcast. So I arrive and there are these busloads of kids inside. I find out that it is a national day of dance at museums and this cast of artists is about to dance down the stairs and throughout the open galleries – hm, can I watch this and visit the exhibit?

The “Hunter Listening Party” March 31 celebrated the launch of WolfhawkJaguar, Adimu Madyun’s latest project. We were in the Oakland Hills at Linda J’s Bed, Breakfast and Beyond listening to songs that lifted the ancestors, celebrated our collective victories and brought attention to the need for a healing – those gathered the healers. The project is going to drop next month. – Photo: TaSin Sabir

Anyway I visited “All of Us or None,” guest curated by James Comisar, first. For those who were there and perhaps recall the posters, this will be a nostalgic stroll through memory lane. True to the new Oakland Museum mission, there are iPod kiosks where patrons can log access posters and add lore to the narrative, especially where they first saw it and who painted it – like an OM Wikilinks. Visit www.the1968exhibit.org.

In the center of the gallery, there is a workshop space where printmakers will set up shop and demonstrate printmaking techniques and give away the posters. I recognized many posters and artists by name. Many of the images were humorous. I recall a similar exhibit years ago at SFMOMA on music.

When one arrives at the end of a press preview, she misses all the special talks by luminaries like Comisar and the curator from the Minnesota History Center where “1968” originated. The exhibition will be traveling the country through 2014. The open gallery is where one can trace the events monthly before entering the exhibit which, though labeled, is rather difficult at times to decide – what month is this? Where am I? The medical helicopter has recorded narratives of four soldiers who speak about the war while actual footage cycles on a screen behind the gurney. When one looks up and sees the span of the helicopter wings, one thinks of the TV show MASH, which I didn’t know was actually filmed in California.

Not far away there is a TV room where one can sit on pillows (I think) and watch old shows like Bewitched, the film, “The Planet of the Apes” and other shows like The Brady Bunch. TV Guides paper the installation, which looks like the inside of Dick Clark’s American Bandstand studio. The Republican National Convention is there, and I remember Chairman Bobbie Seale’s being chained in the trial known as the Chicago 8. His run for president is also shown in the exhibit, as is Black Panther Party memorabilia circa 1968.

What I really like in “1968” is the section where the helicopter sits; near the door there is a shot of Arlington Cemetery, where graves dot a landscape, an actual grave marker there in the installation. What is remarkable is the way the light and camera imagery interact to give one a variety of views, from personal to national – the cost of war in lives. This exhibit certainly does not celebrate conflict, given the variety of voices present in an exhibition where two national heroes were killed, RFK and Dr. Martin King. The train that took his body from New York to D.C. shows in photographs the sorrow this nation felt over the death of this man.

Now contrast this installation, which has photographs taken from the train in a slide projection – with the pew where one can sit and watch Martin King give his last speech, and then see the place where he was killed, the funeral procession and his young family. There is even a copy of the Obsequies dated April 9, 1968, 10:30 a.m. Ebenezer Baptist Church, 2 p.m. the campus of Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia, on display. Strong imagery.

Both exhibitions make one think about the past in a new way, and it is great that so many public programs are planned to give the community an opportunity to express their views as they engage one another in a discourse that places the issues addressed in the political posters and in the 1968 political discourse in another context. What have we learned from the past, if anything, that could eliminate the need to retrace the trek of discontent, disillusion and defeat? 1968 was an election year. There is a voter machine that one can use to elect the candidate of one’s choice.

I also like the simulation of the Apollo space capsule, the news coverage yet another multimedia aspect of this thoughtful and well-constructed exhibition from January: “The Living Room War”; February: “We’re Losing The War,” Lounge – TV and Movies; March: “The Generation Gap”; April: “I Have Been to the Mountaintop”; May: “I Am Somebody”; June: “The Death of Hope” Lounge – Music; July: “Love It or Leave It”; August: “Welcome to Chicago”; September: “Sisterhood is Powerful” Lounge – Style; October: “Power to the People.” A key object here is the torch from the 1968 Olympics and an American Indian Movement jean jacket. November: “The Votes Are In” – key objects: voting booth, Nixon buttons. Although Kennedy is winning in Oakland (OM 2012), he loses nationally. December: “In the Beginning.” We come full circle as we enter a room decorated the same as that in the January section. What does this mean? We’ve traveled 12 months, 365 days and it is as if we never left home. Scary thought.

In California there are a number of notable moments, among them Jan. 6: The first adult human-to-human heart transplant operation in the United States is performed at Stanford University Medical Center. Johnny Cash backed by June Carter, Carl Perkins and the Tennessee Three, performs his famous concert at Folsom prison Jan. 13. Feb. 12, Eldridge Cleaver published “Soul on Ice.” The film “Easy Rider” goes into production, completed by summer. March 5 is the date of a walkout by Mexican American students at two Los Angeles high schools, which set in motion a massive protest movement for Chicano studies and bilingual education. Luis Rodriguez, award-winning author of “Always Running: La Vida Loca,” “Gang Days in L.A.” and the recent, “It Calls You Back: An Odyssey Through Love, Addiction,” is one of the leaders of this movement.

Significant dates in California during March and April 1968 are

· March 10, Cesar Chavez ends a 25-day fast in Delano, California, in protest of the violence against striking migrant farm workers.

· April 6, two days after Martin King is assassinated, Bobby Hutton is killed in a police shootout at de Fremery Park, West Oakland.

· April 10, at the annual Oscar ceremony in L.A., the drama, “In the Heat of the Night,” is named Best Picture of 1967. It starred Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger and Warren Oates and was directed by Norman Jewison.

‘Rebel Home Dance’: a review

Congratulations to Sheena Johnson, artistic director of “Rebel Home Dance,” for her fantastic show, “Land/Home,” which featured new work and a reprise of older work with artistic collaborators Chris Evans and David Boyce in “Freedom Study #2,” which featured Chris in a solo projected scene dancing in tree landscape, before joining Sheena on stage in a sound sculpture peopled with human and instrumental voices answering the question: When have you felt the most free?

This lovely work, which was a part of the Black Choreographers Here and Now a couple of years ago, felt new in the intimate and cozy Temescal Art Center in Oakland. “Yellow House Project: Beauty,” the choreographer’s tribute to the memory of her great uncle Billy and the home in Erie, Pennsylvania, which was destroyed – a metaphor for Uncle Billy’s life, destroyed by Sheena’s great grandmother, Ida Sue Brown, due to misguided Christian beliefs that her son’s queer sensibilities were somehow wrong. Sheena asks in this work performed by the amazing dancer and choreographer, Atasiea (aka Kenneth L. Fergusin): “As a queer person, what can I learn of love, loving and being loved by discovering and re-imagining my Uncle Billy?” Atasiea was one of the choreographers honored at Destiny’s “Toy Story,” closing weekend at Laney College last month. “Toy Story” was pretty phenomenal! I sat in the balcony, so when the dancers went aerial, it was as if they were flying just outside my window. Kudos to the writers!

Did I mention in the “Yellow House” piece that I was lucky enough to sit behind Chris Evans as she played the cello? Nice! “Land/Home,” the work we were looking forward to, was set in a wasteland, large pebbles on the floor along with broken rock – the surface the size of a man’s foot. Performers and choreographers: Sheena, Byb Chanel Biben, m.a. brooks, Jochelle Elise Perena and Jasmine Vassar. The installation artist was Ernest Jolly and the music, Aretha Franklin, John Legend and Ben Harper. I hope this work will get another performance – the questions posed about land and home in a disappearing landscape – if one’s home is sinking into the ocean or the air is polluted along with the soil so one has no way to sustain oneself, what happens? The dancers work together and then solo – each embodying a different question: What is the Promised Land, if one is displaced? Is lost permanent? Where is one’s homeland? In a conversation on my radio show, Sheena and I agreed that one’s home is inside one’s heart. I have a little pin shaped like a house with a heart welded to it. As a person in the Diaspora, rooted in the nebulae – home, the concept, is both tangible and intangible, but my heart is real.

There is text and laughter in Sheena Johnson’s work “Land/Home.” She asks: “How do we create a home that holds all the beauty and complexity of being people displaced from our homelands? How have our bodily encounters with and impositions upon land informed how we seek, crave and create home for ourselves?” Don’t miss The Yellow House Project, June 26-27, 7:30 p.m. at THEOFFCENTER in San Francisco. Visit www.sheenajohnsonrebelhome.blogspot.com and listen to the pre-show interview at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2012/03/23/wandas-picks-radio-show.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wsab1@aol.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 6-7 a.m. and Fridays at 8-10 a.m., can be heard by phone at (347) 237-4610 and are archived on the Afrikan Sistahs’ Media Network.

by Wanda Sabir

It was a tribute to Black media and to the power of love and family when this mother-daughter team of Black media stars, Wanda and TaSin Sabir, told the crowd as well as each other what an inspiration each has been to the other. - Photo: Scott Braleypreciation Night TaSin, Wanda Sabir 112612 by Scott Braley, web

The year breezed by – January I was in South Africa hanging with Salaelo Meredi in Alexandra Township. Later on I watched him rehearse a new play in Pretoria. Lunching with Myesha Jenkins in New Town, a revived arts hub in Jo’burg, was fun, as was walking across Mandela Bridge at night with TaSin and another resident from our hostel. Lights changed the bridge cables different colors – red, green, yellow, blue.

Monday, Nov. 26, at the Bay Area Black Media Awards event hosted by Greg Bridges and sponsored by the San Francisco Bay View and Block Report Radio, it was so wonderful to see all the media friends and family for an evening of celebration. KPOO, KPFA, New California Media/Pacific News Service, Wanda’s Picks Radio, Oakland Post, Globe, Poor News Network, Oakland International Film Festival, Black Panther newspaper alumni and others were in the house as “Best” this and “Best” that were saluted.

The room was full as we received the wonderful plaques created by Malik Seneferu – rectangular, they all had stars and mirrors and red lines on a black background. Malik told me that the large star on mine represented my heart – the mirrors a reflection of me as a writer, mother, teacher, and the red and black besides representing Elegba, the keeper of the crossroads, the lines represent the paths we take and have taken. Now I was excited and what Malik shared is now Wanda-lore, but I think this is the gist of it (smile). The point is, he made each plaque with its recipient in mind.

Two Kevins - Epps the filmmaker and Weston the journalist - prepare for the show backstage at Yoshi’s. Both won awards. - Photo: Pendarvis Harshaw

Willie Ratcliff was honored last and unfortunately he cut his talk down to save time. I’d really been looking forward to tales of his childhood in East Liberty, Texas, and in Alaska. Mary was quiet; I don’t know why (smile). But it was great seeing the couple, since it is a rare event that can get Mary out of the newsroom. Besides her daily vitamin D walks, one rarely sees her except perhaps the parishioners at their community church (smile).

Wishing everyone a Blessed Solstice. This one is more special than usual, 12/21/12 – the end of the Mayan calendar. If you can get to Mexico, there is the Synthesis Festival. Visit http://synthesis2012.com/festival/chichen-itza-mayan-calendar-celebration.html.

To Life Music has been invited to the festival. They will be performing Thursday, Dec. 13, at Make Our Room, 3225 22nd St., San Francisco, (415) 647-2888. Their hit, “A New Age Has Begun,” is available for a free download at www.tolifemusic.com. They are looking for sponsors to help them get to Chichen-Itza. I spoke to bandleader Lowell Rojon on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks Friday, Nov. 30. Listen to an interview with Lo on blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks (Nov. 30, 2012).

I shortened my thank you list, but didn’t forget Paul Cobb, publisher of the Post News Group, who let me continue his Good News column once he left the Oakland Tribune for the Oakland Public School Board position. I also want to thank my editors, Martin Reynolds and Lee Ann McLaughlin. Chauncey Bailey was one of my mentors. I admired how he wrote for Black papers, the Sun Reporter and the Oakland Post, while maintaining his day job at the Trib (smile). He is still missed.

At the awards I thanked the creator, Allah, for placing me on this planet with such potential cultivated by my wonderful parents, Helen Isaac and Fred Ali Batin. Growing up in a home where my parents read all the time, took us to the library and surrounded us with books that reflected our heritage, waylaid any confusion about my great Pan African lineage. I never wanted to be white, have straight hair – in fact my father wouldn’t let dolls in the house that didn’t look like our family (smile). The Nation of Islam under the Hon. Elijah Muhammad philosophically just reinforced this ideology when my father joined. I think this was one of his better parental moves (smile).

Wanda Sabir, who has written for the Bay View longer than any other current writer, was named Champion of Black Arts and Culture. Her award was presented by DeBray “Fly Benzo” Carpenter, who became a hero in Hunters Point and beyond when he was repeatedly jailed, harassed, beaten and tried for an array of felonies after he spoke out against police terrorism after SFPD murdered Kenneth Harding, 19, on July 16, 2011, for not having a Muni transfer to prove he’d paid his fare. Wanda is a professor at the College of Alameda. Fly is a straight-A student at City College of San Francisco. - Photo: Scott Braley

I had one recently. I got to speak to Alonzo King, founder and artistic director of LINES Contemporary Ballet on the occasion of the company’s 30th anniversary. He told me that his dad, Slater King, civil rights activist and one of the founders of the Albany Movement, put his body where his mouth was. An economics graduate from Fisk University, he developed a reputation as a real estate broker and consulted with the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X and many others. His letters to Malcolm X are in the Fisk archives. King says that though his parents divorced, they remained friends and his dad is one of his greatest inspirations. See http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2552.

King spoke about the start of LINES Ballet with two friends: Robert Rosenwasser and Pam Hagen, and the principle that guided their path then and now – they looked at dance as an integration of mind, body and spirit. “In that hierarchy, spirit is above mind, and mind is above body. Spirit inspires the mind and the mind dances the body,” King states in an essay in the program for “Constellation,” which premiered in San Francisco, Oct. 19-28, 2012. Our conversation traveled leisurely, until King noticed the time and had to go. We spoke about some of his recent collaborations: “BaAka: The People of the Forest” (2001) and another with Jason Moran (2009). More next month (smile). He shared memories of Malonga Casquelourd and his philosophy of life.

Theatre coverage

If you don’t see reviews of Black plays, ask the company why Wanda Sabir hasn’t covered it and that you’d like to get her perspective on it, as it reflects your thinking on such issues.

Playwright Salaelo Meredi and his actors were performing at the Westend Theatre. Westend is a historic Black community in Pretoria, Alexandra Township. – Photo: Wanda Sabir

Media awards

It was so nice seeing Sean Vaughn-Scott at the Awards event briefly. He brought Mary Ratcliff a present and then left. Black Rep makes me feel welcome in their house, as does Angela Wellman, director of the Oakland Public Conservatory and Dan Fortune at the Rrazz Room. Joe at Cal Performances and other media reps at Stanford Lively Arts and other academic venues treat me really well. After Ave, Karen Larsen is the best. She and her staff treat me really kindly. It’s not a perfect world, but we work at it. The same is true with Carla Befera and Company.

Literary arts

The San Francisco Bay View doesn’t get the latest Black fiction or current biographies. I have never gotten any of Mumia’s books directly or Van Jones’ (and I asked) or Barbara Lee or Belva Davis’ memoirs.

If the SF Bay View under the Ratcliff banner took off in 1992 and I came on in about 1995, I think we are pretty well known, but UC Press, which publishes many books of interest to me, like Amiri Baraka’s “Digging: The Afro-American Soul of American Classical Music,” does not include us in their announcements. I have to work too hard sometimes and, as this is a labor of love, sometimes I get busy and forget to ask repeatedly. Once should be enough.

City Lights is great and so is PM press, and they are smaller presses.

I am just saying. It is really hard doing my job, and it’s a volunteer job – I still have to work fulltime as a professor, which means I teach four classes. And on top of that I have a radio show – another unpaid gig.

Phavia Kujichagulia and Ma’at engulfed Yoshi’s in African rhythms and traditions to get Black Media Appreciation Night off to a blessed start. The members, who danced and drummed their way through the audience when they entered, are Val Serrant, djembe and talking drum; Josh “Six” Awoyefa, djembe and djundjun drums; Sosu Ayansolo, conga drums and shakaree; Ron Williams, guitar and djembe drums; Zwadie Romaine, bass; Adrian Justice, alto sax and flute; Yemanya Napue, dance; and Phavia Kujichagulia, poetry, trumpet, djembe drum and shakaree. How better to celebrate the courage of media-makers who speak truth to power than with powerful African rhythms, emboldening every heart. - Photo: Scott Braley

Look in January for the complete Alonzo King interview, along with a feature on my friend’s trip to Allah’s House (smile). Don’t forget the 22nd Annual African American Celebration through Poetry Feb. 2, 2013, 1-4 p.m. 2013’s theme is the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.

‘The Fight for Freedom’ by John Reynolds

“The Fight for Freedom: A Memoir of My Years in the Civil Rights Movement” by John Reynolds is a forthright tale of an Alabama youth who tired of unfair treatment in his segregated town of Troy, sees an opportunity to change his community when civil rights workers come to his town to register Black people to vote. He volunteers and helps them, and when they leave they take him with them to meet Martin King, where he is hired as a community organizer. We go to trainings with him where he learns the principles of nonviolent resistance and how to both mobilize and keep those he is leading into battle safe. I love it when he describes his freedom uniform – jeans, denim jacket and leather boots – he talks about going to jail and this strategy. He shares moments with Septima Clark, educator and mentor.

At 18, Reynolds gives up the opportunity to go to college to volunteer with SCLC. He fractures his relationship with his dad, who does not want his son to upset the apartheid system, as such moves are dangerous, perhaps deadly. The youngster speaks with love and admiration for Dr. King and especially Rev. Abernathy, whom he loved even when the elder statesman was no longer capable of leading the organization. He also speaks of the ulcers he gets and the stress he is under – this is, after all, a war.

As an insider he talks about the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, an organization started by SCLC which then gains autonomy. He speaks of the strife between the two groups and the eventual parting of ways. Reynolds also acknowledges powerful women in the movement who take a back seat to the men and the men who do not see gender equity as important.

I learned things about SCLC’s work in the Native American community around equal education and Freedom Schools. He talks about the celebrities who were a part of the Civil Rights Movement, like Harry Belafonte and Joan Baez. These entertainers and others would regularly visit the civil rights troops like other entertainers visited troops overseas.

Reynolds talked about the difficulty freedom fighters had in maintaining relationships. It is a long time before he is able to find a mate. For such a short book, Reynolds is able to paint a compelling picture of a young foot soldier and then connect his experiences to the present with the candidacy and election of President Barack Obama (2012 Authorhouse.com).

San’Dei’Jun Publishing, new independent press

One of two other books I highly recommend is from a new San Francisco Bay Area independent press, San’Dei’Jun Publishing, which just won the Reader’s Favorites Award for “The Compton Connection: Coming of Age.” In this gritty story, we meet identical twins who are similar only in appearances as Edith prepares for college, while Edna – well, Edna goes for the fast money and holds down a legit job with selling drugs on the side. Both daughters live in a stable home, two parents, one a step-dad who loves both his daughters.

Deirdre Wilson and Sandra Redmond of San'Der'Jun Publishing won the Reader’s Favorites Award for “The Compton Connection: Coming of Age” at the awards ceremony in Miami in November. Their new book, “Slapped by Injustice: Point Blank,” is just out.

“The Compton Connection: Coming of Age” has a sequel. Redmond uses his nickname “June” in the book and Deirdre, one of the publisher team, is also a character in the novel (smile). I am not sure if this is where the similarity ends, for the June character that is. The real life June – or Willie Redmond – is set to be released this month as well.

“Slapped by Injustice: Point Blank” by W.F. Redmond was published by Outskirts Press (Denver, Colorado, 2012), and except for it centering on a recent parolee, the story is quite different from “Compton Connection.” The protagonist is Duane, parolee, who works at a mental hospital in custodial. He seems to like his job – I think he likes the responsibility. He can take care of his girlfriend and her three children. She is Latina and he is Black, the family likes him and he is about to propose when tragedy strikes and his world is about to unravel.

“Slapped by Injustice” is about a man trying to do what is right who gets slapped for his efforts. We hear all the time about patient abuse, especially the elderly and children. In “Slapped,” Duane and other employees find a doctor sexually abusing one of his patients. He doesn’t know what to do, but he wants to do something and so a few of the custodial staff come up with a plan – kind of unorthodox. Duane is left hanging on the line as his job, one he has grown to enjoy, is threatened. What happens is certainly plausible as Duane loses hope, but Redmond has us rooting for Duane, who has so much to live for beyond the gig at the hospital.

Duane is slapped at work and at home. He missed his kids when the relationship he thought was for life dissolves. It is a balancing act, perhaps more like a tight rope Duane finds himself on, as his world closes in and options grow more narrow.

Holiday fine arts exhibit: ‘To Share the Light of Yellow’

“To Share the Light of Yellow” is the annual holiday fine arts exhibit at Prescott Joseph Center for Community Enhancement, 920 Peralta at 10th Street in West Oakland, (510) 208-5651. Exhibit dates are Nov. 28, 2012, through Jan. 31, 2013.

These pictures of the keeper of the Grand Mosque for Cheikh Amadou Bamba Mbacké in Touba City, Senegal, are two of the photos in the Prescott Joseph exhibit. – Photos: Wanda Sabir

Luisah Teish on the Mayan calendar

“A Day Before the New Beginning: A Ritual Celebrating the Mayan Calendar with Luisah Teish, a pre-equinox celebration, Thursday, Dec. 20, 7-9 p.m., is at JFK University and Consciousness Building, Berkeley Campus, 2956 San Pablo Ave., Second Floor. All are welcome; children under 12 are free. Donation requested for adults is $20-$12. No one will be turned away. Bring a 2013 calendar. There is parking lot behind the Orchard Supply Hardware. Enter on Ashby.

For more information, contact Luisah Teish at DahomeyRoyal@gmail.com or see her calendar at www.luisahteish.com. This is a drug, alcohol, and hate free zone.

‘The Central Park 5’ opens Dec. 15

Unlike other films directed by Ken Burns, “The Central Park Five” has no omniscient narrator, as the actual subjects tell a story too horrific to imagine in the 21st century, when one thinks of the five youth intimidated into copping – all but four agree to plea bargains – to raping and beating a white jogger in Central Park in 1989. Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Corey Wise and Yusef Salaam confess after the boys are denied legal consul and are separated from their parents. Even after DNA evidence absolves the boys, even after the detectives are found guilty of excessive and improper interrogation techniques, even after an analysis of the testimony shows the boys couldn’t have been present – their statement so full of errors regarding the jogger’s clothing, whereabouts and injuries – they serve their complete sentences: 6-13 years.

In 2002 when the actual rapist confesses to this rape and others, and a judge vacates the original sentences, this too is met with protest by the prosecuting district attorney. For audiences who need a modern Scottsboro Boys case as evidence that the justice system is still criminalizing the innocent, watch this film. To date, even with the civil lawsuit, the case is not resolved.

When the film screened here at the Mill Valley Film Festival, Raymond Santana, one of the youth charged, who was in prison when the sentences were commuted and he was released for time served, spoke about the residual effects of this travesty of justice on his and his friends’ lives as irreparable. No one except Raymond’s father believed his innocence. Nothing can give Raymond or the other four men back time lost, plans commuted and dreams deferred perhaps forever.

The vicious attack on the boys by the media and the mayor at that time was and to a certain degree still is unprecedented. Defamation of character? The media created new terms to describe the monsters that could brutalize an innocent woman as the DA said the boys did. It was a modern lynch mob – guilt based on the color of the boys’ skin. When one thinks about media events, this case is one of the biggest stories of our time.

A happy Wanda Sabir receiving her award as Champion of Black Arts and Culture on Black Media Appreciation Night is photographed by her professional photographer daughter, TaSin Sabir.

Burns said he was furious and, while his daughter, Sarah Burns, wrote the book, “The Central Park Five” (Knopf 2011), he and co-producer David McMahon knew that this would be a film. The film opens Dec. 15 at the Opera Plaza in San Francisco and the Shattuck in Berkeley.

Dance Brigade

“Voluspa: A Ghost Dance for 2012,” Dec. 19-21, 7:30 p.m., is a ritual dance performance that explores and marks the 2012 end of the world/regeneration prophesy found in many cultures and articulated perhaps most explicitly and famously by the Mayan calendar. Whether it be the Mayan, the Hopi, the Norse, the Book of Revelation, Wovoka or contemporary climate scientists, many cultures have the destruction and regeneration story rooted deeply in their mythology. Through prophesy and truth-telling, a diverse group of artists will come together over the course of two evenings to acknowledge and pay tribute to past and present struggles and work towards renewal, bringing our current tumultuous times starkly into focus. Dance Brigade will host the two-night ritual performance at Dance Mission Theater in San Francisco, 3316 24th St, San Francisco, (415) 826-4441. Tickets are $12-$20.

The final evening, Dec. 20, will last until 12:30 a.m. so that together artists and audience members can mark Dec. 21, the winter solstice and end of the Mayan calendar. Tickets are on-sale now at www.brownpapertickets.com.

On Black Media Appreciation Night, the great revolutionary artist Emory Douglas, whose powerfully political artwork that made The Black Panther newspaper shine is now exhibited worldwide, accepted the Black Resistance Media Legacy Award to the newspaper, along with its first editor, Elbert "Big Man" Howard. - Photo: Bill Jennings, It's About Time

Holiday fare

“It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play,” adapted by Joe Landry, directed by Jon Tracy, at Marin Theatre Company stars one of my favorite actors, Michael Gene Sullivan. The play is up through Dec. 16. Visit http://marintheatre.org/productions/wonderful-life/.

Step back in time to the 1940s. Become the live studio audience for a radio broadcast of this American holiday favorite. True to Frank Capra’s cinematic classic, everyman George Bailey must learn that “no man is a failure who has friends” (and a little divine intervention). Experience “It’s a Wonderful Life” live and in color with five actors performing the voices of dozens of characters while creating sound effects. Perfect for the whole family.

J. Douglas Allen-Taylor, author

J. Douglas Allen-Taylor reads “Sugaree Rising” Thursday, Dec. 6, 6 p.m., at the Joyce Gordon Gallery, 406 14th St. in downtown Oakland, between Broadway and Franklin Streets, and Saturday, Dec. 15, at Do 4 Self Enterprise African Bookstore, 5272 Foothill Blvd , Oakland, 2-4 p.m.

Selma James

In 1972 Selma James set out a new political perspective. Her starting point was the millions of unwaged women who, working in the home and on the land, were not seen as “workers” and whose struggles were viewed as outside of the class struggle. Based on her political training in the Johnson-Forest Tendency, founded by her late husband CLR James, on movement experience South and North, and on a respectful reading of Marx, she redefined the working class to include sectors previously dismissed as “marginal.” For James, the class struggle presents itself as the conflict between the reproduction and survival of the human race, and the dictatorship of the market with its exploitation, wars, and ecological devastation. She sums up her strategy for change as “Invest in Caring Not Killing.”

One of the many purposes of Black Media Appreciation Night was to celebrate the birthday that day of KPOO Radio host Donald Lacy and Bay View publisher Willie Ratcliff having recently turned 80. - Photo: TaSin Sabir, web

On Monday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m., at an Open Study Group of Sex, Race and Class – The Perspective of Winning, she will discuss the chapter “Striving for Clarity and Influence: The Political Legacy of CLR James (2001-2012),” pages 283-296. Contact the Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library for a copy of the book. The library is located at 6501 Telegraph Ave., off Alcatraz at 65th Street, in Oakland.

Mrs. James comes to the U.S. as part of a campaign to value caregiving work and eliminate mothers’ and children’s poverty, building support for two bills currently in Congress: The Rise Out of Poverty Act (RISE Act HR 3573) introduced by Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., and the Women’s Option to Raise Kids Act (WORK Act HR 4370) introduced by Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif. For other talks in North America or to order her book, contact (415) 626-4114 or sf@allwomencount.net. Visit www.globalwomenstrike.net and www.selmajamesbooktour.net.

World AIDS Day Event Focuses on Women and AIDS

“Many Women, One Voice: African American Women and HIV Screening” and a panel discussion with Hydela Broadbent, international AIDS activist, is Dec. 1, 2012, 2-5 p.m., at the Alumni House at UC Berkeley on the campus. The event is free; refreshments will be served. To register, visit http://manywomenworldaidsday.eventbrite.com/.

Tree of Life Foundation Health Literacy Project presents the Fall 2012 Health Literacy Legends Fundraiser, Friday, Dec. 7, 1-4 p.m., at the West Oakland Senior Center, 1724 Adeline St., Oakland, on the corner of Adeline and 18th. For more info and to make a donation, go to www.treeoflifefound.com.

Sargent Johnson Gallery

Don’t miss William Rhodes’ “What is Your Spiritual Evolution” at the Sargent Johnson Gallery, 762 Fulton St. in San Francisco, through Feb. 7, 2013.

‘Life Like’ at New Orleans Museum of Art

Death is not usually seen as life like, but I guess the cessation of life is about as life-like as any other philosophical phenomenon (smile). My last day in New Orleans in November after Cousin Mary Lewis’ funeral, I visited one of my favorite spots, City Park, where the New Orleans Museum of Art is a favorite destination of mine. I noticed lots of vendors and scattered joggers. I was there for the latest exhibit, “Life Like,” which was opening the following day for the public. I’d seen a couple of photos of two of the installations, one a larger than life card table with folding chairs, the other a replica of a kitchen from the artist’s childhood down to the Formica.

TaSin Sabir takes the mic on Black Media Appreciation Night. - Photo: Malaika Kambon

A new take on still life: fruit in a bowl. These fruit – not painted, rather filmed – took on a more organic and less static life as the artistic medium allowed the captured moment to continue to its ugly conclusion, one where the beauty of fresh fruit was replaced by a bowl of moldy food. In the various galleries, photographs and other pictures and portraits extended some installations – tempting to touch; alarms actually went off when I got too close to an object like the sleeping bag.

Remember the pink eraser? It is included too. Each section was given a name. There are gradations to what constitutes the term, lifelike. Who gets to decide what to put in the box? At the end of the exhibit, I thought the emergency exit was a false door, but my guide told me such was not the case.

There was a foot in a case which did not look “lifelike.” Other objects like the inside of a car door with a scene from a horror film depicted through the window or the video of passengers on the subway certainly were lifelike. I think the tiny elevator – I think a mouse could get through – and the frying eggs which sounded like rainwater were two of my favorites after the folding table.

“Life Like” isn’t trying to fool us; it just makes us think about reality and what we assign life to, which can also be equated to what we pay attention to. Life gets our attention and so does death; it’s the stuff in the middle – the living – that gets overlooked. Perhaps this is what “Life Like” is all about? If the curator, if the artists can get us to stop and contemplate the stuff in the middle, the LIFE, not what is LIFE LIKE, then perhaps the quality of that LIFE might deepen.

TaSin and Wanda Sabir on Black Media Appreciation Night - Photo: Scott Braley

“Life Like,” organized by the Walker Center, featuring work of Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, James Casebere, Vija Celmins, Keith Edmier, Fischli and Weiss, Kaz Oshiro, Charles Ray, Sam Taylor-Wood, and Ai Weiwei, is up through Jan. 27 at the NOMA. Visit http://noma.org/exhibitions/detail/53/Lifelike.

Herbst Theatre

Arturo Sandoval is at the Herbst Theatre Saturday, Dec. 1, 8 p.m. And on Sunday, Dec. 2, The Blind Boys of Alabama are also at the Herbst Theatre, 7 p.m. Visit www.sfjazz.org.

The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir

Several concerts close a productive year for the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, which hosted its 27th Annual Holiday Concert this Dec. 1, and what a joyous time we had. Opening with the OIGC Youth ensemble, featuring soloist Aliah Tomlinson in “Ride up in the Chariot.” OIYC will have its holiday concert, Dec. 16, 7 p.m., at Imani Community Church, 3300 MacArthur Blvd. in Oakland, near The Foodmill. On the Solstice OIGC will have its Fifth Annual South Bay Holiday Concert at the Mountain View Center for Performing Arts, Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m. and there are more dates like the Christmas Eve concert at Slim’s in San Francisco, 7 and 9 p.m. shows. Visit www.oigc.org. They even have an on-line store.

Terrence Kelly and the Oakland International Gospel Choir

“Blessings Are Falling,” “Maljarica” and “Ding Dong Merrily on High” were stellar. The clarinetist, bassist (who gave my friend and me two tickets to the performance), the accordionist, the two violinists and the drummer/percussionist were really great. Their “Maljarica,” a movement from “Hungarian Gospel Suite,” music composed by Dan Cantrell (accordion) had elements of blues and gospel and jazz. Really soulful. Two other guest soloists joined the choir – Jovan Watkins on “Drenched,” Alfreda Campbell on “Tailor Made.” Sister was wearing her red dress too. Then the four church sisters joined the choir. One of the women was Sharon Henderson, who is recovering from throat surgery – so it was great to hear her, if just for a moment.

Baba Ken and the Afro-Groove Connection, Caribbean All-Stars

Baba Ken and the Afro-Groove Connection with the Will Magid Trio are at Ashkenaz Music and Dance Center in Berkeley, Saturday, Dec. 8, 9:30 p.m. – with a free dance lesson at 9 p.m. The Caribbean All-Stars perform Friday, Dec. 14, 9:30 p.m. Remembering David Nadel, Ashkanaz founder, benefit is Thursday, Dec. 20, 8 p.m. The evening will feature Balkan folk dancing. Shabaz performs Friday, Dec. 21, with Zydeco Flames. Saturday, Dec. 22, 9 p.m., Haitian meets Caribbean with musicians Mystic Man and Lakay and Batala Brazilian, Sunday, Dec. 23, 9:30 p.m. Ashkanaz is located at 1317 San Pablo Ave. at Gilman, (510) 525-5054 or www.ashkanaz.com.

Check back for Kwanzaa celebrations listings. Congratulations to Wo’se House of Amen Ra on its 31st anniversary this month!

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wsab1@aol.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 6-7 a.m. and Fridays at 8-10 a.m., can be heard by phone at (347) 237-4610 and are archived on the Afrikan Sistahs’ Media Network.

Happy and Blessed Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa and New Year Everyone!

This season we have lost two pillars of our San Francisco Bay Area community, Samuel Fredericks and Upesi Mtambuzi. Our condolences to their families. Cedar Walton, pianist, also made his transition this year, along with Donald Duck Bailey, drummer, both men beautiful human beings. Duck was honored as a National Treasure last year at Oakland Public Conservatory. Upesi, Samuel, Cedar and Donald all brightened our world. Their unique hues and shapes and sounds will be missed … that last live jam.

Edward Samuel Fredericks

Edward Samuel Fredericks

From a family of Garveyites, he and I spoke often of the book he wanted to write. I hope he wrote it (smile). His children attended private schools in Berkeley, college prep, and were quite accomplished. His more famous brother, Taj Mahal, loved him dearly. I’d hoped one day to get the two in conversation, but my attempts to make that happen did not meet with success. I hope someone has such a document.

When his gallery closed on Third Street after a 25-year sojourn in the area and moved to his home in West Oakland, a private gallery available by appointment only, I lost contact with him and only saw him infrequently when he’d be at the gigs his wife, Robin Gregory, held at the 57th Street Gallery in Oakland. The last time I saw him was at a concert there. He looked well. Cancer is a hard taskmaster. His family invites us to make donations, in the name of Edward Samuel Fredericks, to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. A community memorial service is being planned.

Upesi Mtambuzi

When I saw the announcement in my in-box that Upesi Mtambuzi’s homegoing was to be held at Heart and Soul, Thursday, Nov. 14, I knew I was hallucinating and immediately replied. A longer explanation followed with what I learned was not a mistake. So many people I know are dying. In a foreseeable future, the world will look significantly different as I look around and see empty space where friends were occupants.

The last time I saw Upesi, we were both at the airport in Addis Ababa headed for Tanzania. She was flying to Dar and then on to Bwejuu to meet her husband and I was headed for Mt. Kilimanjaro to see the O’Neals, Pete and Charlotte, at UAACC (United African Alliance Community Center). Until you have been out of the country surrounded by the sounds of a mother tongue you cannot translate (and people who remind you of other people you cannot readily call to mind) then look up and see someone from home, and not just any someone, but someone you know well – in fact I was going to be staying at her guest house later that summer – the joy I experienced in that moment might elude you.

The Bwejuu Village Guest House is a bed and breakfast located by the warm blue Indian Ocean on the white sand beach in Bwejuu Village at the southeast coast of Zanzibar in Tanzania, East Africa, hosted by Thabiti and Upesi Mtambuzi of Osiris Enterprises in Richmond, California, in partnership with the Zanzibar Tourist Corp., Adam Sykes Associates and the Pan African Peoples Organization. A percentage of the proceeds benefits the residents of Bwejuu Village through local education and beautification projects.

It was crazy that morning. Ethiopia had just won the world cup and teams from other places in Africa were returning home. I saw them in their home colors as I moved through security checks. Then got wrong information about where my flight was departing. The only saving grace was looking up and seeing Upesi’s smiling face when I called out her name. We went and sat at her gate for a bit. I told her about Addis and Lalibela and gave her greetings from the tour guide she’d recommended and the hotel owner who gave me her price. I told her about my trek to Gondor and Bahir Dar. She showed me photos of her heaven on earth, Bwejuu – the cows walking on the beach at dawn, which I saw with my own eyes about a month later.

I had her place to myself. It was Ramadan and the sister who ran the place was fasting. I wasn’t, so she set me up with some viands. I’d picked up fruit before I’d arrived. I’d learned to stop at the market whenever I was going to a new place to stay just in case I couldn’t eat what my host had prepared. So I arrived with bananas and mangos and papayas. Upesi’s place was really clean, no ant infestation, which was a welcome change, as the place I’d stayed at before was full of bugs – something I did not like too much.

Before I’d left for East Africa, Upesi had sent me a list of places and people to visit, a detailed list which included where I might get my hair done or relax to a foot massage (smile). She’d made lots of friends, so the list was exhaustive. I didn’t have a lot of guidance for Addis, so my stay there was not optimum, but it wasn’t bad either as I stumbled into good people.

It’s like that when I travel. I meet people who become ambassadors for their countries, without official titles, just as Upesi was certainly an ambassador for Bwejuu and East Africa. She was the consummate travel agent, friendly, knowledgeable and with a sense for what brings happiness – simplicity and beauty and peace, which is what her oasis represented to me when, tired after multiple stops in my sojourn, I took a few days of respite to relax and recuperate before heading off for the next leg of my journey, Pemba and Dar es Salaam and Harare. I will miss her smile.

Film ‘Sweet Dreams’

Berkeley co-director Lisa Fruchman’s film “Sweet Dreams” opens Dec. 6, 2013 in Bay Area theatres. What is special about this film from Rwanda is the story it tells of Ingoma Nshya, Rwanda’s first and only an all-women drum troupe who become business owners of an ice cream shop – pretty remarkable, right? In a film which features the stories of women from various sides of the 1994 conflict and genocide, their use of art to heal the pain suffered during the massacre and the way, under the visionary leadership of one woman, Kiki Katese, and her invitation to Jennie Dundas and Alexis Miesen of Brooklyn’s Blue Marble Ice Cream to come to East Africa and teach her women how to make this sweet desert no one had ever tasted before.

And so they did and this is the story of that adventure, but more importantly, it is a story of triumph over sorrow. It is a story that continues and opening weekend there will be performances of Ingoma Nshya at selected theatres: Friday, Dec. 6, 7 p.m., at Opera Plaza in San Francisco, plus Q&A with filmmakers Alexis Miesen of Blue Marble Ice Cream and Kiki Katese, founder of Ingoma Nshya Drum Troupe; Saturday, Dec. 7, 1:30, in San Francisco at the Clay Theatre followed by a Q&A and special appearance of the Ingoma Nshya drummers; Saturday, Dec. 7, 7 p.m., at the Shattuck Cinema in Berkeley, Q&A and special appearance of the Ingoma Nshya drummers; Sunday, Dec. 8, 7 p.m., presented by the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, Q&A and special appearance of the Ingoma Nshya drummers.

Visit http://sweetdreamsrwanda.com/info/screenings/  Listen to an interview with her Wednesday, Dec. 4, on Wanda’s Picks Radio show, 6-7 a.m. PT, at www.blogtalkradio.com/wandaspicks or (347) 237-4610.

Diamano Coura African Dance Company

East meets West

Diamano Coura, in collaboration with the Zimbabwean Chinyakare Dance Ensemble, presents East (Africa) meets West (Africa) Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at the Malonga Center for the Arts Theater, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. The event features astonishing performances representing the dynamism, vibrancy and diversity of Africa. Audiences will hear the beautiful sounds of the marimba, kora, balaphon and the many drums, including those that represent the sounds of the forest. A special Lunch and Market Place will open at 1 p.m. For more information, call (510) 508-3444 or visit http://www.diamanocoura.org/upcoming-events.html.

Gallery 1508 arts and crafts show and sale

Enjoy this opportunity to purchase gifts for the holiday season and spend time with four of Bay Area’s arts and crafts icons, Dec. 6-7 at Gallery 1508, 1508 8th St. in Oakland. There will be ceramics and jewelry by Nzinga Pace, paintings by Ben Branley, photographic art by Asual Aswad, and paintings and drawings by Jimi Evins. Friday hours are 6-10 p.m. and Saturday, 12-5 p.m. For information, call (510) 285-6497 or visit https://www.facebook.com/gallery1508.

Joyce Gordon Gallery

The Second Annual Holiday Art Salon Exhibit at Joyce Gordon Gallery opening reception is Friday, Dec. 6, 6-9 p.m. There will be a wide selection of unique art and gifts from over 20 local and national artists. JGG is located at 406 14th St., Oakland. For information, call (510) 465-8928 or visit www.joycegordongallery.com.

‘Let Us Break Bread Together’ with the Oakland East Bay Symphony

Celebrating holiday musical traditions in the most festive and non-traditional way has been a year-end hallmark of the 25-year-old Oakland East Bay Symphony and Music Director Michael Morgan since 1992, and this year’s edition of “Let Us Break Bread Together” promises seasonal sizzle Sunday, Dec. 15, at 4 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway in Oakland. Joining Morgan and the Oakland East Bay Symphony will be Oakland Symphony Chorus, Mt. Eden High School Choir, Kugelplex, Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Linda Tillery’s Cultural Heritage Choir and Crystal Children’s Choir in a program that celebrates and festively fuses multiple holiday traditions, including the world premiere of new Gospel settings of Christmas favorites and, of course, plenty of opportunities for audience sing-alongs. Tickets are $20-$75. To order tickets and for complete information about Oakland East Bay Symphony, visit www.oebs.org.

Dr. Lynne Morrow is the music director of the Pacific Mozart Ensemble. – Photo: Stephen Bicknese

Other holiday fare

Pacific Mozart performs under the direction of Lynn Morrow, Dec. 13-14, 7:30 p.m., at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1187 Franklin St., San Francisco. Visit www.pacificMozart.org.

San Francisco Symphony

On Friday, Dec. 6, and Saturday, Dec. 7, the San Francisco Symphony presents the legendary Hollywood musical, “Singin’ in the Rain,” starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor. The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra accompanies the film live and brings the classic score to life in performances conducted by Sarah Hicks. Tickets to the San Francisco Symphony’s presentation of “Singin’ in the Rain” range in price from $25-$80 each, available at sfsymphony.org, by phone at (415) 864-6000, and at the Davies Symphony Hall Box Office, on Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street in San Francisco.

San Francisco Symphony Holiday Season Concerts

San Francisco Symphony Holiday Season Concerts include the “Preservation Hall Jazz Band: A Creole Christmas,” Sunday, Dec. 15, at 8 p.m. at Davies Symphony Hall; “Diane Reeves with the San Francisco Symphony,” Wednesday, Dec. 11, at 7:30 p.m. at Davies Symphony Hall; “Peter and the Wolf,” with special guest narrator actor John Lithgow in his San Francisco Symphony debut Saturday, Dec. 14, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at Davies Symphony Hall; “The Colors of Christmas,” with host Peabo Bryson, with CeCe Winans, Melissa Manchester, Ruben Studdard with the San Francisco Symphony and the First AME Oakland Mass Choir, Monday through Wednesday, Dec. 16-18, at 8 p.m. at Davies Symphony Hall and many more. Tickets are on sale now at www.sfsymphony.org, by phone and at the box office.

Embodiment Project

Nicole Claymoon’s Embodiment Project presents “House of Matter,” Thursday-Sunday, Dec. 13 -15, at 8 p.m. at ODC Theater, 3153 17th St. in San Francisco. Tickets are $18-$38. Visit http://www.odcdance.org/events.php or www.embodimentproject.org. The Embodiment Project’s latest multi-media street dance drama features original live music by Valerie Troutt and her nine-piece band, MoonCandy.

‘Cinderella’ at African American Shakespeare Company

Cinderella (Kimille Stingily) and Prince Charming (Dedrick Weathersby) dance at the Royal Ball in African-American Shakespeare Company’s holiday production of Cinderella.

“Cinderella” is directed by African-American Shakespeare Company Artistic Director L. Peter Callender, with original music and lyrics by Angel Burgess, Robert Michael and Taylor Peckham. Opening Saturday, Dec. 7, at 3 p.m., the play runs Dec. 7, 14 and 21 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 7, 8, 15, 21 and 22 at 3 p.m. Tickets $12.50- $37.50, $25-$50 for opening day. Performances are in the Buriel Clay Theater at the African American Art and Culture Complex, 762 Fulton St. at Webster, San Francisco. Call (800) 838-3006 or visit www.African-AmericanShakes.org.

Brothers Code: Technological Literacy for Teens

A free workshop called Brothers Code will be held Saturday, Dec. 14, at Laney College Technology Center, 900 Fallon St., in Oakland, across the street from Lake Merritt BART. Workshop times are 10 a.m.-12 noon for middle school students and 1-3 p.m. for high school students. The workshop will introduce young Black men to computer technology and coding. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/brothers-code-tickets-8899712279?utm_campaign=BROTHERSCODE&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Kapor.

Staged readings

The Playwrights Foundation’s 2013 Winter Rough Readings Series concludes with readings of Rob Melrose’s adaptation, “OZMA of OZ,” are Monday, Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m., at Roble Hall, Stanford University, and Tuesday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m., at The Thick House, 1695 18th St., San Francisco. Readings are free of charge. A $20 donation in advance comes with a reserved seat and a drink! To RSVP, email rsvp@playwrightsfoundation.org or call (415) 626-2176.

One-Minute Play Festival

The Fourth Annual San Francisco One-Minute Play Festival will take place for three performances only, on Saturday, Dec. 14, 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 15, 3 and 8 p.m., at The Thick House, 1695 18th St. on Potrero Hill in San Francisco. Space is extremely limited. General admission is $18 online and $25 at the door. VIP tickets for $36 include the best seats and drinks in the house. Tickets are available at http://www.playwrightsfoundation.org/.

Kenya’s Golden Jubilee – 50th anniversary celebration

Saturday, Dec. 7, 5 p.m. to 12 midnight, Kenyans will celebrate their independence at Rancho Cordova City Hall, Prospect Park Drive, Rancho Cordova (north of Sacramento). Special guests include the Honorable Julius Ndegwa, M.P. Lamu and Peggy Mativo. PACE Kenya will give the keynote address. Meet Kenyan runners Japhet Koech and Shadrack Cheyego and enjoy live entertainment, a fashion show and more. Tickets are available at the door are $10 for adults and $5 for children. For more information, call (916) 995-9808 or visit http://ushirika.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=56.

There will also be a free basketball event and all are welcome to play and/or watch. Registration will be at 12 noon, and the competition will begin at 1 pm. Call Ian at (916) 239-9599 for details.

Tanzania’s 52nd Independence Day

This year’s guest of honor for Tanzania’s independence celebration will be the retired president of Tanzania, His Excellency Ali Hassan Mwinyi. The evening will include dinner, cultural performances, fashion, dance and more. Tickets for this event are selling fast. They will not be sold at the door. The event is Saturday, Dec. 7, 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., at the California Ballroom, 1736 Franklin St. in Oakland. Tickets are $50, advance purchase only. For more informationa or tickets, call (510) 334-9598 or (510) 325-5959 or visit http://www.uzalendo.org/activities.htm.

SHN Golden Gate Theatre presents the American Repertory Theatre’s production of ‘The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess’ through Dec. 8

Porgy and Bess opened Nov. 13, 2013 at the Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco with an impressive creative team both on and off the stage – the cast on tour now after a stunning New York run on Broadway performs in what is certainly a smaller, tighter rendition of the George and Ira Gershwin-DuBose and Dorothy Heywood American folk opera classic set in a rural southern fishing town, Catfish Row. At its center is a love story between Bess and Porgy, a tramp and a cripple (smile). Despite my reductionist terms, the work is of course about so much more.

I’ve seen the opera many times, more recently at San Francisco Opera and don’t recall feeling quite as sympathetic towards Bess as I do in this version of the work. It could be the fact that Suzan-Lori Parks’s work allows Bess’s interior life to have a more nuanced life than that experienced in the larger work. I don’t recall an opportunity to observe Bess’s internal struggle and how the Catfish Row folk let her drown. Porgy is perfect for Bess, as he is patient and forgiving and knows with time his Bess will unlearn her distrust and attraction to people, ideas and products which are her undoing like angel dust, gambling, alcohol and fine, fast-talking men.

Nathaniel Stampley and Alicia Hall Moran as Porgy and Bess – Photo: Jeremy Daniel

It seems as if, in the end, Bess was left by the side of the road, so what happens to her is the community’s fault. Her neighbors, more importantly Porgy’s neighbors, didn’t try hard enough to help her develop a stronger constitution, one resistant to evil suggestions.

Alicia Hall Moran’s expressive countenance and voice convey the internal struggle Bess wages and loses then wins again only to lose again and again.

It’s that time of year when such stories become the fare whetting nostalgic appetites for the simple yet full lives of the past, lives seemingly uncomplicated yet rich. iPads, iPhones and other digital extensions of our lives –prostheses which occupy so much of what was flesh and sinew.

Belva Davis and her husband were out along with the Black media and theatre set, like Stephen Anthony Jones, artistic director of Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, and his lovely wife, Brenda Payton. It was cool to see Suzan-Lori Parks, writer and adapter of “Porgy and Bess,” along with composer Diedre L. Murray, the director, Diane Paulus, everyone except Ronald K. Brown, choreographer, Evidence Theatre. His choreography in the second and final act and throughout the work is awesome.

The cast was gifted and talented and Black (smile). Bess and Porgy of course the centerpiece, yet the ensemble and other featured characters like the sweet couple, new parents Clara and Jake, Sportin Life and Crown, whose worldly ways tempt poor Bess, who wants to be good, but has no faith – none in herself and, therefore, none in Porgy.

This Porgy could stand and walk with a cane and a leg brace. He was also more handsome than any Porgy I’d ever seen over the past 20 years. I love the music composed by Gershwin with Heywood, whose story forms the basis of the work adapted for the stage. However, this musical version has the added input of two very special artists, Suzan-Lori Parks, who adapts the book, making the opera more musical theatre, and Diedre L. Murray, a composer known for the jazz idiom, who makes subtle changes to enhance the immediacy of the work.

The story is simple. Bess is a fast girl who drinks and snorts Happy Dust and hangs out with the notorious Crown (Alvin Crawford), who controls Bess even when she wants to do better – again no backbone. I wonder why Porgy doesn’t just let her go. He is in love and, well, Bess says she is too, if Porgy can save her from her demons.

Porgy is a crippled man who begs for a living. He is loved and respected on Catfish Row, where he lives alone, his vices the occasional crap game on Saturday night and an infatuation with Bess. He sticks up for her in her absence. She probably doesn’t even pay him any attention until there is a murder on Catfish Row and she needs to hide.

Tony-nominated David Alan Grier plays Sportin’ Life in “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.”

There is a beautiful scene with one of the story’s casualties, Robbins (James Earl Jones II) lying on the cooling board. The chorus moans and wails, then processes around the body which has a bowl on its chest for donations. The undertaker is present ready to take the body to his shop once enough money is raised. Robbin’s widow, Serena (Denisha Ballew), hopes they raise enough.

The police come by and harass the mourners, who say nothing about the killing even though everyone knows who did it. Almost with silent consent, they decide to handle the business of justice themselves. What is paramount is to raise money for the burial so the police will not take the body away the next day. The two white officers use excessive force and intimidation to try to get the community to talk, but the people refuse to cooperate to the very end on both occasions when the police come into the village to investigate a killing.

It’s an earlier version of “Don’t snitch,” but unlike street codes here, these police clearly were not interested in justice, just solving a case, never mind the subtleties, the nuances which make killing a man justifiable homicide. Nathaniel Stampley portrays Porgy in the current production of the opera at the Golden Gate Theatre through Dec. 8. There is a discount code for selected performances. Enter AfroSolo1 in on-line purchases at www.shnsf.com/online/porgy or call (888) 746-1799.

To listen to the interview with Nathaniel Stampley, visit http://wandasabir.blogspot.com/2013/11/wandas-picks-radio-show-wednesday-nov.html.

‘Shellabration, a Ritual Theater Performance in Honor of Olokun, Owner of the Deep’

“Shellabration, a Ritual Theater Performance in Honor of Olokun, Owner of the Deep” is Saturday, Dec. 14, Sofia University Auditorium, 1069 East Meadow Circle, Palo Alto. Doors open 6:15 p.m., marketplace is 6:15-10 p.m., performance is 7-9 p.m. Ticket prices, in denominations of seven in honor of the ocean goddess, Olokun, are $7 for students and $14 general admission. No one will be turned away for lack of funds but will be asked to donate in the denomination of the number 7. Purchase tickets at http://tinyurl.com/shellabration. For more information, email events@sofia.edu.

On the fly

First Friday spectacular! Imagine Affairs Art Lounge presents “Word and Deed Art Exhibit and Book Party,” 408 14th St., Oakland, (510) 788-0197, Dec. 6, 5 p.m. until, featuring Nedra Williams-Conjure Collage and “On Holy Ground: Commitment and Devotion to Sacred Land” with Luisah Teish and Leilani Birely.

Revolutionary Nutcracker Sweetie returns to Dance Mission. Visit www.dancemission.org. “Riddim Time,” featuring Val Serrant, Sikiru Adepoju, Saminu Adepoju, Peter Fujii, Deszon Claiborne and Joel Smith, is Dec. 13-14 at the Dance Palace and Community Center at Pt. Reyes Station and the River Theatre in Guerneville: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/512450. Listen to an interview with Val Serrant at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2013/11/15/wandas-picks-radio-show-healing-the-community-through-art.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wsab1@aol.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 6-7 a.m. and Fridays at 8-10 a.m., can be heard by phone at (347) 237-4610 and are archived on the Afrikan Sistahs’ Media Network.

by Wanda Sabir

Outstanding women leaders of the Black Panther era

Elaine Brown’s “A Taste of Power,” a memoir which chronicles her leadership of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense when co-founder Huey P. Newton is imprisoned, still resonates with me. The idea that a Black woman is nominated to the leadership position of the most powerful civic organization in the country at that time is still remarkable and speaks to what Kathleen Cleaver calls revolutionary imagination.

Power remains a pawn on the board for Black America. It is as elusive as the queen and as laudable as the witty joker. Nonetheless, power is necessary for change, and as long as the imbalance is a part of an insidious racist structure permeating all levels of life – from economics and politics to educational equity, healthcare and human rights, we have a problem.

We live in a violent society which is getting more violent daily. While traveling recently, I caught up on films I’d missed in theatres, “Creed” and “Concussion.” I also watched two documentaries, “In an Ideal World” and “Peace Officer,” both Independent Lens (ITVS) selections. All films thematically looked at violence. Two films – “Creed” and “Concussion” – looked at violence as entertainment, the other two looked at violence or physical force as an instrument of power.

‘Creed,’ the film

In “Creed,” directed by Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station”), we meet a kid, Adonis Johnson Creed (actor Michael B. Jordan) with a huge chip on his shoulder, one that comes from fatherloss, an ailment many Black boys contract through no fault of their own. In Adonis Johnson’s case, his father (Apollo Creed) dies without the two ever meeting.

The boy never knows he had a father, let alone one who could have cared. His life up to the point he can articulate the problem is shrouded in anger. He says at one point in the film that he fights to prove “he was not a mistake.” Do boys conceived out of wedlock feel like they are mistakes? Do boys who do not know their fathers feel that it is somehow their fault, that is, they are the reason for the absence?

Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson in “Creed”

When his father’s widow (actress Phylicia Rashad) finds her step-son housed at the local juvenile facility, the boy has just had a fight, defending, he tells her, his mother’s name. Mary Ann Creed (eventually “Ma”) asks the boy if he’d like to live with her. He agrees and when we meet him again, he is grown, articulate and working at a firm which has just given him a promotion.

He quits his job and leaves home to begin a journey which takes him to Philadelphia. He is looking for his father, “Apollo Creed,” boxing champ, killed too soon in the ring (“Rocky IV,” 1985).

Young Creed (Adonis Johnson) wants to fight; he contacts his late father’s trainer, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), who owns a restaurant. At first Rocky refuses the kid, who has done his homework and knows about Rocky and his father’s famous fight behind closed doors.

He also knows that Rocky made the call that night which ended Creed’s life in the ring. No one in Philadelphia will train Creed’s son. Adonis, whom everyone calls Hollywood, goes to the gym and watches other boxers train and copies their strategies, until one day, Rocky stops by the gym to check on Creed’s son.

Apollo and Adonis’s lives echo those of Greek gods – Adonis, the handsome youth who symbolizes death and rebirth, and Apollo, also handsome, the god of Olympus. Adonis’s father is also the god of healing and light. He moves the sun across the sky daily with his horse drawn chariot. Perhaps in a way, Creed-Johnson’s sojourn is his chariot ride across a psychic sky previously darkened by doubt and pain.

“Creed” (2015) is a story of faith and belief and healing. Rocky feels guilty about Creed’s death and sees a way to work through his debt, by helping Creed’s son. The action kept me ducking blows in my seat.

I was not happy that once again, a heroic Black man dies off screen and a white man saves the day, but as a sequel to one of the Rocky sagas, perhaps this treatment was an opportunity for an ancestor to be reincarnated through a son born after his physical death. Stallone walked away with the nominations, while Michael B. Jordan and other performers in a well-crafted work, including the writing, received nothing.

‘Concussion,’ the film

Upon reflecting on my choices of films while flying cross country, I find it interesting that they both had to do with sports, sports which are health risks. Imagine getting hit for a living or crashing one’s head into another to make money, as football players do.

Prior to watching the excellent film, “Concussion”(2015) directed by Peter Landesman, I hadn’t known that human beings do not have a protective cushion inside their skulls to protect their brains from injury when hit. Until accomplished pathologist Dr. Bennet Ifeakandu Omalu (Will Smith) uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play and, at great personal risk, takes on the NFL, more specifically the politically savvy Pittsburgh Steelers machine or franchise, such information remains suppressed and more and more players are at risk and die horrible deaths.

Will Smith, Peter Landesman and Bennet Omalu in “Concussion” – Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon, Columbia Pictures

It is a stunning story, and a stunning performance by all, especially Will Smith as Dr. Omalu, who now lives with his wife and children in the Central Valley town, Lodi, California. What I love about the film is how much respect Dr. Omalu shows toward the deceased victims – egungun or ancestors. When to most of his peers, his job is to close cold cases, the scientist takes his own funds to pursue forensic evidence which points to a huge cover-up.

“Concussion” is an awesome crime story with larger than life villains and just enough heroes to keep one on the edge of her seat. Dr. Omalu is deeply religious and keeps God in front of all his major decisions. He just cannot understand how the National Football League (NFL), once it knows the sport has dire consequences for its players, refuses to at least warn them and institute safe checks and prevention measures.

On screen, we see bright men discarded once they begin to exhibit the erratic behavior indicative of chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE. Ironically, the first case Dr. Omalu examines is a former player, Michael Lewis “Mike” Webster (March 18, 1952 – Sept. 24, 2002), known as “Iron Mike” Webster.

What followed were other autopsies which substantiated the doctor’s findings that indeed head injuries caused by sustained trauma to the brain in contact sport caused these deaths. The film shows footage of college students and even younger players hitting each other in the head over and over again. In one of the most riveting segments, Dr. Omalu, demonstrates what this injury looks like.

The Nigerian-American physician, forensic pathologist and neuropathologist says at a trial hearing when the film opens and he is called as a witness that he speaks for the dead – that the dead are his clients or patients. Later, the meticulous and dedicated scientist opens his patient’s skull and finds what looks like a normal brain.

However, “he suspected dementia pugilistica, dementia induced by repeated blows to the head, a condition found previously in boxers. Using specialized staining, Omalu found large accumulations of tau protein in Webster’s brain, affecting mood, emotions and executive functions similar to the way clumps of beta-amyloid protein contribute to Alzheimer’s disease” (Wikipedia).

He is first to discover and publish findings on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and says that the film is accurate in its portrayal of the sport and subsequent injuries. The film is based on the doctor’s 2008 book, “Play Hard, Die Young: Football Dementia, Depression, and Death.” Since its publication, the doctor has founded the Bennet Omalu Foundation to continue research and to advocate against contact sports for minors.

In a recent interview, published by the San Diego Tribune, Dr. Omalu says the problem of football and the NFL stance on an activity which is irreversibly harmful to the brain health of its players rests with American society:

“The NFL is not in the business of health. They’re not,” he said. “They’re in the business of sports entertainment to make money. The NFL doesn’t care about its football players … They are expendable assets.

“The culprits in this are the consumers … as we continue to wallow in the intoxication of football and the idolization of football … and continue to sustain the NFL and make them richer.” He was the first to publish widely on the topic and his scholarly article, co-edited with colleagues in the Department of Pathology at his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, the doctor published his findings in the journal “Neurosurgery” in 2005 in a paper titled “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in a National Football League Player.”

“County supervisor Ron Roberts said recently that San Diego’s NFL team, the Chargers, chaired by Dean Spanos, sought a $550 million public subsidy for a new stadium in Mission Valley last month before targeting a site downtown. The funding measure could be put to a public vote in November [2016].’”

More on Dr. Omalu who practices in the Sacramento area and has stated that OJ Simpson probably suffers from CTE: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sports/league-of-denial/the-frontline-interview-dr-bennet-omalu/.

‘Peace Officer’ film

“Peace Officer,” directed by Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber, just shows us how no one is immune to the violence unleashed across America in its police forces. Trained to attack, rather than deescalate volatile circumstances, innocent people are killed and situations end tragically, which need not have resulted in such.

The story centers on retired peace officer, Dub Lawrence, who becomes a police officer, then sheriff of Davis County, Utah, in 1974. As a rookie cop with keen investigative skills, he helps break the Ted Bundy case. When we meet him, though, he smiles and tells us that wading through raw sewage is preferable to witnessing the philosophical shift in policing from peacekeeping to terrorism during his tenure.

After Lawrence’s family falls victim to excessive force and loses a loved one, he uses his investigative and forensic skills to advocate for the many families who are victims of a militarized police force. We learn of the U.S. military’s gifts of weapons and armaments to civic municipalities with the charge to use the equipment within the year.

In recent years, the U.S. military has given gifts of weapons and armaments to police departments around the country with the charge to use the equipment within the year.

This heavy artillery is largely cause for increased death and destruction, that and the “war on drugs.” We see police storm houses, kicking in doors, breaking windows, scaring citizens to death and then killing them when the violence is met with violence. Often these police break in unannounced and not in uniform.

The “no-knock” search warrants lead to stories of mistaken identity and police officers’ boisterous attitudes even when in error. There is no shame. Dub uncovers many cover-ups just a city away. All of this has led to a 15,000 percent increase in SWAT team raids in the United States since the late 1970s.

Lawrence regrets his founding of the SWAT teams 30 years earlier to save not take innocent lives. If this is not enough, his tracking the case of his son-in-law, Brian Wood, exposes multiple felonies, mistakes and problems connected to the lies and outright cover-ups by police investigators.

“Peace Officer” screens May 9. Watch http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/tv-schedule/#schedule-coming-soon.

Alternatives to Violence (AVP)

While traveling in South Africa a few years ago, I was not able to get to Capetown to scale Table Mountain; however, in California – Butte County, to be precise – there are two basaltic plateaus or table mountains overlooking the city of Oroville. Formed by volcanic eruptions 14-39 million years ago, this member of the Lovejoy Formation, Laura Brown writes in the Union (4/2/09), “is believed … much older than the nearby Sutter Buttes or Mount Shasta,” according to “Wildflowers of Table Mountain, Butte County, California” by Samantha Mackey and Albin Bills.

Folklore says that the Buttes or shorter mountain range not far off are actually the top of North and South Table Mountain. And when you look between the two mountain ranges, we can see an almost perfect fit, sort of like the wig that fell off (smile).

I was in Oroville for the Alternatives to Violence advanced training. AVP is a project that helps one transform power without doing harm to oneself or others. AVP has adapted strategies from other restorative justice or violence prevention projects; however, AVP is unique as well.

The program is used in prisons and in the community and is an all-volunteer organization committed to peace building. At the training, one of the facilitators, whose training was in the late ‘70s, testified to the impact of AVP on his life then and now. Just out of prison, after over 30 years behind bars, he spoke to how AVP saved his life. Another facilitator, a Chico State student, described how he used humor – acting the fool – an AVP strategy, to deescalate a potentially volatile moment between friends.

“In an Ideal World,” a documentary film made in a California prison by AVP facilitator Noel Schwerin, looks at how AVP transforms men whom society has forgotten or given up on. This transformation, which is visible, also changes the environment – all of a sudden guards see the men in a different light.

AVP highlights our shared humanity. When anyone is harmed we are all harmed. Ubuntu in practice, AVP is a way to embody the consequences of violence in a way which is less cerebral and more experiential. The training(s) – basic and advanced – are both reflective, collaborative, communal and, most importantly, fun.

The inside work is hard and after a weekend, Friday-Sunday of this excavation, a hike on North Table Mountain to see the lovely wildflowers in season at this time of year and trek along a waterfall was perfect way to relax before the long drive back to the Bay Area.

“In an Ideal World,” aired nationally in late April on World Channel as part of the fourth season of “America Reframed,” public media’s newest documentary series. The film will be available for free streaming on http://worldchannel.org/programs/episode/arf-s4-e413-ideal-world/ starting April 27, 2016.

Shot over seven years, with unprecedented access, “In an Ideal World” follows three men in California’s infamous Soledad prison – John Piccirillo, a white separatist murderer, Sam Lewis, a Black ex-gang member, and Ben Curry, a warden. Each entered the system young and learned its codes of conduct not only to maintain order and safety, but also for their personal survival.

‘And Justice for All’ Forum in Oakland

It’s about time Black folk had their own Commonwealth Club series, Michael DeFlorimonte, founder of The Registry, stated at the inauguration of the monthly speaker series focused on Black issues, The Forum. The first, held at Impact Hub Oakland, smack in the middle of downtown Oakland, next to upscale Picans and across from the Downtown YMCA – the venue and its guests were centrally located and accessible.

John Burris with Otis Bruce Jr. at the “And Justice for All” Forum – Photo: Rodger Allen Photography

The panel of San Francisco Bay Area African American jurists, held on April 28 and moderated by the esteemed people’s attorney John Burris, was outstanding – from the questions posed to the intimate stories shared about law, justice and its uneven application even when one wears the proper credentials.

Seated before us were children of parents who were incarcerated and men who’d been falsely arrested and accosted by police at gunpoint. To say that these individuals were isolated or underrepresented this 50-plus anniversary season of so many civil rights firsts is unfortunately still the truth, which is another reason why “And Justice for All” is still a rallying cry on another pivotal and important anniversary, the 50th Anniversary of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.

All four panelists are prosecuting attorneys – Marin County Senior Deputy District Attorney Otis Bruce, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Safety Paul Henderson, Golden Gate University Law Professor and Director of the Litigation Center Scott Jackson and Alameda County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Madden. I found this, in itself, a provocative place to begin a conversation about justice, when from a lay perspective, defense seems the place one starts, not its opposite.

However, over the course of the evening the audience learned how the court operates and the power prosecutors hold in their positions is second really only to the judge. We learned about negotiation skills and how prosecutors who know the communities represented by the suspects can craft alternative solutions to keep Black people out of prison.

To be a Black litigator is more than having an active caseload. What it means is to impact the system so that so many Black fish are not caught in a net which, cast widely, yields a catch disproportionate to the effects of the law and law enforcement on certain communities.

Justice is certainly a goal. Each candidate for judge in their various municipalities – Alameda, Oakland, San Francisco and Marin – has changed laws, crafted statutes and made their counties or cities fairer by their active presence in seeing that justice is for all, not some privileged segment of their jurisdictions.

It would have been good to see another woman jurist, since such do exist on the bench. The questions asked of Ms. Madden were not as challenging as those directed to the other panelists. Perhaps a better way to handle the questions would have been to allow other panelists to comment on the topic after the designated person completed his or her thoughts.

I was really curious about how Mr. Otis Bruce, a Mississippi native, juxtaposes Southern politics and Northern politics in 2016. His solitary presence in an overwhelmingly white, upper income district runs contrary historically to that of his geographic origins.

There are Black people in Marin County and, if one counts San Quentin, there are a lot of Black residents there. What if prisoners could vote? Mr. Bruce spoke about going to Vallejo and Richmond, nearby cities and counties and speaking to the youth about staying out of Marin County.

A Black face in Marin County at night is like a Black face on a lone Mississippi or Alabama back road. It does not matter if one is male or female. Several years ago, I was escorted out of the county when I got lost one night after a concert.

The panelists at the “And Justice for All” Forum were Marin County Senior Deputy District Attorney Otis Bruce, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Safety Paul Henderson, Alameda County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Madden and Golden Gate University Law Professor and Director of the Litigation Center Scott Jackson. – Photo: Rodger Allen Photography

I agree, Black youth shouldn’t act up anywhere, especially where there is zero tolerance for youthful antics, but where can a Black teenager or youth act silly and not lose his or her life? It is not as if Richmond and Vallejo are safety zones. Bruce said Black youth are ending up in Marin County courts, and when the young men see his face – they smile or nod, because they feel their chance at getting justice jumps up a few notches. This belief is not without merit, given Mr. Bruce’s record in criminal cases tried in Marin County.

Scott Jackson, of all the candidates, seemed to have the most varied preparation for the bench and in his practice as a jurist and professor. Scholarly in his inclination, his goal once elected and thereafter – a five-year projection – is to make sure his face and name become a part of the parlance in Oakland and Alameda County.

All the jurists have developed programs – Paul Henderson, perhaps the younger of the men, several. He stated that he’d like to work during his tenure and afterward to keep children out of the foster care system. So many Black parents and others lose custody of their children when incarcerated.

Foster care is the newest auction block. Just as in the past, these parents and families often do not know where their children were sent, and the children cannot locate their families once they come of age. It is an insidious judicial move that plays to the parent’s fears and often linguistic inadequacies. It is also punitive when a relative has a criminal record.

Income, housing – all important, yet tedious when the child is suffering from the trauma of mother- or father-loss. As long as the child is safe, what does it matter if the caregiver has all the amenities which are often not available because of income? The children are given to strangers who can then apply for and receive the kind of monetary resources which keep this trade in young human flesh so profitable.

Upcoming forums:

• May – The Changing Face of the Bay Area Landscape – East Bay Real Estate
• June – Healthcare
• July – Visual Arts
• August – Financial Services
• September – Food and Wine
• October – Business: C-Suite
• November – Diversity in Tech
• December – Beauty and Style: Natural Hair
• Townhall May 6 with Jennifer Madden – Jennifer Madden and Paul Henderson’s back stories are compelling. There is an opportunity to meet and speak to them on Friday, May 6, 6-7:30 p.m., at Eliza’s Pearl Arthouse at Regina’s Door, 352 17th St., Oakland.Art Exibit Opens Friday, May 6 at Impact Hub Oakland,

‘Beating the Odds’ paintings by Edythe Boone

An art exhibit of the paintings of Edythe Boone called “Beating the Odds” opened Friday, May 6, at Impact Hub Oakland, 2323 Broadway, Oakland CA, 6:30-10 p.m. This show highlights the work of community activist, educator, great-grandmother and muralist Edythe Boone. Edythe believes that art is for everyone, not just professional artists. Her mission is to empower individuals and transform communities through art.

May is Older Americans’ Month

The City of Oakland’s 164th birthday will be celebrated May 4 with activities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of and inside City Hall and the 150 Frank Ogawa Plaza Lobby in downtown Oakland. Included is a visual art exhibition, “Oakland Blazing New Trails.” The exhibit can be viewed in both buildings Monday through Friday, 9:30-4:30, until Wednesday, May 25, 2016.

African American soprano Nicole Joseph sings Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” at Oakland East Bay Symphony

The Oakland Symphony, Music Director and Conductor Michael Morgan, the Oakland Symphony Chorus and guest artists Tracy Silverman, electric violin, and soprano Nicole Joseph will conclude the Symphony’s 2015-2016 season with a concert of music by John Adams, Stravinsky, Barber and Ravel on Friday, May 20, 8 p.m., at the Paramount Theatre. Mr. Silverman will perform John Adams’ “The Dharma at Big Sur” for orchestra and electric violin.

Ms. Joseph, who was the winner of the 2015 Toland Vocal Arts Competition, will sing Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915.” Completing the evening will be Stravinsky’s “Symphony of Psalms” with the Oakland Symphony Chorus, Lynne Morrow, director, and Ravel’s “La Valse.” Pre-concert drinks, lobby entertainment and a talk begin at 7 p.m., and the concert is sponsored by Bell Investment Advisors. Tickets are priced $20-$75 and may be purchased at www.oaklandsymphony.org.

Bay Area composer John Adams composed “The Dharma at Big Sur” for the opening of Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles in 2003, with Tracy Silverman as its electric violin soloist. In addition to an unusual solo instrument, its playful orchestration includes electronic samplers, ten gongs and two flower pots. Dharma’s sinuous solo passages and descriptive orchestral writing emerge as if from a fog into crystal clear phrases in homage to American composers Lou Harrison and Terry Riley.

Adams composed it to evoke what he calls the “shock of recognition” that happens when reaching the end of a continental land mass in a spectacular place like Big Sur, California. Barber’s equally evocative musical memory of a summer evening, Stravinsky’s neoclassical choral symphony and Ravel’s ebullient, dance-hall romp are the perfect complements to Adams’ concerto. The performance of “The Dharma at Big Sur” is underwritten by a grant from the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation, that would be appreciated.

San Francisco Silent Film Festival features a rare film by Oscar Micheaux, ‘Within Our Gates’

“Within Our Gates” is Oscar Micheaux’s masterpiece, a response to the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 and a purgative to the lingering aftertaste of D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation.”

On Saturday, June 4, 5:15 p.m., at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, see “Within Our Gates,” a rare film directed by Oscar Micheaux in 1920 (USA, 83 minutes) featuring Evelyn Preer, Flo Clements, James D. Ruffin and Jack Chenault. “Within Our Gates” is the oldest surviving film made by an African-American director and an intrepid rebuttal not only to D.W. Griffith’s racist epic “The Birth of a Nation” (1915) but also a history lesson to white America shocked by the 1919 riots.

It portrays the early years of Jim Crow, the revival of the Ku Klux Klan and the Great Migration in the story of a young African-American woman who goes North to try to raise money for a poor, rural school in the Deep South. “Within Our Gates” confronts the racial violence of the time with the same vigor as it counters hateful stereotypes.

This will be the San Francisco premiere of a new score for strings and voice by acclaimed composer Adolphus Hailstork. The live musical accompaniment will be by Oakland Symphony musicians and members of the Oakland Symphony Chorus, conducted by Michael Morgan.

‘Agents of Change’ tells radical history of San Francisco State University

“Agents of Change,” a powerful documentary about the Black student-led protest movement on college campuses in the late 1960s and its connection to the Black Lives Matter movement and campus protests of today, will have its Bay Area premiere at the Castro Theater on May 15 at 1 p.m., with KRON’s Pam Moore moderating the on-stage discussion following the screening. The film won the Jury Award and the Audience Award for Best Feature Documentary at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Filmmakers Abby Ginzberg of Berkeley and Frank Dawson of Los Angeles will be joined by SF State activists featured in the film. Tickets are available through Eventbrite, at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/agents-of-change-bay-area-film-premiere-tickets-23117066769.

On the fly

San Francisco International Arts Festival; Yerba Buena Gardens Music Festival; San Francisco International Film Festival; Ifa Festival in Oakland; “Antony and Cleopatra” at African American Shakespeare Company; The Grace Jones Project at MoAD; “Take this Hammer” at YBCA; “The Mountaintop” at Contra Costa Civic Theatre; “Sojourner” and “runboyrun” at The Magic Theatre; “Red Velvet” at San Francisco Playhouse; “Six Degrees of Separation” at Custom Made Theatre; “Mas” at Ubuntu Theatre Project; “To Kill a Mockingbird” at Berkeley Playhouse.

African Liberation Day 2016

African Liberation Day (ALD) was founded as African Freedom Day on April 15, 1958, at the first Conference of Independent African States in Accra, Ghana. This conference laid the foundation and strategy for the further intensification and coordination of the next stage of the African Revolution, which would ultimately culminate in the complete unification of the African continent.

With the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on May 25, 1963, African Freedom Day became African Liberation Day. Since then, May 25 has been celebrated throughout the African world as a day to mark our ongoing determination to free ourselves from foreign domination and exploitation. And it is in the spirit of the first African Freedom Day that the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party and the Bay Area African United Front invites you to join us in celebrating 58 years of African Liberation Day.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wanda@wandaspicks.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 7 a.m. and Fridays at 8 a.m., can be heard by phone at 347-237-4610 and are archived at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks.

Wilda and Wilfred Batin at Wilfred’s elementary graduation in May, 2015 – Photo: Wanda Sabir

by Wanda Sabir

Happy Black History Month. Knowledge is power, something Black people from Frederick Douglass to Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks to Kamala Harris have never taken for granted. If white people would kill a Black person for teaching someone to read, not to mention knowing how to read – enough said! The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), Dr. Carter G. Woodson’s organization, has chosen the theme: “Crisis in Education” for 2017.

Happy Birthday, dear brother Fred Batin, one of the best fathers I know, a man whose children, Wilda and Wilfred, are honored each February by the Mayor’s Office in San Francisco for their academic excellence. Widya is the subject of a film and was honored by the National Council of Negro Women, Golden Gate Section, as a youth leader for her work in developing the Buchanan Mall.

We will miss our dearly departed ones: Great Auntie Olivia Samaiyah Beyah-Bailey (Dec. 1, 1918-Jan. 19, 2017) and Lee Williams (Sept. 2, 1937-Jan. 1, 2017).

27^th Annual Celebration of African American Poets and Their Poetry

Join us for the longest consecutive public program in the Oakland Public Library system: “A Celebration of African American Poets and Their Poetry.” We have adopted the ASALH theme, “Crisis in Black Education.” Perhaps James Weldon Johnson was thinking about educational access and equity when he was a high school principal at the segregated Stanton School in Jacksonville, Florida?

Mama Ayanna brought her poetry to last year’s Celebration of African American Poets and Their Poetry, and when Mama speaks, everyone listens. – Photo: Wanda Sabir

In 1900, “Johnson wrote a poem that would become the lyrics to music written by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson. ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ was first performed publicly at his school during a celebration for Abraham Lincoln’s birthday Feb. 12.” Only 37 years earlier, Lincoln ended slavery by signing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. In 1919, the NAACP adopted “Lift Every Voice” as its official song. In 1918 World War I ended, yet in 1919, nothing had changed for Black Americans. That year saw increased racial violence in the United States, documented by history professor and author David F. Krugler in his book, “1919, The Year of Racial Violence: How African Americans Fought Back.”

The African American Poetry Celebration is Saturday, Feb. 4, 1-4 p.m., at the West Oakland Branch Library, 1801 Adeline St., in Oakland. It is free and open to all. We are looking for footage from the previous 26 years. If anyone bought copies from KTOP and can share these VHS tapes with us, for our archives, we would really appreciate it. The featured program, which Wanda Sabir hosts, includes many renowned poets like Avotcja, Steve McCutchen, Paradise, Karen Mims, Charles Blackwell, Gene Howell Jr., Halifu Osumare, Karla Brundage, Leroy Moore, Andre Wilson, Ayodele Nzinga, Darlene Roberts, Tyrice Deane, Nicia Delovely, Chris Harris. This year we will also honor the memory of Lee Williams (Sept. 2, 1937-Jan. 1, 2017).

There is an open mic at the end and refreshments throughout the program, which is family friendly. For information or if you want to help at the program, contact 510-238-7352 or info@wandaspicks.com.

Maafa San Francisco Bay Area – Feb. 25 National Libation for the Ancestors

We are asking everyone to pour libations Saturday, Feb. 25, for African Ancestors of the Middle Passage to coincide with NCOBRA or the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America’s “Reparations Awareness Day,” 2/25. We could pour at 9 a.m. Pacific Time for Umoja or Unity. In the East Bay, we will meet at Alameda beach: Grand and Shoreline at the water. Wear white.

21^st Annual Maafa Commemoration San Francisco Bay Area

At the 26th annual Maafa Commemoration at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, Oct. 9, 2016, sisters gathered with a child at the water’s edge. – Photo: Wanda Sabir

The 21^st Annual Maafa Commemoration 2016 was really wonderful! As usual there was magic on the beach – we witnessed a reverse rainbow. As we looked up, the bow was translucent, the color below on our faces. Osumare was telling us that we were the blessing that morning. There were a lot of youth. King Theo brought some of his drummers from Oakland, and the young men really made the ritual strong and powerful.

Sister Bisola’s ring shout was awesome as we surrounded the youth and anyone who needed special healing. Dr. Marcus had us touch each other’s shoulders as we did an ancestral meditation.

Visiting from Elmina, Ghana, Seesta Imahkus Okofu brought affirmation, poetry and greetings from One Africa; we then tossed flowers on the waters. With the Doors of No Return situated behind the altar, the view gave us a different angle and level of contemplation. The day had a sepia hue.

Several of us stayed and talked long into the afternoon with several young men from Richmond, California. One young man shared how he’d been shot recently in a driveby as he stood speaking with friends, some coworkers. Just out of high school, he was working and had the day off that afternoon. We spoke about getting together monthly to talk, perhaps participate in a recreational outing. So far, this has not happened, but we can talk about this and other items when we meet and share. It is to our collective interest to safeguard the well-being of our youth. The first words from my mouth were safety. The youth said he lived with his mom and that he did not feel safe, but had nowhere else to go.

Maafa 2016: Passing through the Doors of No Return is a profound experience, even symbolically. – Photo: Anyika Nkululeko

I am so happy to have seen so many brothers and sisters whom I met at the ceremony last October since then. One sister hopped out the car the other day when she saw me crossing the parking lot at a store we were both shopping at.

At last year’s Maafa, I walked the ritual circle and gave everyone a button. The buttons were for the 20^th Anniversary but I forgot them at home in 2015, so throughout October 2015 until I ran out, I kept buttons in my purse, car and pockets. I ordered another one hundred for 2016. Let me know if you need one and I will bring several to Crab Cove beach in Alameda, Feb. 25, 9 a.m. If you do not hear from me, leave me a message: 510-255-5579.

I would like to have a gathering soon to share Maafa Commemoration experiences, photos and talk about plans for 2017. We could certainly have a film and discussion night, Ubuntu Council Night, to share and resolve issues of concern, have skill building workshops for harm reduction, trauma and trauma healing. We could go to cultural events as a group. “Native Son” at the Marin Theatre Company is one such show, as are Ubuntu Theater Project and the Lower Bottom Playaz performances.

I am thinking about a late February, early March get together. If anyone wants to host it, let me know that too. I was thinking about Keba Konte’s Red Bay Coffee, a lovely space in East Oakland near Fruitvale.

‘All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50,’ an exhibition for the people, extended through Feb. 26

At the “All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50” exhibit in the Oakland Museum, up until Feb. 26, makes a peacock chair available for visitors to picture themselves as Panthers.

Don’t miss “All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50,” which closes Feb. 26 with a Member Night Party. I love David Huffman’s “Traumanauts,” Hank Williams’s “We the People,” constructed from prison inmate clothing, and “Black Righteous Place,” artist Sadie Barnette’s excavation, through COINTELPRO documents, of the history made by her father, Rodney Barnette, which is also touching as is Carrie Mae Weems location dislocation installation.

Weems’s work is always provocative. Her soundtrack narrates the story unfolding on the screen. Then we get up and look at the black and white prints of the Assassination of Medgar, Malcolm and Martin (2008) – where once again Weems enters and interrupts an historic narrative. Curated by Rene Guzman, the marvelous exhibition also employs listening stations where patrons are treated to a revolutionary soundtrack and invited to get on the mic and speak their own truths. Actual pieces of buildings are in cases, evidence that there was something there, before it was no longer there – like a people, erased from collective memory. There is an exhibit which maps the Black Panther Party geographically.

Presentation of the Black Panther Party 10-Point Platform is as bold as its content in the Oakland Museum exhibit.

From the opening gallery where we read the 10-Point Platform boldly printed on the wall, while the iconic peacock chair invites guests to sit and take a photo, to the thoughtful use of space, “All Power to the People” is an engaging walk through history that is interactive as well as informative. Patrons read the stories of powerful party women in their youth, juxtaposed with reflections captured in Bryan Shih’s portraits. Artifacts lie disturbed in display cases while footage rolls nearby with more of the story, like that explored visually in the photo and actual Klu Klux Klan capes worn by participants in a march in downtown Oakland.

There are also dashikis and berets, posters, signs and of course lots of old newspapers with headlines ironically still appropriate today. There is a section on newspaper artists: Gayle Dixon’s work is highlighted, as is, of course, the unforgettable work of Black Panther Minister of Culture Emory Douglas. The Oakland Museum of CA is located on 10^th and Oak Street, across the street from Laney College and the Lake Merritt BART Station. Visit http://museumca.org/exhibit/all-power-people-black-panthers-50.

Distinguished panel on solitary confinement at The Exploratorium

After Dark Every Thursday Night at The Exploratorium in San Francisco continues its In-the-Balance Series with a panel on solitary confinement. “In My Solitude: The Detrimental Effects of Solitary Confinement on the Brain” is hosted by University of California Hastings College of the Law Chancellor and Dean and John F. Digardi Distinguished Professor of Law David L. Faigman on Thursday, Feb. 16, 6-10 p.m., in the Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery on Pier 15, Embarcadero at Green Street, San Francisco, 415-528-4444. Panelists Dr. Robert H. King, Craig Haney, J.D., Ph.D., Jules Lobel, J.D., Michael Zigmond, Ph.D., and Brie Williams, M.D., will discuss the use and impact of neuroscience in the landmark case against long term solitary confinement that resulted in a massive policy change in California’s prison system.

‘Death of a Salesman’

Ubuntu Theater Project presents “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller on Friday, Feb. 10, at 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 11, at 8 p.m. through Sun 3/5 @ 7 pm at the Brooklyn Preserve, 1433 12th Ave., Oakland. Ubuntu is theatre by and for the People. Visit ubuntutheaterproject.com. Tickets are sold online for $15-$35 and at the door each night on a pay-what-you-can basis so that no one will be turned away for a lack of funds.

Not only did the Women’s March on Washington draw three times the crowd at Trump’s inauguration the day before, but across the Bay Area, 200,000 people marched – here, in Oakland. – Photo: Wanda Sabir

This season Ubuntu explores the human side of significant political and cultural shifts across the globe: As numerous communities cry for mercy in the midst of suffering, how can we, in an increasingly polarized society, find the grace needed to hear – and respond to – the cries of others?

“Death of a Salesman” is an American classic that delves inside the soul of a middle-aged businessman who cannot come to terms with the reality of a changing America. Arthur Miller’s prescient masterwork is a dire warning of the hollowness at the heart of the American Dream. As suicide rates among middle-aged white men in the United States rise faster than among any other demographic, promises to reclaim an America of yesteryear found resonance among a large portion of American voters in November. We are once again at a moment when attention must be paid! But, how? To whom? From whom?

Ubuntu frames this American classic as a fever dream of a dying salesman, revealing how “Death of a Salesman” is both a timeless myth speaking to the current crisis of American identity and a radical call for compassion uniquely suited to the current moment.

On the fly

The Art of Living Black (TAOLB) at the Richmond Art Center, opens Jan. 10 and will run until March 2. The reception and artist talks will be held on Sat. Feb. 4, 12 noon to 5 p.m. RAC is at 2540 Barrett Ave. Richmond, www.richmondartcenter.org.

Second Saturday Reception, Feb. 11, 7-10 p.m., with the Broun Fellinis Live Jazz Event at the Museum of the African Diaspora. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts presents “Clas/sick Hip Hop,” a dance and music double bill featuring Amy O’Neal’s Opposing Forces and UnderCover Presents: A Tribute to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on Feb. 16-18.

Young women, looking confident and tough enough to tackle Trump, showed up in force for the Women’s March in Oakland on Jan. 21. – Photo: Wanda Sabir

Elders marched too, the wisdom of age essential to resisting the Trump regime. – Photo: Wanda Sabir

V-Day at UC Berkeley! “The Vagina Monologues” will be performed Thursday-Friday, Feb. 9-10, 7:20-10:00 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 12, 1:30-5:00 in the Pauley Ballroom, ASUC MLK Student Union, 2495 Bancroft Way at the intersection of Telegraph and Bancroft, Berkeley. “The Vagina Monologues” is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler. It is performed in communities and on college campuses across the nation to raise awareness to issues that affect women.

Proceeds from the event are donated to local organizations that support and provide resources for survivors of sexual violence and other forms of gendered violence. This year one of these organizations is California Coalition for Women Prisoners. The theme for this year’s UC Berkeley production of “The Vagina Monologues” is “Healing as Resistance: Stories of Radical Self-Love.” ADA accessible. For information: vagmonsucb@gmail.com.

“Black Virgins Aren’t for Hipsters” is back! Feb. 10 (8 p.m.), 11 (8 p.m.) and 19 (5 p.m.) at Tribe Oakland, 3303 San Pablo Ave., Oakland.

“Black Choreographers Festival Here and Now 2017” is Feb. 11-26 in Oakland and San Francisco. Featured on Feb. 11-12, in Oakland at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., are Delina Patrice Brooks (film screening and conversation on Sunday only), Alexander Zander Brown and the Earth Dance Mafia, Ibrahima Diouf, Deborah Vaughan and Dimensions Dance Theater, Marc Bamuthi Joseph (Saturday only), Nafi Watson and the Bahiya Movement (Sunday only) and Phylicia Stroud. Featured in San Francisco at Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St., Feb. 18-19 are Byb Chanel Bibene and the Kiandanda Dance Theater, Gregory Dawson, dawsondancesf, Maurya Kerr and tinypistol, Marc Bamuthi Joseph (Sunday only), Robert Moses and Robert Moses’ Kin, and Raissa Simpson and PUSH Dance Company. Featured Feb. 25-26 in San Francisco are Chris Evans, dana e. fitchett, Ashley Gayle and Noah James, Stephanie Hewett, Sheena Johnson, Erik Lee, Carmen Román (film screening on Saturday only), Dazaun Soleyn, Nafi Watson and the Bahiya Movement (Saturday only), and Jamie Wright and The DanceWright Project (Sunday only). Tickets are $10-$30. To reserve tickets online for the first weekend in Oakland, visit brownpapertickets.com/event 2793342. To reserve tickets online for the following two weekends in San Francisco, visit brownpapertickets.com/event/2793299. Group discounts are available for groups of 10 or more: Call 866-553-5885.

Book event: David Billings, author of “Deep Denial,” will be speaking at the North Berkeley Library at 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19. (The library is being opened especially for this event.) He’s then speaking that evening, 6-9 p.m., at the Eric Quesada Center, 518 Valencia St., San Francisco.

Sunday, Feb. 12, Jazz in the Neighborhood presents Eclectic Squeezebox Orchestra with Avotcja and School of the Arts Latin Big Band led by Melecio Magdaluyo, at 5:30-9 p.m. at DOC’s LAB, 124 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, $10; tickets: http://www.ticketfly.com/event/1410547-electric-squeezebox-orchestra-san-francisco/.

“Music of the Word” at Cesar Chavez Library in Oakland, 3-5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, 3301 East 12th St. at 33rd Avenue. Visit http://www.avotcja.org/upcoming-events.html. Kahil El’Zabar and the New Ethnic Heritage Ensemble at EastSide Arts Sunday, Feb. 5, 6-8 p.m., 2277 International Blvd, Oakland, www.eastsideartsalliance.org.

Living Artist presents artworks that include goauche paintings, fused glass and mixed media, photo prints and prints embracing humanity at the Laurel Bookstore, 1423 Broadway, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, 5-8 p.m. is the reception. Oakland Museum’s “All Power to the People: The Black Panthers at 50” closes Feb. 26. Don’t miss it or the special programs. Visit museumca.org.

The 3.9 Art Collective presents ‘A Call for Beauty’

“A Call for Beauty,” curated by the 3.9 Art Collective, is up through Feb. 28 at Root Division, 1131 Mission St., San Francisco. Gallery hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 2-6 p.m., 415-863-7668 or info@rootdivision.org. The 3.9 Art Collective took its name from a report in the San Francisco Bay View newspaper of draft 2010 Census figures saying the city’s Black population had decreased dramatically – to 3.9 percent of the total population – and adopted the statistic as an act of resistance.

“The word ‘Black’ now is synonymous with ‘vanishing’,” the collective writes on its website. “According to the 2010 census, the African American population in San Francisco has declined to 3.9 percent, in a city that has always considered its cultural diversity as one of its strengths. Where once stood a people who were vibrant, productive and an integral part of the city’s daily life, African Americans are on the verge of dissident status.

“This collective, created by San Francisco artists Nancy Cato, Rodney Ewing, Sirron Norris, William Rhodes and Ron Moultrie Saunders, has adopted this statistic and forged a banner of support and resistance. Their work represents their creative contribution to the African American existence, enriching the greater San Francisco artistic community with their narratives and perspectives born from being members of a diaspora community. The work may not stem on the side of exodus, but to paraphrase the poet Dylan Thomas: ‘We will not go quietly into that good night.’”

Six days a week, Lava Mae’s two buses and one trailer roll up to different spots throughout San Francisco. Equipped with bathroom and shower stalls that hook up to fire hydrants, they provide 20 minutes of privacy, cleanliness, comfort and “radical hospitality” to those who need it.

‘Coming Clean San Francisco’

“Coming Clean San Francisco” is a multi-media exhibition amplifying the intimate experience of homelessness through the artist’s lens. A cultural intervention and a first time collaboration between Fouladi Projects and Lava Mae based on a shared belief that art as a cultural tool has the capacity to elicit a visceral, almost cellular reaction in a way information cannot, challenging us to push beyond the stereotypes that frame our current perceptions.

“Coming Clean SF” will feature weekly evening programming at Fouladi Projects, 1803 Market St. at Guerrero, San Francisco, 415-621-2535 gallery, 415-425-2091 cell. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 12-6 p.m. Artists include Amy Wilson Faville, Elizabeth Lo, Danielle Nelson Mourning, Ramekon O’Arwisters, Joel Daniel Phillips, Yon Sim and Kathryn Spence. The exhibit is on view Jan. 10 through Feb. 25.

The Wattis Institute presents Tongo Eisen-Martin

Artist David Hammons has spent a lot of time with poets over the years – Darius James, Steve Cannon, Ben Okri, the late John Farris, to name a few. San Francisco poet Tongo Eisen-Martin spends a lot of time with other poets. For this event, he brings together his community of peers for an evening of poetry and performance. This event, Feb. 21, 7 p.m., at the California College of the Arts Wattis Institute, 360 Kansas St., between 16^th and 17th streets, in San Francisco, features performances by poets Josiah Alderete, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Raina Leon and Andrea Murphy and music by Lewis Jordan and Akinyele Sadiq.

This is the seventh event in CCA’s The Wattis Institute’s year-long season about and around the work of David Hammons.

From Oakland to Paris: Shola Adisa-Farar returns for a CD release

Shola Adisa-Farrar performs live in California for the first time since the release of her debut album, “Lost Myself.” She has two Bay Area dates: Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the Black Cat, San Francisco, two sets, first at 9:30 p.m. Reservations should be made at http://www.blackcatsf.com/event/shola-adisa-farrar or by calling 415-358-1999.

The second show is Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Soundroom, Oakland. The concert begins at 8pm. Doors open at 7 p.m. For tickets, go to http://m.bpt.me/event/2777325.

The Mighty Ring Shout and Its Spirituals

At the West Oakland Branch Library, 1801 Adeline St., Saturday, Feb. 18, 1-3:30 p.m., Friends of the Negro Spirituals (FNS) will present an education program consisting of a presentation on the amazingly exciting, often high energy and almost forgotten Ring Shout, which includes African traditions of call and response, dance, storytelling, African spirituality, communicating in code and honoring the ancestors.

With audience participation, Angela Thomas, FNS’ education co-chair and song leader, will demonstrate singing the shout spirituals, handclapping and beating the stick that takes place in the Ring Shout; there will be video clips of it also.

Come prepared to learn what the Ring Shout is. What are its origins and meanings? Was it a new song created by enslaved Africans and African Americans to replace older traditions outlawed by their captives?

African American Quilt Guild of Oakland’s Annual Demonstration

Celebrate African American History Month with the African American Quilt Guild of Oakland’s Annual Demonstration and Workshop. Supplies will be provided so that you can make your own quilt. All levels and ages are welcome, at the West Oakland Library, 1801 Adeline St., Saturday, Feb. 25, 1-4 p.m.

‘Star Trek: 50 Artists. 50 Years’ at Chabot Space and Science Center

On Friday, Feb. 3, from 6 to 10 p.m., as part of the $5 First Friday, Chabot presents a galactic night of exploration into the cosmos and beyond, celebrating the 50^th anniversary of “Star Trek” and the opening of “50 Artists. 50 Years.” Visitors will participate in fun, interactive and family-oriented activities exploring the intersection of art and science throughout the center.

On Saturday, Feb. 18, from 6 to 10 p.m., adult visitors will have their last chance to experience “Star Trek: 50 Artists. 50 Years” during a themed closing reception with space-inspired cocktails, a hands-on Theremin live musical performance and space music-making demonstration highlighting the evening. Visitors will also learn about the possibility of life on other planets from Berkeley SETI Research Center Chief Scientist and Star Trek fan Dan Werthimer, among other activities sure to “engage” the most avid “Star Trek” fan. The Feb. 18 event is ages 21-and-over only. Stay updated on additional event highlights soon to be announced at www.chabotspace.org

Oakland Symphony Essentials preview Event Feb. 7 at Oakland Intertribal Friendship House

Music Director Michael Morgan and the Oakland Symphony continue their annual exploration of world orchestral music traditions this season with “Notes from Native America,” Friday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre. The concert will feature music by award-winning composers Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate and John Wineglass plus Northern California’s own Su-Nu-Nu-Shinal Pomo Dancers. The Symphony will perform “Clans” and “Hymns” from Tate’s “Lowak Shoppala” (“Fire and Light”) with narrator and men’s chorus and Wineglass’ “Big Sur: The Night Sun.” Completing the program will be Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9.

The Symphony’s “Notes from …” series has become a popular mainstay of the Bay Area music scene and annually explores symphonic music, both new and traditional, from cultures that may be less well known to audiences. Free lobby entertainment, no-host drinks and pre-concert talk begin at 7 pm. Tickets are priced $25-$80 and may be purchased at www.OaklandSymphony.org.

In addition to the concert, Oakland Symphony will present a special pre-concert Essentials event Tuesday, Feb. 7, 6:30-8:30 pm. The free admission evening will feature talk and performances by flutist Emiliano Campobello, vocalist Kanyon Sayers-Roods, Vincent Medina, Michael Bellanger, All Nations Drum and Yvonne Marshall. Food will be provided by Wahpepah’s Kitchen. Intertribal Friendship House is located at 523 International Blvd in Oakland. The event is free, but reservations are required, at https://oaklandsymphonyessentials-notesofnativeamerica.eventbrite.com.

This photo of James Baldwin is featured in Raoul Peck’s “I Am Not Your Negro.”

‘I Am Not Your Negro’

Raoul Peck, director of “I Am Not Your Negro,” reflects on James Baldwin’s ability to articulate the cognitive dissonance Peck felt as a Diaspora man born in Haiti, who came of age in Patrice Lumumba’s Democratic Republic of Congo. Tossed abroad on waves of political uncertainly and unrest, young Peck, at the age of 8, and Baldwin, at 24, both knew exile. Though he attended schools in the United States, France and Germany, the splayed root worker finds his voice in the work of Baldwin. Peck says: “James Baldwin was one of the few authors I could call ‘my own’ – authors who were speaking of a world I knew, in which I was not just a footnote or a third-rate character. They were telling stories describing history and defining structures and human rela­tionships that matched what I was seeing around me.” He says, “I could relate to [him].”

“I Am Not Your Negro,” which opens theatrically Feb. 3 nationwide, presented an opportunity for the director to play it forward, to salute Baldwin at a time when no one but a James Baldwin would admit that the emperor has taken off his robes. Just this truth, stated in Baldwin’s matter-of-fact tone or uttered similarly by Samuel Jackson (narrator), makes the film refreshing. Equally compelling is Baldwin’s voice reflecting aloud what it meant to lose his friend Martin, after losing Medgar and Malcolm. He says he is not going to weep at King’s funeral, then stumbles into Harry Belafonte’s arms.

The friendship and political collaboration between James Baldwin and Medgar Evers is discussed in the new film, “I Am Not Your Negro,” illustrated by this photo. In the top right corner of the photo, upside down, is written “March63,” probably the month it was taken. If so, this was just three months before Evers was assassinated in his driveway – probably this driveway – on June 12, 1963, in Jackson, Mississippi, by a white supremacist.

A man of strong emotions, we feel the loss as director Raoul Peck moves the lens from then to now, from Mississippi to Ferguson. Baldwin states, “The story of the Negro is the story of America,” as the activist’s voice collides with lyrics: “I am a Black man in a white world” while images of white youth holding bats face Martin Luther King and other freedom fighters ready to die for democracy – if this is what it would take.

This discovery of a text, a forgotten, unfinished, unpublished text of his hero is the stuff of fairytales and wishful thinking. Could Peck believe his good fortune? What spin would he put on Baldwin’s words? How would he translate the work into a visual medium? For ten years, Peck has had access to Baldwin’s writings and the blessings of Baldwin’s sister Gloria Karefa-Smart, who after giving Peck keys to the treasure, shared a “pile of neatly (and partly crossed out) typewritten pages and letter” with the director. This last bit of writing just what Peck needed and forms the nexus of the work. These typed words open the film, give it context and history, the prelude the story of a nation, a nation built on a legacy of racism and white supremacy.

What house does Baldwin reference in his working manuscript title, “Remember This House”? He speaks often of houses in his work, whether that is a solitary room in a house, a street that talks about houses and the people that live in them or the absence of many houses on mountain tops.

Death sets up a certain dilemma, art often a way to unpack the heaviness attached to grief and loss. In 1979, Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent about a new project, one where he would examine the lives of three men who were killed within five years of one another: Medger Evers (June 12, 1963), Malcolm X (Feb. 21, 1965) and Martin King (April 4, 1968).

Malcolm X is surrounded by reporters in this photo from the film, “I Am Not Your Negro,” which uses many historic photos that, like this one, are not well known.

Not only does Peck give the 30-page manuscript a place to stretch, the film also hosts Baldwin as interlocutor along the thematic tightrope he has walked all his life. Peck’s film is perhaps a sequel to the powerful tribute to Baldwin, “The Price of the Ticket” (1989), directed by Karen Thorsen.

“Remember This House” stands as kindling is stacked against the barn next to the kerosene next to a box of matches. If Baldwin’s seminal essay collections, “The Fire Next Time,” juxtaposed with “Notes of a Native Son” and the “The Price of the Ticket,” serve as prelude, then what Peck has crafted here in Baldwin’s words against a backdrop of historic and contemporary images and music is a call to action fueled by pertinent yet unanswered questions.

The film is methodic and slow. It is as if we are on a train, perhaps a Mule Train, like the one assembled for the Poor People’s Campaign Settlement at the capital in spring 1968 – a trip Martin King missed, felled by an assassin’s bullet.

Baldwin is such an analytical thinker that “I Am Not Your Negro” requires a certain commitment to truth. Peck’s film and Baldwin’s words are an American history primer “For DUMMYS ®” – it is a civil rights march through a history papered by Black bodies hanging, buried and butchered. Peck’s “I Am Not Your Negro” challenges audiences, a challenge significantly lightened by a charismatic Baldwin who appears often on screen in the film with his lovely laugh, humor and riveting eyes.

He has a way of laughing the initial sting away; however, the grandson of enslaved Africans does not forget or let anyone else forget what it feels like to be Black and American then or now.

Nambi E. Kelley’s ‘Native Son’ at MTC

For those who don’t know author Richard Wright, his seminal text, “Native Son,” looks at the made in America phenomenon, the American Negro. Both Wright and Mary Shelley situate their tales in bleak, dark settings where the protagonists, Bigger Thomas and the creature (Adam) are pawns in creation mythologies authored by devils, the Daltons and Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Perhaps more native or indigenous because of its patent, the protagonist Bigger Thomas has issue with the psychic occupation he feels every day of his life. There is no slumber, no rest. He says, “They own the world,” as whiteness intrudes his waking dreams. Frankenstein’s creature agrees when he learns sadly that his master both fears and hates him.

Playwright Nambi E. Kelley’s adaptation of Wright’s novel (1940) for stage, under the direction of Seret Scott at the Marin Theatre Company with a cast handpicked for the synergy created in their portrayal of this iconic, historic character, resonates a century later at a time when Black lives still do not matter. The world young Bigger, 20, was being birthed into was not one he looked forward to. His mother Hannah recalls her boy’s reticence to enter a world meant to destroy him – if not his life, then his dreams. Her son did not want to leave the sanctity of the womb, a place where there was comfort, love and safety for a place he knew instinctively he would not find the same nurturing or support.

In the Marin Theatre Company production of Richard Wright’s “Native Son,” William Hartfield plays The Black Rat and Jerod Haynes is Bigger. – Photo: Kevin Berne

Home for Bigger is a place where he is surrounded by enemies whom he was powerless to defend himself against – he could not even escape them in his dreams, as whiteness seemed to control everything his mind touched. Similar to other iconic Black warriors castrated during puberty rites, like Malcolm Little and even the fictional Walter Lee II, Bigger doesn’t stand a chance.

When Bigger is offered a job by his slumlord apartment owners, he is not grateful; he takes the job because his mother all but forces him into it. Driving rich white people around does nothing for his ego – it’s not his car, and white people make the youth nervous, especially his boss’s daughter, Mary, and her communist boyfriend, Jan; both drink too much and both want to be his friend.

As the two sandwich Bigger between then and offer him a drink from a decanter, he wishes they would stop intruding into spaces carefully designed to keep the races apart. He is well-rehearsed in his role and knows such familiarity can only lead to his destruction. His stage manager is The Black Rat, a clever creature whom Bigger knows intimately.

Bigger tries to kill or silence the rat who keeps showing up in his apartment, but the creature won’t die. Similar to a whiteness which colors his aspirations or life, Black Rat advises Bigger, rehearses his lines with him, like a catechism: “You are nothing; you will amount to nothing.” The two are connected at the hip, conjoined, inseparable – yet even here, Kelley and Wright’s Bigger is allowed agency. The murders he commits real, yet also symbolic.

Though Bigger knows his role well, there is a part of him that refuses to settle for such a dismal life – he remembers his father’s death. He went out with a blaze, like a comet. Yet, all the native son feels is fear. He is so frightened by a life shrouded in Blackness.

Giulio Cesare Perrone’s set is stark, empty – the scaffolding suggests a psychic and material interior we do not see. There is nothing between Bigger and the world – no insulation, no walls, no heat, no love. He lives in the “between,” neither here nor there. His only solace is following the rules which Black Rat reminds him of. Bigger is subject to all the elements – freezing cold when we meet him and blazing heat when he gets the position at the Daltons.

The Daltons’s system of economic exclusion as property owners and developers incubate a reality which produces boys like Bigger Thomas. How can the Black boy dream when he cannot see beyond the confines of the prison where he and his family are entrapped? Yet, if not for himself, Bigger dreams for Buddy, his brother, who is smart. He dreams a legitimate life for his gifted sibling.

It is almost as if Mrs. Dalton, like Oedipus, blinds herself. However, the self-mutilation is not out of shame. She and Mr. Dalton are blind to their systemic acts of terrorism. Hannah, Bigger’s mother, knows there are other more attractive apartments available, but Dalton Associates will not rent these flats to Black people. Mr. Dalton’s gifts to the NAACP and to local recreation centers where Bigger plays pool have no impact on the trajectory Bigger and other Biggers find themselves tumbling into. Reminiscent of Illinois Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks’s poem, “We Real Cool” (1960), Wright’s nemesis is “real cool. He left school. Lurk(s) late. Strikes straight. Sing(s) sin. Think(s) gin. Jazz(es) June. Die(s) (all too) soon.”

With Jerod Haynes as Bigger are Rosie Hallett as Mary and Courtney Walsh as Mrs. Dalton in the MTC staging of “Native Son.” – Photo: Kevin Berne

Actualized only by his criminal behavior, Bigger is anonymous until he is “wanted.” OJ Simpson suffers a similar fate when he is accused of killing his white wife. Murder is his claim to fame. It is as if this monstrosity is central to Black manhood. Even Jan, Mary Dalton’s communist friend, fails to own his part in the tragedy. Whiteness does not ask for self-reflection, so as Bigger and Black Rat reflect on circumstances and try to do a bit of damage control themselves and can’t, they realize that the world Bigger occupies means nothing but trouble for the Black man.

That Mrs. Dalton so easily jokes with Bigger about her blindness and how easily it was for her to give it up, points philosophically to an innate callousness and carelessness of the system of white supremacy and racial hatred.

Bigger is beaten physically by the police when he tries to protect his mother, and psychologically by the world, which only works for white people. There is no reward, so Bigger runs, chased by nightmares all too real. Even if he is the only one who can see and hear Black Rat, whom the family thinks is dead, until Black Rat reappears like a talisman. Black families on Chicago’s Southside know there is no poison strong enough to rid their lives of this pestilence. Black Rat’s reincarnation is guaranteed by societal circumstances then and now. It is what W.E.B Dubois calls double consciousness – the public and the interior self – The Rat vs. Bigger Thomas.

Bigger despises not just the white world, more so he despises his cowardliness, that is, until he musters nerve to slay the ghost which haunts him. Only then can he stand as a man, and stop running. Only then does the fear dissipate like the filament of a bad dream. Rat and Bigger struggle for life – however, Black Rat has to die for Bigger to live. Rat is an accommodationist, while Bigger wants to be a man. Rat would settle for being a Negro, a manufactured concoction no one respects, not even other Negroes, but, given the duality, when Bigger disappears, so does he.

From Chicago native Jerod Haynes in the title role and his alter-ego, William Hartfield’s The Black Rat, to Rosie Hallet as Mary, the rich girl who tips the cart over, she and her boyfriend Jan (Adam Magill) responsible for the immediate mess; to Ryan Nicole Austin’s “Bessie,” Bigger’s girl whose love for the “monster” gives her a hangover. Then there is Dane Troy’s Buddy, Bigger’s kid brother who sees through Bigger’s bravado to his fears and C. Kelly Wright’s Hannah, Bigger’s mother, who pushes her son and pushes her son until he backs into himself.

The Bigger Thomas story situated in the rest of the world, the part that counts, is occupied by others – others like Mary’s parents, the intentionally blinded Mrs. Dalton (actress Courtney Walsh) and her husband and the detective (actor Patrick Kelly Jones). There is no compassion for Bigger or his family or his community. In fact, some Black people are angry and afraid Bigger’s criminal behavior will further reduce the size of the Negro world and make it harder for them to live in communities white America has allowed them access. They have gotten used to going without, not so Bigger, who is a lot like his dad.

Don’t miss this riveting production at Marin Theatre Company through Feb. 12 that put Nambi E. Kelley’s “Native Son” at the center of its 50^th anniversary season. MTC is located at 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. Visit marintheatre.org or call 415-388-5208.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wanda@wandaspicks.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 7 a.m. and Fridays at 8 a.m., can be heard by phone at 347-237-4610 and are archived at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks.

by Wanda Sabir

Happy Birthday, Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson (Dec. 19, 1875 – April 3, 1950), father of Black History, founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Happy 60th Birthday to those born in 1958 (smile).

ASALH’s 2019 theme Black Migrations emphasizes the movement of people of African descent to new destinations and subsequently to new social realities. While inclusive of earlier centuries, this theme focuses especially on the 20th century through today. Beginning in the early decades of the 20th century, African American migration patterns included relocation from Southern farms to Southern cities; from the South to the Northeast, Midwest and West; from the Caribbean to U.S. cities as well as to migrant labor farms; and the emigration of noted African Americans to Africa and to European cities, such as Paris and London, after the end of World War I and World War II.

Such migrations resulted in a more diverse and stratified interracial and intra-racial urban population amid a changing social milieu, such as the rise of the Garvey movement in New York, Detroit and New Orleans; the emergence of both Black industrial workers and Black entrepreneurs; the growing number and variety of urban churches and new religions; new music forms like ragtime, blues and jazz; white backlash as in the Red Summer of 1919; the blossoming of visual and literary arts, as in New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Paris in the 1910s and 1920s.

The theme Black Migrations equally lends itself to the exploration of the century’s later decades from spatial and social perspectives, with attention to “new” African Americans because of the burgeoning African and Caribbean population in the U.S.; Northern African Americans’ return to the South; racial suburbanization; inner-city hyperghettoization; health and environment; civil rights and protest activism; electoral politics; mass incarceration; and dynamic cultural production.

Also as we think about Black Migrations we also think about forced migrations, 1619 to 2019 and the consequences of displacement on a people stranded. Michelle Obama says in “Becoming” about her first trip to Africa: “I hadn’t expected to fit in, obviously, but I think I arrived there naively believing I’d feel some visceral connection to the continent I’d grown up thinking of as a sort of mythical motherland, as if going there would bestow on me some feeling of completeness. But Africa, of course, owed us nothing. It’s a curious thing to realize, the in-betweenness one feels being African American in Africa. It gave me a hard-to-explain feeling of sadness, a sense of being unrooted in both lands” (160).

Mrs. Obama is on a U.S. tour with a stop in the Bay at the SAP Center in San Jose, Dec. 16, 8 p.m. The conversation is moderated by Michele Norris. Visit Becoming: An Intimate Conversation with Michelle Obama. Tickets range from $95-$126.

29th Annual Celebration of African American Poets and Their Poetry

“Black Migrations” is the theme of the 29th Annual Celebration of African American Poets and Their Poetry at the West Oakland Branch Library this Feb. 2, 2019. The rehearsal is Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019, at 1801 Adeline St., Oakland.

Holidays at SFJAZZ

Marcus Shelby Orchestra plays Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite with Tiffany Austin and Kenny Washington Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, at 7:30 p.m. in Miner Auditorium, 201 Franklin St. in San Francisco. For tickets, call 866-920-5299.

New Year’s Eve Balloon Drop for the Entire Family at Oakland’s Chabot Space and Science Center

For the 19th year, Chabot Space and Science Center presents balloon drops during the day on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, the whole family can enjoy without staying up late. One of Chabot’s most popular annual events, the Balloon Drops will be held at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. celebrating strokes of midnight around the world. Kids will count down and revel with hundreds of others as colorful balloons drop from above, and they can stay for the day to participate in fun activities throughout the Center. Tickets are $6 ($5 for members) in addition to admission and advance tickets online are encouraged. For more information and tickets, which go on sale Dec. 1, visit www.chabotspace.org.

Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s Annual Soulful Christmas Gospel Holiday Concert

Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s Soulful Christmas Gospel Holiday Concert 2018 is at the Buriel Clay Theater, 762 Fulton St. in San Francisco, Thursday, Dec. 13, through Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018. For tickets, visit https://www.lhtsf.org/get-tickets-to-lhtsf.

Cinderella with Soul at African American Shakes

African American Shakespeare Theatre’s Cinderella 2018, directed by Mark Allan Davis, is Dec. 21-23, at the Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness in San Francisco. For tickets, call or visit the City Box Office: 415-392-4400.

The director states in the program notes: “[The Cinderella] story is about dreams, wishes, but most of all, hers is a story about a loving person discovering love in others even while surrounded by disdain. She desires, like so many of us, to have a seat at the table.

“She seeks her ancestors finding strength in memories of her parents while indentured to her father’s widow – her stepmother Evahcruel Stepp and her daughters, Zonita and Shaniqua. Cinderella dreams of dancing at the Prince’s Ball. She calls forth her Fairy Godparent, the wisecracking brother of her Fairy Godmother – who’s away at a Fairy Rights Conference in the Kingdom’s Capital. Cinderella finds she is in accepting and talented hands and the magic ensues!

“Even while disparaged by her family, she never gives up. Isn’t this most of us during the holidays? Don’t we persevere through things we normally just wouldn’t? The holiday travel delays, the gift buying, the agony of waiting in lines. Don’t we move through situations which would make us Scrooge-like, instead of more tolerant, patient and less prone to disparage others? The magic of Cinderella is that she goes high when they go low. And that IS magic these days!”

Celebrating Poet Al Young Thursday, Dec. 27, 6-7:30 p.m., at the Koret Auditorium

Al Young is the consummate literary artist, former California Poet Laureate, teacher, role model and human being whose work spans creative decades. Perhaps one of his many creative gifts is his “Something about the Blues” (2008). Accompanied by a CD, it is almost a biography in poems, taking us back to his origins in Mississippi where the rhythms of his life and work were born. He published the work during National Poetry Month during his tenure as State Poet Laureate. Young moved from the South to the Bay with his guitar in the ‘60s and has been with us ever since. Lucky California (smile).

Join Kim Shuck, San Francisco Poet Laureate, Kim McMillon and others at “Celebrating an Evening With Al Young,” at the Koret Auditorium, at the SF Main Library, 100 Larkin St., San Francisco, to honor Al, who while young in spirit certainly, has longevity. His life and work speak eloquently.

At an age when many friends are departing, it’s time to wrap our arms around Al and let him feel the love and appreciation we have for him. We want to count him among our blessings as poets pour literary libations at his feet. It’s a free event. I am listening to a lovely interview with Al on NPR. Visit https://www.npr.org/books/titles/138239448/something-about-the-blues-an-unlikely-collection-of-poetry.

Staged Reading of Colman Domingo’s ‘DOT’

Theatre Rhinoceros and Lorraine Hansberry Theatre present a free staged reading of “DOT” by Colman Domingo, directed by Darryl V. Jones, Tuesday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. at 55 Laguna in San Francisco.

The holidays are always a wild family affair at the Shealy house. But this year, Dotty and her three grown children gather with more than exchanging presents on their minds. As Dotty struggles to hold on to her memory, her children must fight to balance care for their mother and care for themselves.

This twisted and hilarious new play grapples unflinchingly with aging parents, midlife crises and the heart of a West Philly neighborhood.

Oakland East Bay Symphony’s Swing and Soul: Let Us Break Bread Together 2018

Michael Morgan’s “inspired, multifarious, musical bash” Swing and Soul: Let Us Break Bread Together, this year, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018, 4 p.m., at the Paramount Theatre, takes its inspiration from the peerless soul of Nina Simone and the boogie-woogie of Fats Domino. Special guests abound in this annual rollicking holiday party. The concert features The Dynamic Ms. Faye Carol, Martin Luther McCoy, Adam Theis, Jazz Mafia, Vocal Rush, Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Mt. Eden High School Concert Choir, Oakland Symphony Chorus and more. For tickets, visit https://www.oaklandsymphony.org/, the Paramount Theatre Box Office or call 510-444-0802.

Barry Jenkins’ ‘Beale Street’

“If Beale Street Could Talk” (2018), Barry Jenkins’ latest work, opens with prescient thoughts from Prophet Baldwin about a New Orleans street, Beale Street, a street found in all municipalities where Black men, Black women, Black people are seen and found wanting in the human scale. Such a street can have any name because Beale Street is an attitude that says: “You have no rights white people have to honor or acknowledge,” especially white men with badges.

Actor Stephan James (Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt) is brilliant in his depiction of this young man who dares love out loud his beautiful Black queen. In an interview, Barry Jenkins said he had the two leads read for chemistry. They clicked right off, so the Fonny in the screen adaptation is a darker complexioned man. The director was not going to disrupt the flow of things.

What one sees in Jenkins’s “Beale Street” is Black love in all its melanin complex beauty. KiKi Layne’s Tish Rivers stares from natural, untreated Black hair heaven into the eyes of a beautiful Black man, Fonny, whom she loves and trusts. Trust is important. It’s something Tish sees between her father and mother. It is not something one sees between the members of the Hunt family.

Barry Jenkins says “Beale Street” is a love story and as in all such stories, sometimes the train gets derailed, yet love sets it back on track. He says he wrote “Moonlight” in three weeks whereas “Beale Street” took five to write. “Baldwin’s language more complicated to adapt.” However, audiences will agree, it is more what isn’t said that moves the brilliant screen play, which does not follow verbatim the novel.

There really is no rewriting Baldwin; however, to give the images and world Tish and Fonny occupy flesh and let them walk for two hours among us is what Jenkins does so well here, given the carefully selected actors who pull it off. It is so great to see Regina King as Tish’s mom, Mrs. Sharon Rivers.

There is another love story here as well, Sharon’s and Joseph Rivers, her husband, portrayed by Mr. Colman Domingo. Joseph Rivers has many tender moments with Tish who needs reassuring often that her love for Fonny is a good thing. He holds his daughter after a bout with nausea, tea warming on the table. Her mom is there when Tish awakens from a nightmare with a reminder that love made the baby she carries.

Then there is big sister Ernestine Rivers portrayed by Teyonah Parris, who tells her kid sister to unbow her head when she, 19, tells her family over a toast she is carrying Fonny’s child, the father, 22, at this point captured by a system booby-trapped for Black flesh. The Rivers family buffers the younger family.

The Rivers’ survival and even the Hunts’ survival all these years, despite its colonial dysfunction portrayed well by the female dynasty headed by matriarch Mrs. Hunt (actress Aunjanue Ellis), is why Beale Street exists in the first place. All American streets are extensions of temporal docks, gang planks our ancestors walked across to this shore.

These two families, including daughters Adrienne and Sheila Hunt, portrayed well by Ebony Obsidian and Dominique Thorne, are the reason why Tish and Vonny exist. We see this often in the narrative scene Tish shares of her younger self and Fonny taking a bubble bath. They are because their people are.

Fonny learns early on that freedom is not determined by one’s circumstances – that one’s parents can be enslaved, but this does not mean he has to be. Fonny says he doesn’t like the term artist, but his ability to imagine something else is what allows him to carve an escape route into another body – wood then flesh. He dreams big dreams of a loft in an area of town Black where people are denied access; he sees the child Tish carries before the child’s birth; he also imagines a world where Black men are respected, despite white hatred and Black fear, which he refuses to imagine.

As Fonny and Tish mature and fall in love, the Rivers and Fonny’s father Frank Hunt (actor Michael Beach) keep the world steady, stable, safe for their children whom they love with all their heart and soul. It is this promise that keeps Fonny alive when captured; it is this promise that allows Tish to stay hopeful for the baby she carries who too wants some of that Hunt-Rivers love. Water is also a theme in the work as is its presence in most Diaspora stories – in this way, Jenkins nods to August Wilson, his more immediate heir, as Baldwin perhaps nods to Langston Hughes, another Harlemite who too “has known rivers … ancient rivers.”

Rivers are the place where our souls are nurtured and fed. Hughes, at 17, writes as he crosses the Mississippi River on a train to visit his dad in Mexico, a dad who abandoned his family: “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. /”My soul has grown deep like the rivers.”

Fonny is accused of raping a Puerto Rican mother; however, Fonny’s crime, as is his friend, Daniel Carty (actor Brian Tyree Henry), confirms when he is released is these arrests are more a plot to instill fear into Black men so that they willingly surrender their souls. So Daniel is charged with stealing a car, when he cannot drive. He takes a plea because he has marijuana on his person.

Jenkins’s Beale Street examines closely the institution of legal slavery called prison and these characters inability to avoid capture on streets littered with landmines.

Nonetheless, Fonny loves his girl Tish unabashedly as he chisels a world in his image, this dynamic in direct opposition to a paradigm that believes Black women, his Black woman is a commodity for consumption – his fist an appetizer. Fonny does not let anyone hurt his girl.

He tells Tish when she tries to shield him from a police officer, that he is the protector, not her. One wonders later if his ego lands him in prison, the officer getting back at the young man for standing up to him at the store where Tish is accosted. Fonny stares down Officer Bell (actor Ed Skrein) as he gives him his address when asked. It is an uneasy moment.

The uneasiness institutionalized racism introduces into what is this wonderful celebratory moment for both Tish and Fonny to start their own family is something both Baldwin, Hughes and Jenkins (if you know his “Moonlight”) attest to, as does Fonny. It is a fire in paradise burning long after the forest is abandoned.

Like Jonestown, Guyana, 40 years ago littered with hundreds of Black bodies, voices are silenced and forgotten except for art. Both fictional and real members of this Beale Street fraternity agree that art is a tool for liberation, that and, of course, love. The film opens in theatres Dec. 14.

40^th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre

On the morning of the Nov. 18, the 40th anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre, Dr. Jynona Norwood chartered a bus from Los Angeles to transport the three panels honoring the People’s Temple members massacred at Jonestown. For the past 40 years she has been a lone voice in the wilderness calling the names of the 917 people killed there.

Earlier in the program the panels were arranged incorrectly. Dr. Norwood, stopped the service and had her friends place them correctly. It is unfortunate that the plaques cannot remain. The faces of the 305 children are so beautiful. After the service concluded, as Ms. Catherine Mazzuco sang, family and supporters filed by the memorial as many stopped to find in the exhaustive list their loved ones’ names and photos.

Giovanni Rodgers and her sister, Mary Johnson Rodgers, lost seven family members at Jonestown. They grew up in Bayview. She was only a year old when the massacre took place. Her Uncle Poncho Johnson, a musician, would send messages to the family before he was killed.

Later that afternoon, once the dedication to the 305 children killed at Jonestown concluded, Jim Jones Jr. waited with others to set up their memorial to his father. Dr. Norwood said to desecrate the site with Jim Jones’ name was like having Hitler’s name at the site where Jews were interned.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wanda@wandaspicks.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 7 a.m. and Fridays at 8 a.m., can be heard by phone at 347-237-4610 and are archived at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks.

by Wanda Sabir

It’s been 25 years since the film version of Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” opened to much controversy. Despite the controversy, the story is one that is still read, watched and celebrated in many forms. Walker’s story of a young woman, Celie, and the brutality she suffers at the hands of first her father and then husband, Mister, is epic, yet Celie finds love, a love present with her all the time.

This story of redemption and love is amazing. It is certainly an up from slavery story in every sense, as Mister’s father was formerly enslaved, his son, first generation free. Similar to how formerly incarcerated persons hit the ground running trying to make up for lost time, Old Mister feels the same way about life projected onto his son. He tells his son he doesn’t have time to dream or fall in love; he doesn’t have time to waste as Black folks have to catch up economically, 400 years behind everyone else in accumulating wealth.

Mister’s life, unhappy that it is, is testament to the fact that cliche though it may be, “Money really can’t buy happiness.”

It is this tension and Mister or Albert’s inability to stand up to his father that makes him bitter, and he takes this anger out on his family, his first wife and then Celie.

The brutality learned through conditioned response in slavery plays itself out here in the lives of both Mister and his son Harpo, who finds his true love in Sophia.

The stage production is the best introduction to the story for those who do not know the world of “The Color Purple.” In it, Alice Walker’s work is given a visual and physical interpretation – Donald Byrd’s choreography and music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, Stephen Bray, that is so electric second to the novel, and perhaps the biography, “Alice Walker: A Life,” by Evelyn C. White, it’s mighty hard to match. In “Alice Walker: A Life,” White shows us an Alice Walker whose characters in “The Color Purple” are first met. We meet Walker’s relatives who are the prototypes for Mister, Shug and Celie.

There is a context and a history Walker draws from in her fiction and “The Color Purple,” given its immediacy, shows us how close to Africa we still are and how close we also are to slavery’s legacy as a people and as a nation, especially when one looks at what happens to Sophia, Harpo’s wife, a strong, independent Black woman who exercises what she thinks are her rights as a citizen and learns she has no rights where white rule is the law.

Terrorism is not unknown to Black people. I am reading a book now, “Mare’s War,” by Tanita S. Davis, where Mare speaks about the racism in the ranks between white enlisted men and Black soldiers, between white Red Cross workers and Black enlisted women. Segregation was not even suspended during war time – crazy!

And it drives people crazy, look at Gabriel in August Wilson’s “Fences” and look at Pa or Ol’ Mister in “The Color Purple.” To a certain extent, Pa, portrayed by D. Kevin Williams, is shell shocked by slavery and doesn’t recover, but in Walker’s tale there is hope, ‘cause at the end of the story, “Women are wearing the pants” (smile). The company song: “Miss Celie’s Pants” with Celie, Shug Avery, Sophia and the women is a foot tapping show stopper.

Celie’s song, “I’m Here,” speaks to the change that has to happen so that the Black family and the Black community can heal. Mister hears her, especially the way Dayna Jarae Dantzler sings it. He is also afraid of the consequences, but so many characters in “The Color Purple” are afraid – yet they work through those conflicts with faith.

Pam Trotter’s Sophia’s rendition of “Hell No!” with her sisters and the sweet duet, “Any Little Thing,” with Harpo are other moments in the story where one can measure the transformation, a personal transformation that brings the characters the joy they so deserve.

And then there is the cast, those beautiful African American actors and actresses, to literally transport audiences to a place we are hesitant to go, yet trust them enough to take their hands and go on a journey that has many of us pulling out the tissues, holding our sides from laughter, smiling often at the sweet moments between Shug Avery and Celie, and Celie and her sister Nettie.

The women carry this story and for the San Jose production, starting with Dayna Jarae Dantzler’s Celie, Traci Allen’s Nettie and Pam Trotter’s Shug, more capable hands couldn’t have been found and what an appropriate or fitting story for Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 23-28, 2010. No, it isn’t a chick-play or musical, nor is it a male bashing free for all, which is how some people viewed the film without even seeing it or reading the book 25 years ago. I would advise folks to take heed and not do the same thing regarding Tyler Perry’s “For Colored Girls,” based on the book by Ntozake Shange.

Why are the stories about Black dysfunction and pain getting a lot of play? Perhaps if we owned the medium of production, these tales would not be what gets the most play, no matter how true, but ultimately, “The Color Purple” is a great story and it is not just a Black story. It is a tragedy that happens in many communities; it’s just portrayed here in Black skin. This is also true with “For Colored Girls,” the “colored” was literal, Ntozake told me in a radio interview. She intended a multiracial cast, which is how she produced it initially. How it ended up with just Black women is an artistic choice of many subsequent directors.

Redemption is certainly an evergreen story and the presence of Sankofa can be seen at every turn as each character, especially these women, learn to use the past to inform their future decisions – whether that is Celie realizing that most of her life was a response to someone’s definition of who she was and what she was capable of or Shug’s pain regarding her relationship to her father and Mister’s cowardice regarding their love. Sophia speaks of her love for Harpo, Mister’s eldest son, portrayed by Lee Edward Colston II and how tired she is of fighting.

These three women reach back and grab the strength of their ancestors, also depicted symbolically in the scenes set in Africa where Nettie is working as a nanny for a Black missionary family who have adopted two children.

At the end of the story when the cast sings the finale, “The Color Purple,” the audience is on its feet clapping and swaying.

This production is fantastic and I saw the San Francisco production twice. I’d go see this one again if someone gave me a ticket (smile). Visit www.broadwaysanjose.com for tickets.

The cast has varied backgrounds and the synergy between the characters is exciting. My favorites after the three principles are the chorus: Church Lady Doris, Church Lady Darlene and Church Lady Jarene: Nesha Ward, Virlinda Stanton, Deaun Parker. I also liked Allison Semmes’s Squeak; she is so funny with those skinny legs (smile). Girlfriend can sing too! In fact, the entire cast can blow: Edward C. Smith’s Mister among those who have really memorable numbers, along with the male ensemble numbers, especially the scene “Big Dog,” “Shug Avery is Coming to Town” and “African Homeland,” among others.

I love the duet between Celie and Shug, “What about Love,” and the solos: Celie’s “Somebody Gonna Love You,” Sophia’s “The Color Purple,” the company’s “Miss Celie’s Pants” and, of course, Celie’s triumphant “I’m Here.” Pam Trotter’s “Hell No!” is a classic rendition of this favorite. It’s too bad with these traveling shows the only sound track is the initial Broadway one. The touring company certainly has much to recommend it and since I never saw the Broadway production, I want a copy of the soundtrack for the show I witnessed in San Jose and, like the show in San Francisco, it isn’t available.

This is another reason why folks need to get over to the lovely San Jose Civic Auditorium. I’d never been there before, pretty opulent. It’s not the Orpheum or the Paramount Theatre for art deco fans, but for a new building …

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wsab1@aol.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 6-7:30 or 8 a.m. and Fridays at 8-10 a.m., can be heard by phone at (347) 237-4610 and are archived on the Afrikan Sistahs’ Media Network.

The post Broadway San Jose’s ‘The Color Purple’ through Nov. 28 appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by Wanda Sabir

Women’s History Month and the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day March 8, 2011 – what a great month to toast the New Year. The name itself is an action, a call to action: MARCH – Move! Get those legs working and do something!

Congratulations to Regina Carter for the MacArthur Genius Award and the fabulous concert with the Oakland East Bay Symphony Feb. 25. No, I wasn’t there but with composer Billy Childs at the helm, Maestro Michael Morgan at the aft or starboard, it had to be a wonderful premiere of the new composition, “Planets and Stars.” Visit http://www.oebs.org/. The next OEBS concert is March 18, 8 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre, “More Notes from Persia.”

Activism 101 an Oakland Standard: A Review

I was in the OZONE Feb. 25-26, as Oakland toasted February goodbye and with it, Black history. Well actually, Feb. 25 at the Oakland Museum of California did just the opposite. With “resistance” as the theme of the evening – from the classic poster art of Emory Douglas and Faviana Rodriguez, to tasting revolutionary tortillas with cheese and Angela Davis on the outer shell, to roses for Rosa Park and a Huey (fig) Newton – all edible; a new line called consciously delicious – patrons had a multisensory experience at the museum, an idea which is a part of the OM motif.

The place was full to capacity with patrons forming lines early for the special celebration “Soundtrack – the Drum” with Anthony Brown and CK Ledzekpo narrating, joined by the Stanford Steppers, the CAL Drumline from UC Berkeley and, as a special treat, Mr. Hambone himself, Derrick McGee. It was a wonderful walk from Africa to California – Oakland, to be exact (smile). Drums filled the stage – African percussion drums played by CK and students and/or members of his ensemble from East Bay Center for the Performing Arts and the trap drummer, another student of CK’s who is traveling to Boston to attend Berkley College of Music this summer.

As CK explained the music he was playing and where in Africa it originated, dancers led by Mrs. Ledzekpo performed to the music. At one point the audience was invited to participate; I was one of the first persons on the floor – a cold night, dancing warmed me up.

Duane Deterville gave a lecture on resistance in Black music, while a distinguished panel with former Minister of Culture Emory, artist Favianna, Carol A. Wells, Center for the Study of Political Graphics, and political poster historian Lincoln Cushing discussed art and politics. That room filled to capacity early and I couldn’t get in. I met a brother named Jesus who is a visual artist.

Refa One and one of the youth designers featured in the AeroSoul 2 Youth Exhibit, which is up through early March, said he explained to security that there were hardly any Black people in the room, and to tell two to four white people to leave so he and Malik, the young artist, could go inside. From what Refa shared, it sounds as if those persons in the audience really didn’t know how art can change minds, even hearts. Think about the power of music to “soothe the savage beast – right?

The brother coming out of the lecture looked like a work of art, as did his striking friend. Most of the events repeated at least once. The only problem was I was attending another event at the same time. Then as one walked between classrooms, the tent, or the Blue Oak café – there were art stations where one could silkscreen a political poster. I made three: Nina Simone singing “Mississippi Goddam,” another “Free the San Francisco 8,” the last one a poster celebrating the end to tyranny in North Africa. Across from that very popular table at any given moment there were two and three clothes lines filled with posters drying. There was another artist across the way doing spray can art. His image was of the WikiLeaks founder. What was interesting was watching him apply the multiple layers.

The Oakland Standard Poster Jam participants were the San Francisco Print Collective, Great Tortilla Conspiracy, Eddie Colla and Jesus Barraza. Patrons were able to silkscreen posters with Nina Simone, “Drop the Charges SF 8: Francisco Torres” and “The People Want the System to Fall” with a woman kissing the cheek of an Egyptian soldier. There were postcards with actions planned for the next month and an e-list.

Revolutionary Art 101!

The finale was the Lagos Roots Afrobeat Ensemble featuring members of Fela Kuti and the Africa 70, Sonny Okosuns and others. DJ Wonway Posibul with a live percussionist was excellent – his jams were right on. In the café, there were board games out for people to play from 9-11:30 p.m.

I missed Bill Bell and the Jazz Connection Trio with Eddie Marshall on drums and Jeff Chambers on bass. I heard they were fantastic! The new exhibit “Splendors of Faith/Scars of Conquest” was pretty gruesome especially in the graphic details of the crucifixion. I had to turn my head on some, the torture too unsettling. I wonder why in Oakland would there be such a large exhibition on missions – that’s like celebrating the various slave dungeons where Africans were held captive before being shipped to other lands. Most of the missions are further south and of course in San Francisco to Oakland’s west.

Missing was the African Diaspora use of Catholicism to practice Ifa, big in Oakland presently and in California. In the section which I enjoyed the most there was nothing and within the exhibition itself I didn’t see an African presence or perspective at all. When one thinks about California, named for an Amazon Queen Califia, one has to consider the impact of missions or Catholicism on African people in California.

Judge Glenda Hatchett to deliver keynote at 13th Annual Madam C.J. Walker Luncheon

The 13th Annual Madam C.J. Walker Business and Community Recognition Awards Luncheon is Friday, March 4, at the Marriott Marquis, 55 Fourth St., San Francisco, at 10:30 a.m., featuring a VIP reception, NCBW grant exhibitions, booksigning. Lunch is at 12 noon. Tickets are $150 per person. Other awardees and special guests include A’Lelia Bundles, author and great-granddaughter of Madam C.J. Walker

I recently completed Tananarive Due’s historic novel, “Black Rose” (2001), drawn from the research on Madam C.J. Walker that Alex Haley began before he passed. “Black Rose,” a pet name Madam Walker’s second husband, C.J., called her, is a wonderful testament to the first Black woman millionaire, whose parents were enslaved Africans. I place this book up there with Dorothy Height’s autobiography, “Open Wide the Freedom Gates” (2003). Due will be at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, March 28, 11-5, for a Writer’s Conference which invites writers to the table to honor the work and legacy of speculative fiction writer Octavia Butler (June 22, 1947-Feb. 25, 2006). For information, contact writers@mec-cuny.ed or (718) 270-6976.

Empress Meditations Tour with Queen Makedah, Sistah Beauty and Irae Divine

Queen Makedah, Sistah Beauty and Irae Divine were on my radio show Friday, March 25, 9:30 a.m., speaking about their upcoming tour in honor of International Women’s History Month, March 2011. Oriyah Music presents the Empress Meditations West Coast Tour, a series of presentations featuring live performances by the three women with the Sheba Warriors all-star band, plus the cream of local female DJs, spoken word, and dance competitions. The purpose of the tour is to spotlight conscious female artists in reggae music whose music speaks to the historical cultural contributions of women from antiquity to the present day and addresses issues pertinent to women and the family unit.

Their first stop is Santa Cruz, March 2, 9 p.m., at Moe’s Alley; then March 5, at Pier 23 Café in San Francisco, 9 p.m.-2 a.m., (415) 362-5125. The March 5 gig is also the Second Annual International Women’s Day Benefit for the Family Violence Law Center of Alameda County. Yoshi’s San Francisco is a stop on the tour, March 30, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., and the closing show is March 31, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., at Ashkenaz Music and Dance Center, 1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. For more information on the Empress Meditations Tour, visit www.queenmakedah.com and www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks (Feb. 25, 2011).

Art, jazz and spoken word

“Transformative Visions 2011: Lifting Up Visions of Peace, Justice, and Possibility” is Saturday, March 12, 2-5 p.m., at Studio One Art Center, 365 45th St., Oakland. Visit http://www.onelifeinstitute.org/.

Annual Collage des Cultures Africaines

Diamano Coura West African Dance Company presents its 16th Annual Collage des Cultures Africaines at Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland, and Laney College, 900 Fallon St., Oakland, Thursday-Sunday, March 10-13. Workshops are at MCC and the performance, “Celebration of the Mask,” is Saturday evening, March 12, 8 p.m., at Laney College Theatre. The marketplace opens at 6 p.m. March 12. For information, contact (510) 508-3444 or diamanoc@aol.com.

Dimensions Extensions youth dance fundraiser

Dimensions Extensions performance ensemble presents its Seventh Annual Fundraising Concert, “Something to Be Proud Of,” Saturday, March 19, 7 p.m., at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts Theatre, 1428 Alice St., Oakland.

Lorraine Hansberry Theatre presents ‘Fabulation’ by Lynn Nottage

“Fabulation or The Re-Education of Undine” by Lynn Nottage will be presented by Lorraine Hansberry Theatre at Fort Mason Center’s Southside Theatre, San Francisco, March 3-27, directed by Ellen Sebastian-Chang, featuring Margo Hall. A high-powered public relations executive suddenly finds herself divorced, penniless, pregnant and forced to return to the family home in the projects. “Fabulation” is an inspired and imaginative look at family, pride and love by one of America’s most outstanding new playwrights, who just received the Pulitzer Prize for her latest play, “Ruined.”

Tickets are $40 Thursdays and Fridays and $50 Saturdays and Sundays. Thursday performances are at 8:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday performances are at 8 p.m.; Sunday performances are at 2 and 7 p.m. Discounts are available for groups, students and seniors. Preview performances will be held on March 3 and 4 with the opening on Saturday, March 5. Sundays, March 6, 13 and 20, will be Target Family Matinées, where all seats will be half price, $25. “Fabulation” will be presented at The Southside Theater, Fort Mason Center, Historic Building D, San Francisco. For more information, ticket availability or to subscribe, call (415) 345-3980 or visit www.LHTSF.org.

Berkeley Rep presents Lynn Nottage’s ‘Ruined’

This March, Berkeley Repertory Theatre proudly presents “Ruined,” winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. A powerful new play about the harrowing lives of women in Africa, “Ruined” is written by Lynn Nottage and directed by Liesl Tommy. A collaboration between Berkeley Rep, Huntington Theatre Company and La Jolla Playhouse, this production has already earned seven awards – including Outstanding Dramatic Production – from the San Diego Critics Circle. It begins previews in the state-of-the-art Roda Theatre on Feb. 25, opens March 2 and closes April 10.

“In ‘Ruined,’ the women do a fragile dance between hope and disillusionment in an attempt to navigate life on the edge of an unforgiving conflict,” Nottage remarks. “I was fueled by my desire to tell the story of war, but through the eyes of women, who as we know rarely start conflicts, but inevitably find themselves right smack in the middle of them. I was interested in giving voice and audience to African women living in the shadows of war.”

Tickets to “Ruined” start at only $29. Additional savings are available for groups, seniors, students and anyone under 30 years of age – meaning discounted seats can be obtained for as little as $14.50. These prices make Berkeley Rep more affordable to people in the community who are just starting school, starting careers and starting families – because lower prices are now available for every performance. Tap into the power of “Ruined.” The Roda Theatre is located at 2015 Addison St., near bus lines, bike routes and parking lots – and only half a block from BART. For tickets or information, call (510) 647-2949 or toll-free at (888) 4-BRT-Tix – or simply click berkeleyrep.org.

Jazz at East Side Arts

Eastside Arts Alliance presents “The Grassroots Composers Ensemble” in concert every first Friday – this month, Friday, March 4, 8 p.m. Admission $10. ESAA is at 2277 International Blvd., Oakland, (510) 533-6929. Under the direction of trumpeter Mark Wright, featuring pianist Muziki Roberson and the inimitable stylings of Mack Rucks, Dr. James Bailey, Joe McKinley, Greg Germain and featured guests, these home grown jazz artists have been composing and arranging original and classic jazz compositions for five horns for the past six or seven years.

These dedicated artists meet religiously every Tuesday night at the digs of Muziki Roberson. The music is fresh and exciting. Please come out and support them and also pass the word on. The Eastside Arts Alliance is a gem in our community, offering music, dance, spoken word and theater with a level of consciousness unparalleled in our community. They also sponsor the annual FREE Malcom X Jazz Festival. Let’s support them in a venue that is family friendly with reasonable admission. Light refreshments and drinks available for purchase.

Women in jazz

Anna Maria Flechero at Yoshi’s Oakland on March 1 for one show, 8 p.m. I had her on my radio show, www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks, maybe two years ago. She was speaking about fundraisers and shows leading up to the Filipino-American Jazz Festival in San Francisco that year. KPFA and KPOO radio personality Avotcja is the host. Multi-talented song stylist and songwriter Anna Maria Flechero brings to the jazz stage original compositions and well-known jazz standards with the release of “Special Edition: Journey into the Fourteenth Hour.” Accompanying Ms. Flechero for the evening is Little Brown Brother featuring Vince Khoe, piano; Ben Luis, bass; Chris Planas, guitar; Marlon Green, drums; Mio Flores, percussion; and Eddie Ramirez, horns; with special guest vocalist, contralto Myrna Del Rio.

Ashford and Simpson

Ashford and Simpson’s exclusive Bay Area appearance, “The Real Thing,” is Tuesday-Friday, March 29-April 3, at the RRAZZ Room in Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. at Ellis, in San Francisco. Visit www.therrazzroom.com.

Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre at Cal Performances

Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre makes its annual sojourn to Cal Performances on Tuesday–Sunday, March 29-April 3. The three distinct programs include three premiers. The first of two Bay Area premieres is “Anointed” (2010), choreographed by Christopher L. Huggins in tribute to those who have led the Ailey company past, present and future; “Cry” (1971), the second work new to Berkeley, was choreographed by Alvin Ailey for Judith Jamison and is dedicated to “all Black women everywhere – especially our mothers.” The West Coast premiere of “Three Black Kings” (1976) is the last major work composed by Duke Ellington for Alvin Ailey. Every program presented will also include Alvin Ailey’s timeless “Revelations,” now celebrating its 50th year.

This season marks the end of an era: Judith Jamison steps down as artistic director after more than two decades of exceptional leadership. Under Jamison’s guidance, the company has thrilled tens of millions of people on six continents, has been recognized by Congress as “a vital American cultural ambassador” and serves as an enduring vehicle for the expression of the African-American experience. Choreographer Robert Battle is artistic director designate. Tickets are available at (510) 642-9988 to charge by phone, at www.calperformances.org and at the door.

For the school matinee, tickets are $4 per student or adult chaperone, available in advance only through Cal Performances at (510) 642-1082. SchoolTime performances are open to students in kindergarten through grade 12 in Bay Area public and private schools. Supplemental study guides for the classroom are provided. For more information about the SchoolTime program, contact the SchoolTime coordinator at Cal Performances by email at eduprograms@calperfs.berkeley.edu or by phone at (510) 642-0212.

Hope Mohr Dance Looks at Women Veterans

“The Unsayable” will be presented by Hope Mohr Dance and “She Dreams in Code” by guest Liz Gerring Dance Company Thursday, March 3-6, at Z-Space, 450 Florida St., San Francisco. Tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com or 1-800-838-3006. All shows are at 8 p.m. except Sunday, March 6, there’s a 2 p.m. matinee with a post show Q&A on veterans’ issues. Friday, March 4, is an artist talk.

Coser y Cantar: To Sew and Sing

Written by Dolores Prida, directed by Tania Llambelis, “Coser y Cantar” asks the question: Can we survive walking the tightrope of desire strung over two separate languages and cultures? “Coser y Cantar” opens March 17-19 at 8 p.m. at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, 2868 Mission St., San Francisco, (415) 821-1155 or www.missionculturalcenter.org. Take BART to the 24th Street Mission Station.

RRAZZiversary Gala Celebration and Benefit for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital

I first learned of St. Jude’s work with children through a series of love and hope novels by Black women romance writers, Sandra Kitt’s “For All We Know” and Gwynne Foster’s “What Matters Most” (www.novelsofhope.org). It was a pleasant surprise last year to find out about the second annual gala, which is now having an encore this month, Thursday, March 17, 8 p.m., $75-$175, for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This is the premier nightclub of the West Coast celebration with a star-studded lineup including Sarah Dash, Joyce DeWitt, Sally Kellerman, Florence LaRue, Gloria Loring, Deana Martin, Melba Moore, Kim Nalley, CeCe Peniston, Martha Reeves, Paula West, Edna Wright and Honey Cone and Pia Zadora. Visit http://conta.cc/hHSzca and https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?t=tix&e=a0c5d4086f7c093bd39316fcd9f23a9e.

On the fly

Branford Marsalis and Terence Blanchard are in town Friday, March 11, 8 p.m. at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Auditorium. There is a free Lobby Talk at 5-6 p.m. with UC Berkeley Jazz Director Ted Moore. Sunday, March 6, Balé Folclórico da Bahia are back for one performance, 7 p.m. at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Auditorium. Chuy Varela hosts the Lobby Talk 4-5 p.m. Les Percussions de Strasbourg, March 13, 3 p.m., in Hertz Hall looks interesting. Visit www.calperformances.edu. The sidelines talk is 2-2:30 p.m. Cheryl West’s play, “Jar on the Floor,” directed by Buddy Butler with C. Kelly Wright and other stars in the cast, opens Feb. 26 and continues through March 6 at Mexican Heritage Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Ave., San Jose. Visit www.acteva.com/go/sjmag or call (408) 272-9924. This production celebrates SJMAG Tabia African American Theatre Ensemble’s 25th Anniversary.

“What do the Women Say? An Evening of Poetry and Performance by Women of the Middle East,” is Tuesday and Wednesday, March 8 and 9, at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Oakland, www.lapena.org. Nicole Klaymoon Embodiment Project, Friday-Saturday, March 24-25, 8 p.m., with special guests Byb Chanel, Valerie Troutt, Makana Muanga and others at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Oakland, www.lapena.org. “Words First,” a monthly solo showcase, is March 2, 7:30 p.m., with “How the hell did we get here?!” Unhappy endings … with a twist, with performances by Vanessa Lee Khaleel, Ericka Lutz, Howard Petrick, and Sarah Weidman. Visit http://counterpulse.org/programs/words-first. CounterPulse is located at 1310 Mission St.

Paula West and the George Mesterhazy Quartet have their annual RRazz room engagement Tuesday, March 1, through Sunday, March 13. Check the show times, which vary. Visit the RRazz room at Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. at Ellis, in San Francisco. Tickets for Performances at the RRazz room are available at www.therrazzroom.com and (800) 380-3095. Visit www.moadsf.org for their programming related to the current exhibition celebrating jazz and quilts.

With Mardi Gras almost here, the lecture and performance “West Africa to New Orleans: African Masking Traditions” with New Orleans native Shaka Zulu is Sunday March 13, 2-4 p.m., is sure to be a hit. Visit www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks for interviews with many of the artists mentioned here and others who are not (smile). Live shows are Wednesdays, 6-7 a.m. PST, and Friday mornings, 8-10 a.m. PST. Disney on Ice’s “Let’s Celebrate” reaches Oakland March 2, 7:30, all seats $15. Join Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse on a magical journey through the holidays with 52 characters from 16 Disney stories, one of them “The Frog Prince” with Princess Tiara. I interviewed Farryn Johnson on Friday, Feb. 4. Visit www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks and look in the archives for the interview. Check San Francisco Performances website too, at www.performances.org/education/calendar.html.

Activism 101, an Oakland Standard

One could tell the kids were into it – by kids, I don’t means children, just neophytes to Liberation Struggles getting their collective awakening Friday night at the Oakland Museum’s OZONE. Without the acid rain, snow, clouds or high winds the O was certainly in a zone, scientifically unspecified. Laying it on with a spatula, as in thick and indelibly stuck to all in the ZONE that night. The DJs were spinning all the hits from a time when lyrical content meant original unsampled thoughts … well, I take that back; nothing is original. Just like the air we breathe and the land we occupy, it is all dead and reborn. Like the revolutionary fever sweeping the planet, the O was a pot flavored and simmering with the spices present that evening.

Have you even had air stuck in your esophagus and couldn’t get a good enough belch? That was the O. Some call it the last days, others indigestion. The planet has had enough and now all its inhabitants have declared or put the lords and ladies on notice: The people are taking over!

Linguistically, the Oakland Standard’s OZONE (OS launched January 2011), one of its programs, continues thematically. It’s all about opening the space to art which is kinetic, participatory, useful – wear it, feel it, do it, be it! Art is not for lazy minds or innocents lost – perhaps it is, but for the active mind or citizen, those people who generally find themselves in museums in the first place, reluctantly as kids and then selfishly as adults, the Oakland Standard concept makes art a part of life for those who really enjoy living, really living as free citizens of Oaktown and Oak-Universe.

Prophet Fred Wilson’s museum space sojourns says this. He also speaks with his work to the exclusion of certain audiences when one talks about museums and other “high art.” OZONE is a way to demystify such phenomena. The audience was predominately white, even though the material or presentations were about the Black aesthetic, yet typically the subjects were absent. There wasn’t even consideration given to the few Black folks in the audience that evening – we couldn’t get into major lectures and concerts.

This would have been OK if the sound had been broadcast and if there had been a video simulcast – in the past, the Oakland Museum always provided such, especially for programs where it expected large audiences. African people do not like the cold and the idea of standing in a line for 45 minutes was a turn off to many elders, who left early. At midnight the majority of folks still at OM were 30 and younger, unless they were working and white.

Consciousness is hard work, yet it can be fun and in its second program since launching Oakland Standard, OZONE proves that yes, consciousness is the only way to live a life fully committed to justice as a revolutionary or change agent.

Similar to programming at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Oakland Standard, as its premise, shouldn’t toss out what worked in the past. New doesn’t mean nothing old allowed: people, ideas, customs. I guess with the new exhibit on Our Lady of Guadeloupe, the old suffering Christ – nailed to a cross, bleeding – is an image I couldn’t stomach. However, the newer images of this mysterious patron saint, a way of flipping the colonial baggage into something not just new, but liberating, is what I see Oakland Standard providing for its East Bay constituency – if they are extended the proper invitation.

I saw a few parents with their children out for the evening, but not enough. I know the museum has its Family Sundays which are kid-friendly, early in the day and often outdoors.

Some audiences don’t come if you open the door; you have to go get them. Audience development is still a weak area for many presenting organizations like Oakland Museum, which has ethnically specific community advisory boards. I suggest OM solicit their expertise. There was no reason why there were not more Black youth ages 15-25 in the OZONE, especially for “Soundtrack: The Drum” and the Oakland Standard Conversation, not to mention the Oakland Standard Political Poster Jam. Even the Game On! was a place for families and friends to sit around and talk, not to mention the open galleries where in Art History in the back I heard a woman interviewed for her Oakland Story, a program of Story Corps.

Standard implies a flag or flagship idea which is self-promoting; carry it long enough and it becomes you. Certainly Oakland needs a new standard and with a new mayor and a revised vision for an Oakland institution, the Oakland Museum of California, the concept is timely and necessary. But historically Oakland seems to be receding from focus. After all, museums are nothing without people – human beings are the greatest work of art imaginable. The African presence seems the first to go when institutions are formed or changed. I am rattling the cage so OM doesn’t follow in the footsteps of its many predecessors.

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival

The 29th Annual San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), a presentation of the Center for Asian American Media, showcases the best Asian films from around the globe between March 10-20, in San Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose. Films screen in San Francisco at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St.; Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, 1881 Post St.; VIZ Cinema, 1746 Post St.; and the Landmark Clay Theatre, 2261 Fillmore St. In Berkeley, go to the Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft Way. And in San Jose the festival is at the Camera 12 Cinemas, 201 South Second St. and the Montgomery Theater, 271 South Market St. in San Jose. For tickets and information about CAAM membership benefits and levels, please visit www.caamedia.org.

The San Francisco Asian American Film Festival will be giving South Asian films much of its most prestigious real estate this year. Both the San Francisco and San Jose opening night curtain-raisers are South Asian works – Andy De Emmony’s “West Is West” in San Francisco and Hoku Uchiyama’s “UPAJ in SJ.” SFIAAFF alumnus Gurinder Chadha will be honored with the Filmmaker Spotlight, showcasing her award-winning “Bend It Like Beckham” and her newest film, “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife.”

Other superlative offerings representing a sampling from the region include narrative features, “The Taqwacores,” from Eyad Zahra, a rock epic about the Muslim punk rock movement; Mani Ratnam’s “Raavanan,” a modern re-telling of the epic Ramayana legend starring megastar Aishwarya Rai; and the documentaries “Summer Pasture” by Lynn True and Nelson Walker, which pits the seductiveness of modernity against traditional pastoral life in Tibet, and “Made in India” by Vaishali Sinha and Rebecca Haimowitz, an illuminating tell-all about outsourced surrogacy in India.

As part of the festival’s beefed-up interactive programming, there will be a panel on the exciting developments in Indian cinema, “Stepping Forward, Looking Back.” Experts will discuss international collaborations, the emergence of independent works, and what these new developments mean for financing and distribution. SFIAAFF will also present a prototype of the CAAM-produced game, “Climbing Sacred Mountain,” based on the film, “Daughters of Everest,” which documented the first Nepali women’s expedition on the highest peak in the world. The game will be part of CAAM’s inaugural independent games exhibition and the related panel, “The Power of Play.” Rounding out the live events will be “Bollywood Under the Stars,” a free screening at the close of Festival Forum.

Excluding special events, panels, galas and special screenings, advanced general admission tickets are $12. Students, seniors 65 and over and disabled adults are $11, with a limit of one per program with ID only. Center for Asian American Media members are $10, limited to two per program per ID. Tickets go on sale to CAAM members only on Thursday, Feb. 10, and open to the general public beginning Monday, Feb. 14. Become a member of the Center for Asian American Media and start receiving discounts on tickets for the festival, avoid all processing fees and get tickets to the films you want before they go to rush.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wsab1@aol.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 6-7:30 or 8 a.m. and Fridays at 8-10 a.m., can be heard by phone at (347) 237-4610 and are archived on the Afrikan Sistahs’ Media Network.

The post Wanda’s picks for March 2011 appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by Wanda Sabir

October is Maafa Commemoration Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Black Panther History Month, Democratic Republic of the Congo Awareness Month, and the month to commemorate Dia de Los Muertos and Nigerian Independence, won Oct. 1, 1960.

We want to have a moment of silence for the wonderful man Eddie Marshall, drummer, flautist, composer, who died suddenly last month, too soon for most of us who loved his work and appreciated his graceful presence in the world. This is the month we remember our ancestors.

Maafa 2011

Maafa Season is upon us. The term Maafa refers to the Black Holocaust, that period when African people were stolen and traded in the greatest, most widespread cooperative economic venture to date, which resulted in the displacement of human beings as commodities. The Maafa became so normalized internationally to traders in human flesh as to create a new people. Africans no longer recognized themselves as Africans, as they lost connection to their heritages: land, language, customs and, in many instances, spiritual traditions.

The Kiswahili term Maafa extends that definition of loss and trauma, that is, PTSD or post-traumatic slave syndrome – the flashbacks, both conscious and unconscious, reoccurring instances of the atrocities 150 years after the end of slavery which have direct association to the brutality of chattel slavery.

By this we mean the prison industrial complex as well as daily manifestations of post-traumatic slave disorder in Black communities throughout the United States, the Americas and the Pan African Diaspora. Look at the gun violence and criminalization of public education through state sanctioned miseducation and police terror. Much of our community, especially the youth, have internalized the Maafa and, while no longer chained, many are enslaved as their ancestors were. The difference is while our ancestors resisted and so remained free, we don’t.

The Maafa also references the benefits to some and the harm to others connected to this trade in human beings 500 years later. Everyone is affected by the Maafa, everyone needs to address the role of the Maafa in their community and in their personal lives, both as descendants of the perpetrators and descendants of the victims, and how these legacies are confining and perhaps barring each of us from personal greatness, and by greatness I am speaking of greatness as human beings, which is not necessarily a given.

We have to claim and work to keep our humanity. Just like so many great men and women, past and present, we can lose it, give it away or have it stolen. Even those newly immigrated to this country benefit from the enslavement of Africans and the rich marketplace that continues to exclude its major stockholders, African people who are descendants of the European slave traders’ commoditization of our ancestors.

The Maafa Commemoration addresses this imbalance of wealth, the poverty that affects disproportionally Black communities here and abroad. The repair or reparations movement is both an internal and external one.

The month of October is Maafa Awareness Month in the city of Oakland, the county of Alameda, the state of California, and the 9th Congressional District. This year the ritual is Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011, predawn at Ocean Beach, Fulton at the Great Highway. Visit http://ramadanridesrides4everybody.blogspot.com/.

Getting healthy: a reflection

I am a woman over 50 who lives in an area of Oakland where it is unsafe to ride one’s bike. I decided to start this club to get folks out into areas of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, especially south of High Street on bikes. I am not necessarily encouraging people to ride down International Boulevard alone, though I have on many occasions.

Oakland is not a bicycle friendly town. Just look at the recent repaving of San Leandro Street. It would have been a great time to shift the two lane traffic to one and add bike lanes. No one can ride down International; it is too narrow. Bancroft Avenue is the only street with bike lanes and it is too far north. We won’t even mention MacArthur Boulevard. International or E-14th Street, is the location of many drive-by shootings; however, there are lovely Bay Trails seconds away – one that’s easy to reach is at 66th Avenue and Zone Way, just past the Coliseum BART.

Getting to Zone Way from 66th Avenue is treacherous, to say the least. One can get hit by a vehicle while waiting for the light to change. I have been. Lucky for me it was my bike that was hit and the driver, making a right turn on a red light didn’t even stop after he hit my bike – he just looked at me and kept rolling.

Hegenberger isn’t any better as a street to ride up to get to the Bay Trail. Cars speed up as they pass me and then at the freeway entrances, one cannot see the cars approaching from below so technically one could get run over in the crosswalks, the way they are situated. I always cross diagonally so the drivers can see me.

This is as one is riding to enter the Bay Trail which is just before Doolittle. Once on the Bay Trail one doesn’t have to worry about car emissions or traffic, and the Bay Trail connects one to Alameda and San Leandro. Many folks who live in the ‘hood don’t even know about this treasure.

Just the other day, I learned of a new entrance to the Bay Trail connecting Alameda and Oakland to San Leandro by way of (for me) Bay Farm Island. I usually cross the Blue Bridge. This time I went across the pedestrian bridge and voila, what a pleasant surprise! There are miles and miles of trail along the San Francisco Bay. Across the liquid tapestry I could see South Shore Shopping Center.

Ramadan Rides is an effort, a movement to take back our public spaces. After all, despite the crashing economy and higher taxes for those of us who bought into the American Dream and own property, which, in my case, depreciated, $300,000, one can’t bask in despair – life does go on. We should look at the weed as a prime example of dogged determination. Can’t kill ‘em, can’t uproot ‘em, can’t even cover ‘em. They just keep pushing through the most enormous and gargantuan challenges (smile).

I ride for sanity, I ride to stay calm, but riding alone is not safe. I have been harassed. I have fallen badly on ill maintained streets. So I said to myself, why not start a club for women, for Muslims, for riders 30-80 years old. Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, is a time for reflection and introspection. It has been a fun journey so far.

The first ride, when the club was in its brainstorm form, was Aug. 7, 2011. It was the weekend The Brotherhood of Cyclists was in town for a large conference. I felt left out of their loop completely, so I drove to Union City to ride with a friend. The two of us rode the trails, kind of rocky, dusty, not necessarily the kind of terrain I prefer. Afterwards I rode the Bay Trail by the house. I still had a bit of energy left to burn. It is my hope that the club can grow from two on two women riders to at least 10 people in the next two weeks. I’d like at least half to be women 50 and over.

Since writing this, I fell down the stairs and haven’t been able to walk, let alone ride for a month. PTSD. It was the day before Katrina and I am a New Orleans native. But I hope to be back on the road before winter, at least by Spring 2012. Visit us at http://ramadanridesrides4everybody.blogspot.com//.

‘Still Here,’ a 3.9 Collective Group Exhibition

The curator says he will be transforming The Sirron Norris Gallery, 1406B Valencia St., San Francisco, for the group show “Still Here.” The word “black” recently has become all too synonymous with the act of vanishing, especially in San Francisco where the 2010 census revealed that the African American population has dropped to 3.9 percent.

What does that mean for a city that prides itself on its cultural diversity when members of its population are no longer represented? The loss of a culture, the absence of differentiation, even the lack of a visual presence can be devastating to a community. With the exhibition entitled “Still Here,” San Francisco artists Nancy Cato, Rodney Ewing, Sirron Norris, William Rhodes and Ron Moultrie Saunders have adopted this statistic and created a banner of support and defiance.

The work they will be creating confronts this anomaly of absence by representing how at least one segment of the Black community is alive and an integral part of San Francisco culture. The work may not stem the tide of the exodus, but to paraphrase the poet Dylan Thomas, “We will not go quietly into that good night.” Opening is Oct. 8, 7-9 p.m. We are very excited to have a live performance by Kippy Marks, 7-9 p.m., http://kippymarks.us/, and also Rocky Yazzie’s amazing frybread! Visit http://www.sirronnorris.com/or call (415) 648-4191.

Black Panther History Month 45 years later! Film Festival and Art Exhibit

The Black Panther Party 45th anniversary photo exhibit is open Oct. 3-Nov. 3. A reception and panel are Oct. 6, 4:30 to 6 p.m., in the Student Center, Fourth Floor, Laney College, 900 Fallon St., Oakland.

The Black Panther History Month Film Festival is at the Main Library in the Bradley Walters Community Room, 125 14th St., Oakland, Saturday, Oct. 8, 12-4:30 p.m. Featured films are “In the Land of the Free: The Story of Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox and Robert H. King,” collectively known as the Angola 3, who have been in solitary confinement for more than 39 years. The second feature is “COINTELPRO 101,” interviews with activists victimized by illegal surveillance and witnesses to murders committed by the FBI and other police agencies. Rare historical footage provides a provocative introduction to a period of intense repression. For information, call (510) 238-3138 or visit http://www.oakland.org/. For the entire month-long series of events, visit http://www.itsabouttimebpp.com/.

‘Trolley Dances’ features Antoine Hunter’s Urban Jazz Dance Company

Epiphany Production’s eighth annual San Francisco “Trolley Dances” features ODC/Dance, Sweet Can Circus, Salsamania, Capacitor, Urban Jazz Dance Company, Epiphany Productions Sonic Dance Theater and Tat Wong Kung Fu Lion Dancers Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 15 and 16. Tours leave from the San Francisco Main Library, at 100 Larkin St. between Fulton and Grove, every 45 minutes at 11:00 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 2:00 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. Performances are FREE with regular Muni fare of $2 – youth and seniors $.75. For information, call (415) 226-1139 and visit epiphanydance.org.

Mill Valley Film Festival

The Mill Valley Film Festival runs Oct. 6-16; visit http://www.mvff.com/. On Oct. 9, 4:30 p.m., at the Smith Rafael Film Center, there will be a tribute to Gaston Kabore, director of “Wend Kuni” and “Buud Yam.” The historian turned filmmaker made the third film in his country, Burkina Faso. “Wend Kuni” is about a child who is mute, the child symbolic of a colonized people. How will this child regain his voice? How will he move past the trauma into healing light, a place where he can trust his words again? Kabore’s lovely film takes us to a place not long ago, but too long ago for easy recall. The director, who opened a film academy in Burkina, Imagine, in 2003, received the first FESPACO award for his second film, “Buud Yam,” also screening at the MVFF.

There are films from Morocco, FESPACO 2011 awardee director Mohamed Mouftakir’s “Pegasus” and another film, “The Mosque,” directed by Daoud Aoulad-Syad. My favorite of the African films so far is “Sarabah,” US/Senegal. It’s a sad yet triumphant story of a DJ, Sister Fa. Another film I enjoyed of African American interest is that of 85-year-old Mr. James Armstrong, “Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement.” “A Brush with the Tenderloin,” featuring muralist Mona Caron, and “Hip Hop Maestro,” directed by Christine Lee, which profiles Geoff “Double G” Gallegos and the daKAH Orchestra, is pretty good as well.

The orchestra is raising funds through KickStart to come to MVFF for a closing concert, Valley of the Docs, Oct. 15 and 16. “Play Like a Lion: The Legacy of Maestro Ali Akbar Khan,” directed by Joshua Dylan Mellars, and “Deaf Jam” are outstanding! “Deaf Jam” is about deaf slam poets – pretty awesome.

More film festivals

The Silicon Valley African Film Festival is Oct. 14-16, http://www.svaff.org/.

The 10th Annual Documentary Film Festival is Oct. 14-27, http://www.sfindie.com/. Of African Diaspora interest are “Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey,” “The Furious Force of Rhymes,” “Scenes of a Crime,” “How to Start a Revolution,” “Yoga Woman,” “Left by the Ship,” “The Creators.” Films screen at Shattuck Cinemas Oct. 14-20 and the Roxie Oct. 14-27.

“American Teacher,” directed by Vanessa Roth, profiles four teachers: Erik Benner, Jamie Fidler, Rhena Jasey and Jonathan Dearman, a former San Francisco teacher at its first charter school, Leadership High, who joined me on the air on Wanda’s Picks, www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks, Sept. 22 to talk about the film and his decision to leave the classroom. Dearman, perhaps the filmmaker and certainly Leadership High students, faculty and friends will attend opening night, if not opening weekend screenings Oct. 7 at the Roxie.

Other films opening are “Finding Joe,” an exploration of the famed mythologist Joseph Campbell, which opens at Landmark in San Francisco and Berkeley. “All She Can,” directed by Amy Wendel and Daniel Meisel, which opened Sept. 16 is certainly worth looking for. It is the story of Luz Garcia who wants to go to college, but the only way to get there when there is no scholarship money for children of color in Beavides, Texas, is to literally flex her muscles and train in weightlifting. Sometimes all one can do is still not enough.

‘She Who Laughs Lasts’

Rape is not a laughing matter. But humor becomes a powerful tool in fighting sexual assault at “She Who Laughs Lasts,” a night of comedy, on Friday, Oct. 21, at the Brava Theatre, featuring comedians Nina G, the world’s funniest comedian who stutters; Karinda Dobbins, an aggressively laid-back comedian hailing from the Motor City; Tamil Sri Lankan-American performer-comedian D’Lo of D’FaQTo Life and returning for her third “She Who Laughs Lasts”; and Micia Mosely of “Where My Girls At?” There will also be a special video screening of “Labels are Forever” by Jenesha de Riveira. Don’t miss the silent auction and comedian meet-‘n-greet pre-show. Light appetizers and other refreshments will be served; doors open at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15-$50 and can be purchased on www.sfwar.org; no one turned away for lack of funds. The event is wheelchair accessible. San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR) is a grassroots, political rape crisis center established in 1973 committed to anti-oppression and providing support to survivors of sexual assault and their friends and families, using education and community organizing as tools of prevention.

‘Women, War and Peace’ on PBS

“Women, War and Peace,” a bold new five-part PBS mini-series, is the most comprehensive global media initiative ever mounted on the roles of women in peace and conflict. “Women, War and Peace” will broadcast on five consecutive Tuesday evenings: Oct. 11, 18, and 25 and Nov. 1 and 8. Check local listings. Visit http://www.itvs.org/films/women-war-and-peace.

On the fly

Did you know? I didn’t. UpSurge! Jazz Poetry Ensemble is at Freight and Salvage Oct. 1 in Berkeley. Should be a great show! Visit http://www.upsurgejazz.com/upsurgehome.html. This Sunday, Oct. 2, 11 a.m., at Lakeside Park Bandstand is the Centennial Suffrage Parade: 100 years of women gaining the right to vote! Visit http://www.waterfrontaction.org/parade/parade_details.htm. The West Coast premiere of Faustin Linyekula/Studios Kabako’s “more more more … future” is Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 29- Oct. 1, 8 p.m., at the Novellus Theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, http://www.ybca.org/faustin-linyekula. “Night School: Faustin Linyekula” is Oct. 1, 6-10 p.m., in the Theater Terrace Lobby, $35-$40 regular admission, $30-$35 for members, students and seniors; call (415) 978-ARTS (2787). “The Kipling Hotel: True Misadventures of the Electric Pink ‘80s” is Don Reed’s latest installation on his life, following the “E-14th: True Tales of a Reluctant Player” at The Marsh San Francisco, Oct. 8 through Nov. 13. The Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, hosts its Sixth Annual MoAD Gala, Saturday, Oct. 15, Palace Hotel, San Francisco. Visit http://www.moadsf.org/visit/.

Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s “red, black and GREEN: a blues” (rbGb) is having its world premiere at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Forum, Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 13-15 and 20-22, at 7:30 p.m. Visit ybca.org or call (415) 978-2787. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s back on the block this 31st season with two one-act plays, “Almost Nothing,” a mysterious and unnerving yarn by Brazilian playwright, Marcos Barbosa, and Douglas Turner Ward’s clever satire, “Day of Absence,” Oct. 11-Nov. 20, at 450 Post St., San Francisco. Call (415) 474-8800 or visit http://www.lhtsf.org/. On Sunday, Oct. 16, after the 2 p.m. show, there will be a post-performance discussion with director Steven Anthony Jones and the playwright, Douglas Turner Ward.

The 29th Annual SFJAZZ Fall Season presents R&B goddess India.Arie with Israeli keyboardist and composer Idan Raichel on Oct. 15 at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland. Visit http://www.sfjazz.org/. Berkeley-raised pianist Benny Green celebrates Thelonious Monk’s birthday, re-creating “Monk’s Dream” on the album’s 50th anniversary on Oct. 10. Tenor player Javon Jackson heads a John Coltrane salute with a dream quartet of Mulgrew Miller, Jimmy Cobb and Peter Washington Oct. 28. Master pianist McCoy Tyner pays tribute to his legendary collaborator with “The Gentle Side of John Coltrane,” joined by Chris Potter and José James Oct. 16. The Cuban timba celebration of Tiempo Libre is Oct. 9, and Malian ngoni master Bassekou Kouyate with his band Ngoni Ba perform Oct. 30.

Urban Music presents Al Son del Tunduki Quijeremá with Classical Revolution’s Musical Art Quintet featuring guest poets Michael Warr and Avotcja, Monday, Oct. 3, at 8 p.m. at Yoshi’s San Francisco, 1330 Fillmore St., San Francisco. Listen to an interview with Maria, one of the founders of Quijeremá, and Michael Warr, poet, on Wanda’s Picks Radio Show, Sept. 30, 8 a.m. Clairdee is at the Rrazz Room in Hotel Nikko Tuesday, Oct. 4, 8 p.m., in San Francisco. One long set. Listen to an interview with Clairdee Oct. 4 on Wanda’s Picks Radio, 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. PT live or archived.

Visit http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picksfor continued Picks like the Stone Soul II concert preview with Sheila E.

‘Limyè pou Ayiti, Lavi Kontinye! An Evening Celebrating Haitian Culture’

“Limyè pou Ayiti, Lavi Kontinye!” (“Light for Haiti, Life Continues!”) is Rara Tou Limen’s choreo-prayer and artistic offering to Haiti, featuring music, dance and song. The performance is on Saturday, Oct. 8, 8-10 p.m., at Laney College, 900 Fallon St., Oakland. Nineteen months after the earthquake, the media’s attention has shifted to other topics, while Haiti remains deeply wounded. Life has moved on for some, but for Haitian people, life will never be the same. We must continue to shed light on Haiti and remind our audiences through artistic expression that Haiti still needs us!

The motivation behind this project stems from Rara Tou Limen’s artistic and musical director’s personal and professional relationships with Haiti’s artistic community, who were severely affected by the earthquake. Amidst the dust, destruction, and devastation on Jan. 12, 2010, was celebrated drummer, cultural ambassador and musical director of Rara Tou Limen, Daniel Brevil.

Jeanguy Saintus will collaborate with RTL for “Limyè pou Ayiti, Lavi Kontinye!” Mr. Saintus is the artistic director of Ayikodans, the premiere professional dance company of Haiti since being established in 1987. To further enhance the collaboration, Ayikodans’ awe-inspiring principle dancer, Linda Isabelle Francois, will also accompany Mr. Saintus from Haiti to the Bay Area. As earthquake survivors, this proposed collaboration is critical! Their personal accounts, testimonies and post-earthquake experiences need to be revealed to a wide audience. “Limyè pou Ayiti, Lavi Kontinye!” will serve as group therapy for cast members, while reminding audiences of Haiti’s strength and courage.

Tickets, available at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/196319,, are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. 25 Advance tickets are also available at RTL’s weekly class locations: on Sundays at the Malonga Center, Oakland, 2-3:30, and on Saturdays at the Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco, 1:30-3 p.m.

Cal Performances presents the U.S. premiere of ‘Desdemona’

The visionary director Peter Sellars brings the U.S. premiere of “Desdemona,” a collaboration with Nobel Prize-winning writer Toni Morrison and Malian singer-composer Rokia Traoré, to Cal Performances’ Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Dana Court, Berkeley, on Wednesday, Oct. 26, through Saturday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m. “Desdemona” explores issues of gender, race, love and destiny as the title character and her African maid Barbary reach beyond the grave to give voice to the mysterious forces behind Othello.

A free two-part symposium on the creation of “Desdemona” and the cultural forces in Shakespeare will be held Oct. 27, 5-6:30 p.m., and Oct. 28, 12-3:00 p.m., at Zellerbach Playhouse, featuring Toni Morrison (via Skype), Peter Sellars, Rokia Traoré and UC Berkeley scholars. Sightlines, pre-performance talks with director Peter Sellars, is Oct. 28 and 29, 7:00-7:30 p.m., in Zellebach Playhouse. Tickets are available through the Cal Performances Ticket Office at Zellerbach Hall and at the door. Call (510) 642-9988 to charge by phone or visit http://www.calperformances.org/.

Director Peter Sellars will discuss giving voice to the unheard characters in Shakespeare’s Othello. On Oct. 28, three conversations will be held: the first between writer Toni Morrison (via Skype), composer Rokia Traoré and Sellars; the second between UC Berkeley scholars Abdul Jan Mohamed (English Department), Tamara Roberts (Music Department) and Darieck Scott (African American Studies); and the final, titled “Africa Speaks,” between Traoré and Sellars. These events are free and open to the public. To learn more, go to calperformances.org.

‘Feast of Words: A Literary Potluck’

SOMArts Cultural Center presents “Feast of Words: A Literary Potluck,” Oct. 18, 6:30-9 p.m., a monthly dinner party where writers and foodies come together to eat, write and share. Join co-hosts Lex Leifheit and Irina Zadov the third Tuesday of each month to discover local chefs and writers, bring a dish on the monthly theme, and share your work to be entered in a drawing for edibles, books and other prizes. Composer, vocalist, and writer Ron Ragin is October’s literary guest. Ragin will read from his upcoming memoir, which traces the history of his family’s ancestral home. Oakland-based performer, choreographer and chef Amara Tabor-Smith, whose performance “Our Daily Bread” celebrates what we eat and illuminates the cultures which underlie our eating practices, will contribute as October’s culinary guest.

The event will also include a short, on-the-spot writing exercise inspired by the theme. The house opens at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18, and space is limited. Tickets are $10 in advance, $5 with a potluck dish, or $12 at the door, cash bar. Purchase tickets online at feastofwords.eventbrite.com.

‘Illuminations: Dia De Los Muertos 2011,’ 12th Annual Day of the Dead exhibit

El Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, exhibition and programming curated by René and Rio Yañez provides a way for people to embrace the beauty of life and to honor the spirits of the dead. Intricate, traditional altars and complex art installations are on display in “Illuminations: Dia de los Muertos 2011” at SOMArts Cultural Center. Visitors are invited to attend the opening reception on Friday, Oct. 7, 6-9 p.m., to enjoy music, interactive performance and the unveiling of over 30 altars and installations. The exhibition is open from Saturday, Oct. 8, through Saturday, Nov. 5, at SOMArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan St., San Francisco.

“Illuminations” also features a collaboration with actor and visual artist Herbert Siguenza of Culture Clash fame. Siguenza has been touring the U.S. in a one-person show called “A Weekend with Pablo Picasso.” In addition to contributing an altar, Siguenza will perform and paint as Picasso during the opening reception on Friday. Oct. 7. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, 12-7p.m., Saturday, 12-5p.m. The opening reception is Friday, Oct. 7, 6-9 p.m., $5-$10 sliding scale, dayofthedead.eventbrite.com. The closing reception is Saturday, Nov. 5, 6-9 p.m., $5-$10 sliding scale, muertos.eventbrite.com.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wsab1@aol.com. Visit her website at http://www.wandaspicks.com/ throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 6-7 a.m. and Fridays at 8-10 a.m., can be heard by phone at (347) 237-4610 and are archived on the Afrikan Sistahs’ Media Network.

The post Wanda’s Picks for October 2011 appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by Wanda Sabir

Congratulations to my niece, Wilda Batin, for being honored by the City of San Francisco in February for Black History Month as one of the children who made the Honor Roll for 2012. My brother has smart children (smile). My condolences to the Shaheed family for their loss. Brother Khalil Shaheed (Jan. 19, 1949-March 23, 2012), founder of Oaktown Jazz Workshop, was a wonderful human being whose presence will be missed. Stay tuned for a community memorial and celebration of his life. Donations can be sent to: http://www.oaktownjazz.org/. Visit http://wandasabir.blogspot.com/ for obits and the audio from the funeral service.

Youth poet laureate call for submissions

The Cities of Oakland and San Francisco are each about to gain new, young and articulate representatives. For the first time ever, the Oakland Public Library and San Francisco Public Library, in partnership with Youth Speaks (the country’s leading nonprofit presenter of spoken word performance, education and youth development programs), are staging competitions that will result in two Youth Poet Laureates, one from each city. The winners will each be honored with $5,000 in scholarships and the opportunity to officially represent their communities through poetry, media, and public appearances. The search for talented young writers (age 13-18) begins Sunday, April 1 – just in time for National Poetry Month – when judges will begin accepting submissions. The deadline for all submissions is May 15. Finalists will be announced in early July, and the winners will be announced in September. Youth, parents and teachers can learn more and apply online, at www.youthspeaks.org/2012poetlaureate. Help sessions for applicants will be held in late April and early May. For more information, contact Amy Sonnie at (510) 238-7233.

Oakland International Film Festival

The Oakland International Film Festival is Friday-Sunday, April 6-8, at the Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Street, Oakland. Visit http://www.oiff.org/2012schedule.pdf. This year’s headliner is one of the most controversial independent films ever made, “The Spook Who Sat by the Door.” Written by Sam Greenlee, “The Spook Who Sat by the Door” tells the story of an FBI agent who uses his experience in the FBI to educate and mobilize gangs in the hood to start a revolution. When the film was released in 1973, it was removed from the theaters by the FBI. “The Spook Who Sat by the Door” closes out the festival, screening Sunday, April 8, 6:30-9 p.m. (Want to see it again? It’s posted at the end of Wanda’s Picks.) Writer Sam Greenlee will be present for the question and answer session.

This year’s festival themes are Made in Oakland, Black in Oakland and Healthy Economics. They are meant to work together to make things Big in Oakland. Made in Oakland represents films we are showcasing that are made in Oakland and/or made by someone from Oakland. Black in Oakland represents networking the film community of Oakland to move our economy out of the Red into the Black. Healthy Economics represents utilizing the audience to increase volunteerism in Oakland to improve our schools and communities.

Come out and support your favorite filmmaker and discover some great films you’ll be talking about for years. A plethora of great films awaits you. For tickets and all the details, go to www.oiff.org.

Hear the Cry II

April is Rape Awareness Month. I remember many years ago, on a Good Friday, drizzle present, the sky gray, the day cold, hundreds of people gathered in front of Oakland City Hall, 14th Street and Frank Ogawa Plaza, to bring attention to sexually exploited and trafficked minors in Oakland. It was a good thing to do on Good Friday, a day that marks the death of something followed by rebirth. Wouldn’t it be great if the instance of sexual exploitation and trafficking of minors was significantly impacted by what we do collectively in gatherings such as Hear the Cry. At Hear the Cry I, Assemblyman Sandre Swanson shared recently passed legislation which made conviction of perpetrators swifter with stuffer sentences, and in Oakland another official spoke about the decriminalization of the children who are victims and should be protected from harm, not blamed for its occurrence. Three hundred candles will be lit for the children’s lives. The program is 5-7 p.m. For information, call (510) 482-4656 or visit www.vooakland.org.

Pearl Cleage’s ‘Blues for an Alabama Sky’

Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s “Blues for an Alabama Sky” by Pearl Cleage, directed by Michele Shay, featuring Robert Gossett (TNT’s The Closer), opens April 7, with previews April 4-6. It’s a classic story of doomed love, set during the Harlem Renaissance, rich with history, culture, music and dreams. The run at Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, 450 Post St., San Francisco, is through May 12. Visit www.lhtsf.org or call (415) 474-8800.

Stopping Our Silence (SOS): Silencing the Inner Critic

This third annual healing conference and performance, hosted by Lyric Dance and Vocal Ensemble and Osun 07 Fashions, is Saturday-Sunday, April 14-15, at On Stage Studio (Kids N’Dance), 3840 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, (510) 434-6773, stoppingoursilence@gmail.com, Facebook.com/StoppingOurSilence. Saturday, April 14, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. there is a free conference, followed at 7 p.m. by a performance for mature audiences. To listen to an interview with presenters, visit http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2012/03/23/wandas-picks-radio-show.

‘Love Balm for My SpiritChild’: Bay Area mothers use theatre of witness to fight for justice for murdered children

“Love Balm for My SpiritChild: Testimonies of Healing Justice through Mothers’ Memory” is a four-part healing performance workshop series that celebrates the spirit of commemorative justice in mothers. The “Love Balm” performance features testimonies from the mothers and grandmothers of Kenneth Harding Jr., Oscar Grant III, Kerry Baxter Jr., Christopher La Vell Jones, Daniel Booker and more. The performances will take place at The Black Dot Cafe in West Oakland on April 14 and 21 at 2 p.m. Tickets are sliding scale: $7-$20 at the door. The performances are encores of the original reading at Eastside Arts Alliance in January 2012.

Floyd Pellom’s 57th Street Gallery

Dr. Terence Elliott, an accomplished pianist, composer and producer as well as an educator of humanities and music, performs at the 57th Street Gallery, 57th Street and Telegraph in Oakland, Saturday, April 28, 8:30-11 p.m., with Greg Simmons, bass; Mike Spencer, drums. The doors open at 5 p.m. Admission is $15.

Bower Hammer Skins, a Bay Area based jazz quartet featuring vocalist Raja, Herb Ruffin on keyboards, Karese Young on viola and Mike “Phat Foot” McCoy on drums, performs originals and jazz standards Sunday, April 29, 6-9 p.m.; doors open at 5 p.m. Admission is $12-$15. For information, call (510) 654-6974, email Contact@57thStreetGallery.com or visit www.57thStreetGallery.com.

Quijeremá

Quijeremá will be performing with special guest guitarist Alex de Grassi at Yoshi’s Jack London Square, Thursday, April 12, at Yoshi’s Oakland. For more information, visit http://www.quijerema.com.

‘Down the Congo Line’

Dimensions Dance Theatre presents “Down the Congo Line,” an evening of dance choreographed by LaTanya Tigner and Isaura Oliveira and directed by Dimensions Dance Theater artistic director Deborah Vaughan on Saturday, April 14, 8 p.m., at the Malonga Casquelourde Center, 1428 Alice St. at 14th Street, Oakland. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, children under 18 $15, available through www.brownpapertickets.com or at the Malonga Center, Dimensions Dance Theater office, third floor, Monday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. For information, call (510) 465-3363 or visit www.dimensionsdance.org.

The performance at Diamano Coura’s Collage des Africains was just a smidgen, just a taste; the full production will have live music provided by MJ’s Brass Boppers, Katrina Diaspora Survivors living in the Bay, plus Kiazi Malonga, lead drummer for Fua Dia Congo with other drummers from his troupe and Abel Damasceno Moura and Vinicius Oliveira accompanied by other percussionists. Listen to an extended interview with the choreographers and DDT director at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2012/03/16/wandas-picks-radio-show.

‘John Brown’s Truth’

Musically improvised theatre, William Crossman’s “John Brown’s Truth,” directed by Michael Lange, is back for a three consecutive Sunday run, April 15, 22 and 29, 7:30 p.m., at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, (510) 849-2568, ext. 20. Crossman’s work uses Afro-Caribbean, jazz, European classical, spoken word and dance to tell the story of abolitionist John Brown’s anti-slavery raid on Virginia 150 years ago. Visit www.johnbrownstruthmusical.com.

One Life Institute’s Spirit Sound Silence Retreat

Gather for a day of spiritual renewal, inspiration and healing surrounded by the beauty of nature. Retreats are held quarterly and meet on a Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., 9:30 arrival and registration. This next one is April 21 at Holy Redeemer Center, 8945 Golf Links Rd., Oakland. A hidden oasis at the foot of the Oakland Hills, it is three tenths of a mile west of the intersection of Highway 580 and 98th Avenue. As you enter the wooded property and drive over the creek, look for the large meeting hall on your right. Visit http://www.onelifeinstitute.org/retreats.html.

Listen to an interview with Dr. Liza who, along with the OneLife Angel Team, facilitate the retreat at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2011/10/26/wandas-picks-special-wrevliza-j-rankow-destiny-harpist. Destiny Muhammad, the “Harpist from the Hood,” also in the interview, is the musical inspiration. Tuition is based on a sliding scale $35-$100, more if you can, less if you can’t – no one turned away for lack of funds. Scholarships are available. Advance RSVP requested for planning purposes. Email OneLife at onelife@onelifeinstitute.org.

Black Panther Party at the Oakland Public Library, plus other programming

April 7, “Let Us Not Forget: History and Art by Black Panther Party Minister of Culture Emory Douglas” is at the West Oakland Branch Library, 1801 Adeline St., Oakland, (510) 238-7352, 1-4 p.m.

Also at the Oakland Public Library: April 20, E-Government Made Easy: Learn how to navigate government resources online, Main Library, 10-11:30 a.m.; April 25, Mysterious Places, an evening with best-selling mystery writers Cara Black, Rys Bowen and Owen Steinhauer, Main Library, 6-8 p.m.; April 28, Lunch Bucket Paradise, a book talk with author Fred Setterberg, Dimond Branch, 2-3:30 p.m. The link to Oakland Public Library events is http://www.eventkeeper.com/code/events.cfm?curOrg=OAKLAND http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/PR/pr032812youth_poet_loreate.pdf.

Community Forum on Solitary Confinement

“The Outer Limits of Solitary Confinement: A Public Forum to Support the California Prisoner Hunger Strike” is Friday, April 6, 6-8 p.m., at UC Hastings College of the Law, Louis B. Mayer Lounge, 198 McAllister St., San Francisco.

This free San Francisco event, organized by the International Coalition to Free the Angola 3 and co-hosted by the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal and the Hastings chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, will mark 40 years of solitary confinement for Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox of the Angola 3 by exploring the expansion and overuse of solitary confinement and mobilizing support for the Amnesty International petition to remove them from solitary confinement and support for the California Hunger Strikers. There’s a keynote with Angola 3’s Robert H. King, two films and additional speakers.

The International Coalition to Free the Angola 3 stands in solidarity with the courageous prisoners who recently initiated hunger strikes throughout California prisons, www.prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/. The event will examine how the torture and wrongful convictions of the Angola 3 are part of a much larger problem throughout U.S. prisons. With presentations from several speakers involved with supporting the hunger strikers, the audience will be presented with many ways in which they too can lend their support in the fight against solitary confinement and other forms of torture in California prisons.

The keynote speaker will be Robert H. King of the Angola 3, who was released in 2001 when his conviction was overturned, after 29 years of continuous solitary confinement. King says today that “being in prison, in solitary was terrible. It was a nightmare. My soul still cries from all that I witnessed and endured. It does more than cry; it mourns, continuously.”

Since his release, Robert H. King has worked tirelessly to support the other two members of the Angola 3, Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox, who have been in solitary confinement since April 17, 1972. This coming April 17, which marks the 40th anniversary of their solitary confinement, King will be joined by Amnesty International and other supporters at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge to present Amnesty International’s petition to Gov. Bobby Jindal demanding that Wallace and Woodfox be immediately released from solitary confinement. Read more about Amnesty International’s Angola 3 campaign, here: http://www.amnestyusa.org/angola3.

At the UC Hastings event, King will talk about the Amnesty International petition demanding transfer from solitary and the broader struggle to release Wallace and Woodfox from prison altogether. Interviewed in a recent video by Amnesty International (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kotf68mrqCI), King says about Wallace and Woodfox: “All evidence shows that they were targeted simply for being members of the Black Panther Party. There is really no evidence, forensic, physical or otherwise, linking them to the crime. When I think about the 10 years in which I’ve had time to be out here, that is 10 more years that they are there.”

In their investigative report (http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/usa-100-years-in-solitary-the-angola-3-and-their-fight-for-justice), Amnesty International similarly concluded that “no physical evidence links Woodfox and Wallace to the murder.” Even further: “Potentially favorable DNA evidence was lost. The convictions were based on questionable inmate testimony … It seems prison officials bribed the main eyewitness into giving statements against the men. Even the widow of the prison guard has expressed skepticism, saying in 2008, ‘If they did not do this – and I believe that they didn’t – they have been living a nightmare for 36 years!’”

Additional speakers will include:

• Hans Bennett, independent journalist and co-founder of Journalists for Mumia
• Terry Kupers, professor at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California
• Manuel La Fontaine, Northern California regional organizer for All of Us or None
• Aaron Mirmalek, Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee, Oakland
• Kiilu Nyasha, independent journalist and former member of the Black Panther Party
• Tahtanerriah Sessoms-Howell, youth organizer for All of Us Or None
• Luis “Bato” Talamantez, California Prison Focus and one of the San Quentin 6
• Azadeh Zohrabi, co-editor-in-chief of the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal

In addition, two short films will be featured: “The Gray Box: A Multimedia Investigation” by Susan Greene, The Dart Society, and “Cruel and Unusual Punishment” by Claire Schoen, for the AFSC Stopmax Campaign.

Event notes: Hastings is on the corner of Hyde and McAllister, two blocks from the Civic Center BART station. The Hyde Street side entrance is wheelchair accessible. Refreshments will be served and signed books will be for sale. This event is free and open to the public. Donations for prisoner support will be gratefully accepted.

More SF Bay Area events with Robert H. King:

• Let Us Not Forget: Honor Fallen Comrades and Political Prisoners, Saturday, April 7, 1 p.m., West Oakland Library, 1801 Adeline St., www.itsabouttimebpp.com. For more information, call (916) 455-0908.

• Oakland International Film Festival, Sunday, April 8, 3 p.m., Oakland Museum, 1000 Oak St., at 10th Street, http://www.oiff.org/. King will be speaking in conjunction with a screening of the new British documentary about the Angola 3, entitled “In The Land of the Free…”

On the fly

The Stage Bridge Senior Theater Storytelling Concert is Sunday, April 29, 3:30 p.m., $10-$12, at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. Visit www.lapena.org. Jon Fromer with Friends and Family performs April 21, 8 p.m., also at La Peña Cultural Center. Julia Chigamba and Chinyakare Ensemble with special guest, Musekiwa Chingodza, are at Ashkenaz Music and Dance Center, 1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley, Saturday, April 7, 9 p.m. Visit www.ashkenaz.com. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door.

First Annual Bay Area Community College HIV/AIDS Hip Hop Showcase is April 12, 6-9 p.m., Laney College Theatre, 900 Fallon St., Oakland. For information, call (510) 689-3967 or email hiphop4hiv@gmail.com. Keith Josef Adkins’ “The Final Days of Negro-Ville,” a part of the Rough Reading Series April 16-17, to present early drafts of new plays by rising national playwrights. Come every month, on a consecutive Monday or Tuesday evening to witness a new play in the making! Visit http://playwrightsfoundation.org/index.php?p=53. To RSVP email rsvp@playwrightsfoundation.org or call (415) 626-2176. Readings are free with a suggested $10 donation. To attend Stanford readings, email davidg1@stanford.edu.

Cal Performances: Sunday, April 1, 2012, Keith Jarrett performs at 8 p.m. in Zellerbach Auditorium at UC Berkeley. The concert celebrates the release of his newest solo piano CD “Rio,” recorded live in concert in April 2011 and considered by Jarrett to be his best solo piano recording since The Köln Concert. Thursday, April 19, 8 p.m., Seun Kuti with EGYPT 80. There will be a free preconcert talk in the lobby at 7 p.m. hosted by Chuy Varela, music director of KCSM radio. Visit http://www.calperfs.berkeley.edu/performances/2011-12/world-stage/seun-kuti-felas-egypt-80.php.

Cuttingball Theatre presents “The Tenderloin” by Annie Elias with the company directed by Annie Elias April 27-May 27. In this ethnography, the denizens of this historic yet blighted area of San Francisco get to have their say, much the same way director Paige Bierma gives voice to the same population in her short film, “A Brush with the Tenderloin,” which chronicles muralist Mona Caron’s work, a mural that incorporates a bit of history mixed with currency and future hope. Visit http://abrushwiththetenderloin.com/ and http://cache.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2011/10/05/wandas-picks-radio-show.

SFJAZZ presents Sierra Maestra on April 4, 7:30 p.m., at YBCA Forum in San Francisco; Anoushka Snakar presents “Traveller: A Raga-Flamenco Journey,” Thursday, April 19, at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco; Charles Lloyd New Quartet featuring Maria Farntouri, Sunday, April 22, 7 p.m., at the Herbst Theatre; Paco de Lucía is at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, Friday, April 27, 8 p.m. Visit www.sfjazz.org for the complete lineup.

‘The Old Settler’: a review

John Henry Redwood’s play, “The Old Settler,” at the Black Repertory Group Theatre has been extended April 5-8, Thursday-Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 3 and 8 p.m. to Easter Sunday, 5 p.m. Produced for Women’s History Month, this play looks at the relationships between three generations of women, ironically attached to the apron strings of one Husband Witherspoon (actor Clarence “Ray” Johnson Jr.). It is a play that looks at honor and fidelity, kinship, especially that between women that society judges past their prime, as if value could be judged by shelf life or refrigeration – neither the case in the 1940s when one kept items cold with blocks of ice. But I digress.

It’s directed by Tico “Choir Boy” Wells, one of the original cast members when the play opened at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, N.J., and the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Conn., in 1997. The original production was directed by Walter Dallas. Since then the play has been performed numerous times, including a television production with Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad. The play, which boasts a stellar cast in this production, looks at what happens when one migrates North, where often, as is the case with the youngest woman, Lou Bessie (Tavia Percia), there is no one waiting for you. The opposite is true for Quilly (Paula Martin), whose sister Elizabeth provides shelter for her younger sister in Harlem when their mother dies and the younger sister relocates.

I’ve seen several interpretations of “Old Settler” and until the current production at Black Rep, I didn’t know there was another way to play it. In the capable hands of the current cast with first one then another director, the newest Dr. Arletha “Angel” Lands, who also appears as Elizabeth, Lou Bessie’s rival, the play, which is about an older woman who rents a room to a young man and the two fall in love, is deepened when actor Clarence Ray Johnson Jr.’s “Husband” conveys a genuine love for Elizabeth and the decision reached about their relationship more hers than his. This not only allows Elizabeth’s character more control and a way to save face; it also leaves space for the two sisters to reclaim their severed ties.

Is the playwright hinting here that sisterhood is a stronger bond than any transitory or temporal relationship with a man, young or old? Is he also saying, in his juxtaposition of a young hot thing, Lou Bessie, and Elizabeth, who reminds Husband of his recently deceased mother, that when one changes, loses the values which build strong character, then one loses herself, which is what happens to Lou Bessie, who compromises, perhaps even leases if not sells her soul, to stay in her beloved Harlem. Husband refuses to follow her lead, even if he seems to follow her everywhere else.

People take a lot when they are lonely; they are also extremely vulnerable when they are alone as well. Elizabeth is prime for the take, yet this Husband is gentle with her and I appreciate that, especially in 2012 when the “Old Settler Factor” is real for a lot of women who are getting infected with HIV disease, losing their homes and possessions to men younger than they. And then there is Lou Bessie, who one cannot altogether fault for playing her cards right to get with the in crowd, even if that means sleeping with her child’s father, Bucket, at night, while cleaning for a white woman by day. She latches onto Husband, flattered he came North to find her. She also knows he has land and money, so why not play the country hick. But Clarence Ray Johnson Jr.’s character might be from a small town, but he certainly is not small minded or as naïve or in love as she thinks. A single mother, whose child is being raised by her mother back home, Bessie aka Charmaine seems to be careening along in a caboose without a driver.

Just because one is called an old settler, and in Elizabeth’s case “an old, old settler,” does not mean the woman is willing to “settle.” She is excited and in love, but she is not a fool. Perhaps if John Henry Redwood had pushed the envelope and let the affair work out as it might have if set in another place or time. One wonders if, when there is a span of over 10 years between partners, is it love or lust or usury or a little of both?

The set and sound design are also really wonderful. Black Repertory Group Theatre is located at 3201 Adeline St., Berkeley. For information, call (510) 652-2120. Visit http://blackrepertorygroup.com/Main_Stage.html.

‘Soldier’ (2000) by June Jordan: a book review

Last month was the 20th anniversary celebration of June Jordan’s Poetry for the People. Held at UC Berkeley, the organizational home where it resides in the African American History Department, it was a wonderful two days if one could get through the floods and torrential rain that opening Friday night. Hosted by Aya de Leon, poet, teacher and new administrator of the program, with alternating P4P alumni or current students who hosted workshops and shared poetry. The two days culminated with a performance and reading with Patricia Smith, and of course an all-star Bay Area line-up.

Since then, I have been reading June Jordan; I ordered “the Blueprint,” short for June Jordan’s “Poetry for the People: A Revolutionary Blueprint,” as well as another copy of her memoir, “Soldier.” I am going to make my way through her collections of essays and poetry, my goal to have read her entire body of work by summer’s end. I have just been feeling like poetry lately, June Jordan’s in particular, but Climbing PoeTree with Alixa and Naima at the Lyricist Lounge at La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley a couple of weeks ago was mind altering, just as the 20th anniversary of June Jordan’s P4P was.

In fact, some of the poets there were also at UC Berkeley that weekend, folks like Ariel Luckey. Perhaps I have always liked June because her name is my birth month, warm days into heat waves, short days running endurance races with one another – until the winner is crowned equinox. Her name is the beginning of personal droughts and a reminder to drink water, June is Flag Day and Father’s Day – father a nebulous entity for both of us – June is just before summer fun really begins. It is an anomaly, both a crab and a twin, air and water, masculine and feminine.

I start my journey with “Soldier: A Poet’s Childhood” by June Jordan. I remain transfixed – the life narrated here is so amazing and horrific at the same time, yet I can hardly put it down. It is an intensely quick read. When I was just half way through, I didn’t think little June would make it to 12 – a short event-filled childhood.

Her dad wanted a boy, so given a girl he was still determined to treat her like a boy. She was his helper on building projects around the house. He took her deep sea fishing at 2 a.m. in the morning – she the only girl on the boat and he beat her daily, waking her from sleep with punches. He taught her to spar and if her guard was down, he’d knock her flat on her back. This same father also took her to the symphony and to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He taught her to look people, even adults, in the eyes and to stand up straight, to throw her shoulders back and walk confidently and proudly, even if the only people she saw walk like this were white.

Jordan’s descriptions of her neighborhood in Brooklyn contrasted with that in Harlem where her family lived before her dad bought a house which brought with it childhood illnesses for June. She had a timeline, before Harlem and after – the before always a better time, a time when her mother and father seemed happier. In Brooklyn she learned the word “sacrifice” and hated its sound and rhythm. She also hated the term “first,” as in first Black child to attend the Robin Hood Summer Camp or Midwood High or the girls’ prep school, Northfield, where she was the only Black child. She says:

“There were 1,500 students standing outside that school, and I was the ‘only’ one. / I didn’t like it. / I felt small. / I felt outnumbered. / I was surrounded by ‘them.’ / And there was no ‘we.’ / There was only me. / I didn’t like it. / And because I’d been skipped two years ahead, I was like a pint-sized mascot to my class: I was 12 years old and a sophomore, and the whole thing felt wrong” (pp. 248-249).

Her mother tries arguing with her husband about his fascination with white people. One of the only times she challenged his beliefs, he slapped her so hard, June ran down the stairs to rescue her.

She writes that she never had to do anything except read and study: no cooking, cleaning, even making her bed. June’s brilliant cousin Valerie stayed with their family. Valerie could play the piano and was good in school too. She also looked just like June’s beautiful mother. Yet, despite the beatings, June seemed to have enough pleasant moments during childhood to make it happy.

I kept thinking she was going to grow up and kill her mean father, but she just takes the abuse. She asks for a gun, she starts sleeping with a knife, but the beatings continue. When she reports her father to the police, they tell her to be a “good girl.” She falls in love often – this daring, resilient, brilliant little girl who uses the pronoun “he” to describe herself – girls like June always win. However each notch on her belt is measured in light years or a pound of her flesh.

I don’t understand why her mother married this man or why she lets him continue to beat her child. Why she doesn’t leave, why she doesn’t tell someone is a mystery all the way to the end. Later in the book we meet Valerie’s mother and stepfather, Uncle Teddy, who went to law school. Uncle Teddy provides a buffer for June, but he treats her like a boy too and ridicules Valerie, his step-daughter, for being a girl.

I love the passages where Jordan speaks about listening to language a different way, her economic enterprises –she wins a poetry contest and learns that she could start a business, writing poems for her friends. I also appreciate her childhood rationale for the brutality she sees and witnesses from her father and from the police when they knock all her neighbor’s teeth out when they don’t believe he lives where he says he lives – sound familiar? I also appreciate June’s rationale and continued affection for her mother when her mother also starts knocking her down without warning.

She writes about going to the Dodgers games to see the handsome Jackie Robinson. She says her parents “acted like the Dodgers were going to save the world. They’d hired Jackie. … And Jackie could play, couldn’t he? Nothing was impossible anymore. And if Jackie hit a home run, then the shouts and pounding feet could wake the dead” (247).

Despite all this, Jordan recalled how long a bus ride it took to find a good grocery store or fruit stand. She also writes about the first Black laundromat and how exciting it was to have such a business in the neighborhood. She writes about broken promises and straight As on report cards. “Soldier” is quite the journey, and the voice, the voice is that of a little girl trying to learn her way through a mine field littered with cluster bombs, which go off too frequently. “Soldier” is the story of immigration and how one family lives with the Pan African dissonance that occurs between the two cultures, American and Caribbean, as represented by Jordan’s father and Uncle Teddy, two seemingly different, yet very similar men.

“Soldier” looks at beauty coupled with the African American color complex. June was told often she was not beautiful, so she had to use her brain, but the little boys whom June liked told her otherwise. Perhaps the most endearing aspect of “Soldier” is the author’s ability to juxtapose the good with the bad, more often than not, these attributes never the property of one single character, which made these “good character” slips all the more surprising. June’s maternal grandparents offered a continuity for June not present anywhere else. Her grandmother and grandfather modeled a patience and love for family June could wrap up and sleep next to at night, offer a seat to at the breakfast table, or hold in her pocket when she needed an ace to win yet another battle, a lone soldier on the field.

55th Annual San Francisco International Film Festival April 19-May 3

What is it about a love story that pulls one in? Is it the lovely people, the tragedy our love of weeping while guests in another person’s tragedy? Right, it can always be worse that what we let on, so we learn to let go. Artistically inclined, filmmaker Terence Nance mends his heart over a treatment and then short film, “How Would You Feel?” This film becomes the catalyst for the runaway hit at Sundance, where the director both won best film for his first feature, “The Oversimplification of Her Beauty,” he also wowed the audiences with his live musical performance. What I loved about the film which still intrigues me was its nonlinear format and the musicality of its imagery, whether it is cartoon, claymation, or black and white or color, documentary format or surrealism. At one point, when granted I was lost, I just admired its artistry and beauty. “Oversimplification” is a lovely work – filled with people who are Black and beautiful. Now, how often does one see a film like that?

As the protagonist takes us on his internal journey, he occasionally stops to catch us up, since this treatment is both a film and a novel – and a class project. It gets messy and when it does, stay with it and just let the images take you where they will – what’s important to the narrative will make sense. Boy meets girl. Girl likes boy. They break up because from what I can glean, he doesn’t know how to tell her what’s on his heart. I don’t know if his exploration via the film helps or not, but I think it will help audiences who might be stuck in a similar space where nothing is simple in love, but it’s not complicated either (smile).

This is not a documentary, but it is based on something that happened to the director, and the woman in the film is actually the woman in his heart at one point. But then, I could be totally wrong. “An Oversimplification” is rightly titled and as such defies description. You have to go see it for yourself. On his website, the director has other films, shorts, which he is not thinking of making into features. There is one, “Clap,” I highly recommend, given Trayvon Martin and the child who inspired the work, Aiyana Jones, a 7-year-old girl murdered and burned alive by the police in Detroit, Michigan. The work “Clap” is Pharoahe Monch’s first visual from W.A.R. (We Are Renegades). Visit http://media.mvmt.com/2011/03/14/clap-a-short-film/. The director and I had a wonderful conversation Friday, March 30, about “An Oversimplification,” “Clap” and the film he is working on presently, music and his album coming out soon. Visit http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2012/03/30/wandas-picks-radio-show.

The film, which has its California premiere at the 55th Annual San Francisco International Film Festival, April 22, 8:30 p.m. at Pacific Film Archive, will screen three more times in San Francisco at the Sundance Kabuki: Monday, April 30, 9 p.m., Tuesday, May 1, 12:15 p.m., and Wednesday, May 2, 4 p.m. The director will be in town for the San Francisco screenings and for the Sacramento International Film Festival, also this month. Visit http://www.sffs.org/ and http://www.sacramentofilmfestival.com/.

Check back later for other recommendations for the SFIFF.

‘Black Flight: Our Sojourn. Our Connections. Our Stories’

“Black Flight” is in the Hall of Culture, Third Floor, 762 Fulton St., San Francisco, through Sunday, June 17. I enjoyed walking through this exhibit during and after intermission at the African American Shakespeare production, “Julius Caesar.” Phenomenal production. I perused the Black Dolls exhibition first, which appealed to me in varying degrees. Uneven, the dolls which used craftsmanship appealed to me more. There were just too many Cabbage Patch dolls and others like this, which while certainly a part of a collection, left out the more obscure dolls like Little Souls, the pendant dolls in a locket I had which one could wear around her neck, the child size doll I got when I was maybe 6 or 7. I could hold her hand and walk with her, the Chatty Cathy – older and younger – which I owned as well.

I was a doll collector and I gave away my collection when I reached 18 and got married and moved away from home. Since then, I have started a new collection, so while this show, curated by Neshormeh Lindo, has its virtues, the breadth is limited especially given the huge Black doll craftswomen who host a show yearly in the fall in Oakland. There one can see Black dolls going back to the early 19th century, as well as craftwomanship featuring both abstract and classical Pan African dolls of all sizes and shapes and materials. I have purchased a few and received others as presents. Some of these dolls made from cornhusks remind me of the wooden dolls I have from Quilombos in Brazil.

Upstairs though, I was amazed by the wonderful photography and murals looking at the African presence throughout the world, in places like Vietnam and Germany. While most of the photographs were on the wall, there were several artists whose work was installed as slide shows. I really loved the one with work from the artist’s trip to Haiti. I loved the photographs from Congo, South Asia, Mexico, and my daughter, TaSin Yasmin’s photographs of her work in Madagascar. Dr. Marcus Lorenzo Penn’s photographs of Ghana are at this point iconographic given the many exhibitions they have graced since the one at the African American Center at the San Francisco Main Library many years ago, the Float Gallery in Oakland and last year’s Maafa event at the Oakland Main Library, where we had a Teen Poetry Reading and a screening of “Traces of the Trade.”

Dr. Penn’s photographs are so lovely, and when one thinks about Ghana, his imagery inevitably comes to mind. The exhibition is a beautiful statement about the beauty that is Pan Africa. I wish there were on-going conversations between the artists and the public throughout the exhibit in response to the query the curator posited: Where are we going? What is carrying us across the waters? How do we define this new expatriate experience, not to mention the cultural connections these artists from America made on their trips and the stories these photos hold. All exhibitions are FREE and open to the public Tuesday-Saturday, 12 noon-5 p.m.

All of Us or None at OMCA

At the Oakland Museum of California, see “All of Us or None: Social Justice Posters of the San Francisco Bay Area” and “The 1968 Exhibit,” both up March 31-Aug. 19. Visit www.museumca.org or call (510) 318-8453. A film series, “Final Fridays,” starts April 27, 8:30-10:30 p.m. Also on Final Fridays from 5-9 p.m. are OMCA Summer Nights, with half price admission and, from April to July, Amoeba Records DJs spinning hits from 1968.

I completely missed the press preview, but I informed Kelly, the publicist, that I might not make it – it’s too hard getting to an event on a Friday after a radio broadcast. It involves a lot of preparation and then the actual production I am literally sitting on needles until it is over, no matter how early I woke up to prepare, how well the conversation is going technically and in the studio, I enjoy the shows more once I can sit back and just listen to the podcast. So I arrive and there are these busloads of kids inside. I find out that it is a national day of dance at museums and this cast of artists is about to dance down the stairs and throughout the open galleries – hm, can I watch this and visit the exhibit?

Adam gives me an imperceptible nod, which makes me rethink my priorities. I pass on the dance production, but I was certainly tempted. Later on that evening at Sheena Johnson’s opening night performance, where I saw Raissa Simpson, director, PUSH Dance Company, I learned that she was one of the dancers at OM, and I missed her – darn! She has something big coming up in May, “Jewels in the Square,” in San Francisco. Stay tuned.

Anyway I visited “All of Us or None,” guest curated by James Comisar, first. For those who were there and perhaps recall the posters, this will be a nostalgic stroll through memory lane. True to the new Oakland Museum mission, there are iPod kiosks where patrons can log access posters and add lore to the narrative, especially where they first saw it and who painted it – like an OM Wikilinks. Visit www.the1968exhibit.org.

In the center of the gallery, there is a workshop space where printmakers will set up shop and demonstrate printmaking techniques and give away the posters. I recognized many posters and artists by name. Many of the images were humorous. I recall a similar exhibit years ago at SFMOMA on music.

When one arrives at the end of a press preview, she misses all the special talks by luminaries like Comisar and the curator from the Minnesota History Center where “1968” originated. The exhibition will be traveling the country through 2014. The open gallery is where one can trace the events monthly before entering the exhibit which, though labeled, is rather difficult at times to decide – what month is this? Where am I? The medical helicopter has recorded narratives of four soldiers who speak about the war while actual footage cycles on a screen behind the gurney. When one looks up and sees the span of the helicopter wings, one thinks of the TV show MASH, which I didn’t know was actually filmed in California.

Not far away there is a TV room where one can sit on pillows (I think) and watch old shows like Bewitched, the film, “The Planet of the Apes” and other shows like The Brady Bunch. TV Guides paper the installation, which looks like the inside of Dick Clark’s American Bandstand studio. The Republican National Convention is there, and I remember Chairman Bobbie Seale’s being chained in the trial known as the Chicago 8. His run for president is also shown in the exhibit, as is Black Panther Party memorabilia circa 1968.

What I really like in “1968” is the section where the helicopter sits; near the door there is a shot of Arlington Cemetery, where graves dot a landscape, an actual grave marker there in the installation. What is remarkable is the way the light and camera imagery interact to give one a variety of views, from personal to national – the cost of war in lives. This exhibit certainly does not celebrate conflict, given the variety of voices present in an exhibition where two national heroes were killed, RFK and Dr. Martin King. The train that took his body from New York to D.C. shows in photographs the sorrow this nation felt over the death of this man.

Now contrast this installation, which has photographs taken from the train in a slide projection – with the pew where one can sit and watch Martin King give his last speech, and then see the place where he was killed, the funeral procession and his young family. There is even a copy of the Obsequies dated April 9, 1968, 10:30 a.m. Ebenezer Baptist Church, 2 p.m. the campus of Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia, on display. Strong imagery.

Both exhibitions make one think about the past in a new way, and it is great that so many public programs are planned to give the community an opportunity to express their views as they engage one another in a discourse that places the issues addressed in the political posters and in the 1968 political discourse in another context. What have we learned from the past, if anything, that could eliminate the need to retrace the trek of discontent, disillusion and defeat? 1968 was an election year. There is a voter machine that one can use to elect the candidate of one’s choice.

I also like the simulation of the Apollo space capsule, the news coverage yet another multimedia aspect of this thoughtful and well-constructed exhibition from January: “The Living Room War”; February: “We’re Losing The War,” Lounge – TV and Movies; March: “The Generation Gap”; April: “I Have Been to the Mountaintop”; May: “I Am Somebody”; June: “The Death of Hope” Lounge – Music; July: “Love It or Leave It”; August: “Welcome to Chicago”; September: “Sisterhood is Powerful” Lounge – Style; October: “Power to the People.” A key object here is the torch from the 1968 Olympics and an American Indian Movement jean jacket. November: “The Votes Are In” – key objects: voting booth, Nixon buttons. Although Kennedy is winning in Oakland (OM 2012), he loses nationally. December: “In the Beginning.” We come full circle as we enter a room decorated the same as that in the January section. What does this mean? We’ve traveled 12 months, 365 days and it is as if we never left home. Scary thought.

In California there are a number of notable moments, among them Jan. 6: The first adult human-to-human heart transplant operation in the United States is performed at Stanford University Medical Center. Johnny Cash backed by June Carter, Carl Perkins and the Tennessee Three, performs his famous concert at Folsom prison Jan. 13. Feb. 12, Eldridge Cleaver published “Soul on Ice.” The film “Easy Rider” goes into production, completed by summer. March 5 is the date of a walkout by Mexican American students at two Los Angeles high schools, which set in motion a massive protest movement for Chicano studies and bilingual education. Luis Rodriguez, award-winning author of “Always Running: La Vida Loca,” “Gang Days in L.A.” and the recent, “It Calls You Back: An Odyssey Through Love, Addiction,” is one of the leaders of this movement.

Significant dates in California during March and April 1968 are

· March 10, Cesar Chavez ends a 25-day fast in Delano, California, in protest of the violence against striking migrant farm workers.

· April 6, two days after Martin King is assassinated, Bobby Hutton is killed in a police shootout at de Fremery Park, West Oakland.

· April 10, at the annual Oscar ceremony in L.A., the drama, “In the Heat of the Night,” is named Best Picture of 1967. It starred Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger and Warren Oates and was directed by Norman Jewison.

‘Rebel Home Dance’: a review

Congratulations to Sheena Johnson, artistic director of “Rebel Home Dance,” for her fantastic show, “Land/Home,” which featured new work and a reprise of older work with artistic collaborators Chris Evans and David Boyce in “Freedom Study #2,” which featured Chris in a solo projected scene dancing in tree landscape, before joining Sheena on stage in a sound sculpture peopled with human and instrumental voices answering the question: When have you felt the most free?

This lovely work, which was a part of the Black Choreographers Here and Now a couple of years ago, felt new in the intimate and cozy Temescal Art Center in Oakland. “Yellow House Project: Beauty,” the choreographer’s tribute to the memory of her great uncle Billy and the home in Erie, Pennsylvania, which was destroyed – a metaphor for Uncle Billy’s life, destroyed by Sheena’s great grandmother, Ida Sue Brown, due to misguided Christian beliefs that her son’s queer sensibilities were somehow wrong. Sheena asks in this work performed by the amazing dancer and choreographer, Atasiea (aka Kenneth L. Fergusin): “As a queer person, what can I learn of love, loving and being loved by discovering and re-imagining my Uncle Billy?” Atasiea was one of the choreographers honored at Destiny’s “Toy Story,” closing weekend at Laney College last month. “Toy Story” was pretty phenomenal! I sat in the balcony, so when the dancers went aerial, it was as if they were flying just outside my window. Kudos to the writers!

Did I mention in the “Yellow House” piece that I was lucky enough to sit behind Chris Evans as she played the cello? Nice! “Land/Home,” the work we were looking forward to, was set in a wasteland, large pebbles on the floor along with broken rock – the surface the size of a man’s foot. Performers and choreographers: Sheena, Byb Chanel Biben, m.a. brooks, Jochelle Elise Perena and Jasmine Vassar. The installation artist was Ernest Jolly and the music, Aretha Franklin, John Legend and Ben Harper. I hope this work will get another performance – the questions posed about land and home in a disappearing landscape – if one’s home is sinking into the ocean or the air is polluted along with the soil so one has no way to sustain oneself, what happens? The dancers work together and then solo – each embodying a different question: What is the Promised Land, if one is displaced? Is lost permanent? Where is one’s homeland? In a conversation on my radio show, Sheena and I agreed that one’s home is inside one’s heart. I have a little pin shaped like a house with a heart welded to it. As a person in the Diaspora, rooted in the nebulae – home, the concept, is both tangible and intangible, but my heart is real.

There is text and laughter in Sheena Johnson’s work “Land/Home.” She asks: “How do we create a home that holds all the beauty and complexity of being people displaced from our homelands? How have our bodily encounters with and impositions upon land informed how we seek, crave and create home for ourselves?” Don’t miss The Yellow House Project, June 26-27, 7:30 p.m. at THEOFFCENTER in San Francisco. Visit www.sheenajohnsonrebelhome.blogspot.com and listen to the pre-show interview at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2012/03/23/wandas-picks-radio-show.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wsab1@aol.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 6-7 a.m. and Fridays at 8-10 a.m., can be heard by phone at (347) 237-4610 and are archived on the Afrikan Sistahs’ Media Network.

The post Wanda’s Picks for April 2012 appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by Wanda Sabir

I am ending 2012 feeling thankful. Thankful I made it. I am excited about 2013, being in Washington with my granddaughter and niece to witness the inauguration of President Obama for a second term. Both of them are January babies, so this will be a year to remember for both of them at ages 10 and 12.

The year breezed by – January I was in South Africa hanging with Salaelo Meredi in Alexandra Township. Later on I watched him rehearse a new play in Pretoria. Lunching with Myesha Jenkins in New Town, a revived arts hub in Jo’burg, was fun, as was walking across Mandela Bridge at night with TaSin and another resident from our hostel. Lights changed the bridge cables different colors – red, green, yellow, blue.

Monday, Nov. 26, at the Bay Area Black Media Awards event hosted by Greg Bridges and sponsored by the San Francisco Bay View and Block Report Radio, it was so wonderful to see all the media friends and family for an evening of celebration. KPOO, KPFA, New California Media/Pacific News Service, Wanda’s Picks Radio, Oakland Post, Globe, Poor News Network, Oakland International Film Festival, Black Panther newspaper alumni and others were in the house as “Best” this and “Best” that were saluted.

The room was full as we received the wonderful plaques created by Malik Seneferu – rectangular, they all had stars and mirrors and red lines on a black background. Malik told me that the large star on mine represented my heart – the mirrors a reflection of me as a writer, mother, teacher, and the red and black besides representing Elegba, the keeper of the crossroads, the lines represent the paths we take and have taken. Now I was excited and what Malik shared is now Wanda-lore, but I think this is the gist of it (smile). The point is, he made each plaque with its recipient in mind.

Kevin Weston’s presence was a high point for most of us. We almost lost him and to see him big and bold and in color on stage was really special as was hearing Mumia Abu Jamal several times that evening, one honoring JR Valrey for his wonderful work. It was also good to see JR walking without crutches once again.

Willie Ratcliff was honored last and unfortunately he cut his talk down to save time. I’d really been looking forward to tales of his childhood in East Liberty, Texas, and in Alaska. Mary was quiet; I don’t know why (smile). But it was great seeing the couple, since it is a rare event that can get Mary out of the newsroom. Besides her daily vitamin D walks, one rarely sees her except perhaps the parishioners at their community church (smile).

Wishing everyone a Blessed Solstice. This one is more special than usual, 12/21/12 – the end of the Mayan calendar. If you can get to Mexico, there is the Synthesis Festival. Visit http://synthesis2012.com/festival/chichen-itza-mayan-calendar-celebration.html.

To Life Music has been invited to the festival. They will be performing Thursday, Dec. 13, at Make Our Room, 3225 22nd St., San Francisco, (415) 647-2888. Their hit, “A New Age Has Begun,” is available for a free download at www.tolifemusic.com. They are looking for sponsors to help them get to Chichen-Itza. I spoke to bandleader Lowell Rojon on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks Friday, Nov. 30. Listen to an interview with Lo on blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks (Nov. 30, 2012).

I shortened my thank you list, but didn’t forget Paul Cobb, publisher of the Post News Group, who let me continue his Good News column once he left the Oakland Tribune for the Oakland Public School Board position. I also want to thank my editors, Martin Reynolds and Lee Ann McLaughlin. Chauncey Bailey was one of my mentors. I admired how he wrote for Black papers, the Sun Reporter and the Oakland Post, while maintaining his day job at the Trib (smile). He is still missed.

At the awards I thanked the creator, Allah, for placing me on this planet with such potential cultivated by my wonderful parents, Helen Isaac and Fred Ali Batin. Growing up in a home where my parents read all the time, took us to the library and surrounded us with books that reflected our heritage, waylaid any confusion about my great Pan African lineage. I never wanted to be white, have straight hair – in fact my father wouldn’t let dolls in the house that didn’t look like our family (smile). The Nation of Islam under the Hon. Elijah Muhammad philosophically just reinforced this ideology when my father joined. I think this was one of his better parental moves (smile).

I was blown away that David Roach, when receiving his award after me, compared me to Ida B. Wells Barnett – I felt so honored. It was fun hearing Kevin Epps talk about Ave Montague and the premiere of “Straight Outta Hunter’s Point” at the San Francisco Black Film Festival so long ago. We spoke outside the Zeum Theatre afterward – Shelah Moody, Kevin and another sister-friend of Shelah’s – about the Black press and why it’s important for artists like Epps to make sure his representatives know that we get access to him for stories and coverage. Many times, to date, the Black press cannot get through the gatekeepers to the artist. However, for one night we spoke about our success stories.

I had one recently. I got to speak to Alonzo King, founder and artistic director of LINES Contemporary Ballet on the occasion of the company’s 30th anniversary. He told me that his dad, Slater King, civil rights activist and one of the founders of the Albany Movement, put his body where his mouth was. An economics graduate from Fisk University, he developed a reputation as a real estate broker and consulted with the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X and many others. His letters to Malcolm X are in the Fisk archives. King says that though his parents divorced, they remained friends and his dad is one of his greatest inspirations. See http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2552.

King spoke about the start of LINES Ballet with two friends: Robert Rosenwasser and Pam Hagen, and the principle that guided their path then and now – they looked at dance as an integration of mind, body and spirit. “In that hierarchy, spirit is above mind, and mind is above body. Spirit inspires the mind and the mind dances the body,” King states in an essay in the program for “Constellation,” which premiered in San Francisco, Oct. 19-28, 2012. Our conversation traveled leisurely, until King noticed the time and had to go. We spoke about some of his recent collaborations: “BaAka: The People of the Forest” (2001) and another with Jason Moran (2009). More next month (smile). He shared memories of Malonga Casquelourd and his philosophy of life.

Theatre coverage

If you don’t see reviews of Black plays, ask the company why Wanda Sabir hasn’t covered it and that you’d like to get her perspective on it, as it reflects your thinking on such issues.

I am not getting media invitations to plays at Berkeley Rep, African American Shakespeare Company, ACT-SF, none of the theatre companies in Contra Costa County, Cuttingball, Aurora, nor do I get press invitations from Another Planet Entertainment or Bill Graham Presents, which use the Paramount Theatre, Shoreline, Fillmore, Oakland Coliseum, The Independent, Biscuits and Blues and others. And when I ask for access to artists and tickets – I am turned down routinely. If I want to go enough, I often just buy a ticket.

Media awards

It was so nice seeing Sean Vaughn-Scott at the Awards event briefly. He brought Mary Ratcliff a present and then left. Black Rep makes me feel welcome in their house, as does Angela Wellman, director of the Oakland Public Conservatory and Dan Fortune at the Rrazz Room. Joe at Cal Performances and other media reps at Stanford Lively Arts and other academic venues treat me really well. After Ave, Karen Larsen is the best. She and her staff treat me really kindly. It’s not a perfect world, but we work at it. The same is true with Carla Befera and Company.

Literary arts

The San Francisco Bay View doesn’t get the latest Black fiction or current biographies. I have never gotten any of Mumia’s books directly or Van Jones’ (and I asked) or Barbara Lee or Belva Davis’ memoirs.

If the SF Bay View under the Ratcliff banner took off in 1992 and I came on in about 1995, I think we are pretty well known, but UC Press, which publishes many books of interest to me, like Amiri Baraka’s “Digging: The Afro-American Soul of American Classical Music,” does not include us in their announcements. I have to work too hard sometimes and, as this is a labor of love, sometimes I get busy and forget to ask repeatedly. Once should be enough.

City Lights is great and so is PM press, and they are smaller presses.

I am just saying. It is really hard doing my job, and it’s a volunteer job – I still have to work fulltime as a professor, which means I teach four classes. And on top of that I have a radio show – another unpaid gig.

I want to thank my readers who check out Wanda’s Picks and wandaspicks.com to see what’s going on in the Bay. I am also encouraged by the hundreds of listeners who tune in when I am on the air Wednesdays and Friday mornings. Then there are the thousands of others who download the podcast. Keep telling friends about the show, subscribe and “Like Me” on Facebook (smile).

Look in January for the complete Alonzo King interview, along with a feature on my friend’s trip to Allah’s House (smile). Don’t forget the 22nd Annual African American Celebration through Poetry Feb. 2, 2013, 1-4 p.m. 2013’s theme is the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.

‘The Fight for Freedom’ by John Reynolds

“The Fight for Freedom: A Memoir of My Years in the Civil Rights Movement” by John Reynolds is a forthright tale of an Alabama youth who tired of unfair treatment in his segregated town of Troy, sees an opportunity to change his community when civil rights workers come to his town to register Black people to vote. He volunteers and helps them, and when they leave they take him with them to meet Martin King, where he is hired as a community organizer. We go to trainings with him where he learns the principles of nonviolent resistance and how to both mobilize and keep those he is leading into battle safe. I love it when he describes his freedom uniform – jeans, denim jacket and leather boots – he talks about going to jail and this strategy. He shares moments with Septima Clark, educator and mentor.

At 18, Reynolds gives up the opportunity to go to college to volunteer with SCLC. He fractures his relationship with his dad, who does not want his son to upset the apartheid system, as such moves are dangerous, perhaps deadly. The youngster speaks with love and admiration for Dr. King and especially Rev. Abernathy, whom he loved even when the elder statesman was no longer capable of leading the organization. He also speaks of the ulcers he gets and the stress he is under – this is, after all, a war.

As an insider he talks about the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, an organization started by SCLC which then gains autonomy. He speaks of the strife between the two groups and the eventual parting of ways. Reynolds also acknowledges powerful women in the movement who take a back seat to the men and the men who do not see gender equity as important.

I learned things about SCLC’s work in the Native American community around equal education and Freedom Schools. He talks about the celebrities who were a part of the Civil Rights Movement, like Harry Belafonte and Joan Baez. These entertainers and others would regularly visit the civil rights troops like other entertainers visited troops overseas.

Reynolds talked about the difficulty freedom fighters had in maintaining relationships. It is a long time before he is able to find a mate. For such a short book, Reynolds is able to paint a compelling picture of a young foot soldier and then connect his experiences to the present with the candidacy and election of President Barack Obama (2012 Authorhouse.com).

San’Dei’Jun Publishing, new independent press

One of two other books I highly recommend is from a new San Francisco Bay Area independent press, San’Dei’Jun Publishing, which just won the Reader’s Favorites Award for “The Compton Connection: Coming of Age.” In this gritty story, we meet identical twins who are similar only in appearances as Edith prepares for college, while Edna – well, Edna goes for the fast money and holds down a legit job with selling drugs on the side. Both daughters live in a stable home, two parents, one a step-dad who loves both his daughters.

The girls’ older brother is in prison; he is one of the founders of a notorious gang. His reputation lingers on in the streets and in the lives of youth whom he mentored, college bound youth who dabbled in underground economies to make quick money before heading off to college. Visit http://www.sandeijun.com/2012/07/02/slapped-by-injustice-is-a-finalist-in-readers-favorite-annual-contest/#comment-79.

“The Compton Connection: Coming of Age” has a sequel. Redmond uses his nickname “June” in the book and Deirdre, one of the publisher team, is also a character in the novel (smile). I am not sure if this is where the similarity ends, for the June character that is. The real life June – or Willie Redmond – is set to be released this month as well.

“Slapped by Injustice: Point Blank” by W.F. Redmond was published by Outskirts Press (Denver, Colorado, 2012), and except for it centering on a recent parolee, the story is quite different from “Compton Connection.” The protagonist is Duane, parolee, who works at a mental hospital in custodial. He seems to like his job – I think he likes the responsibility. He can take care of his girlfriend and her three children. She is Latina and he is Black, the family likes him and he is about to propose when tragedy strikes and his world is about to unravel.

“Slapped by Injustice” is about a man trying to do what is right who gets slapped for his efforts. We hear all the time about patient abuse, especially the elderly and children. In “Slapped,” Duane and other employees find a doctor sexually abusing one of his patients. He doesn’t know what to do, but he wants to do something and so a few of the custodial staff come up with a plan – kind of unorthodox. Duane is left hanging on the line as his job, one he has grown to enjoy, is threatened. What happens is certainly plausible as Duane loses hope, but Redmond has us rooting for Duane, who has so much to live for beyond the gig at the hospital.

Duane is slapped at work and at home. He missed his kids when the relationship he thought was for life dissolves. It is a balancing act, perhaps more like a tight rope Duane finds himself on, as his world closes in and options grow more narrow.

Holiday fine arts exhibit: ‘To Share the Light of Yellow’

“To Share the Light of Yellow” is the annual holiday fine arts exhibit at Prescott Joseph Center for Community Enhancement, 920 Peralta at 10th Street in West Oakland, (510) 208-5651. Exhibit dates are Nov. 28, 2012, through Jan. 31, 2013.

At the artist reception, “Pictures for a Sunday Afternoon,” on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2:30-4:30 p.m., meet the 10 exhibiting artists with curator Tomye Neal Madison. Exhibiting artists include Charles Blackwell, Wanda Sabir and Eric Murphy. Sabir’s photos are from her travels in Timbuktu, Banjul, Touba City and Dakar.

Luisah Teish on the Mayan calendar

“A Day Before the New Beginning: A Ritual Celebrating the Mayan Calendar with Luisah Teish, a pre-equinox celebration, Thursday, Dec. 20, 7-9 p.m., is at JFK University and Consciousness Building, Berkeley Campus, 2956 San Pablo Ave., Second Floor. All are welcome; children under 12 are free. Donation requested for adults is $20-$12. No one will be turned away. Bring a 2013 calendar. There is parking lot behind the Orchard Supply Hardware. Enter on Ashby.

For more information, contact Luisah Teish at DahomeyRoyal@gmail.com or see her calendar at www.luisahteish.com. This is a drug, alcohol, and hate free zone.

‘The Central Park 5’ opens Dec. 15

Unlike other films directed by Ken Burns, “The Central Park Five” has no omniscient narrator, as the actual subjects tell a story too horrific to imagine in the 21st century, when one thinks of the five youth intimidated into copping – all but four agree to plea bargains – to raping and beating a white jogger in Central Park in 1989. Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Corey Wise and Yusef Salaam confess after the boys are denied legal consul and are separated from their parents. Even after DNA evidence absolves the boys, even after the detectives are found guilty of excessive and improper interrogation techniques, even after an analysis of the testimony shows the boys couldn’t have been present – their statement so full of errors regarding the jogger’s clothing, whereabouts and injuries – they serve their complete sentences: 6-13 years.

In 2002 when the actual rapist confesses to this rape and others, and a judge vacates the original sentences, this too is met with protest by the prosecuting district attorney. For audiences who need a modern Scottsboro Boys case as evidence that the justice system is still criminalizing the innocent, watch this film. To date, even with the civil lawsuit, the case is not resolved.

When the film screened here at the Mill Valley Film Festival, Raymond Santana, one of the youth charged, who was in prison when the sentences were commuted and he was released for time served, spoke about the residual effects of this travesty of justice on his and his friends’ lives as irreparable. No one except Raymond’s father believed his innocence. Nothing can give Raymond or the other four men back time lost, plans commuted and dreams deferred perhaps forever.

The vicious attack on the boys by the media and the mayor at that time was and to a certain degree still is unprecedented. Defamation of character? The media created new terms to describe the monsters that could brutalize an innocent woman as the DA said the boys did. It was a modern lynch mob – guilt based on the color of the boys’ skin. When one thinks about media events, this case is one of the biggest stories of our time.

This rush to judgment still occurs all too frequently when one would think that given the power to change another person’s life irrevocably, those officials with such power would wield it carefully and judiciously and not allow prejudicial influence to seep in. I know, I know: This is the fantasy of justice, not the reality. The reality is Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox of the Angola 3 spending 40-plus years in solitary confinement, Romaine “Chip” Fitzgerald, Mumia Abu Jamal, the late Marilyn Buck, The Move 9, Leonard Peltier, Hugo “Yogi” Pinell languishing behind bars for crimes they did not commit.

Burns said he was furious and, while his daughter, Sarah Burns, wrote the book, “The Central Park Five” (Knopf 2011), he and co-producer David McMahon knew that this would be a film. The film opens Dec. 15 at the Opera Plaza in San Francisco and the Shattuck in Berkeley.

Dance Brigade

“Voluspa: A Ghost Dance for 2012,” Dec. 19-21, 7:30 p.m., is a ritual dance performance that explores and marks the 2012 end of the world/regeneration prophesy found in many cultures and articulated perhaps most explicitly and famously by the Mayan calendar. Whether it be the Mayan, the Hopi, the Norse, the Book of Revelation, Wovoka or contemporary climate scientists, many cultures have the destruction and regeneration story rooted deeply in their mythology. Through prophesy and truth-telling, a diverse group of artists will come together over the course of two evenings to acknowledge and pay tribute to past and present struggles and work towards renewal, bringing our current tumultuous times starkly into focus. Dance Brigade will host the two-night ritual performance at Dance Mission Theater in San Francisco, 3316 24th St, San Francisco, (415) 826-4441. Tickets are $12-$20.

The final evening, Dec. 20, will last until 12:30 a.m. so that together artists and audience members can mark Dec. 21, the winter solstice and end of the Mayan calendar. Tickets are on-sale now at www.brownpapertickets.com.

The event features work by Dance Brigade, Grrrl Brigade, Danza Xitlalli, NAKA Dance Theater, John Jota Leaños and the dancers of Imperial Silence, Popoka’tepl, Vicki Noble, Carolyn Brandy, Arenas Dane Company, MamaCoatl, Nicole Kalymoon, Sarah Bush Dance Project, Anne Bluethenthal and Dancers and more. For more information, visit www.dancemission.com.

Holiday fare

“It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play,” adapted by Joe Landry, directed by Jon Tracy, at Marin Theatre Company stars one of my favorite actors, Michael Gene Sullivan. The play is up through Dec. 16. Visit http://marintheatre.org/productions/wonderful-life/.

Step back in time to the 1940s. Become the live studio audience for a radio broadcast of this American holiday favorite. True to Frank Capra’s cinematic classic, everyman George Bailey must learn that “no man is a failure who has friends” (and a little divine intervention). Experience “It’s a Wonderful Life” live and in color with five actors performing the voices of dozens of characters while creating sound effects. Perfect for the whole family.

J. Douglas Allen-Taylor, author

J. Douglas Allen-Taylor reads “Sugaree Rising” Thursday, Dec. 6, 6 p.m., at the Joyce Gordon Gallery, 406 14th St. in downtown Oakland, between Broadway and Franklin Streets, and Saturday, Dec. 15, at Do 4 Self Enterprise African Bookstore, 5272 Foothill Blvd , Oakland, 2-4 p.m.

Selma James

In 1972 Selma James set out a new political perspective. Her starting point was the millions of unwaged women who, working in the home and on the land, were not seen as “workers” and whose struggles were viewed as outside of the class struggle. Based on her political training in the Johnson-Forest Tendency, founded by her late husband CLR James, on movement experience South and North, and on a respectful reading of Marx, she redefined the working class to include sectors previously dismissed as “marginal.” For James, the class struggle presents itself as the conflict between the reproduction and survival of the human race, and the dictatorship of the market with its exploitation, wars, and ecological devastation. She sums up her strategy for change as “Invest in Caring Not Killing.”

Sunday, Dec. 2, 5 p.m., Mrs. James will be speaking on “Sex, Race and Class” at the California Institute of Integral Studies, 1453 Mission St., between 10th and 11th streets, San Francisco.

On Monday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m., at an Open Study Group of Sex, Race and Class – The Perspective of Winning, she will discuss the chapter “Striving for Clarity and Influence: The Political Legacy of CLR James (2001-2012),” pages 283-296. Contact the Niebyl-Proctor Marxist Library for a copy of the book. The library is located at 6501 Telegraph Ave., off Alcatraz at 65th Street, in Oakland.

Mrs. James comes to the U.S. as part of a campaign to value caregiving work and eliminate mothers’ and children’s poverty, building support for two bills currently in Congress: The Rise Out of Poverty Act (RISE Act HR 3573) introduced by Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., and the Women’s Option to Raise Kids Act (WORK Act HR 4370) introduced by Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif. For other talks in North America or to order her book, contact (415) 626-4114 or sf@allwomencount.net. Visit www.globalwomenstrike.net and www.selmajamesbooktour.net.

World AIDS Day Event Focuses on Women and AIDS

“Many Women, One Voice: African American Women and HIV Screening” and a panel discussion with Hydela Broadbent, international AIDS activist, is Dec. 1, 2012, 2-5 p.m., at the Alumni House at UC Berkeley on the campus. The event is free; refreshments will be served. To register, visit http://manywomenworldaidsday.eventbrite.com/.

Tree of Life Foundation Health Literacy Project presents the Fall 2012 Health Literacy Legends Fundraiser, Friday, Dec. 7, 1-4 p.m., at the West Oakland Senior Center, 1724 Adeline St., Oakland, on the corner of Adeline and 18th. For more info and to make a donation, go to www.treeoflifefound.com.

Sargent Johnson Gallery

Don’t miss William Rhodes’ “What is Your Spiritual Evolution” at the Sargent Johnson Gallery, 762 Fulton St. in San Francisco, through Feb. 7, 2013.

‘Life Like’ at New Orleans Museum of Art

Death is not usually seen as life like, but I guess the cessation of life is about as life-like as any other philosophical phenomenon (smile). My last day in New Orleans in November after Cousin Mary Lewis’ funeral, I visited one of my favorite spots, City Park, where the New Orleans Museum of Art is a favorite destination of mine. I noticed lots of vendors and scattered joggers. I was there for the latest exhibit, “Life Like,” which was opening the following day for the public. I’d seen a couple of photos of two of the installations, one a larger than life card table with folding chairs, the other a replica of a kitchen from the artist’s childhood down to the Formica.

There was a porcelain sleeping bag, ceramic sunflower seeds, pencils upside down on the ceiling, a boy squatting in a corner facing a mirror, a South African man’s face and upper body – no he wasn’t decapitated, yet one did have to imagine the body. Brillo pads in oversized boxes were stacked; a garbage bin stood in the center of the gallery – one side showing its wooden interior, the same with a suitcase. One wouldn’t believe the items were not real otherwise, they were so LIFELIKE (smile).

A new take on still life: fruit in a bowl. These fruit – not painted, rather filmed – took on a more organic and less static life as the artistic medium allowed the captured moment to continue to its ugly conclusion, one where the beauty of fresh fruit was replaced by a bowl of moldy food. In the various galleries, photographs and other pictures and portraits extended some installations – tempting to touch; alarms actually went off when I got too close to an object like the sleeping bag.

Remember the pink eraser? It is included too. Each section was given a name. There are gradations to what constitutes the term, lifelike. Who gets to decide what to put in the box? At the end of the exhibit, I thought the emergency exit was a false door, but my guide told me such was not the case.

There was a foot in a case which did not look “lifelike.” Other objects like the inside of a car door with a scene from a horror film depicted through the window or the video of passengers on the subway certainly were lifelike. I think the tiny elevator – I think a mouse could get through – and the frying eggs which sounded like rainwater were two of my favorites after the folding table.

“Life Like” isn’t trying to fool us; it just makes us think about reality and what we assign life to, which can also be equated to what we pay attention to. Life gets our attention and so does death; it’s the stuff in the middle – the living – that gets overlooked. Perhaps this is what “Life Like” is all about? If the curator, if the artists can get us to stop and contemplate the stuff in the middle, the LIFE, not what is LIFE LIKE, then perhaps the quality of that LIFE might deepen.

It takes a lot of creativity to make a Sony speaker that looks like the real deal. There were mushrooms growing out of the canvas – pretty remarkable. I certainly recommend “Life Like” for its curiously philosophical journey as well as the intrigue involved in figuring out the materials. I saw a bag used to carry purchases like clothes and other items. I bought a large bag like it in Dakar when I couldn’t fit everything into my suitcase. This replica was made from paper; the artist had drawn the plaid pattern by hand. I wanted to touch it, yet like other items we were told no as we avoided the ceramic white plastic-looking bag in the middle of the floor (smile).

“Life Like,” organized by the Walker Center, featuring work of Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, James Casebere, Vija Celmins, Keith Edmier, Fischli and Weiss, Kaz Oshiro, Charles Ray, Sam Taylor-Wood, and Ai Weiwei, is up through Jan. 27 at the NOMA. Visit http://noma.org/exhibitions/detail/53/Lifelike.

Herbst Theatre

Arturo Sandoval is at the Herbst Theatre Saturday, Dec. 1, 8 p.m. And on Sunday, Dec. 2, The Blind Boys of Alabama are also at the Herbst Theatre, 7 p.m. Visit www.sfjazz.org.

The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir

Several concerts close a productive year for the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, which hosted its 27th Annual Holiday Concert this Dec. 1, and what a joyous time we had. Opening with the OIGC Youth ensemble, featuring soloist Aliah Tomlinson in “Ride up in the Chariot.” OIYC will have its holiday concert, Dec. 16, 7 p.m., at Imani Community Church, 3300 MacArthur Blvd. in Oakland, near The Foodmill. On the Solstice OIGC will have its Fifth Annual South Bay Holiday Concert at the Mountain View Center for Performing Arts, Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m. and there are more dates like the Christmas Eve concert at Slim’s in San Francisco, 7 and 9 p.m. shows. Visit www.oigc.org. They even have an on-line store.

The sign language interpreters, Sherry Hicks and Michael Velez (half-n-half.com) were really great. They literally danced as they signed – the choreography between the two just as entertaining as that on stage. Ensemble director Terrence Kelly’s solo, “O Holy Night,” was magnificent. He really hit those notes as they sailed over yonder into the clouds. Another wonderful moment was the collaboration with Kugelplex, a Klezmer ensemble.

“Blessings Are Falling,” “Maljarica” and “Ding Dong Merrily on High” were stellar. The clarinetist, bassist (who gave my friend and me two tickets to the performance), the accordionist, the two violinists and the drummer/percussionist were really great. Their “Maljarica,” a movement from “Hungarian Gospel Suite,” music composed by Dan Cantrell (accordion) had elements of blues and gospel and jazz. Really soulful. Two other guest soloists joined the choir – Jovan Watkins on “Drenched,” Alfreda Campbell on “Tailor Made.” Sister was wearing her red dress too. Then the four church sisters joined the choir. One of the women was Sharon Henderson, who is recovering from throat surgery – so it was great to hear her, if just for a moment.

Baba Ken and the Afro-Groove Connection, Caribbean All-Stars

Baba Ken and the Afro-Groove Connection with the Will Magid Trio are at Ashkenaz Music and Dance Center in Berkeley, Saturday, Dec. 8, 9:30 p.m. – with a free dance lesson at 9 p.m. The Caribbean All-Stars perform Friday, Dec. 14, 9:30 p.m. Remembering David Nadel, Ashkanaz founder, benefit is Thursday, Dec. 20, 8 p.m. The evening will feature Balkan folk dancing. Shabaz performs Friday, Dec. 21, with Zydeco Flames. Saturday, Dec. 22, 9 p.m., Haitian meets Caribbean with musicians Mystic Man and Lakay and Batala Brazilian, Sunday, Dec. 23, 9:30 p.m. Ashkanaz is located at 1317 San Pablo Ave. at Gilman, (510) 525-5054 or www.ashkanaz.com.

Check back for Kwanzaa celebrations listings. Congratulations to Wo’se House of Amen Ra on its 31st anniversary this month!

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wsab1@aol.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 6-7 a.m. and Fridays at 8-10 a.m., can be heard by phone at (347) 237-4610 and are archived on the Afrikan Sistahs’ Media Network.

The post Wanda’s Picks for December 2012 appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

Happy and Blessed Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa and New Year Everyone!

This season we have lost two pillars of our San Francisco Bay Area community, Samuel Fredericks and Upesi Mtambuzi. Our condolences to their families. Cedar Walton, pianist, also made his transition this year, along with Donald Duck Bailey, drummer, both men beautiful human beings. Duck was honored as a National Treasure last year at Oakland Public Conservatory. Upesi, Samuel, Cedar and Donald all brightened our world. Their unique hues and shapes and sounds will be missed … that last live jam.

Edward Samuel Fredericks

I remember visiting Samuel’s Gallery in Jack London Village with my class from Maybeck High School 16 years ago. They had never visited a gallery before that specialized in Black art, and Brother Samuel gave the kids a tour and talked to them about the artists represented in the gallery. For so long, his was the only such venue in the San Francisco Bay Area, a place where one could buy Black art at an affordable price without sacrificing value. His events, which were held in the larger salon located on the first level of the Village, just below, were star studded occasions that were filled with laughter as older established artists mingled with the curious and connoisseurs.

From a family of Garveyites, he and I spoke often of the book he wanted to write. I hope he wrote it (smile). His children attended private schools in Berkeley, college prep, and were quite accomplished. His more famous brother, Taj Mahal, loved him dearly. I’d hoped one day to get the two in conversation, but my attempts to make that happen did not meet with success. I hope someone has such a document.

When his gallery closed on Third Street after a 25-year sojourn in the area and moved to his home in West Oakland, a private gallery available by appointment only, I lost contact with him and only saw him infrequently when he’d be at the gigs his wife, Robin Gregory, held at the 57th Street Gallery in Oakland. The last time I saw him was at a concert there. He looked well. Cancer is a hard taskmaster. His family invites us to make donations, in the name of Edward Samuel Fredericks, to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. A community memorial service is being planned.

Upesi Mtambuzi

When I saw the announcement in my in-box that Upesi Mtambuzi’s homegoing was to be held at Heart and Soul, Thursday, Nov. 14, I knew I was hallucinating and immediately replied. A longer explanation followed with what I learned was not a mistake. So many people I know are dying. In a foreseeable future, the world will look significantly different as I look around and see empty space where friends were occupants.

The last time I saw Upesi, we were both at the airport in Addis Ababa headed for Tanzania. She was flying to Dar and then on to Bwejuu to meet her husband and I was headed for Mt. Kilimanjaro to see the O’Neals, Pete and Charlotte, at UAACC (United African Alliance Community Center). Until you have been out of the country surrounded by the sounds of a mother tongue you cannot translate (and people who remind you of other people you cannot readily call to mind) then look up and see someone from home, and not just any someone, but someone you know well – in fact I was going to be staying at her guest house later that summer – the joy I experienced in that moment might elude you.

For me it was indescribable seeing a homegirl in Africa, at the airport, someone who spoke my language, literally – not English, something deeper. It was comforting to see her after being present yet absent, seen yet for the most part invisible for the past two weeks as I traversed Ethiopia, just that morning getting dropped off at the wrong terminal after clearly stating where I was going to the taxi driver.

It was crazy that morning. Ethiopia had just won the world cup and teams from other places in Africa were returning home. I saw them in their home colors as I moved through security checks. Then got wrong information about where my flight was departing. The only saving grace was looking up and seeing Upesi’s smiling face when I called out her name. We went and sat at her gate for a bit. I told her about Addis and Lalibela and gave her greetings from the tour guide she’d recommended and the hotel owner who gave me her price. I told her about my trek to Gondor and Bahir Dar. She showed me photos of her heaven on earth, Bwejuu – the cows walking on the beach at dawn, which I saw with my own eyes about a month later.

I had her place to myself. It was Ramadan and the sister who ran the place was fasting. I wasn’t, so she set me up with some viands. I’d picked up fruit before I’d arrived. I’d learned to stop at the market whenever I was going to a new place to stay just in case I couldn’t eat what my host had prepared. So I arrived with bananas and mangos and papayas. Upesi’s place was really clean, no ant infestation, which was a welcome change, as the place I’d stayed at before was full of bugs – something I did not like too much.

Before I’d left for East Africa, Upesi had sent me a list of places and people to visit, a detailed list which included where I might get my hair done or relax to a foot massage (smile). She’d made lots of friends, so the list was exhaustive. I didn’t have a lot of guidance for Addis, so my stay there was not optimum, but it wasn’t bad either as I stumbled into good people.

It’s like that when I travel. I meet people who become ambassadors for their countries, without official titles, just as Upesi was certainly an ambassador for Bwejuu and East Africa. She was the consummate travel agent, friendly, knowledgeable and with a sense for what brings happiness – simplicity and beauty and peace, which is what her oasis represented to me when, tired after multiple stops in my sojourn, I took a few days of respite to relax and recuperate before heading off for the next leg of my journey, Pemba and Dar es Salaam and Harare. I will miss her smile.

Film ‘Sweet Dreams’

Berkeley co-director Lisa Fruchman’s film “Sweet Dreams” opens Dec. 6, 2013 in Bay Area theatres. What is special about this film from Rwanda is the story it tells of Ingoma Nshya, Rwanda’s first and only an all-women drum troupe who become business owners of an ice cream shop – pretty remarkable, right? In a film which features the stories of women from various sides of the 1994 conflict and genocide, their use of art to heal the pain suffered during the massacre and the way, under the visionary leadership of one woman, Kiki Katese, and her invitation to Jennie Dundas and Alexis Miesen of Brooklyn’s Blue Marble Ice Cream to come to East Africa and teach her women how to make this sweet desert no one had ever tasted before.

And so they did and this is the story of that adventure, but more importantly, it is a story of triumph over sorrow. It is a story that continues and opening weekend there will be performances of Ingoma Nshya at selected theatres: Friday, Dec. 6, 7 p.m., at Opera Plaza in San Francisco, plus Q&A with filmmakers Alexis Miesen of Blue Marble Ice Cream and Kiki Katese, founder of Ingoma Nshya Drum Troupe; Saturday, Dec. 7, 1:30, in San Francisco at the Clay Theatre followed by a Q&A and special appearance of the Ingoma Nshya drummers; Saturday, Dec. 7, 7 p.m., at the Shattuck Cinema in Berkeley, Q&A and special appearance of the Ingoma Nshya drummers; Sunday, Dec. 8, 7 p.m., presented by the Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart, Q&A and special appearance of the Ingoma Nshya drummers.

Visit http://sweetdreamsrwanda.com/info/screenings/  Listen to an interview with her Wednesday, Dec. 4, on Wanda’s Picks Radio show, 6-7 a.m. PT, at www.blogtalkradio.com/wandaspicks or (347) 237-4610.

East meets West

Diamano Coura, in collaboration with the Zimbabwean Chinyakare Dance Ensemble, presents East (Africa) meets West (Africa) Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at the Malonga Center for the Arts Theater, 1428 Alice St., Oakland. The event features astonishing performances representing the dynamism, vibrancy and diversity of Africa. Audiences will hear the beautiful sounds of the marimba, kora, balaphon and the many drums, including those that represent the sounds of the forest. A special Lunch and Market Place will open at 1 p.m. For more information, call (510) 508-3444 or visit http://www.diamanocoura.org/upcoming-events.html.

Gallery 1508 arts and crafts show and sale

Enjoy this opportunity to purchase gifts for the holiday season and spend time with four of Bay Area’s arts and crafts icons, Dec. 6-7 at Gallery 1508, 1508 8th St. in Oakland. There will be ceramics and jewelry by Nzinga Pace, paintings by Ben Branley, photographic art by Asual Aswad, and paintings and drawings by Jimi Evins. Friday hours are 6-10 p.m. and Saturday, 12-5 p.m. For information, call (510) 285-6497 or visit https://www.facebook.com/gallery1508.

Joyce Gordon Gallery

The Second Annual Holiday Art Salon Exhibit at Joyce Gordon Gallery opening reception is Friday, Dec. 6, 6-9 p.m. There will be a wide selection of unique art and gifts from over 20 local and national artists. JGG is located at 406 14th St., Oakland. For information, call (510) 465-8928 or visit www.joycegordongallery.com.

‘Let Us Break Bread Together’ with the Oakland East Bay Symphony

Celebrating holiday musical traditions in the most festive and non-traditional way has been a year-end hallmark of the 25-year-old Oakland East Bay Symphony and Music Director Michael Morgan since 1992, and this year’s edition of “Let Us Break Bread Together” promises seasonal sizzle Sunday, Dec. 15, at 4 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway in Oakland. Joining Morgan and the Oakland East Bay Symphony will be Oakland Symphony Chorus, Mt. Eden High School Choir, Kugelplex, Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Linda Tillery’s Cultural Heritage Choir and Crystal Children’s Choir in a program that celebrates and festively fuses multiple holiday traditions, including the world premiere of new Gospel settings of Christmas favorites and, of course, plenty of opportunities for audience sing-alongs. Tickets are $20-$75. To order tickets and for complete information about Oakland East Bay Symphony, visit www.oebs.org.

Other holiday fare

Pacific Mozart performs under the direction of Lynn Morrow, Dec. 13-14, 7:30 p.m., at the First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1187 Franklin St., San Francisco. Visit www.pacificMozart.org.

San Francisco Symphony

On Friday, Dec. 6, and Saturday, Dec. 7, the San Francisco Symphony presents the legendary Hollywood musical, “Singin’ in the Rain,” starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor. The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra accompanies the film live and brings the classic score to life in performances conducted by Sarah Hicks. Tickets to the San Francisco Symphony’s presentation of “Singin’ in the Rain” range in price from $25-$80 each, available at sfsymphony.org, by phone at (415) 864-6000, and at the Davies Symphony Hall Box Office, on Grove Street between Van Ness Avenue and Franklin Street in San Francisco.

San Francisco Symphony Holiday Season Concerts

San Francisco Symphony Holiday Season Concerts include the “Preservation Hall Jazz Band: A Creole Christmas,” Sunday, Dec. 15, at 8 p.m. at Davies Symphony Hall; “Diane Reeves with the San Francisco Symphony,” Wednesday, Dec. 11, at 7:30 p.m. at Davies Symphony Hall; “Peter and the Wolf,” with special guest narrator actor John Lithgow in his San Francisco Symphony debut Saturday, Dec. 14, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at Davies Symphony Hall; “The Colors of Christmas,” with host Peabo Bryson, with CeCe Winans, Melissa Manchester, Ruben Studdard with the San Francisco Symphony and the First AME Oakland Mass Choir, Monday through Wednesday, Dec. 16-18, at 8 p.m. at Davies Symphony Hall and many more. Tickets are on sale now at www.sfsymphony.org, by phone and at the box office.

Embodiment Project

Nicole Claymoon’s Embodiment Project presents “House of Matter,” Thursday-Sunday, Dec. 13 -15, at 8 p.m. at ODC Theater, 3153 17th St. in San Francisco. Tickets are $18-$38. Visit http://www.odcdance.org/events.php or www.embodimentproject.org. The Embodiment Project’s latest multi-media street dance drama features original live music by Valerie Troutt and her nine-piece band, MoonCandy.

‘Cinderella’ at African American Shakespeare Company

San Francisco’s African-American Shakespeare Company presents an enchanting production of this timeless tale, brought to whimsical, magical life in time for the holiday season, featuring all the pageantry, hilarity and charm of the original, but with a soulful twist. This heartwarming story finds Cinderella, a young, beautiful dreamer, toiling away as a lowly scullery maid for her evil stepmother and (oddly masculine) stepsisters. With a little bit of magic, Cinderella finds her Prince Charming and learns that anything is possible, even miracles.

“Cinderella” is directed by African-American Shakespeare Company Artistic Director L. Peter Callender, with original music and lyrics by Angel Burgess, Robert Michael and Taylor Peckham. Opening Saturday, Dec. 7, at 3 p.m., the play runs Dec. 7, 14 and 21 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 7, 8, 15, 21 and 22 at 3 p.m. Tickets $12.50- $37.50, $25-$50 for opening day. Performances are in the Buriel Clay Theater at the African American Art and Culture Complex, 762 Fulton St. at Webster, San Francisco. Call (800) 838-3006 or visit www.African-AmericanShakes.org.

Brothers Code: Technological Literacy for Teens

A free workshop called Brothers Code will be held Saturday, Dec. 14, at Laney College Technology Center, 900 Fallon St., in Oakland, across the street from Lake Merritt BART. Workshop times are 10 a.m.-12 noon for middle school students and 1-3 p.m. for high school students. The workshop will introduce young Black men to computer technology and coding. Register at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/brothers-code-tickets-8899712279?utm_campaign=BROTHERSCODE&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Kapor.

Staged readings

The Playwrights Foundation’s 2013 Winter Rough Readings Series concludes with readings of Rob Melrose’s adaptation, “OZMA of OZ,” are Monday, Dec. 2, 7:30 p.m., at Roble Hall, Stanford University, and Tuesday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m., at The Thick House, 1695 18th St., San Francisco. Readings are free of charge. A $20 donation in advance comes with a reserved seat and a drink! To RSVP, email rsvp@playwrightsfoundation.org or call (415) 626-2176.

One-Minute Play Festival

The Fourth Annual San Francisco One-Minute Play Festival will take place for three performances only, on Saturday, Dec. 14, 8 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 15, 3 and 8 p.m., at The Thick House, 1695 18th St. on Potrero Hill in San Francisco. Space is extremely limited. General admission is $18 online and $25 at the door. VIP tickets for $36 include the best seats and drinks in the house. Tickets are available at http://www.playwrightsfoundation.org/.

Kenya’s Golden Jubilee – 50th anniversary celebration

Saturday, Dec. 7, 5 p.m. to 12 midnight, Kenyans will celebrate their independence at Rancho Cordova City Hall, Prospect Park Drive, Rancho Cordova (north of Sacramento). Special guests include the Honorable Julius Ndegwa, M.P. Lamu and Peggy Mativo. PACE Kenya will give the keynote address. Meet Kenyan runners Japhet Koech and Shadrack Cheyego and enjoy live entertainment, a fashion show and more. Tickets are available at the door are $10 for adults and $5 for children. For more information, call (916) 995-9808 or visit http://ushirika.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=56.

There will also be a free basketball event and all are welcome to play and/or watch. Registration will be at 12 noon, and the competition will begin at 1 pm. Call Ian at (916) 239-9599 for details.

Tanzania’s 52nd Independence Day

This year’s guest of honor for Tanzania’s independence celebration will be the retired president of Tanzania, His Excellency Ali Hassan Mwinyi. The evening will include dinner, cultural performances, fashion, dance and more. Tickets for this event are selling fast. They will not be sold at the door. The event is Saturday, Dec. 7, 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., at the California Ballroom, 1736 Franklin St. in Oakland. Tickets are $50, advance purchase only. For more informationa or tickets, call (510) 334-9598 or (510) 325-5959 or visit http://www.uzalendo.org/activities.htm.

SHN Golden Gate Theatre presents the American Repertory Theatre’s production of ‘The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess’ through Dec. 8

Porgy and Bess opened Nov. 13, 2013 at the Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco with an impressive creative team both on and off the stage – the cast on tour now after a stunning New York run on Broadway performs in what is certainly a smaller, tighter rendition of the George and Ira Gershwin-DuBose and Dorothy Heywood American folk opera classic set in a rural southern fishing town, Catfish Row. At its center is a love story between Bess and Porgy, a tramp and a cripple (smile). Despite my reductionist terms, the work is of course about so much more.

I’ve seen the opera many times, more recently at San Francisco Opera and don’t recall feeling quite as sympathetic towards Bess as I do in this version of the work. It could be the fact that Suzan-Lori Parks’s work allows Bess’s interior life to have a more nuanced life than that experienced in the larger work. I don’t recall an opportunity to observe Bess’s internal struggle and how the Catfish Row folk let her drown. Porgy is perfect for Bess, as he is patient and forgiving and knows with time his Bess will unlearn her distrust and attraction to people, ideas and products which are her undoing like angel dust, gambling, alcohol and fine, fast-talking men.

She is just building a new life with Porgy when he is taken from her. No, I am not giving away the story – at least I hope not – but when a community has a weak link, we don’t have to leave it alone to perish. In the wild, perhaps, but Catfish Row isn’t the Serengeti – we saw the weaker sickly animals bringing up the rear of the herd. Mother zebra abandoned her young if he or she couldn’t keep up because of illness.

It seems as if, in the end, Bess was left by the side of the road, so what happens to her is the community’s fault. Her neighbors, more importantly Porgy’s neighbors, didn’t try hard enough to help her develop a stronger constitution, one resistant to evil suggestions.

Alicia Hall Moran’s expressive countenance and voice convey the internal struggle Bess wages and loses then wins again only to lose again and again.

It’s that time of year when such stories become the fare whetting nostalgic appetites for the simple yet full lives of the past, lives seemingly uncomplicated yet rich. iPads, iPhones and other digital extensions of our lives –prostheses which occupy so much of what was flesh and sinew.

Belva Davis and her husband were out along with the Black media and theatre set, like Stephen Anthony Jones, artistic director of Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, and his lovely wife, Brenda Payton. It was cool to see Suzan-Lori Parks, writer and adapter of “Porgy and Bess,” along with composer Diedre L. Murray, the director, Diane Paulus, everyone except Ronald K. Brown, choreographer, Evidence Theatre. His choreography in the second and final act and throughout the work is awesome.

The cast was gifted and talented and Black (smile). Bess and Porgy of course the centerpiece, yet the ensemble and other featured characters like the sweet couple, new parents Clara and Jake, Sportin Life and Crown, whose worldly ways tempt poor Bess, who wants to be good, but has no faith – none in herself and, therefore, none in Porgy.

This Porgy could stand and walk with a cane and a leg brace. He was also more handsome than any Porgy I’d ever seen over the past 20 years. I love the music composed by Gershwin with Heywood, whose story forms the basis of the work adapted for the stage. However, this musical version has the added input of two very special artists, Suzan-Lori Parks, who adapts the book, making the opera more musical theatre, and Diedre L. Murray, a composer known for the jazz idiom, who makes subtle changes to enhance the immediacy of the work.

The story is simple. Bess is a fast girl who drinks and snorts Happy Dust and hangs out with the notorious Crown (Alvin Crawford), who controls Bess even when she wants to do better – again no backbone. I wonder why Porgy doesn’t just let her go. He is in love and, well, Bess says she is too, if Porgy can save her from her demons.

Porgy is a crippled man who begs for a living. He is loved and respected on Catfish Row, where he lives alone, his vices the occasional crap game on Saturday night and an infatuation with Bess. He sticks up for her in her absence. She probably doesn’t even pay him any attention until there is a murder on Catfish Row and she needs to hide.

She finds shelter in Porgy and so she stays. However, Bess is drama on stilettos. She attracts flies like Sporting Life (Kingsley Leggs), who tempts her with drugs and dreams of the highlife elsewhere, and the more Porgy tries to swat them away, the more honey she pours into the mix. Porgy is not blind, just so in love with Bess. Life on Catfish Row, late 1930s in Kittawah Island, Charleston, South Carolina, is never the same again.

There is a beautiful scene with one of the story’s casualties, Robbins (James Earl Jones II) lying on the cooling board. The chorus moans and wails, then processes around the body which has a bowl on its chest for donations. The undertaker is present ready to take the body to his shop once enough money is raised. Robbin’s widow, Serena (Denisha Ballew), hopes they raise enough.

The police come by and harass the mourners, who say nothing about the killing even though everyone knows who did it. Almost with silent consent, they decide to handle the business of justice themselves. What is paramount is to raise money for the burial so the police will not take the body away the next day. The two white officers use excessive force and intimidation to try to get the community to talk, but the people refuse to cooperate to the very end on both occasions when the police come into the village to investigate a killing.

It’s an earlier version of “Don’t snitch,” but unlike street codes here, these police clearly were not interested in justice, just solving a case, never mind the subtleties, the nuances which make killing a man justifiable homicide. Nathaniel Stampley portrays Porgy in the current production of the opera at the Golden Gate Theatre through Dec. 8. There is a discount code for selected performances. Enter AfroSolo1 in on-line purchases at www.shnsf.com/online/porgy or call (888) 746-1799.

To listen to the interview with Nathaniel Stampley, visit http://wandasabir.blogspot.com/2013/11/wandas-picks-radio-show-wednesday-nov.html.

‘Shellabration, a Ritual Theater Performance in Honor of Olokun, Owner of the Deep’

“Shellabration, a Ritual Theater Performance in Honor of Olokun, Owner of the Deep” is Saturday, Dec. 14, Sofia University Auditorium, 1069 East Meadow Circle, Palo Alto. Doors open 6:15 p.m., marketplace is 6:15-10 p.m., performance is 7-9 p.m. Ticket prices, in denominations of seven in honor of the ocean goddess, Olokun, are $7 for students and $14 general admission. No one will be turned away for lack of funds but will be asked to donate in the denomination of the number 7. Purchase tickets at http://tinyurl.com/shellabration. For more information, email events@sofia.edu.

On the fly

First Friday spectacular! Imagine Affairs Art Lounge presents “Word and Deed Art Exhibit and Book Party,” 408 14th St., Oakland, (510) 788-0197, Dec. 6, 5 p.m. until, featuring Nedra Williams-Conjure Collage and “On Holy Ground: Commitment and Devotion to Sacred Land” with Luisah Teish and Leilani Birely.

Revolutionary Nutcracker Sweetie returns to Dance Mission. Visit www.dancemission.org. “Riddim Time,” featuring Val Serrant, Sikiru Adepoju, Saminu Adepoju, Peter Fujii, Deszon Claiborne and Joel Smith, is Dec. 13-14 at the Dance Palace and Community Center at Pt. Reyes Station and the River Theatre in Guerneville: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/512450. Listen to an interview with Val Serrant at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2013/11/15/wandas-picks-radio-show-healing-the-community-through-art.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wsab1@aol.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 6-7 a.m. and Fridays at 8-10 a.m., can be heard by phone at (347) 237-4610 and are archived on the Afrikan Sistahs’ Media Network.

The post Wanda’s Picks for December 2013 appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by Wanda Sabir

Elaine Brown’s “A Taste of Power,” a memoir which chronicles her leadership of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense when co-founder Huey P. Newton is imprisoned, still resonates with me. The idea that a Black woman is nominated to the leadership position of the most powerful civic organization in the country at that time is still remarkable and speaks to what Kathleen Cleaver calls revolutionary imagination.

Power remains a pawn on the board for Black America. It is as elusive as the queen and as laudable as the witty joker. Nonetheless, power is necessary for change, and as long as the imbalance is a part of an insidious racist structure permeating all levels of life – from economics and politics to educational equity, healthcare and human rights, we have a problem.

We live in a violent society which is getting more violent daily. While traveling recently, I caught up on films I’d missed in theatres, “Creed” and “Concussion.” I also watched two documentaries, “In an Ideal World” and “Peace Officer,” both Independent Lens (ITVS) selections. All films thematically looked at violence. Two films – “Creed” and “Concussion” – looked at violence as entertainment, the other two looked at violence or physical force as an instrument of power.

‘Creed,’ the film

In “Creed,” directed by Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station”), we meet a kid, Adonis Johnson Creed (actor Michael B. Jordan) with a huge chip on his shoulder, one that comes from fatherloss, an ailment many Black boys contract through no fault of their own. In Adonis Johnson’s case, his father (Apollo Creed) dies without the two ever meeting.

The boy never knows he had a father, let alone one who could have cared. His life up to the point he can articulate the problem is shrouded in anger. He says at one point in the film that he fights to prove “he was not a mistake.” Do boys conceived out of wedlock feel like they are mistakes? Do boys who do not know their fathers feel that it is somehow their fault, that is, they are the reason for the absence?

When his father’s widow (actress Phylicia Rashad) finds her step-son housed at the local juvenile facility, the boy has just had a fight, defending, he tells her, his mother’s name. Mary Ann Creed (eventually “Ma”) asks the boy if he’d like to live with her. He agrees and when we meet him again, he is grown, articulate and working at a firm which has just given him a promotion.

He quits his job and leaves home to begin a journey which takes him to Philadelphia. He is looking for his father, “Apollo Creed,” boxing champ, killed too soon in the ring (“Rocky IV,” 1985).

Young Creed (Adonis Johnson) wants to fight; he contacts his late father’s trainer, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), who owns a restaurant. At first Rocky refuses the kid, who has done his homework and knows about Rocky and his father’s famous fight behind closed doors.

He also knows that Rocky made the call that night which ended Creed’s life in the ring. No one in Philadelphia will train Creed’s son. Adonis, whom everyone calls Hollywood, goes to the gym and watches other boxers train and copies their strategies, until one day, Rocky stops by the gym to check on Creed’s son.

Apollo and Adonis’s lives echo those of Greek gods – Adonis, the handsome youth who symbolizes death and rebirth, and Apollo, also handsome, the god of Olympus. Adonis’s father is also the god of healing and light. He moves the sun across the sky daily with his horse drawn chariot. Perhaps in a way, Creed-Johnson’s sojourn is his chariot ride across a psychic sky previously darkened by doubt and pain.

“Creed” (2015) is a story of faith and belief and healing. Rocky feels guilty about Creed’s death and sees a way to work through his debt, by helping Creed’s son. The action kept me ducking blows in my seat.

I was not happy that once again, a heroic Black man dies off screen and a white man saves the day, but as a sequel to one of the Rocky sagas, perhaps this treatment was an opportunity for an ancestor to be reincarnated through a son born after his physical death. Stallone walked away with the nominations, while Michael B. Jordan and other performers in a well-crafted work, including the writing, received nothing.

‘Concussion,’ the film

Upon reflecting on my choices of films while flying cross country, I find it interesting that they both had to do with sports, sports which are health risks. Imagine getting hit for a living or crashing one’s head into another to make money, as football players do.

Prior to watching the excellent film, “Concussion”(2015) directed by Peter Landesman, I hadn’t known that human beings do not have a protective cushion inside their skulls to protect their brains from injury when hit. Until accomplished pathologist Dr. Bennet Ifeakandu Omalu (Will Smith) uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play and, at great personal risk, takes on the NFL, more specifically the politically savvy Pittsburgh Steelers machine or franchise, such information remains suppressed and more and more players are at risk and die horrible deaths.

It is a stunning story, and a stunning performance by all, especially Will Smith as Dr. Omalu, who now lives with his wife and children in the Central Valley town, Lodi, California. What I love about the film is how much respect Dr. Omalu shows toward the deceased victims – egungun or ancestors. When to most of his peers, his job is to close cold cases, the scientist takes his own funds to pursue forensic evidence which points to a huge cover-up.

“Concussion” is an awesome crime story with larger than life villains and just enough heroes to keep one on the edge of her seat. Dr. Omalu is deeply religious and keeps God in front of all his major decisions. He just cannot understand how the National Football League (NFL), once it knows the sport has dire consequences for its players, refuses to at least warn them and institute safe checks and prevention measures.

On screen, we see bright men discarded once they begin to exhibit the erratic behavior indicative of chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE. Ironically, the first case Dr. Omalu examines is a former player, Michael Lewis “Mike” Webster (March 18, 1952 – Sept. 24, 2002), known as “Iron Mike” Webster.

What followed were other autopsies which substantiated the doctor’s findings that indeed head injuries caused by sustained trauma to the brain in contact sport caused these deaths. The film shows footage of college students and even younger players hitting each other in the head over and over again. In one of the most riveting segments, Dr. Omalu, demonstrates what this injury looks like.

The Nigerian-American physician, forensic pathologist and neuropathologist says at a trial hearing when the film opens and he is called as a witness that he speaks for the dead – that the dead are his clients or patients. Later, the meticulous and dedicated scientist opens his patient’s skull and finds what looks like a normal brain.

However, “he suspected dementia pugilistica, dementia induced by repeated blows to the head, a condition found previously in boxers. Using specialized staining, Omalu found large accumulations of tau protein in Webster’s brain, affecting mood, emotions and executive functions similar to the way clumps of beta-amyloid protein contribute to Alzheimer’s disease” (Wikipedia).

He is first to discover and publish findings on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and says that the film is accurate in its portrayal of the sport and subsequent injuries. The film is based on the doctor’s 2008 book, “Play Hard, Die Young: Football Dementia, Depression, and Death.” Since its publication, the doctor has founded the Bennet Omalu Foundation to continue research and to advocate against contact sports for minors.

In a recent interview, published by the San Diego Tribune, Dr. Omalu says the problem of football and the NFL stance on an activity which is irreversibly harmful to the brain health of its players rests with American society:

“The NFL is not in the business of health. They’re not,” he said. “They’re in the business of sports entertainment to make money. The NFL doesn’t care about its football players … They are expendable assets.

“The culprits in this are the consumers … as we continue to wallow in the intoxication of football and the idolization of football … and continue to sustain the NFL and make them richer.” He was the first to publish widely on the topic and his scholarly article, co-edited with colleagues in the Department of Pathology at his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, the doctor published his findings in the journal “Neurosurgery” in 2005 in a paper titled “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in a National Football League Player.”

“County supervisor Ron Roberts said recently that San Diego’s NFL team, the Chargers, chaired by Dean Spanos, sought a $550 million public subsidy for a new stadium in Mission Valley last month before targeting a site downtown. The funding measure could be put to a public vote in November [2016].’”

More on Dr. Omalu who practices in the Sacramento area and has stated that OJ Simpson probably suffers from CTE: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sports/league-of-denial/the-frontline-interview-dr-bennet-omalu/.

‘Peace Officer’ film

“Peace Officer,” directed by Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber, just shows us how no one is immune to the violence unleashed across America in its police forces. Trained to attack, rather than deescalate volatile circumstances, innocent people are killed and situations end tragically, which need not have resulted in such.

The story centers on retired peace officer, Dub Lawrence, who becomes a police officer, then sheriff of Davis County, Utah, in 1974. As a rookie cop with keen investigative skills, he helps break the Ted Bundy case. When we meet him, though, he smiles and tells us that wading through raw sewage is preferable to witnessing the philosophical shift in policing from peacekeeping to terrorism during his tenure.

After Lawrence’s family falls victim to excessive force and loses a loved one, he uses his investigative and forensic skills to advocate for the many families who are victims of a militarized police force. We learn of the U.S. military’s gifts of weapons and armaments to civic municipalities with the charge to use the equipment within the year.

This heavy artillery is largely cause for increased death and destruction, that and the “war on drugs.” We see police storm houses, kicking in doors, breaking windows, scaring citizens to death and then killing them when the violence is met with violence. Often these police break in unannounced and not in uniform.

The “no-knock” search warrants lead to stories of mistaken identity and police officers’ boisterous attitudes even when in error. There is no shame. Dub uncovers many cover-ups just a city away. All of this has led to a 15,000 percent increase in SWAT team raids in the United States since the late 1970s.

Lawrence regrets his founding of the SWAT teams 30 years earlier to save not take innocent lives. If this is not enough, his tracking the case of his son-in-law, Brian Wood, exposes multiple felonies, mistakes and problems connected to the lies and outright cover-ups by police investigators.

“Peace Officer” screens May 9. Watch http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/tv-schedule/#schedule-coming-soon.

Alternatives to Violence (AVP)

While traveling in South Africa a few years ago, I was not able to get to Capetown to scale Table Mountain; however, in California – Butte County, to be precise – there are two basaltic plateaus or table mountains overlooking the city of Oroville. Formed by volcanic eruptions 14-39 million years ago, this member of the Lovejoy Formation, Laura Brown writes in the Union (4/2/09), “is believed … much older than the nearby Sutter Buttes or Mount Shasta,” according to “Wildflowers of Table Mountain, Butte County, California” by Samantha Mackey and Albin Bills.

Folklore says that the Buttes or shorter mountain range not far off are actually the top of North and South Table Mountain. And when you look between the two mountain ranges, we can see an almost perfect fit, sort of like the wig that fell off (smile).

I was in Oroville for the Alternatives to Violence advanced training. AVP is a project that helps one transform power without doing harm to oneself or others. AVP has adapted strategies from other restorative justice or violence prevention projects; however, AVP is unique as well.

The program is used in prisons and in the community and is an all-volunteer organization committed to peace building. At the training, one of the facilitators, whose training was in the late ‘70s, testified to the impact of AVP on his life then and now. Just out of prison, after over 30 years behind bars, he spoke to how AVP saved his life. Another facilitator, a Chico State student, described how he used humor – acting the fool – an AVP strategy, to deescalate a potentially volatile moment between friends.

“In an Ideal World,” a documentary film made in a California prison by AVP facilitator Noel Schwerin, looks at how AVP transforms men whom society has forgotten or given up on. This transformation, which is visible, also changes the environment – all of a sudden guards see the men in a different light.

AVP highlights our shared humanity. When anyone is harmed we are all harmed. Ubuntu in practice, AVP is a way to embody the consequences of violence in a way which is less cerebral and more experiential. The training(s) – basic and advanced – are both reflective, collaborative, communal and, most importantly, fun.

The inside work is hard and after a weekend, Friday-Sunday of this excavation, a hike on North Table Mountain to see the lovely wildflowers in season at this time of year and trek along a waterfall was perfect way to relax before the long drive back to the Bay Area.

“In an Ideal World,” aired nationally in late April on World Channel as part of the fourth season of “America Reframed,” public media’s newest documentary series. The film will be available for free streaming on http://worldchannel.org/programs/episode/arf-s4-e413-ideal-world/ starting April 27, 2016.

Shot over seven years, with unprecedented access, “In an Ideal World” follows three men in California’s infamous Soledad prison – John Piccirillo, a white separatist murderer, Sam Lewis, a Black ex-gang member, and Ben Curry, a warden. Each entered the system young and learned its codes of conduct not only to maintain order and safety, but also for their personal survival.

‘And Justice for All’ Forum in Oakland

It’s about time Black folk had their own Commonwealth Club series, Michael DeFlorimonte, founder of The Registry, stated at the inauguration of the monthly speaker series focused on Black issues, The Forum. The first, held at Impact Hub Oakland, smack in the middle of downtown Oakland, next to upscale Picans and across from the Downtown YMCA – the venue and its guests were centrally located and accessible.

The panel of San Francisco Bay Area African American jurists, held on April 28 and moderated by the esteemed people’s attorney John Burris, was outstanding – from the questions posed to the intimate stories shared about law, justice and its uneven application even when one wears the proper credentials.

Seated before us were children of parents who were incarcerated and men who’d been falsely arrested and accosted by police at gunpoint. To say that these individuals were isolated or underrepresented this 50-plus anniversary season of so many civil rights firsts is unfortunately still the truth, which is another reason why “And Justice for All” is still a rallying cry on another pivotal and important anniversary, the 50th Anniversary of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.

All four panelists are prosecuting attorneys – Marin County Senior Deputy District Attorney Otis Bruce, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Safety Paul Henderson, Golden Gate University Law Professor and Director of the Litigation Center Scott Jackson and Alameda County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Madden. I found this, in itself, a provocative place to begin a conversation about justice, when from a lay perspective, defense seems the place one starts, not its opposite.

However, over the course of the evening the audience learned how the court operates and the power prosecutors hold in their positions is second really only to the judge. We learned about negotiation skills and how prosecutors who know the communities represented by the suspects can craft alternative solutions to keep Black people out of prison.

To be a Black litigator is more than having an active caseload. What it means is to impact the system so that so many Black fish are not caught in a net which, cast widely, yields a catch disproportionate to the effects of the law and law enforcement on certain communities.

Justice is certainly a goal. Each candidate for judge in their various municipalities – Alameda, Oakland, San Francisco and Marin – has changed laws, crafted statutes and made their counties or cities fairer by their active presence in seeing that justice is for all, not some privileged segment of their jurisdictions.

It would have been good to see another woman jurist, since such do exist on the bench. The questions asked of Ms. Madden were not as challenging as those directed to the other panelists. Perhaps a better way to handle the questions would have been to allow other panelists to comment on the topic after the designated person completed his or her thoughts.

I was really curious about how Mr. Otis Bruce, a Mississippi native, juxtaposes Southern politics and Northern politics in 2016. His solitary presence in an overwhelmingly white, upper income district runs contrary historically to that of his geographic origins.

There are Black people in Marin County and, if one counts San Quentin, there are a lot of Black residents there. What if prisoners could vote? Mr. Bruce spoke about going to Vallejo and Richmond, nearby cities and counties and speaking to the youth about staying out of Marin County.

A Black face in Marin County at night is like a Black face on a lone Mississippi or Alabama back road. It does not matter if one is male or female. Several years ago, I was escorted out of the county when I got lost one night after a concert.

I agree, Black youth shouldn’t act up anywhere, especially where there is zero tolerance for youthful antics, but where can a Black teenager or youth act silly and not lose his or her life? It is not as if Richmond and Vallejo are safety zones. Bruce said Black youth are ending up in Marin County courts, and when the young men see his face – they smile or nod, because they feel their chance at getting justice jumps up a few notches. This belief is not without merit, given Mr. Bruce’s record in criminal cases tried in Marin County.

Scott Jackson, of all the candidates, seemed to have the most varied preparation for the bench and in his practice as a jurist and professor. Scholarly in his inclination, his goal once elected and thereafter – a five-year projection – is to make sure his face and name become a part of the parlance in Oakland and Alameda County.

All the jurists have developed programs – Paul Henderson, perhaps the younger of the men, several. He stated that he’d like to work during his tenure and afterward to keep children out of the foster care system. So many Black parents and others lose custody of their children when incarcerated.

Foster care is the newest auction block. Just as in the past, these parents and families often do not know where their children were sent, and the children cannot locate their families once they come of age. It is an insidious judicial move that plays to the parent’s fears and often linguistic inadequacies. It is also punitive when a relative has a criminal record.

Income, housing – all important, yet tedious when the child is suffering from the trauma of mother- or father-loss. As long as the child is safe, what does it matter if the caregiver has all the amenities which are often not available because of income? The children are given to strangers who can then apply for and receive the kind of monetary resources which keep this trade in young human flesh so profitable.

Upcoming forums:

• May – The Changing Face of the Bay Area Landscape – East Bay Real Estate
• June – Healthcare
• July – Visual Arts
• August – Financial Services
• September – Food and Wine
• October – Business: C-Suite
• November – Diversity in Tech
• December – Beauty and Style: Natural Hair
• Townhall May 6 with Jennifer Madden – Jennifer Madden and Paul Henderson’s back stories are compelling. There is an opportunity to meet and speak to them on Friday, May 6, 6-7:30 p.m., at Eliza’s Pearl Arthouse at Regina’s Door, 352 17th St., Oakland.Art Exibit Opens Friday, May 6 at Impact Hub Oakland,

‘Beating the Odds’ paintings by Edythe Boone

An art exhibit of the paintings of Edythe Boone called “Beating the Odds” opened Friday, May 6, at Impact Hub Oakland, 2323 Broadway, Oakland CA, 6:30-10 p.m. This show highlights the work of community activist, educator, great-grandmother and muralist Edythe Boone. Edythe believes that art is for everyone, not just professional artists. Her mission is to empower individuals and transform communities through art.

May is Older Americans’ Month

The City of Oakland’s 164th birthday will be celebrated May 4 with activities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of and inside City Hall and the 150 Frank Ogawa Plaza Lobby in downtown Oakland. Included is a visual art exhibition, “Oakland Blazing New Trails.” The exhibit can be viewed in both buildings Monday through Friday, 9:30-4:30, until Wednesday, May 25, 2016.

African American soprano Nicole Joseph sings Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” at Oakland East Bay Symphony

The Oakland Symphony, Music Director and Conductor Michael Morgan, the Oakland Symphony Chorus and guest artists Tracy Silverman, electric violin, and soprano Nicole Joseph will conclude the Symphony’s 2015-2016 season with a concert of music by John Adams, Stravinsky, Barber and Ravel on Friday, May 20, 8 p.m., at the Paramount Theatre. Mr. Silverman will perform John Adams’ “The Dharma at Big Sur” for orchestra and electric violin.

Ms. Joseph, who was the winner of the 2015 Toland Vocal Arts Competition, will sing Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915.” Completing the evening will be Stravinsky’s “Symphony of Psalms” with the Oakland Symphony Chorus, Lynne Morrow, director, and Ravel’s “La Valse.” Pre-concert drinks, lobby entertainment and a talk begin at 7 p.m., and the concert is sponsored by Bell Investment Advisors. Tickets are priced $20-$75 and may be purchased at www.oaklandsymphony.org.

Bay Area composer John Adams composed “The Dharma at Big Sur” for the opening of Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles in 2003, with Tracy Silverman as its electric violin soloist. In addition to an unusual solo instrument, its playful orchestration includes electronic samplers, ten gongs and two flower pots. Dharma’s sinuous solo passages and descriptive orchestral writing emerge as if from a fog into crystal clear phrases in homage to American composers Lou Harrison and Terry Riley.

Adams composed it to evoke what he calls the “shock of recognition” that happens when reaching the end of a continental land mass in a spectacular place like Big Sur, California. Barber’s equally evocative musical memory of a summer evening, Stravinsky’s neoclassical choral symphony and Ravel’s ebullient, dance-hall romp are the perfect complements to Adams’ concerto. The performance of “The Dharma at Big Sur” is underwritten by a grant from the Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation, that would be appreciated.

San Francisco Silent Film Festival features a rare film by Oscar Micheaux, ‘Within Our Gates’

On Saturday, June 4, 5:15 p.m., at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, see “Within Our Gates,” a rare film directed by Oscar Micheaux in 1920 (USA, 83 minutes) featuring Evelyn Preer, Flo Clements, James D. Ruffin and Jack Chenault. “Within Our Gates” is the oldest surviving film made by an African-American director and an intrepid rebuttal not only to D.W. Griffith’s racist epic “The Birth of a Nation” (1915) but also a history lesson to white America shocked by the 1919 riots.

It portrays the early years of Jim Crow, the revival of the Ku Klux Klan and the Great Migration in the story of a young African-American woman who goes North to try to raise money for a poor, rural school in the Deep South. “Within Our Gates” confronts the racial violence of the time with the same vigor as it counters hateful stereotypes.

This will be the San Francisco premiere of a new score for strings and voice by acclaimed composer Adolphus Hailstork. The live musical accompaniment will be by Oakland Symphony musicians and members of the Oakland Symphony Chorus, conducted by Michael Morgan.

‘Agents of Change’ tells radical history of San Francisco State University

“Agents of Change,” a powerful documentary about the Black student-led protest movement on college campuses in the late 1960s and its connection to the Black Lives Matter movement and campus protests of today, will have its Bay Area premiere at the Castro Theater on May 15 at 1 p.m., with KRON’s Pam Moore moderating the on-stage discussion following the screening. The film won the Jury Award and the Audience Award for Best Feature Documentary at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Filmmakers Abby Ginzberg of Berkeley and Frank Dawson of Los Angeles will be joined by SF State activists featured in the film. Tickets are available through Eventbrite, at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/agents-of-change-bay-area-film-premiere-tickets-23117066769.

On the fly

San Francisco International Arts Festival; Yerba Buena Gardens Music Festival; San Francisco International Film Festival; Ifa Festival in Oakland; “Antony and Cleopatra” at African American Shakespeare Company; The Grace Jones Project at MoAD; “Take this Hammer” at YBCA; “The Mountaintop” at Contra Costa Civic Theatre; “Sojourner” and “runboyrun” at The Magic Theatre; “Red Velvet” at San Francisco Playhouse; “Six Degrees of Separation” at Custom Made Theatre; “Mas” at Ubuntu Theatre Project; “To Kill a Mockingbird” at Berkeley Playhouse.

African Liberation Day 2016

African Liberation Day (ALD) was founded as African Freedom Day on April 15, 1958, at the first Conference of Independent African States in Accra, Ghana. This conference laid the foundation and strategy for the further intensification and coordination of the next stage of the African Revolution, which would ultimately culminate in the complete unification of the African continent.

With the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on May 25, 1963, African Freedom Day became African Liberation Day. Since then, May 25 has been celebrated throughout the African world as a day to mark our ongoing determination to free ourselves from foreign domination and exploitation. And it is in the spirit of the first African Freedom Day that the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party and the Bay Area African United Front invites you to join us in celebrating 58 years of African Liberation Day.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wanda@wandaspicks.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 7 a.m. and Fridays at 8 a.m., can be heard by phone at 347-237-4610 and are archived at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks.

The post Wanda’s Picks for May-June 2016 appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by Wanda Sabir

Happy Black History Month. Knowledge is power, something Black people from Frederick Douglass to Sojourner Truth, Rosa Parks to Kamala Harris have never taken for granted. If white people would kill a Black person for teaching someone to read, not to mention knowing how to read – enough said! The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), Dr. Carter G. Woodson’s organization, has chosen the theme: “Crisis in Education” for 2017.

Happy Birthday, dear brother Fred Batin, one of the best fathers I know, a man whose children, Wilda and Wilfred, are honored each February by the Mayor’s Office in San Francisco for their academic excellence. Widya is the subject of a film and was honored by the National Council of Negro Women, Golden Gate Section, as a youth leader for her work in developing the Buchanan Mall.

We will miss our dearly departed ones: Great Auntie Olivia Samaiyah Beyah-Bailey (Dec. 1, 1918-Jan. 19, 2017) and Lee Williams (Sept. 2, 1937-Jan. 1, 2017).

27^th Annual Celebration of African American Poets and Their Poetry

Join us for the longest consecutive public program in the Oakland Public Library system: “A Celebration of African American Poets and Their Poetry.” We have adopted the ASALH theme, “Crisis in Black Education.” Perhaps James Weldon Johnson was thinking about educational access and equity when he was a high school principal at the segregated Stanton School in Jacksonville, Florida?

In 1900, “Johnson wrote a poem that would become the lyrics to music written by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson. ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ was first performed publicly at his school during a celebration for Abraham Lincoln’s birthday Feb. 12.” Only 37 years earlier, Lincoln ended slavery by signing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. In 1919, the NAACP adopted “Lift Every Voice” as its official song. In 1918 World War I ended, yet in 1919, nothing had changed for Black Americans. That year saw increased racial violence in the United States, documented by history professor and author David F. Krugler in his book, “1919, The Year of Racial Violence: How African Americans Fought Back.”

The African American Poetry Celebration is Saturday, Feb. 4, 1-4 p.m., at the West Oakland Branch Library, 1801 Adeline St., in Oakland. It is free and open to all. We are looking for footage from the previous 26 years. If anyone bought copies from KTOP and can share these VHS tapes with us, for our archives, we would really appreciate it. The featured program, which Wanda Sabir hosts, includes many renowned poets like Avotcja, Steve McCutchen, Paradise, Karen Mims, Charles Blackwell, Gene Howell Jr., Halifu Osumare, Karla Brundage, Leroy Moore, Andre Wilson, Ayodele Nzinga, Darlene Roberts, Tyrice Deane, Nicia Delovely, Chris Harris. This year we will also honor the memory of Lee Williams (Sept. 2, 1937-Jan. 1, 2017).

There is an open mic at the end and refreshments throughout the program, which is family friendly. For information or if you want to help at the program, contact 510-238-7352 or info@wandaspicks.com.

Maafa San Francisco Bay Area – Feb. 25 National Libation for the Ancestors

We are asking everyone to pour libations Saturday, Feb. 25, for African Ancestors of the Middle Passage to coincide with NCOBRA or the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America’s “Reparations Awareness Day,” 2/25. We could pour at 9 a.m. Pacific Time for Umoja or Unity. In the East Bay, we will meet at Alameda beach: Grand and Shoreline at the water. Wear white.

21^st Annual Maafa Commemoration San Francisco Bay Area

The 21^st Annual Maafa Commemoration 2016 was really wonderful! As usual there was magic on the beach – we witnessed a reverse rainbow. As we looked up, the bow was translucent, the color below on our faces. Osumare was telling us that we were the blessing that morning. There were a lot of youth. King Theo brought some of his drummers from Oakland, and the young men really made the ritual strong and powerful.

Sister Bisola’s ring shout was awesome as we surrounded the youth and anyone who needed special healing. Dr. Marcus had us touch each other’s shoulders as we did an ancestral meditation.

Visiting from Elmina, Ghana, Seesta Imahkus Okofu brought affirmation, poetry and greetings from One Africa; we then tossed flowers on the waters. With the Doors of No Return situated behind the altar, the view gave us a different angle and level of contemplation. The day had a sepia hue.

Several of us stayed and talked long into the afternoon with several young men from Richmond, California. One young man shared how he’d been shot recently in a driveby as he stood speaking with friends, some coworkers. Just out of high school, he was working and had the day off that afternoon. We spoke about getting together monthly to talk, perhaps participate in a recreational outing. So far, this has not happened, but we can talk about this and other items when we meet and share. It is to our collective interest to safeguard the well-being of our youth. The first words from my mouth were safety. The youth said he lived with his mom and that he did not feel safe, but had nowhere else to go.

I am so happy to have seen so many brothers and sisters whom I met at the ceremony last October since then. One sister hopped out the car the other day when she saw me crossing the parking lot at a store we were both shopping at.

At last year’s Maafa, I walked the ritual circle and gave everyone a button. The buttons were for the 20^th Anniversary but I forgot them at home in 2015, so throughout October 2015 until I ran out, I kept buttons in my purse, car and pockets. I ordered another one hundred for 2016. Let me know if you need one and I will bring several to Crab Cove beach in Alameda, Feb. 25, 9 a.m. If you do not hear from me, leave me a message: 510-255-5579.

I would like to have a gathering soon to share Maafa Commemoration experiences, photos and talk about plans for 2017. We could certainly have a film and discussion night, Ubuntu Council Night, to share and resolve issues of concern, have skill building workshops for harm reduction, trauma and trauma healing. We could go to cultural events as a group. “Native Son” at the Marin Theatre Company is one such show, as are Ubuntu Theater Project and the Lower Bottom Playaz performances.

I am thinking about a late February, early March get together. If anyone wants to host it, let me know that too. I was thinking about Keba Konte’s Red Bay Coffee, a lovely space in East Oakland near Fruitvale.

‘All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50,’ an exhibition for the people, extended through Feb. 26

Don’t miss “All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50,” which closes Feb. 26 with a Member Night Party. I love David Huffman’s “Traumanauts,” Hank Williams’s “We the People,” constructed from prison inmate clothing, and “Black Righteous Place,” artist Sadie Barnette’s excavation, through COINTELPRO documents, of the history made by her father, Rodney Barnette, which is also touching as is Carrie Mae Weems location dislocation installation.

Weems’s work is always provocative. Her soundtrack narrates the story unfolding on the screen. Then we get up and look at the black and white prints of the Assassination of Medgar, Malcolm and Martin (2008) – where once again Weems enters and interrupts an historic narrative. Curated by Rene Guzman, the marvelous exhibition also employs listening stations where patrons are treated to a revolutionary soundtrack and invited to get on the mic and speak their own truths. Actual pieces of buildings are in cases, evidence that there was something there, before it was no longer there – like a people, erased from collective memory. There is an exhibit which maps the Black Panther Party geographically.

From the opening gallery where we read the 10-Point Platform boldly printed on the wall, while the iconic peacock chair invites guests to sit and take a photo, to the thoughtful use of space, “All Power to the People” is an engaging walk through history that is interactive as well as informative. Patrons read the stories of powerful party women in their youth, juxtaposed with reflections captured in Bryan Shih’s portraits. Artifacts lie disturbed in display cases while footage rolls nearby with more of the story, like that explored visually in the photo and actual Klu Klux Klan capes worn by participants in a march in downtown Oakland.

There are also dashikis and berets, posters, signs and of course lots of old newspapers with headlines ironically still appropriate today. There is a section on newspaper artists: Gayle Dixon’s work is highlighted, as is, of course, the unforgettable work of Black Panther Minister of Culture Emory Douglas. The Oakland Museum of CA is located on 10^th and Oak Street, across the street from Laney College and the Lake Merritt BART Station. Visit http://museumca.org/exhibit/all-power-people-black-panthers-50.

Distinguished panel on solitary confinement at The Exploratorium

After Dark Every Thursday Night at The Exploratorium in San Francisco continues its In-the-Balance Series with a panel on solitary confinement. “In My Solitude: The Detrimental Effects of Solitary Confinement on the Brain” is hosted by University of California Hastings College of the Law Chancellor and Dean and John F. Digardi Distinguished Professor of Law David L. Faigman on Thursday, Feb. 16, 6-10 p.m., in the Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery on Pier 15, Embarcadero at Green Street, San Francisco, 415-528-4444. Panelists Dr. Robert H. King, Craig Haney, J.D., Ph.D., Jules Lobel, J.D., Michael Zigmond, Ph.D., and Brie Williams, M.D., will discuss the use and impact of neuroscience in the landmark case against long term solitary confinement that resulted in a massive policy change in California’s prison system.

‘Death of a Salesman’

Ubuntu Theater Project presents “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller on Friday, Feb. 10, at 8 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 11, at 8 p.m. through Sun 3/5 @ 7 pm at the Brooklyn Preserve, 1433 12th Ave., Oakland. Ubuntu is theatre by and for the People. Visit ubuntutheaterproject.com. Tickets are sold online for $15-$35 and at the door each night on a pay-what-you-can basis so that no one will be turned away for a lack of funds.

This season Ubuntu explores the human side of significant political and cultural shifts across the globe: As numerous communities cry for mercy in the midst of suffering, how can we, in an increasingly polarized society, find the grace needed to hear – and respond to – the cries of others?

“Death of a Salesman” is an American classic that delves inside the soul of a middle-aged businessman who cannot come to terms with the reality of a changing America. Arthur Miller’s prescient masterwork is a dire warning of the hollowness at the heart of the American Dream. As suicide rates among middle-aged white men in the United States rise faster than among any other demographic, promises to reclaim an America of yesteryear found resonance among a large portion of American voters in November. We are once again at a moment when attention must be paid! But, how? To whom? From whom?

Ubuntu frames this American classic as a fever dream of a dying salesman, revealing how “Death of a Salesman” is both a timeless myth speaking to the current crisis of American identity and a radical call for compassion uniquely suited to the current moment.

On the fly

The Art of Living Black (TAOLB) at the Richmond Art Center, opens Jan. 10 and will run until March 2. The reception and artist talks will be held on Sat. Feb. 4, 12 noon to 5 p.m. RAC is at 2540 Barrett Ave. Richmond, www.richmondartcenter.org.

Second Saturday Reception, Feb. 11, 7-10 p.m., with the Broun Fellinis Live Jazz Event at the Museum of the African Diaspora. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts presents “Clas/sick Hip Hop,” a dance and music double bill featuring Amy O’Neal’s Opposing Forces and UnderCover Presents: A Tribute to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on Feb. 16-18.

V-Day at UC Berkeley! “The Vagina Monologues” will be performed Thursday-Friday, Feb. 9-10, 7:20-10:00 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 12, 1:30-5:00 in the Pauley Ballroom, ASUC MLK Student Union, 2495 Bancroft Way at the intersection of Telegraph and Bancroft, Berkeley. “The Vagina Monologues” is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler. It is performed in communities and on college campuses across the nation to raise awareness to issues that affect women.

Proceeds from the event are donated to local organizations that support and provide resources for survivors of sexual violence and other forms of gendered violence. This year one of these organizations is California Coalition for Women Prisoners. The theme for this year’s UC Berkeley production of “The Vagina Monologues” is “Healing as Resistance: Stories of Radical Self-Love.” ADA accessible. For information: vagmonsucb@gmail.com.

“Black Virgins Aren’t for Hipsters” is back! Feb. 10 (8 p.m.), 11 (8 p.m.) and 19 (5 p.m.) at Tribe Oakland, 3303 San Pablo Ave., Oakland.

“Black Choreographers Festival Here and Now 2017” is Feb. 11-26 in Oakland and San Francisco. Featured on Feb. 11-12, in Oakland at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., are Delina Patrice Brooks (film screening and conversation on Sunday only), Alexander Zander Brown and the Earth Dance Mafia, Ibrahima Diouf, Deborah Vaughan and Dimensions Dance Theater, Marc Bamuthi Joseph (Saturday only), Nafi Watson and the Bahiya Movement (Sunday only) and Phylicia Stroud. Featured in San Francisco at Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St., Feb. 18-19 are Byb Chanel Bibene and the Kiandanda Dance Theater, Gregory Dawson, dawsondancesf, Maurya Kerr and tinypistol, Marc Bamuthi Joseph (Sunday only), Robert Moses and Robert Moses’ Kin, and Raissa Simpson and PUSH Dance Company. Featured Feb. 25-26 in San Francisco are Chris Evans, dana e. fitchett, Ashley Gayle and Noah James, Stephanie Hewett, Sheena Johnson, Erik Lee, Carmen Román (film screening on Saturday only), Dazaun Soleyn, Nafi Watson and the Bahiya Movement (Saturday only), and Jamie Wright and The DanceWright Project (Sunday only). Tickets are $10-$30. To reserve tickets online for the first weekend in Oakland, visit brownpapertickets.com/event 2793342. To reserve tickets online for the following two weekends in San Francisco, visit brownpapertickets.com/event/2793299. Group discounts are available for groups of 10 or more: Call 866-553-5885.

Book event: David Billings, author of “Deep Denial,” will be speaking at the North Berkeley Library at 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19. (The library is being opened especially for this event.) He’s then speaking that evening, 6-9 p.m., at the Eric Quesada Center, 518 Valencia St., San Francisco.

Sunday, Feb. 12, Jazz in the Neighborhood presents Eclectic Squeezebox Orchestra with Avotcja and School of the Arts Latin Big Band led by Melecio Magdaluyo, at 5:30-9 p.m. at DOC’s LAB, 124 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, $10; tickets: http://www.ticketfly.com/event/1410547-electric-squeezebox-orchestra-san-francisco/.

“Music of the Word” at Cesar Chavez Library in Oakland, 3-5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, 3301 East 12th St. at 33rd Avenue. Visit http://www.avotcja.org/upcoming-events.html. Kahil El’Zabar and the New Ethnic Heritage Ensemble at EastSide Arts Sunday, Feb. 5, 6-8 p.m., 2277 International Blvd, Oakland, www.eastsideartsalliance.org.

Living Artist presents artworks that include goauche paintings, fused glass and mixed media, photo prints and prints embracing humanity at the Laurel Bookstore, 1423 Broadway, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, 5-8 p.m. is the reception. Oakland Museum’s “All Power to the People: The Black Panthers at 50” closes Feb. 26. Don’t miss it or the special programs. Visit museumca.org.

The 3.9 Art Collective presents ‘A Call for Beauty’

“A Call for Beauty,” curated by the 3.9 Art Collective, is up through Feb. 28 at Root Division, 1131 Mission St., San Francisco. Gallery hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 2-6 p.m., 415-863-7668 or info@rootdivision.org. The 3.9 Art Collective took its name from a report in the San Francisco Bay View newspaper of draft 2010 Census figures saying the city’s Black population had decreased dramatically – to 3.9 percent of the total population – and adopted the statistic as an act of resistance.

“The word ‘Black’ now is synonymous with ‘vanishing’,” the collective writes on its website. “According to the 2010 census, the African American population in San Francisco has declined to 3.9 percent, in a city that has always considered its cultural diversity as one of its strengths. Where once stood a people who were vibrant, productive and an integral part of the city’s daily life, African Americans are on the verge of dissident status.

“This collective, created by San Francisco artists Nancy Cato, Rodney Ewing, Sirron Norris, William Rhodes and Ron Moultrie Saunders, has adopted this statistic and forged a banner of support and resistance. Their work represents their creative contribution to the African American existence, enriching the greater San Francisco artistic community with their narratives and perspectives born from being members of a diaspora community. The work may not stem on the side of exodus, but to paraphrase the poet Dylan Thomas: ‘We will not go quietly into that good night.’”

‘Coming Clean San Francisco’

“Coming Clean San Francisco” is a multi-media exhibition amplifying the intimate experience of homelessness through the artist’s lens. A cultural intervention and a first time collaboration between Fouladi Projects and Lava Mae based on a shared belief that art as a cultural tool has the capacity to elicit a visceral, almost cellular reaction in a way information cannot, challenging us to push beyond the stereotypes that frame our current perceptions.

“Coming Clean SF” will feature weekly evening programming at Fouladi Projects, 1803 Market St. at Guerrero, San Francisco, 415-621-2535 gallery, 415-425-2091 cell. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 12-6 p.m. Artists include Amy Wilson Faville, Elizabeth Lo, Danielle Nelson Mourning, Ramekon O’Arwisters, Joel Daniel Phillips, Yon Sim and Kathryn Spence. The exhibit is on view Jan. 10 through Feb. 25.

The Wattis Institute presents Tongo Eisen-Martin

Artist David Hammons has spent a lot of time with poets over the years – Darius James, Steve Cannon, Ben Okri, the late John Farris, to name a few. San Francisco poet Tongo Eisen-Martin spends a lot of time with other poets. For this event, he brings together his community of peers for an evening of poetry and performance. This event, Feb. 21, 7 p.m., at the California College of the Arts Wattis Institute, 360 Kansas St., between 16^th and 17th streets, in San Francisco, features performances by poets Josiah Alderete, Tongo Eisen-Martin, Raina Leon and Andrea Murphy and music by Lewis Jordan and Akinyele Sadiq.

This is the seventh event in CCA’s The Wattis Institute’s year-long season about and around the work of David Hammons.

From Oakland to Paris: Shola Adisa-Farar returns for a CD release

Shola Adisa-Farrar performs live in California for the first time since the release of her debut album, “Lost Myself.” She has two Bay Area dates: Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the Black Cat, San Francisco, two sets, first at 9:30 p.m. Reservations should be made at http://www.blackcatsf.com/event/shola-adisa-farrar or by calling 415-358-1999.

The second show is Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Soundroom, Oakland. The concert begins at 8pm. Doors open at 7 p.m. For tickets, go to http://m.bpt.me/event/2777325.

The Mighty Ring Shout and Its Spirituals

At the West Oakland Branch Library, 1801 Adeline St., Saturday, Feb. 18, 1-3:30 p.m., Friends of the Negro Spirituals (FNS) will present an education program consisting of a presentation on the amazingly exciting, often high energy and almost forgotten Ring Shout, which includes African traditions of call and response, dance, storytelling, African spirituality, communicating in code and honoring the ancestors.

With audience participation, Angela Thomas, FNS’ education co-chair and song leader, will demonstrate singing the shout spirituals, handclapping and beating the stick that takes place in the Ring Shout; there will be video clips of it also.

Come prepared to learn what the Ring Shout is. What are its origins and meanings? Was it a new song created by enslaved Africans and African Americans to replace older traditions outlawed by their captives?

African American Quilt Guild of Oakland’s Annual Demonstration

Celebrate African American History Month with the African American Quilt Guild of Oakland’s Annual Demonstration and Workshop. Supplies will be provided so that you can make your own quilt. All levels and ages are welcome, at the West Oakland Library, 1801 Adeline St., Saturday, Feb. 25, 1-4 p.m.

‘Star Trek: 50 Artists. 50 Years’ at Chabot Space and Science Center

On Friday, Feb. 3, from 6 to 10 p.m., as part of the $5 First Friday, Chabot presents a galactic night of exploration into the cosmos and beyond, celebrating the 50^th anniversary of “Star Trek” and the opening of “50 Artists. 50 Years.” Visitors will participate in fun, interactive and family-oriented activities exploring the intersection of art and science throughout the center.

On Saturday, Feb. 18, from 6 to 10 p.m., adult visitors will have their last chance to experience “Star Trek: 50 Artists. 50 Years” during a themed closing reception with space-inspired cocktails, a hands-on Theremin live musical performance and space music-making demonstration highlighting the evening. Visitors will also learn about the possibility of life on other planets from Berkeley SETI Research Center Chief Scientist and Star Trek fan Dan Werthimer, among other activities sure to “engage” the most avid “Star Trek” fan. The Feb. 18 event is ages 21-and-over only. Stay updated on additional event highlights soon to be announced at www.chabotspace.org

Oakland Symphony Essentials preview Event Feb. 7 at Oakland Intertribal Friendship House

Music Director Michael Morgan and the Oakland Symphony continue their annual exploration of world orchestral music traditions this season with “Notes from Native America,” Friday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre. The concert will feature music by award-winning composers Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate and John Wineglass plus Northern California’s own Su-Nu-Nu-Shinal Pomo Dancers. The Symphony will perform “Clans” and “Hymns” from Tate’s “Lowak Shoppala” (“Fire and Light”) with narrator and men’s chorus and Wineglass’ “Big Sur: The Night Sun.” Completing the program will be Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9.

The Symphony’s “Notes from …” series has become a popular mainstay of the Bay Area music scene and annually explores symphonic music, both new and traditional, from cultures that may be less well known to audiences. Free lobby entertainment, no-host drinks and pre-concert talk begin at 7 pm. Tickets are priced $25-$80 and may be purchased at www.OaklandSymphony.org.

In addition to the concert, Oakland Symphony will present a special pre-concert Essentials event Tuesday, Feb. 7, 6:30-8:30 pm. The free admission evening will feature talk and performances by flutist Emiliano Campobello, vocalist Kanyon Sayers-Roods, Vincent Medina, Michael Bellanger, All Nations Drum and Yvonne Marshall. Food will be provided by Wahpepah’s Kitchen. Intertribal Friendship House is located at 523 International Blvd in Oakland. The event is free, but reservations are required, at https://oaklandsymphonyessentials-notesofnativeamerica.eventbrite.com.

‘I Am Not Your Negro’

Raoul Peck, director of “I Am Not Your Negro,” reflects on James Baldwin’s ability to articulate the cognitive dissonance Peck felt as a Diaspora man born in Haiti, who came of age in Patrice Lumumba’s Democratic Republic of Congo. Tossed abroad on waves of political uncertainly and unrest, young Peck, at the age of 8, and Baldwin, at 24, both knew exile. Though he attended schools in the United States, France and Germany, the splayed root worker finds his voice in the work of Baldwin. Peck says: “James Baldwin was one of the few authors I could call ‘my own’ – authors who were speaking of a world I knew, in which I was not just a footnote or a third-rate character. They were telling stories describing history and defining structures and human rela­tionships that matched what I was seeing around me.” He says, “I could relate to [him].”

“I Am Not Your Negro,” which opens theatrically Feb. 3 nationwide, presented an opportunity for the director to play it forward, to salute Baldwin at a time when no one but a James Baldwin would admit that the emperor has taken off his robes. Just this truth, stated in Baldwin’s matter-of-fact tone or uttered similarly by Samuel Jackson (narrator), makes the film refreshing. Equally compelling is Baldwin’s voice reflecting aloud what it meant to lose his friend Martin, after losing Medgar and Malcolm. He says he is not going to weep at King’s funeral, then stumbles into Harry Belafonte’s arms.

A man of strong emotions, we feel the loss as director Raoul Peck moves the lens from then to now, from Mississippi to Ferguson. Baldwin states, “The story of the Negro is the story of America,” as the activist’s voice collides with lyrics: “I am a Black man in a white world” while images of white youth holding bats face Martin Luther King and other freedom fighters ready to die for democracy – if this is what it would take.

This discovery of a text, a forgotten, unfinished, unpublished text of his hero is the stuff of fairytales and wishful thinking. Could Peck believe his good fortune? What spin would he put on Baldwin’s words? How would he translate the work into a visual medium? For ten years, Peck has had access to Baldwin’s writings and the blessings of Baldwin’s sister Gloria Karefa-Smart, who after giving Peck keys to the treasure, shared a “pile of neatly (and partly crossed out) typewritten pages and letter” with the director. This last bit of writing just what Peck needed and forms the nexus of the work. These typed words open the film, give it context and history, the prelude the story of a nation, a nation built on a legacy of racism and white supremacy.

What house does Baldwin reference in his working manuscript title, “Remember This House”? He speaks often of houses in his work, whether that is a solitary room in a house, a street that talks about houses and the people that live in them or the absence of many houses on mountain tops.

Death sets up a certain dilemma, art often a way to unpack the heaviness attached to grief and loss. In 1979, Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent about a new project, one where he would examine the lives of three men who were killed within five years of one another: Medger Evers (June 12, 1963), Malcolm X (Feb. 21, 1965) and Martin King (April 4, 1968).

Not only does Peck give the 30-page manuscript a place to stretch, the film also hosts Baldwin as interlocutor along the thematic tightrope he has walked all his life. Peck’s film is perhaps a sequel to the powerful tribute to Baldwin, “The Price of the Ticket” (1989), directed by Karen Thorsen.

“Remember This House” stands as kindling is stacked against the barn next to the kerosene next to a box of matches. If Baldwin’s seminal essay collections, “The Fire Next Time,” juxtaposed with “Notes of a Native Son” and the “The Price of the Ticket,” serve as prelude, then what Peck has crafted here in Baldwin’s words against a backdrop of historic and contemporary images and music is a call to action fueled by pertinent yet unanswered questions.

The film is methodic and slow. It is as if we are on a train, perhaps a Mule Train, like the one assembled for the Poor People’s Campaign Settlement at the capital in spring 1968 – a trip Martin King missed, felled by an assassin’s bullet.

Baldwin is such an analytical thinker that “I Am Not Your Negro” requires a certain commitment to truth. Peck’s film and Baldwin’s words are an American history primer “For DUMMYS ®” – it is a civil rights march through a history papered by Black bodies hanging, buried and butchered. Peck’s “I Am Not Your Negro” challenges audiences, a challenge significantly lightened by a charismatic Baldwin who appears often on screen in the film with his lovely laugh, humor and riveting eyes.

He has a way of laughing the initial sting away; however, the grandson of enslaved Africans does not forget or let anyone else forget what it feels like to be Black and American then or now.

Nambi E. Kelley’s ‘Native Son’ at MTC

For those who don’t know author Richard Wright, his seminal text, “Native Son,” looks at the made in America phenomenon, the American Negro. Both Wright and Mary Shelley situate their tales in bleak, dark settings where the protagonists, Bigger Thomas and the creature (Adam) are pawns in creation mythologies authored by devils, the Daltons and Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Perhaps more native or indigenous because of its patent, the protagonist Bigger Thomas has issue with the psychic occupation he feels every day of his life. There is no slumber, no rest. He says, “They own the world,” as whiteness intrudes his waking dreams. Frankenstein’s creature agrees when he learns sadly that his master both fears and hates him.

Playwright Nambi E. Kelley’s adaptation of Wright’s novel (1940) for stage, under the direction of Seret Scott at the Marin Theatre Company with a cast handpicked for the synergy created in their portrayal of this iconic, historic character, resonates a century later at a time when Black lives still do not matter. The world young Bigger, 20, was being birthed into was not one he looked forward to. His mother Hannah recalls her boy’s reticence to enter a world meant to destroy him – if not his life, then his dreams. Her son did not want to leave the sanctity of the womb, a place where there was comfort, love and safety for a place he knew instinctively he would not find the same nurturing or support.

Home for Bigger is a place where he is surrounded by enemies whom he was powerless to defend himself against – he could not even escape them in his dreams, as whiteness seemed to control everything his mind touched. Similar to other iconic Black warriors castrated during puberty rites, like Malcolm Little and even the fictional Walter Lee II, Bigger doesn’t stand a chance.

When Bigger is offered a job by his slumlord apartment owners, he is not grateful; he takes the job because his mother all but forces him into it. Driving rich white people around does nothing for his ego – it’s not his car, and white people make the youth nervous, especially his boss’s daughter, Mary, and her communist boyfriend, Jan; both drink too much and both want to be his friend.

As the two sandwich Bigger between then and offer him a drink from a decanter, he wishes they would stop intruding into spaces carefully designed to keep the races apart. He is well-rehearsed in his role and knows such familiarity can only lead to his destruction. His stage manager is The Black Rat, a clever creature whom Bigger knows intimately.

Bigger tries to kill or silence the rat who keeps showing up in his apartment, but the creature won’t die. Similar to a whiteness which colors his aspirations or life, Black Rat advises Bigger, rehearses his lines with him, like a catechism: “You are nothing; you will amount to nothing.” The two are connected at the hip, conjoined, inseparable – yet even here, Kelley and Wright’s Bigger is allowed agency. The murders he commits real, yet also symbolic.

Though Bigger knows his role well, there is a part of him that refuses to settle for such a dismal life – he remembers his father’s death. He went out with a blaze, like a comet. Yet, all the native son feels is fear. He is so frightened by a life shrouded in Blackness.

Giulio Cesare Perrone’s set is stark, empty – the scaffolding suggests a psychic and material interior we do not see. There is nothing between Bigger and the world – no insulation, no walls, no heat, no love. He lives in the “between,” neither here nor there. His only solace is following the rules which Black Rat reminds him of. Bigger is subject to all the elements – freezing cold when we meet him and blazing heat when he gets the position at the Daltons.

The Daltons’s system of economic exclusion as property owners and developers incubate a reality which produces boys like Bigger Thomas. How can the Black boy dream when he cannot see beyond the confines of the prison where he and his family are entrapped? Yet, if not for himself, Bigger dreams for Buddy, his brother, who is smart. He dreams a legitimate life for his gifted sibling.

It is almost as if Mrs. Dalton, like Oedipus, blinds herself. However, the self-mutilation is not out of shame. She and Mr. Dalton are blind to their systemic acts of terrorism. Hannah, Bigger’s mother, knows there are other more attractive apartments available, but Dalton Associates will not rent these flats to Black people. Mr. Dalton’s gifts to the NAACP and to local recreation centers where Bigger plays pool have no impact on the trajectory Bigger and other Biggers find themselves tumbling into. Reminiscent of Illinois Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks’s poem, “We Real Cool” (1960), Wright’s nemesis is “real cool. He left school. Lurk(s) late. Strikes straight. Sing(s) sin. Think(s) gin. Jazz(es) June. Die(s) (all too) soon.”

Actualized only by his criminal behavior, Bigger is anonymous until he is “wanted.” OJ Simpson suffers a similar fate when he is accused of killing his white wife. Murder is his claim to fame. It is as if this monstrosity is central to Black manhood. Even Jan, Mary Dalton’s communist friend, fails to own his part in the tragedy. Whiteness does not ask for self-reflection, so as Bigger and Black Rat reflect on circumstances and try to do a bit of damage control themselves and can’t, they realize that the world Bigger occupies means nothing but trouble for the Black man.

That Mrs. Dalton so easily jokes with Bigger about her blindness and how easily it was for her to give it up, points philosophically to an innate callousness and carelessness of the system of white supremacy and racial hatred.

Bigger is beaten physically by the police when he tries to protect his mother, and psychologically by the world, which only works for white people. There is no reward, so Bigger runs, chased by nightmares all too real. Even if he is the only one who can see and hear Black Rat, whom the family thinks is dead, until Black Rat reappears like a talisman. Black families on Chicago’s Southside know there is no poison strong enough to rid their lives of this pestilence. Black Rat’s reincarnation is guaranteed by societal circumstances then and now. It is what W.E.B Dubois calls double consciousness – the public and the interior self – The Rat vs. Bigger Thomas.

Bigger despises not just the white world, more so he despises his cowardliness, that is, until he musters nerve to slay the ghost which haunts him. Only then can he stand as a man, and stop running. Only then does the fear dissipate like the filament of a bad dream. Rat and Bigger struggle for life – however, Black Rat has to die for Bigger to live. Rat is an accommodationist, while Bigger wants to be a man. Rat would settle for being a Negro, a manufactured concoction no one respects, not even other Negroes, but, given the duality, when Bigger disappears, so does he.

From Chicago native Jerod Haynes in the title role and his alter-ego, William Hartfield’s The Black Rat, to Rosie Hallet as Mary, the rich girl who tips the cart over, she and her boyfriend Jan (Adam Magill) responsible for the immediate mess; to Ryan Nicole Austin’s “Bessie,” Bigger’s girl whose love for the “monster” gives her a hangover. Then there is Dane Troy’s Buddy, Bigger’s kid brother who sees through Bigger’s bravado to his fears and C. Kelly Wright’s Hannah, Bigger’s mother, who pushes her son and pushes her son until he backs into himself.

The Bigger Thomas story situated in the rest of the world, the part that counts, is occupied by others – others like Mary’s parents, the intentionally blinded Mrs. Dalton (actress Courtney Walsh) and her husband and the detective (actor Patrick Kelly Jones). There is no compassion for Bigger or his family or his community. In fact, some Black people are angry and afraid Bigger’s criminal behavior will further reduce the size of the Negro world and make it harder for them to live in communities white America has allowed them access. They have gotten used to going without, not so Bigger, who is a lot like his dad.

Don’t miss this riveting production at Marin Theatre Company through Feb. 12 that put Nambi E. Kelley’s “Native Son” at the center of its 50^th anniversary season. MTC is located at 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. Visit marintheatre.org or call 415-388-5208.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wanda@wandaspicks.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 7 a.m. and Fridays at 8 a.m., can be heard by phone at 347-237-4610 and are archived at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks.

The post Wanda’s Picks for February 2017 appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by Wanda Sabir

Happy Birthday, Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson (Dec. 19, 1875 – April 3, 1950), father of Black History, founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Happy 60th Birthday to those born in 1958 (smile).

ASALH’s 2019 theme Black Migrations emphasizes the movement of people of African descent to new destinations and subsequently to new social realities. While inclusive of earlier centuries, this theme focuses especially on the 20th century through today. Beginning in the early decades of the 20th century, African American migration patterns included relocation from Southern farms to Southern cities; from the South to the Northeast, Midwest and West; from the Caribbean to U.S. cities as well as to migrant labor farms; and the emigration of noted African Americans to Africa and to European cities, such as Paris and London, after the end of World War I and World War II.

Such migrations resulted in a more diverse and stratified interracial and intra-racial urban population amid a changing social milieu, such as the rise of the Garvey movement in New York, Detroit and New Orleans; the emergence of both Black industrial workers and Black entrepreneurs; the growing number and variety of urban churches and new religions; new music forms like ragtime, blues and jazz; white backlash as in the Red Summer of 1919; the blossoming of visual and literary arts, as in New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Paris in the 1910s and 1920s.

The theme Black Migrations equally lends itself to the exploration of the century’s later decades from spatial and social perspectives, with attention to “new” African Americans because of the burgeoning African and Caribbean population in the U.S.; Northern African Americans’ return to the South; racial suburbanization; inner-city hyperghettoization; health and environment; civil rights and protest activism; electoral politics; mass incarceration; and dynamic cultural production.

Also as we think about Black Migrations we also think about forced migrations, 1619 to 2019 and the consequences of displacement on a people stranded. Michelle Obama says in “Becoming” about her first trip to Africa: “I hadn’t expected to fit in, obviously, but I think I arrived there naively believing I’d feel some visceral connection to the continent I’d grown up thinking of as a sort of mythical motherland, as if going there would bestow on me some feeling of completeness. But Africa, of course, owed us nothing. It’s a curious thing to realize, the in-betweenness one feels being African American in Africa. It gave me a hard-to-explain feeling of sadness, a sense of being unrooted in both lands” (160).

Mrs. Obama is on a U.S. tour with a stop in the Bay at the SAP Center in San Jose, Dec. 16, 8 p.m. The conversation is moderated by Michele Norris. Visit Becoming: An Intimate Conversation with Michelle Obama. Tickets range from $95-$126.

29th Annual Celebration of African American Poets and Their Poetry

“Black Migrations” is the theme of the 29th Annual Celebration of African American Poets and Their Poetry at the West Oakland Branch Library this Feb. 2, 2019. The rehearsal is Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019, at 1801 Adeline St., Oakland.

Holidays at SFJAZZ

Marcus Shelby Orchestra plays Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite with Tiffany Austin and Kenny Washington Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, at 7:30 p.m. in Miner Auditorium, 201 Franklin St. in San Francisco. For tickets, call 866-920-5299.

New Year’s Eve Balloon Drop for the Entire Family at Oakland’s Chabot Space and Science Center

For the 19th year, Chabot Space and Science Center presents balloon drops during the day on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, the whole family can enjoy without staying up late. One of Chabot’s most popular annual events, the Balloon Drops will be held at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. celebrating strokes of midnight around the world. Kids will count down and revel with hundreds of others as colorful balloons drop from above, and they can stay for the day to participate in fun activities throughout the Center. Tickets are $6 ($5 for members) in addition to admission and advance tickets online are encouraged. For more information and tickets, which go on sale Dec. 1, visit www.chabotspace.org.

Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s Annual Soulful Christmas Gospel Holiday Concert

Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s Soulful Christmas Gospel Holiday Concert 2018 is at the Buriel Clay Theater, 762 Fulton St. in San Francisco, Thursday, Dec. 13, through Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018. For tickets, visit https://www.lhtsf.org/get-tickets-to-lhtsf.

Cinderella with Soul at African American Shakes

African American Shakespeare Theatre’s Cinderella 2018, directed by Mark Allan Davis, is Dec. 21-23, at the Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness in San Francisco. For tickets, call or visit the City Box Office: 415-392-4400.

The director states in the program notes: “[The Cinderella] story is about dreams, wishes, but most of all, hers is a story about a loving person discovering love in others even while surrounded by disdain. She desires, like so many of us, to have a seat at the table.

“She seeks her ancestors finding strength in memories of her parents while indentured to her father’s widow – her stepmother Evahcruel Stepp and her daughters, Zonita and Shaniqua. Cinderella dreams of dancing at the Prince’s Ball. She calls forth her Fairy Godparent, the wisecracking brother of her Fairy Godmother – who’s away at a Fairy Rights Conference in the Kingdom’s Capital. Cinderella finds she is in accepting and talented hands and the magic ensues!

“Even while disparaged by her family, she never gives up. Isn’t this most of us during the holidays? Don’t we persevere through things we normally just wouldn’t? The holiday travel delays, the gift buying, the agony of waiting in lines. Don’t we move through situations which would make us Scrooge-like, instead of more tolerant, patient and less prone to disparage others? The magic of Cinderella is that she goes high when they go low. And that IS magic these days!”

Celebrating Poet Al Young Thursday, Dec. 27, 6-7:30 p.m., at the Koret Auditorium

Al Young is the consummate literary artist, former California Poet Laureate, teacher, role model and human being whose work spans creative decades. Perhaps one of his many creative gifts is his “Something about the Blues” (2008). Accompanied by a CD, it is almost a biography in poems, taking us back to his origins in Mississippi where the rhythms of his life and work were born. He published the work during National Poetry Month during his tenure as State Poet Laureate. Young moved from the South to the Bay with his guitar in the ‘60s and has been with us ever since. Lucky California (smile).

Join Kim Shuck, San Francisco Poet Laureate, Kim McMillon and others at “Celebrating an Evening With Al Young,” at the Koret Auditorium, at the SF Main Library, 100 Larkin St., San Francisco, to honor Al, who while young in spirit certainly, has longevity. His life and work speak eloquently.

At an age when many friends are departing, it’s time to wrap our arms around Al and let him feel the love and appreciation we have for him. We want to count him among our blessings as poets pour literary libations at his feet. It’s a free event. I am listening to a lovely interview with Al on NPR. Visit https://www.npr.org/books/titles/138239448/something-about-the-blues-an-unlikely-collection-of-poetry.

Staged Reading of Colman Domingo’s ‘DOT’

Theatre Rhinoceros and Lorraine Hansberry Theatre present a free staged reading of “DOT” by Colman Domingo, directed by Darryl V. Jones, Tuesday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. at 55 Laguna in San Francisco.

The holidays are always a wild family affair at the Shealy house. But this year, Dotty and her three grown children gather with more than exchanging presents on their minds. As Dotty struggles to hold on to her memory, her children must fight to balance care for their mother and care for themselves.

This twisted and hilarious new play grapples unflinchingly with aging parents, midlife crises and the heart of a West Philly neighborhood.

Oakland East Bay Symphony’s Swing and Soul: Let Us Break Bread Together 2018

Michael Morgan’s “inspired, multifarious, musical bash” Swing and Soul: Let Us Break Bread Together, this year, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018, 4 p.m., at the Paramount Theatre, takes its inspiration from the peerless soul of Nina Simone and the boogie-woogie of Fats Domino. Special guests abound in this annual rollicking holiday party. The concert features The Dynamic Ms. Faye Carol, Martin Luther McCoy, Adam Theis, Jazz Mafia, Vocal Rush, Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Mt. Eden High School Concert Choir, Oakland Symphony Chorus and more. For tickets, visit https://www.oaklandsymphony.org/, the Paramount Theatre Box Office or call 510-444-0802.

Barry Jenkins’ ‘Beale Street’

“If Beale Street Could Talk” (2018), Barry Jenkins’ latest work, opens with prescient thoughts from Prophet Baldwin about a New Orleans street, Beale Street, a street found in all municipalities where Black men, Black women, Black people are seen and found wanting in the human scale. Such a street can have any name because Beale Street is an attitude that says: “You have no rights white people have to honor or acknowledge,” especially white men with badges.

Actor Stephan James (Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt) is brilliant in his depiction of this young man who dares love out loud his beautiful Black queen. In an interview, Barry Jenkins said he had the two leads read for chemistry. They clicked right off, so the Fonny in the screen adaptation is a darker complexioned man. The director was not going to disrupt the flow of things.

What one sees in Jenkins’s “Beale Street” is Black love in all its melanin complex beauty. KiKi Layne’s Tish Rivers stares from natural, untreated Black hair heaven into the eyes of a beautiful Black man, Fonny, whom she loves and trusts. Trust is important. It’s something Tish sees between her father and mother. It is not something one sees between the members of the Hunt family.

Barry Jenkins says “Beale Street” is a love story and as in all such stories, sometimes the train gets derailed, yet love sets it back on track. He says he wrote “Moonlight” in three weeks whereas “Beale Street” took five to write. “Baldwin’s language more complicated to adapt.” However, audiences will agree, it is more what isn’t said that moves the brilliant screen play, which does not follow verbatim the novel.

There really is no rewriting Baldwin; however, to give the images and world Tish and Fonny occupy flesh and let them walk for two hours among us is what Jenkins does so well here, given the carefully selected actors who pull it off. It is so great to see Regina King as Tish’s mom, Mrs. Sharon Rivers.

There is another love story here as well, Sharon’s and Joseph Rivers, her husband, portrayed by Mr. Colman Domingo. Joseph Rivers has many tender moments with Tish who needs reassuring often that her love for Fonny is a good thing. He holds his daughter after a bout with nausea, tea warming on the table. Her mom is there when Tish awakens from a nightmare with a reminder that love made the baby she carries.

Then there is big sister Ernestine Rivers portrayed by Teyonah Parris, who tells her kid sister to unbow her head when she, 19, tells her family over a toast she is carrying Fonny’s child, the father, 22, at this point captured by a system booby-trapped for Black flesh. The Rivers family buffers the younger family.

The Rivers’ survival and even the Hunts’ survival all these years, despite its colonial dysfunction portrayed well by the female dynasty headed by matriarch Mrs. Hunt (actress Aunjanue Ellis), is why Beale Street exists in the first place. All American streets are extensions of temporal docks, gang planks our ancestors walked across to this shore.

These two families, including daughters Adrienne and Sheila Hunt, portrayed well by Ebony Obsidian and Dominique Thorne, are the reason why Tish and Vonny exist. We see this often in the narrative scene Tish shares of her younger self and Fonny taking a bubble bath. They are because their people are.

Fonny learns early on that freedom is not determined by one’s circumstances – that one’s parents can be enslaved, but this does not mean he has to be. Fonny says he doesn’t like the term artist, but his ability to imagine something else is what allows him to carve an escape route into another body – wood then flesh. He dreams big dreams of a loft in an area of town Black where people are denied access; he sees the child Tish carries before the child’s birth; he also imagines a world where Black men are respected, despite white hatred and Black fear, which he refuses to imagine.

As Fonny and Tish mature and fall in love, the Rivers and Fonny’s father Frank Hunt (actor Michael Beach) keep the world steady, stable, safe for their children whom they love with all their heart and soul. It is this promise that keeps Fonny alive when captured; it is this promise that allows Tish to stay hopeful for the baby she carries who too wants some of that Hunt-Rivers love. Water is also a theme in the work as is its presence in most Diaspora stories – in this way, Jenkins nods to August Wilson, his more immediate heir, as Baldwin perhaps nods to Langston Hughes, another Harlemite who too “has known rivers … ancient rivers.”

Rivers are the place where our souls are nurtured and fed. Hughes, at 17, writes as he crosses the Mississippi River on a train to visit his dad in Mexico, a dad who abandoned his family: “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. /”My soul has grown deep like the rivers.”

Fonny is accused of raping a Puerto Rican mother; however, Fonny’s crime, as is his friend, Daniel Carty (actor Brian Tyree Henry), confirms when he is released is these arrests are more a plot to instill fear into Black men so that they willingly surrender their souls. So Daniel is charged with stealing a car, when he cannot drive. He takes a plea because he has marijuana on his person.

Jenkins’s Beale Street examines closely the institution of legal slavery called prison and these characters inability to avoid capture on streets littered with landmines.

Nonetheless, Fonny loves his girl Tish unabashedly as he chisels a world in his image, this dynamic in direct opposition to a paradigm that believes Black women, his Black woman is a commodity for consumption – his fist an appetizer. Fonny does not let anyone hurt his girl.

He tells Tish when she tries to shield him from a police officer, that he is the protector, not her. One wonders later if his ego lands him in prison, the officer getting back at the young man for standing up to him at the store where Tish is accosted. Fonny stares down Officer Bell (actor Ed Skrein) as he gives him his address when asked. It is an uneasy moment.

The uneasiness institutionalized racism introduces into what is this wonderful celebratory moment for both Tish and Fonny to start their own family is something both Baldwin, Hughes and Jenkins (if you know his “Moonlight”) attest to, as does Fonny. It is a fire in paradise burning long after the forest is abandoned.

Like Jonestown, Guyana, 40 years ago littered with hundreds of Black bodies, voices are silenced and forgotten except for art. Both fictional and real members of this Beale Street fraternity agree that art is a tool for liberation, that and, of course, love. The film opens in theatres Dec. 14.

40^th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre

On the morning of the Nov. 18, the 40th anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre, Dr. Jynona Norwood chartered a bus from Los Angeles to transport the three panels honoring the People’s Temple members massacred at Jonestown. For the past 40 years she has been a lone voice in the wilderness calling the names of the 917 people killed there.

Earlier in the program the panels were arranged incorrectly. Dr. Norwood, stopped the service and had her friends place them correctly. It is unfortunate that the plaques cannot remain. The faces of the 305 children are so beautiful. After the service concluded, as Ms. Catherine Mazzuco sang, family and supporters filed by the memorial as many stopped to find in the exhaustive list their loved ones’ names and photos.

Giovanni Rodgers and her sister, Mary Johnson Rodgers, lost seven family members at Jonestown. They grew up in Bayview. She was only a year old when the massacre took place. Her Uncle Poncho Johnson, a musician, would send messages to the family before he was killed.

Later that afternoon, once the dedication to the 305 children killed at Jonestown concluded, Jim Jones Jr. waited with others to set up their memorial to his father. Dr. Norwood said to desecrate the site with Jim Jones’ name was like having Hitler’s name at the site where Jews were interned.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wanda@wandaspicks.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 7 a.m. and Fridays at 8 a.m., can be heard by phone at 347-237-4610 and are archived at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks.

The post Wanda’s Picks for December 2018 appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by Wanda Sabir

It’s been 25 years since the film version of Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” opened to much controversy. Despite the controversy, the story is one that is still read, watched and celebrated in many forms. Walker’s story of a young woman, Celie, and the brutality she suffers at the hands of first her father and then husband, Mister, is epic, yet Celie finds love, a love present with her all the time.

This story of redemption and love is amazing. It is certainly an up from slavery story in every sense, as Mister’s father was formerly enslaved, his son, first generation free. Similar to how formerly incarcerated persons hit the ground running trying to make up for lost time, Old Mister feels the same way about life projected onto his son. He tells his son he doesn’t have time to dream or fall in love; he doesn’t have time to waste as Black folks have to catch up economically, 400 years behind everyone else in accumulating wealth.

Mister’s life, unhappy that it is, is testament to the fact that cliche though it may be, “Money really can’t buy happiness.”

It is this tension and Mister or Albert’s inability to stand up to his father that makes him bitter, and he takes this anger out on his family, his first wife and then Celie.

The brutality learned through conditioned response in slavery plays itself out here in the lives of both Mister and his son Harpo, who finds his true love in Sophia.

The stage production is the best introduction to the story for those who do not know the world of “The Color Purple.” In it, Alice Walker’s work is given a visual and physical interpretation – Donald Byrd’s choreography and music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, Stephen Bray, that is so electric second to the novel, and perhaps the biography, “Alice Walker: A Life,” by Evelyn C. White, it’s mighty hard to match. In “Alice Walker: A Life,” White shows us an Alice Walker whose characters in “The Color Purple” are first met. We meet Walker’s relatives who are the prototypes for Mister, Shug and Celie.

There is a context and a history Walker draws from in her fiction and “The Color Purple,” given its immediacy, shows us how close to Africa we still are and how close we also are to slavery’s legacy as a people and as a nation, especially when one looks at what happens to Sophia, Harpo’s wife, a strong, independent Black woman who exercises what she thinks are her rights as a citizen and learns she has no rights where white rule is the law.

Terrorism is not unknown to Black people. I am reading a book now, “Mare’s War,” by Tanita S. Davis, where Mare speaks about the racism in the ranks between white enlisted men and Black soldiers, between white Red Cross workers and Black enlisted women. Segregation was not even suspended during war time – crazy!

And it drives people crazy, look at Gabriel in August Wilson’s “Fences” and look at Pa or Ol’ Mister in “The Color Purple.” To a certain extent, Pa, portrayed by D. Kevin Williams, is shell shocked by slavery and doesn’t recover, but in Walker’s tale there is hope, ‘cause at the end of the story, “Women are wearing the pants” (smile). The company song: “Miss Celie’s Pants” with Celie, Shug Avery, Sophia and the women is a foot tapping show stopper.

Celie’s song, “I’m Here,” speaks to the change that has to happen so that the Black family and the Black community can heal. Mister hears her, especially the way Dayna Jarae Dantzler sings it. He is also afraid of the consequences, but so many characters in “The Color Purple” are afraid – yet they work through those conflicts with faith.

Pam Trotter’s Sophia’s rendition of “Hell No!” with her sisters and the sweet duet, “Any Little Thing,” with Harpo are other moments in the story where one can measure the transformation, a personal transformation that brings the characters the joy they so deserve.

And then there is the cast, those beautiful African American actors and actresses, to literally transport audiences to a place we are hesitant to go, yet trust them enough to take their hands and go on a journey that has many of us pulling out the tissues, holding our sides from laughter, smiling often at the sweet moments between Shug Avery and Celie, and Celie and her sister Nettie.

The women carry this story and for the San Jose production, starting with Dayna Jarae Dantzler’s Celie, Traci Allen’s Nettie and Pam Trotter’s Shug, more capable hands couldn’t have been found and what an appropriate or fitting story for Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 23-28, 2010. No, it isn’t a chick-play or musical, nor is it a male bashing free for all, which is how some people viewed the film without even seeing it or reading the book 25 years ago. I would advise folks to take heed and not do the same thing regarding Tyler Perry’s “For Colored Girls,” based on the book by Ntozake Shange.

Why are the stories about Black dysfunction and pain getting a lot of play? Perhaps if we owned the medium of production, these tales would not be what gets the most play, no matter how true, but ultimately, “The Color Purple” is a great story and it is not just a Black story. It is a tragedy that happens in many communities; it’s just portrayed here in Black skin. This is also true with “For Colored Girls,” the “colored” was literal, Ntozake told me in a radio interview. She intended a multiracial cast, which is how she produced it initially. How it ended up with just Black women is an artistic choice of many subsequent directors.

Redemption is certainly an evergreen story and the presence of Sankofa can be seen at every turn as each character, especially these women, learn to use the past to inform their future decisions – whether that is Celie realizing that most of her life was a response to someone’s definition of who she was and what she was capable of or Shug’s pain regarding her relationship to her father and Mister’s cowardice regarding their love. Sophia speaks of her love for Harpo, Mister’s eldest son, portrayed by Lee Edward Colston II and how tired she is of fighting.

These three women reach back and grab the strength of their ancestors, also depicted symbolically in the scenes set in Africa where Nettie is working as a nanny for a Black missionary family who have adopted two children.

At the end of the story when the cast sings the finale, “The Color Purple,” the audience is on its feet clapping and swaying.

This production is fantastic and I saw the San Francisco production twice. I’d go see this one again if someone gave me a ticket (smile). Visit www.broadwaysanjose.com for tickets.

The cast has varied backgrounds and the synergy between the characters is exciting. My favorites after the three principles are the chorus: Church Lady Doris, Church Lady Darlene and Church Lady Jarene: Nesha Ward, Virlinda Stanton, Deaun Parker. I also liked Allison Semmes’s Squeak; she is so funny with those skinny legs (smile). Girlfriend can sing too! In fact, the entire cast can blow: Edward C. Smith’s Mister among those who have really memorable numbers, along with the male ensemble numbers, especially the scene “Big Dog,” “Shug Avery is Coming to Town” and “African Homeland,” among others.

I love the duet between Celie and Shug, “What about Love,” and the solos: Celie’s “Somebody Gonna Love You,” Sophia’s “The Color Purple,” the company’s “Miss Celie’s Pants” and, of course, Celie’s triumphant “I’m Here.” Pam Trotter’s “Hell No!” is a classic rendition of this favorite. It’s too bad with these traveling shows the only sound track is the initial Broadway one. The touring company certainly has much to recommend it and since I never saw the Broadway production, I want a copy of the soundtrack for the show I witnessed in San Jose and, like the show in San Francisco, it isn’t available.

This is another reason why folks need to get over to the lovely San Jose Civic Auditorium. I’d never been there before, pretty opulent. It’s not the Orpheum or the Paramount Theatre for art deco fans, but for a new building …

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wsab1@aol.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 6-7:30 or 8 a.m. and Fridays at 8-10 a.m., can be heard by phone at (347) 237-4610 and are archived on the Afrikan Sistahs’ Media Network.

The post Broadway San Jose’s ‘The Color Purple’ through Nov. 28 appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

by Wanda Sabir

Women’s History Month and the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day March 8, 2011 – what a great month to toast the New Year. The name itself is an action, a call to action: MARCH – Move! Get those legs working and do something!

Congratulations to Regina Carter for the MacArthur Genius Award and the fabulous concert with the Oakland East Bay Symphony Feb. 25. No, I wasn’t there but with composer Billy Childs at the helm, Maestro Michael Morgan at the aft or starboard, it had to be a wonderful premiere of the new composition, “Planets and Stars.” Visit http://www.oebs.org/. The next OEBS concert is March 18, 8 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre, “More Notes from Persia.”

Activism 101 an Oakland Standard: A Review

I was in the OZONE Feb. 25-26, as Oakland toasted February goodbye and with it, Black history. Well actually, Feb. 25 at the Oakland Museum of California did just the opposite. With “resistance” as the theme of the evening – from the classic poster art of Emory Douglas and Faviana Rodriguez, to tasting revolutionary tortillas with cheese and Angela Davis on the outer shell, to roses for Rosa Park and a Huey (fig) Newton – all edible; a new line called consciously delicious – patrons had a multisensory experience at the museum, an idea which is a part of the OM motif.

The place was full to capacity with patrons forming lines early for the special celebration “Soundtrack – the Drum” with Anthony Brown and CK Ledzekpo narrating, joined by the Stanford Steppers, the CAL Drumline from UC Berkeley and, as a special treat, Mr. Hambone himself, Derrick McGee. It was a wonderful walk from Africa to California – Oakland, to be exact (smile). Drums filled the stage – African percussion drums played by CK and students and/or members of his ensemble from East Bay Center for the Performing Arts and the trap drummer, another student of CK’s who is traveling to Boston to attend Berkley College of Music this summer.

As CK explained the music he was playing and where in Africa it originated, dancers led by Mrs. Ledzekpo performed to the music. At one point the audience was invited to participate; I was one of the first persons on the floor – a cold night, dancing warmed me up.

Duane Deterville gave a lecture on resistance in Black music, while a distinguished panel with former Minister of Culture Emory, artist Favianna, Carol A. Wells, Center for the Study of Political Graphics, and political poster historian Lincoln Cushing discussed art and politics. That room filled to capacity early and I couldn’t get in. I met a brother named Jesus who is a visual artist.

Refa One and one of the youth designers featured in the AeroSoul 2 Youth Exhibit, which is up through early March, said he explained to security that there were hardly any Black people in the room, and to tell two to four white people to leave so he and Malik, the young artist, could go inside. From what Refa shared, it sounds as if those persons in the audience really didn’t know how art can change minds, even hearts. Think about the power of music to “soothe the savage beast – right?

The brother coming out of the lecture looked like a work of art, as did his striking friend. Most of the events repeated at least once. The only problem was I was attending another event at the same time. Then as one walked between classrooms, the tent, or the Blue Oak café – there were art stations where one could silkscreen a political poster. I made three: Nina Simone singing “Mississippi Goddam,” another “Free the San Francisco 8,” the last one a poster celebrating the end to tyranny in North Africa. Across from that very popular table at any given moment there were two and three clothes lines filled with posters drying. There was another artist across the way doing spray can art. His image was of the WikiLeaks founder. What was interesting was watching him apply the multiple layers.

The Oakland Standard Poster Jam participants were the San Francisco Print Collective, Great Tortilla Conspiracy, Eddie Colla and Jesus Barraza. Patrons were able to silkscreen posters with Nina Simone, “Drop the Charges SF 8: Francisco Torres” and “The People Want the System to Fall” with a woman kissing the cheek of an Egyptian soldier. There were postcards with actions planned for the next month and an e-list.

Revolutionary Art 101!

The finale was the Lagos Roots Afrobeat Ensemble featuring members of Fela Kuti and the Africa 70, Sonny Okosuns and others. DJ Wonway Posibul with a live percussionist was excellent – his jams were right on. In the café, there were board games out for people to play from 9-11:30 p.m.

I missed Bill Bell and the Jazz Connection Trio with Eddie Marshall on drums and Jeff Chambers on bass. I heard they were fantastic! The new exhibit “Splendors of Faith/Scars of Conquest” was pretty gruesome especially in the graphic details of the crucifixion. I had to turn my head on some, the torture too unsettling. I wonder why in Oakland would there be such a large exhibition on missions – that’s like celebrating the various slave dungeons where Africans were held captive before being shipped to other lands. Most of the missions are further south and of course in San Francisco to Oakland’s west.

Missing was the African Diaspora use of Catholicism to practice Ifa, big in Oakland presently and in California. In the section which I enjoyed the most there was nothing and within the exhibition itself I didn’t see an African presence or perspective at all. When one thinks about California, named for an Amazon Queen Califia, one has to consider the impact of missions or Catholicism on African people in California.

Judge Glenda Hatchett to deliver keynote at 13th Annual Madam C.J. Walker Luncheon

The 13th Annual Madam C.J. Walker Business and Community Recognition Awards Luncheon is Friday, March 4, at the Marriott Marquis, 55 Fourth St., San Francisco, at 10:30 a.m., featuring a VIP reception, NCBW grant exhibitions, booksigning. Lunch is at 12 noon. Tickets are $150 per person. Other awardees and special guests include A’Lelia Bundles, author and great-granddaughter of Madam C.J. Walker

I recently completed Tananarive Due’s historic novel, “Black Rose” (2001), drawn from the research on Madam C.J. Walker that Alex Haley began before he passed. “Black Rose,” a pet name Madam Walker’s second husband, C.J., called her, is a wonderful testament to the first Black woman millionaire, whose parents were enslaved Africans. I place this book up there with Dorothy Height’s autobiography, “Open Wide the Freedom Gates” (2003). Due will be at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, March 28, 11-5, for a Writer’s Conference which invites writers to the table to honor the work and legacy of speculative fiction writer Octavia Butler (June 22, 1947-Feb. 25, 2006). For information, contact writers@mec-cuny.ed or (718) 270-6976.

Empress Meditations Tour with Queen Makedah, Sistah Beauty and Irae Divine

Queen Makedah, Sistah Beauty and Irae Divine were on my radio show Friday, March 25, 9:30 a.m., speaking about their upcoming tour in honor of International Women’s History Month, March 2011. Oriyah Music presents the Empress Meditations West Coast Tour, a series of presentations featuring live performances by the three women with the Sheba Warriors all-star band, plus the cream of local female DJs, spoken word, and dance competitions. The purpose of the tour is to spotlight conscious female artists in reggae music whose music speaks to the historical cultural contributions of women from antiquity to the present day and addresses issues pertinent to women and the family unit.

Their first stop is Santa Cruz, March 2, 9 p.m., at Moe’s Alley; then March 5, at Pier 23 Café in San Francisco, 9 p.m.-2 a.m., (415) 362-5125. The March 5 gig is also the Second Annual International Women’s Day Benefit for the Family Violence Law Center of Alameda County. Yoshi’s San Francisco is a stop on the tour, March 30, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., and the closing show is March 31, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., at Ashkenaz Music and Dance Center, 1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. For more information on the Empress Meditations Tour, visit www.queenmakedah.com and www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks (Feb. 25, 2011).

Art, jazz and spoken word

“Transformative Visions 2011: Lifting Up Visions of Peace, Justice, and Possibility” is Saturday, March 12, 2-5 p.m., at Studio One Art Center, 365 45th St., Oakland. Visit http://www.onelifeinstitute.org/.

Annual Collage des Cultures Africaines

Diamano Coura West African Dance Company presents its 16th Annual Collage des Cultures Africaines at Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice St., Oakland, and Laney College, 900 Fallon St., Oakland, Thursday-Sunday, March 10-13. Workshops are at MCC and the performance, “Celebration of the Mask,” is Saturday evening, March 12, 8 p.m., at Laney College Theatre. The marketplace opens at 6 p.m. March 12. For information, contact (510) 508-3444 or diamanoc@aol.com.

Dimensions Extensions youth dance fundraiser

Dimensions Extensions performance ensemble presents its Seventh Annual Fundraising Concert, “Something to Be Proud Of,” Saturday, March 19, 7 p.m., at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts Theatre, 1428 Alice St., Oakland.

Lorraine Hansberry Theatre presents ‘Fabulation’ by Lynn Nottage

“Fabulation or The Re-Education of Undine” by Lynn Nottage will be presented by Lorraine Hansberry Theatre at Fort Mason Center’s Southside Theatre, San Francisco, March 3-27, directed by Ellen Sebastian-Chang, featuring Margo Hall. A high-powered public relations executive suddenly finds herself divorced, penniless, pregnant and forced to return to the family home in the projects. “Fabulation” is an inspired and imaginative look at family, pride and love by one of America’s most outstanding new playwrights, who just received the Pulitzer Prize for her latest play, “Ruined.”

Tickets are $40 Thursdays and Fridays and $50 Saturdays and Sundays. Thursday performances are at 8:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday performances are at 8 p.m.; Sunday performances are at 2 and 7 p.m. Discounts are available for groups, students and seniors. Preview performances will be held on March 3 and 4 with the opening on Saturday, March 5. Sundays, March 6, 13 and 20, will be Target Family Matinées, where all seats will be half price, $25. “Fabulation” will be presented at The Southside Theater, Fort Mason Center, Historic Building D, San Francisco. For more information, ticket availability or to subscribe, call (415) 345-3980 or visit www.LHTSF.org.

Berkeley Rep presents Lynn Nottage’s ‘Ruined’

This March, Berkeley Repertory Theatre proudly presents “Ruined,” winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. A powerful new play about the harrowing lives of women in Africa, “Ruined” is written by Lynn Nottage and directed by Liesl Tommy. A collaboration between Berkeley Rep, Huntington Theatre Company and La Jolla Playhouse, this production has already earned seven awards – including Outstanding Dramatic Production – from the San Diego Critics Circle. It begins previews in the state-of-the-art Roda Theatre on Feb. 25, opens March 2 and closes April 10.

“In ‘Ruined,’ the women do a fragile dance between hope and disillusionment in an attempt to navigate life on the edge of an unforgiving conflict,” Nottage remarks. “I was fueled by my desire to tell the story of war, but through the eyes of women, who as we know rarely start conflicts, but inevitably find themselves right smack in the middle of them. I was interested in giving voice and audience to African women living in the shadows of war.”

Tickets to “Ruined” start at only $29. Additional savings are available for groups, seniors, students and anyone under 30 years of age – meaning discounted seats can be obtained for as little as $14.50. These prices make Berkeley Rep more affordable to people in the community who are just starting school, starting careers and starting families – because lower prices are now available for every performance. Tap into the power of “Ruined.” The Roda Theatre is located at 2015 Addison St., near bus lines, bike routes and parking lots – and only half a block from BART. For tickets or information, call (510) 647-2949 or toll-free at (888) 4-BRT-Tix – or simply click berkeleyrep.org.

Jazz at East Side Arts

Eastside Arts Alliance presents “The Grassroots Composers Ensemble” in concert every first Friday – this month, Friday, March 4, 8 p.m. Admission $10. ESAA is at 2277 International Blvd., Oakland, (510) 533-6929. Under the direction of trumpeter Mark Wright, featuring pianist Muziki Roberson and the inimitable stylings of Mack Rucks, Dr. James Bailey, Joe McKinley, Greg Germain and featured guests, these home grown jazz artists have been composing and arranging original and classic jazz compositions for five horns for the past six or seven years.

These dedicated artists meet religiously every Tuesday night at the digs of Muziki Roberson. The music is fresh and exciting. Please come out and support them and also pass the word on. The Eastside Arts Alliance is a gem in our community, offering music, dance, spoken word and theater with a level of consciousness unparalleled in our community. They also sponsor the annual FREE Malcom X Jazz Festival. Let’s support them in a venue that is family friendly with reasonable admission. Light refreshments and drinks available for purchase.

Women in jazz

Anna Maria Flechero at Yoshi’s Oakland on March 1 for one show, 8 p.m. I had her on my radio show, www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks, maybe two years ago. She was speaking about fundraisers and shows leading up to the Filipino-American Jazz Festival in San Francisco that year. KPFA and KPOO radio personality Avotcja is the host. Multi-talented song stylist and songwriter Anna Maria Flechero brings to the jazz stage original compositions and well-known jazz standards with the release of “Special Edition: Journey into the Fourteenth Hour.” Accompanying Ms. Flechero for the evening is Little Brown Brother featuring Vince Khoe, piano; Ben Luis, bass; Chris Planas, guitar; Marlon Green, drums; Mio Flores, percussion; and Eddie Ramirez, horns; with special guest vocalist, contralto Myrna Del Rio.

Ashford and Simpson

Ashford and Simpson’s exclusive Bay Area appearance, “The Real Thing,” is Tuesday-Friday, March 29-April 3, at the RRAZZ Room in Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. at Ellis, in San Francisco. Visit www.therrazzroom.com.

Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre at Cal Performances

Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre makes its annual sojourn to Cal Performances on Tuesday–Sunday, March 29-April 3. The three distinct programs include three premiers. The first of two Bay Area premieres is “Anointed” (2010), choreographed by Christopher L. Huggins in tribute to those who have led the Ailey company past, present and future; “Cry” (1971), the second work new to Berkeley, was choreographed by Alvin Ailey for Judith Jamison and is dedicated to “all Black women everywhere – especially our mothers.” The West Coast premiere of “Three Black Kings” (1976) is the last major work composed by Duke Ellington for Alvin Ailey. Every program presented will also include Alvin Ailey’s timeless “Revelations,” now celebrating its 50th year.

This season marks the end of an era: Judith Jamison steps down as artistic director after more than two decades of exceptional leadership. Under Jamison’s guidance, the company has thrilled tens of millions of people on six continents, has been recognized by Congress as “a vital American cultural ambassador” and serves as an enduring vehicle for the expression of the African-American experience. Choreographer Robert Battle is artistic director designate. Tickets are available at (510) 642-9988 to charge by phone, at www.calperformances.org and at the door.

For the school matinee, tickets are $4 per student or adult chaperone, available in advance only through Cal Performances at (510) 642-1082. SchoolTime performances are open to students in kindergarten through grade 12 in Bay Area public and private schools. Supplemental study guides for the classroom are provided. For more information about the SchoolTime program, contact the SchoolTime coordinator at Cal Performances by email at eduprograms@calperfs.berkeley.edu or by phone at (510) 642-0212.

Hope Mohr Dance Looks at Women Veterans

“The Unsayable” will be presented by Hope Mohr Dance and “She Dreams in Code” by guest Liz Gerring Dance Company Thursday, March 3-6, at Z-Space, 450 Florida St., San Francisco. Tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com or 1-800-838-3006. All shows are at 8 p.m. except Sunday, March 6, there’s a 2 p.m. matinee with a post show Q&A on veterans’ issues. Friday, March 4, is an artist talk.

Coser y Cantar: To Sew and Sing

Written by Dolores Prida, directed by Tania Llambelis, “Coser y Cantar” asks the question: Can we survive walking the tightrope of desire strung over two separate languages and cultures? “Coser y Cantar” opens March 17-19 at 8 p.m. at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, 2868 Mission St., San Francisco, (415) 821-1155 or www.missionculturalcenter.org. Take BART to the 24th Street Mission Station.

RRAZZiversary Gala Celebration and Benefit for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital

I first learned of St. Jude’s work with children through a series of love and hope novels by Black women romance writers, Sandra Kitt’s “For All We Know” and Gwynne Foster’s “What Matters Most” (www.novelsofhope.org). It was a pleasant surprise last year to find out about the second annual gala, which is now having an encore this month, Thursday, March 17, 8 p.m., $75-$175, for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This is the premier nightclub of the West Coast celebration with a star-studded lineup including Sarah Dash, Joyce DeWitt, Sally Kellerman, Florence LaRue, Gloria Loring, Deana Martin, Melba Moore, Kim Nalley, CeCe Peniston, Martha Reeves, Paula West, Edna Wright and Honey Cone and Pia Zadora. Visit http://conta.cc/hHSzca and https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?t=tix&e=a0c5d4086f7c093bd39316fcd9f23a9e.

On the fly

Branford Marsalis and Terence Blanchard are in town Friday, March 11, 8 p.m. at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Auditorium. There is a free Lobby Talk at 5-6 p.m. with UC Berkeley Jazz Director Ted Moore. Sunday, March 6, Balé Folclórico da Bahia are back for one performance, 7 p.m. at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Auditorium. Chuy Varela hosts the Lobby Talk 4-5 p.m. Les Percussions de Strasbourg, March 13, 3 p.m., in Hertz Hall looks interesting. Visit www.calperformances.edu. The sidelines talk is 2-2:30 p.m. Cheryl West’s play, “Jar on the Floor,” directed by Buddy Butler with C. Kelly Wright and other stars in the cast, opens Feb. 26 and continues through March 6 at Mexican Heritage Theater, 1700 Alum Rock Ave., San Jose. Visit www.acteva.com/go/sjmag or call (408) 272-9924. This production celebrates SJMAG Tabia African American Theatre Ensemble’s 25th Anniversary.

“What do the Women Say? An Evening of Poetry and Performance by Women of the Middle East,” is Tuesday and Wednesday, March 8 and 9, at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Oakland, www.lapena.org. Nicole Klaymoon Embodiment Project, Friday-Saturday, March 24-25, 8 p.m., with special guests Byb Chanel, Valerie Troutt, Makana Muanga and others at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Oakland, www.lapena.org. “Words First,” a monthly solo showcase, is March 2, 7:30 p.m., with “How the hell did we get here?!” Unhappy endings … with a twist, with performances by Vanessa Lee Khaleel, Ericka Lutz, Howard Petrick, and Sarah Weidman. Visit http://counterpulse.org/programs/words-first. CounterPulse is located at 1310 Mission St.

Paula West and the George Mesterhazy Quartet have their annual RRazz room engagement Tuesday, March 1, through Sunday, March 13. Check the show times, which vary. Visit the RRazz room at Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. at Ellis, in San Francisco. Tickets for Performances at the RRazz room are available at www.therrazzroom.com and (800) 380-3095. Visit www.moadsf.org for their programming related to the current exhibition celebrating jazz and quilts.

With Mardi Gras almost here, the lecture and performance “West Africa to New Orleans: African Masking Traditions” with New Orleans native Shaka Zulu is Sunday March 13, 2-4 p.m., is sure to be a hit. Visit www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks for interviews with many of the artists mentioned here and others who are not (smile). Live shows are Wednesdays, 6-7 a.m. PST, and Friday mornings, 8-10 a.m. PST. Disney on Ice’s “Let’s Celebrate” reaches Oakland March 2, 7:30, all seats $15. Join Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse on a magical journey through the holidays with 52 characters from 16 Disney stories, one of them “The Frog Prince” with Princess Tiara. I interviewed Farryn Johnson on Friday, Feb. 4. Visit www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks and look in the archives for the interview. Check San Francisco Performances website too, at www.performances.org/education/calendar.html.

Activism 101, an Oakland Standard

One could tell the kids were into it – by kids, I don’t means children, just neophytes to Liberation Struggles getting their collective awakening Friday night at the Oakland Museum’s OZONE. Without the acid rain, snow, clouds or high winds the O was certainly in a zone, scientifically unspecified. Laying it on with a spatula, as in thick and indelibly stuck to all in the ZONE that night. The DJs were spinning all the hits from a time when lyrical content meant original unsampled thoughts … well, I take that back; nothing is original. Just like the air we breathe and the land we occupy, it is all dead and reborn. Like the revolutionary fever sweeping the planet, the O was a pot flavored and simmering with the spices present that evening.

Have you even had air stuck in your esophagus and couldn’t get a good enough belch? That was the O. Some call it the last days, others indigestion. The planet has had enough and now all its inhabitants have declared or put the lords and ladies on notice: The people are taking over!

Linguistically, the Oakland Standard’s OZONE (OS launched January 2011), one of its programs, continues thematically. It’s all about opening the space to art which is kinetic, participatory, useful – wear it, feel it, do it, be it! Art is not for lazy minds or innocents lost – perhaps it is, but for the active mind or citizen, those people who generally find themselves in museums in the first place, reluctantly as kids and then selfishly as adults, the Oakland Standard concept makes art a part of life for those who really enjoy living, really living as free citizens of Oaktown and Oak-Universe.

Prophet Fred Wilson’s museum space sojourns says this. He also speaks with his work to the exclusion of certain audiences when one talks about museums and other “high art.” OZONE is a way to demystify such phenomena. The audience was predominately white, even though the material or presentations were about the Black aesthetic, yet typically the subjects were absent. There wasn’t even consideration given to the few Black folks in the audience that evening – we couldn’t get into major lectures and concerts.

This would have been OK if the sound had been broadcast and if there had been a video simulcast – in the past, the Oakland Museum always provided such, especially for programs where it expected large audiences. African people do not like the cold and the idea of standing in a line for 45 minutes was a turn off to many elders, who left early. At midnight the majority of folks still at OM were 30 and younger, unless they were working and white.

Consciousness is hard work, yet it can be fun and in its second program since launching Oakland Standard, OZONE proves that yes, consciousness is the only way to live a life fully committed to justice as a revolutionary or change agent.

Similar to programming at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Oakland Standard, as its premise, shouldn’t toss out what worked in the past. New doesn’t mean nothing old allowed: people, ideas, customs. I guess with the new exhibit on Our Lady of Guadeloupe, the old suffering Christ – nailed to a cross, bleeding – is an image I couldn’t stomach. However, the newer images of this mysterious patron saint, a way of flipping the colonial baggage into something not just new, but liberating, is what I see Oakland Standard providing for its East Bay constituency – if they are extended the proper invitation.

I saw a few parents with their children out for the evening, but not enough. I know the museum has its Family Sundays which are kid-friendly, early in the day and often outdoors.

Some audiences don’t come if you open the door; you have to go get them. Audience development is still a weak area for many presenting organizations like Oakland Museum, which has ethnically specific community advisory boards. I suggest OM solicit their expertise. There was no reason why there were not more Black youth ages 15-25 in the OZONE, especially for “Soundtrack: The Drum” and the Oakland Standard Conversation, not to mention the Oakland Standard Political Poster Jam. Even the Game On! was a place for families and friends to sit around and talk, not to mention the open galleries where in Art History in the back I heard a woman interviewed for her Oakland Story, a program of Story Corps.

Standard implies a flag or flagship idea which is self-promoting; carry it long enough and it becomes you. Certainly Oakland needs a new standard and with a new mayor and a revised vision for an Oakland institution, the Oakland Museum of California, the concept is timely and necessary. But historically Oakland seems to be receding from focus. After all, museums are nothing without people – human beings are the greatest work of art imaginable. The African presence seems the first to go when institutions are formed or changed. I am rattling the cage so OM doesn’t follow in the footsteps of its many predecessors.

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival

The 29th Annual San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), a presentation of the Center for Asian American Media, showcases the best Asian films from around the globe between March 10-20, in San Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose. Films screen in San Francisco at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St.; Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, 1881 Post St.; VIZ Cinema, 1746 Post St.; and the Landmark Clay Theatre, 2261 Fillmore St. In Berkeley, go to the Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft Way. And in San Jose the festival is at the Camera 12 Cinemas, 201 South Second St. and the Montgomery Theater, 271 South Market St. in San Jose. For tickets and information about CAAM membership benefits and levels, please visit www.caamedia.org.

The San Francisco Asian American Film Festival will be giving South Asian films much of its most prestigious real estate this year. Both the San Francisco and San Jose opening night curtain-raisers are South Asian works – Andy De Emmony’s “West Is West” in San Francisco and Hoku Uchiyama’s “UPAJ in SJ.” SFIAAFF alumnus Gurinder Chadha will be honored with the Filmmaker Spotlight, showcasing her award-winning “Bend It Like Beckham” and her newest film, “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife.”

Other superlative offerings representing a sampling from the region include narrative features, “The Taqwacores,” from Eyad Zahra, a rock epic about the Muslim punk rock movement; Mani Ratnam’s “Raavanan,” a modern re-telling of the epic Ramayana legend starring megastar Aishwarya Rai; and the documentaries “Summer Pasture” by Lynn True and Nelson Walker, which pits the seductiveness of modernity against traditional pastoral life in Tibet, and “Made in India” by Vaishali Sinha and Rebecca Haimowitz, an illuminating tell-all about outsourced surrogacy in India.

As part of the festival’s beefed-up interactive programming, there will be a panel on the exciting developments in Indian cinema, “Stepping Forward, Looking Back.” Experts will discuss international collaborations, the emergence of independent works, and what these new developments mean for financing and distribution. SFIAAFF will also present a prototype of the CAAM-produced game, “Climbing Sacred Mountain,” based on the film, “Daughters of Everest,” which documented the first Nepali women’s expedition on the highest peak in the world. The game will be part of CAAM’s inaugural independent games exhibition and the related panel, “The Power of Play.” Rounding out the live events will be “Bollywood Under the Stars,” a free screening at the close of Festival Forum.

Excluding special events, panels, galas and special screenings, advanced general admission tickets are $12. Students, seniors 65 and over and disabled adults are $11, with a limit of one per program with ID only. Center for Asian American Media members are $10, limited to two per program per ID. Tickets go on sale to CAAM members only on Thursday, Feb. 10, and open to the general public beginning Monday, Feb. 14. Become a member of the Center for Asian American Media and start receiving discounts on tickets for the festival, avoid all processing fees and get tickets to the films you want before they go to rush.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wsab1@aol.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays at 6-7:30 or 8 a.m. and Fridays at 8-10 a.m., can be heard by phone at (347) 237-4610 and are archived on the Afrikan Sistahs’ Media Network.

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