Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Wanda's Picks Radio Show, Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Show link:http://tobtr.com/10544967

1. Robert Moses (RMK) joins us to talk about his 23rd Annual Home Season and the debut of Bootstrap Tales at YBCA, Feb. 23-25, ybca.org

2. Jeffrey Smith, director, From the Garden to the Table and Geoffrey Grier, director, SF Recovery Theatre, join us to talk about "A Trip Down Memory Lane," Friday January 26, 2018 at the Cadillac Hotel 380 Eddy Streeet in San Francisco, from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

The show is another edition of the teams ongoing "Night at the Black Hawk" series, chronicling the lives and times of artists and residents who lived in the shadow of the famed Black Hawk jazz club. The lunchtime concert includes healthy food options provided by The Green Mobile Health Education Kitchen (G2T.org)

From the Garden to the Table, a healthy food, lifestyle and culture enhancement program, received a grant from the San Francisco Foundation last Nov. 2017, in partnership with California Pacific Medical Center, to provide targeted intervention to Single Room Occupancy Hotels (SRO) in the San Francisco Tenderloin. The grant was facilitated by the San Francisco Department of Public Health to support health, safety, and environmental programs for residents in the Tenderloin and the Sixth Street Corridor.

The grant allows the GMHEK team to continue providing healthy food and cooking alternatives to the Tenderloin SRO community in concert with SF Recovery Theatre's proprietary social delivery method. Along with monthly classes and events, a portion of the grant is designated for From the Garden to the Table to build the first "all-green" SRO community kitchen in the Tenderloin.

GMHEK is asking the Tenderloin community and the San Francisco public to support this very special health intervention. Please see the Go Fund Me page to learn more and donate to this needed project: https://www.gofundme.com/camelot-sro-green-kitchen-space

GMHEK is the implementation program of From the Garden to the Table (501c3) and San Francisco Recovery Theatre.

This is the only green mobile food truck around. To help Smith and Grier develop the project further, visit and support at: https://www.gofundme.com/camelot-sro-green-kitchen-space

3. Skeleton Crew, by Dominique Morisseau opens for previews at the Marin Theatre Company, 1/25-2/18, then the work moves to TheatreWorks at Lucie Stern in Palo Alto.

This piece — the third in Morisseau’s Detroit Cycle — is MTC has been aiming to produce since Dominique first wrote the script in 2013. The work brings together Margo Hall, Lance Gardner, Tristan Cunningham and Christian Thompson, directed by Jade King Carroll, whose has a rich history with this play and with Dominique’s work.

Tristan Cunningham (Shanita) started performing when she was ten with Vermont’s Circus Smirkus. After touring for eight years, she changed her focus to acting and graduated with a B.F.A from S.U.N.Y Purchase Acting Conservatory. Some of her Bay Area credits include A Winter’s Tale, The Comedy of Errors, Measure for Measure and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with California Shakespeare Theater, The Arsonists with Aurora Theater and Tree with the San Francisco Playhouse. She is a proud member of Actors Equity Association and a TBA and BATCC Award winner for her work in The Taming at Marin Shakespeare Theater. She is honored to be working with MTC for the first time and returning to Theatreworks after playing Passepartout in Around the World in 80 Days.

4. Lifer-- the Story of Glenn Bailey at Lower Bottom Playaz --Koran Streets (Nephew, Ponce), Christopher Weddle (Carter, DA, Norton), Remy Harris Sr. (Jay Cat, Commissioner). The play is at The Flight Deck, 1540 Broadway, Oakland. Visit lowerbottomplayaz.org

To listen to the broadcast:

Wanda's Picks Radio Show: Wednesday, January 31, 2018

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

1. Diane Amos is a San Francisco-based actress, improv artist, and comedian who is known as The Pine Sol Lady for having starred in their national commercials for over 20 years. She has appeared in numerous films including Nine Months, Copycat, Angels in the Outfield, EDTV, Twisted, and Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine. Diane was a semi-finalist in Star Search, has been on A& E's Evening at The Improv, Lifetime's Girls' Night Out, and Comedy Central's Women Aloud. She has also been a winner on the game shows: Wheel of Fortune, $25,000 Pyramid, and Super Password. She was raised in SF by two lesbian mothers and attended Washington High School in the Richmond District, where took an improvisational comedy class...and the rest is history. She is at Ashkenaz Music and Dance Center, 1317 San Pablo Ave., in Berkeley, Thursday, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m.

2. Lisa Tealer, Interim Executive Director of the African American Community Health Advisory Committee (AACHAC) www.aachac.org (Soul Stroll folks) Joins us to talk about "An Evening with HeLa" on Feb 1, 2018 from 6-9 pm & Educational Seminar: Communities of Color & Clinical Trial Participation: A Call to Action on Feb. 2, 2018 from 9am-1:30pm www.aachac.org or hela.brownpapertickets.com

3. Zakiya Harris is a Shapeshifter. She is an afro-eclectic mix of soul, dance and theater and she is a part of MIXTAPE Vol. 1: Femme Fatale, Feb. 1, 8 p.m., at the Starlite Social Club, 2236 Martin Luther King, Oakland, 1-510-593-2109, hrs.4:00 pm-2:00 amOakland Symphony presenter's intention is to present a program that is "experimental, boundary pushing, musical and visual, curated exclusively for Oakland. Classical music has long been rife with imbalances in representation and the Mixtape series is meant to function as an avenue to address these imbalances from different angles. Mixtape presents a diverse collection of our favorite local artists performing in intimate settings meant to evoke thought, feeling, and togetherness."

The inaugural Mixtape, Vol 1: Femme Fatale is a celebration of powerful, thought provoking women, curated by Linda Harrison from the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) and hosted by GLAAD Award winning comedian Marga Gomez. Featured performers, Oakland's Sh8peshifter Zakiya Harris, DJ Nina Sol spinning soulful sounds, and Oakland Symphony's own Dawn Harms (violin) and Michelle Kwon (cello) will perform solo and collaborate.

Venue: Starline Social Club
Date: Thu February 1, 2018 8:00pm
City: Oakland
Price Range: $15-20
Tickets: (510) 444-0802

4. David Graves, artist, joins us to talk about Spirit Migration, Jan. 5-Feb. 22, M-F 8-4:30 PM at EBMUD Oakland Administration Building, 2nd floor lobby, 375 11th Street, Oakland. Artist reception, Friday, Feb. 2, 5-7 p.m.He is a Bay Area based illustrator and designer with years of professional experience and many satisfied clients. Graves has a B.F.A. in illustration from the University of San Francisco and I'm a long time member of the NY Society of Illustrators and the NY Graphic Artists Guild. Visit davidgarvesart.com

Listen: http://tobtr.com/s/10558577

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Last Slave Ship Found in Alabama

https://articles.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2018/01/alcom_reporter_may_have_found.amp
Real-Time News from AL.com

What is the Clotilda? Last slave ship to bring humans to US may have been found on Alabama shore

Updated Jan 23, 12:46 PM; Posted Jan 23, 9:37 AM

The wreckage of the Clotilda might have possibly been located, thanks to extremely low tides. (Contributed photo/Ben Raines)

By Leada Gore (lgore@al.com)

The Clotilda, the long-lost wreck of the last slave ship to bring human cargo to the U.S., may have been located, a possible ending to a historical mystery. The discovery, made by AL.com's Ben Raines, turns attention to the ship and its tragic history.

What is the Clotilda (or the Clotilde?)
The Clotilda is the last know U.S. slave ship to bring humans from Africa to the U.S. The ship, a two-masted 86-foot long schooner under the command of Captain William Foster, arrived in Mobile Bay in autumn of 1859 with as many as 160 slaves on board. At the time, it was illegal to bring in slaves from Africa, so Foster waited until night to arrive, transferring his human cargo to a riverboat before burning and sinking the Clotilda.

The slaves from the ship were distributed among the Clotilda's investors, including Mobile shipyard owner Timothy Meaher, who lived outside of Mobile. As many of 30 African Americans were taken to Meaher's plantation, many of whom remained in the area after they were freed.

Clotilda or Clotilde?
According to Raines: The ship's name is the Clotilda, not the Clotilde. Newspaper accounts beginning in 1860 misspelled the name, and over the years it stuck. But the ship's license and the captain's journal make clear that Clotilda is correct.

Who was Cujdo Lewis? What is Africatown?
Cudjo "Kazoola" Lewis was among the 30 slaves held by Meaher. He was the last survivor of the Clotilda journey and was later interviewed for a 1927 article and film by Zora Neale Hurston. Lewis and the others from Clotilda was one of the leaders in a community called Africatown, an area outside of Mobile populated by African Americans and known for its preservation of West African culture.

Lewis died in 1935 at the age of 94. A monument to him can be found at Union Baptist Church in Africatown. Africatown was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. I

Wreck found by reporter may be last American slave ship

"This would be a story of world historical significance, if this is the Clotilda," said John Sledge, a senior historian with Mobile Historical Commission.

Where is the Clotilda now?
Raines investigation indicated what could be the Clotilda lies partially buried in mud alongside an island in the lower Mobile-Tensaw Delta, a few miles north of the city of Mobile. The wreckage of the ship was exposed during extremely low tides brought on by the same weather system that brought the "Bomb Cyclone" to the Eastern Seaboard.

The wreckage appears to date back the mid 1800s and shows signs of being burned, as the Clotilda reportedly was. Other signs, including oral histories and measurements of the boat, point to it possibly being the long-lost ship.

"I'm quaking with excitement. This would be a story of world historical significance, if this is the Clotilda," said John Sledge, a senior historian with Mobile Historical Commission, and author of The Mobile River, an exhaustive history of the river. "It's certainly in the right vicinity... We always knew it should be right around there."

Investigations into the wreckage will continue.

See also: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/gulf-coast-wreck-could-be-last-u-s-slave-ship-n840391

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Wanda's Picks Radio Show, Friday, January 12, 2018

1. Diane Barnes, playwright and actor, joins us to talk about her solo performance: "My Stroke of Luck" at the Marsh in SF through Feb. 3: Thursdays @8PM, Saturdays @ 5 PM
January 21 and 28th @ 2PM Tickets: https://themarsh.org/my_stroke_of_luck/diane-barnes/

Dr. Diane Barnes

Not everyone knows that the average person loses 1.9 million brain cells every minute a stroke goes untreated, but Diane Barnes did. As a radiologist who diagnoses strokes, Barnes did not deal with having a stroke very well; it was more than 20 hours before she went to the hospital. Hailed by the Marin Independent Journal as a “riveting and moving account,” My Stroke of Luck follows Barnes as she recounts her experience of having a stroke, her path to recovery, and more.

2. Theologian, Cultural Worker, Singer-Songwriter, Francisco Herrera brings together different styles of music to promote human rights and Social Justice His latest album Honor Migrante crosses physical and musical borders.

3. Stacey Hoffman, Living Jazz hosts “The 16th Annual In the Name of Love” tribute, Oakland’s only non-denominational musical tribute to Dr. King, Sunday, Jan. 14, 7-9:30 at the Oakland Scottish Rite Center. Living Jazz also honors Wendy Jackson, this year’s recipient of the Oakland Citizen Humanitarian Award. 2018 Oakland Citizen Humanitarian awardee: Wendy Jackson is the Executive Director of the East Oakland Community Project (EOCP), a community-based, nonprofit organization that provides emergency housing for homeless individuals, families and people living with HIV/AIDS.

The theme of this year’s tribute is “Songs of Change” highlighting 5 outstanding vocalists Nicolas Bearde, Kim Nalley, Tiffany Austin, Amikaeyla Gaston and Jessica Lá Rel along with an exciting backup band including Tammy Hall on piano, Marcus Shelby on bass, Allison Miller on drums, Adam Theis on horns and Terrence Brewer on guitar, along with the 55-voice Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir; and the 200-voice Living Jazz Children’s Project backed up by the Oakland School for the Arts Ensemble. Dana King, formerly with CBS, will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies.

Stacey Hoffman

Executive Director Living Jazz

Stacey Hoffman has been the Executive Director of Living Jazz since 1985. She came to the position with an extensive background in all aspects of the arts, along with 7 years experience in business management. She co-founded the organization originally to help save a faltering summer music program, Jazz Camp West from extinction, and has gone on to design and launch several Bay Area music programs, many of which have become Bay Area treasures. She has produced Jazz Camp West since 1984, co-founded the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir in 1986; the Fall and Spring Music Series in 1988; RhythmVoice in 1990; and Jazz Camp Weekend in 1991. She created the Oakland Jazz Choir in 1992, “In the Name Of Love”, the Annual Musical Tribute honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 2001; the Living Jazz Children’s Project in 2005 (LJCP) , Jam Camp West, a music camp for 10-15 year olds, in 2007 and expanded the LJCP in 2015 to include both choral and rhythm components . Through her love of the arts, commitment to Living Jazz and dedication to her work, Ms. Hoffman has been responsible for bringing literally tens of thousands of people together, fostering a sense of inspiration and community within the Bay Area's jazz scene. Ms. Hoffman also maintains a p/t private practice in Psychotherapy and is the mother of 2 sons.

Kim Nalley

4. Kim Nalley joins us to talk about MLK Jr.'s legacy and what she plans to sing at the Tribute. http://www.kimnalley.net

Link to show: http://tobtr.com/10518221

Wanda's Picks Radio Show Special Tuesday, January 16, 2018

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

1. Opera Parallèle’s Harriet’s Spirit with Tiffany Austin as Harriet Tubman on Jan. 18, at 6 pm, Jan. 20, at 10 am and 1 pm at the Buriel Clay Theater of the African American Art and Culture Complex, 762 Fulton Street in San Francisco. Suggested donation for tix: $5-$15. Make Reservations at: https://opharrietsspirit.bpt.me

Tiffany Austin (Harriet Tubman): One of the West Coast’s fastest rising jazz vocalists, Tiffany Austin is a classically trained singer who delivers a fiery blend of blues and classic swing. A graduate of UC Berkeley’s Boalt School of Law who has lived and performed on three continents, Austin decided to forgo a career as a lawyer to focus on music, her true passion. Her 2015 debut album Nothing But Soul earned positive reviews, including four stars from Downbeat Magazine and an NPR Fresh Air radio feature. Austin is currently working on her second album, Unbroken, scheduled for release in early 2018.

2. W. Kamau Bell, radio and TV host, comedian, joins us to talk about his Playlist at OEB Symphony this Friday, Jan. 19.

3. From the Archives: Destiny Muhammad plays Alice Coltrane (aired Aug. 9, 2017).

4. Ranzel Merritt (aired Aug. 9, 2017).

Music: 4th Movement, John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme"
Show link: http://tobtr.com/s/10525919

Friday, January 05, 2018

25th Annual African American Celebration through Poetry

25 years and Still Risin! The 25^th Annual African American Celebration through Poetry, Saturday, February 7, 2015

Dedication: To Maya Angelou (1928-2014), consummate poet, artist, human being and to Arnold White (1938-2014), Oaktown civic leader, historian and artist.

Welcome: MaryGay Ducey – Branch Librarian

Host: Wanda Sabir

Libations—

blessing the boats
by Lucille Clifton, 1936 - 2010

(at St. Mary’s)

may the tide

that is entering even now

the lip of our understanding

carry you out

beyond the face of fear

may you kiss

the wind then turn from it

certain that it will

love your back may you

open your eyes to water

water waving forever

and may you in your innocence

sail through this to that

from http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/blessing-boats

Featured Poets:

DnT Productions Suite

Tracy A. Todd, H. David Todd
and Imani M. Todd

Koren Clark

Who am I?
School bell ringin'

                How I learned how to create my own sunshine;
                                         I'm thankin
                                                  and

Two creations by Dr. Syed Malik Al Khatib (read by David Todd)

Paradise Free Jah Love

Short clip from a CD on Arnold White; Maya Angelou

Paradise Free Ja Love

"Good Morning Ferguson!"; "I Love Everything about You . . ."

Sakina Sulaiman

Sakina Sulaiman: "it takes pain to create life"

Downtown TAY present poems inspired by Ralph Ellison's ¨Invisible Man,¨ that center around in/visibility and ẗo be.¨

Downtown TAY Crew

Joy Elán and her daughter

Joy Elán

Black and Blue Bloods
I Am a Survivor

Sandra “Makeda” Hooper Mayfield

Screaming for Eric Gardner: A Black Man

I Will Never Forget

Damu Sudi Alii Ancestor Medley

Love Lost by Damu

Truth by Damu

Revenge by Damu

Prelude to Death by Damu

Black Classical Music by Kamau Seitu

The Answer by Dennis Omowale Cutten

Black People by Dennis Omowale Cutten

Zakiyyah G.E. Capehart -Bolling (poetry) and Bryant Bolling (musical accompaniment)

POEMS SONGS
Looking through My Eyes Children Are the Light Of the World

My Colin Cares For Me Jah Jah Really Knows

Earth's Rebirth The Creator Has a Master Plan

Lateef McCleod: “Father Madiba Shook My Hand.”

Lateef McCleod

Charles Allensworth

Charles Allensworth on the legacy of his Great-great Uncle, Colonel Allen Allensworth.

Some words about Allensworth Descendant Association

Some words about Colonel Allen Allensworth

Some words about the Buffalo Soldiers
A Buffalo Soldier Poem

Ellen Foster Randle, Ph.D. A Song (selection TBA)

Father and Son: Damu Sudi Alii; Jabari Alii

Jabari Alii

"Who Am I?" and "I Need You To Understand" www.JabariAlii.com

Andrew Wilson: “Open Letter from Kaldrick Kim to Terrell Knight”

Andrew Wilson

Thanks!

OPL West Oakland Staff and OPL Administration, Friends of the OPL, all the Poets of course, Gene Howell, Jr. (donor), Charles Allensworth (donor), TaSin Sabir (errands and photography), Bilal Sabir & Delightful Foods: The No Cookie Cookie and to the ancestors who have blessed us along this 25 year journey . . . Ashay!

Mailing List:

Make sure you sign our mailing list. Don’t forget to sign up for the

Open Mic

Open Mic and fill out the evaluation forms for us please. (We will try to save time for it.)

Anthology Publication

Refreshments. Thanks to FOPL, Gene Howell, Jr.
and Delightful Foods

Refreshments. Thanks to FOPL, Gene Howell, Jr.
and Delightful Foods.

Patrons (Monica Pree on right)

Downtown Tay Ensemble

Brother Tahuti

Dr. Randall

Douglass

Young Guest (Joy Elán's daughter)

Jabari Alii

Remember the AACP @ 25 Anthology idea . . . We’d still like that to happen. Email your poems to info@wandaspicks.com by February 28. If you know any poets who have made their transitions, we’d like to include their work too.

Happy Black History Month 2015 (smile). Let the people eat cake!