The Black Arts Movement Business District of Oakland, CA is established in loving memory

                                      

The Movement

Newsletter of the Black Arts Movement 
Business District, Oakland, California
July/August Edition, 2016

Movement Staff

Publisher Marvin X

Managing Editor, Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD

Associate Editor Aries Jordan

Design Editor Adam Turner

Contributing writers
Jesse Williams
Ishmael Reed
Alice Walker

Kujichagulia

Douglas Allen Taylor

Kim McMillan

Lynette McElhaney

Kadesh Carter
Zahieb Mwongozi
Ayodele Nzinga
Aries Jordan
Marvin X

CONTENTS

1. Young African Leadership Fellowship, City of Oakland

2. Review: The Grace Jones Project by Kadesh Carter

3.Gentrification by Kujichagulia

4. Working on a theory of Orlando by Douglas Allen Taylor

5. Jobs and Justice, the Vote on Coal by Lynette McElhaney

6. Black Arts Movement Theatre, University of California, Merced
by Kim McMillan
7. Photo Essay by Kamau Amen Ra (RIP)
8. Dr. Ayodele Nzinga replies to Oakland City Council President Lynette McElhaney 
9. Notes on the BAMBD from Associate Editor, Aries Jordan
10. Poem: Times of Fire by Ayodele Nizinga 
11. Speech  by Jesse Williams at BET Awards 
12. Alice Walker poem to Jesse Williams 
13. Ishmael Reed reviews musical Hamilton
14. Marvin X on writers in anthology Black Hollywood unChained rock SF Main Library discussion 
15.  Zahieb Mwongozi on Lines in the Sand: Rebecca Kaplan and the cowardly council

Black Arts Movement Business District
Calendar of Events

June 30 Theatre and Social Responsibility Plays at U.C. Merced

June thru September 18, Grace Jones Project, MOAB, San Francisco

July 1, BAOBAB, Bay Area Organization of Black Owned Businesses, Roof Top, 5-8PM

July 3, Book Discussion of Black Hollywood unChained, San Francisco Public Library, 100 Larkin Street, Civic Center, San Francisco
July 3, Mandela Food Cooperative Festival, West Oakland, 7th Street, across from
West Oakland BART
July 6 thru 31, Fences by August Wilson, California Shakespeare Theatre
July 7 thru 17 The Black Woman is god Exhibit, SOMA, San Francisco

July 23, 25th Oakland Black Expo, Saturday, Frank Ogawa/Oscar Grant Plaza

July 26, City of Oakland BAMBD Cultural Keepers, Tuesday, 6-8pm, Oak Center Cultural Center, 14th and Adeline

August 28-September 4, Black Arts Movement Theatre Festival, Sept, Flight Deck Theatre, Broadway, Oakland

September 9-11, Black Arts Movement South 51st Celebration, Dillard University, New Orleans LA

Sept 30-October 1, Donald Lacy's play Color Struck, Laney College Theatre

October 22, 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Black Panther Party, Museum of California 
 
 
July 1, Friday

Bay Area Organization of Black Owned Businesses (aka BAOBOB) together with our hosts Infinity Investments - Invite BAOBOB members and those interested to be, to come mingle under the stars and above the crowd. We're in the time of beautiful sunsets and this spot has a panorama unparalleled!! If you came out for First Friday June, you already know... Please join us for another BAOBOB Business Savvy First Friday on The Roof!! * Business * Bites * Beverages * Beats Ease out of your Friday 9-5 fit and into your Friday open wide. No door cover.

July 1, Friday, Kev Choice CD release party, Yoshi's Oakland, 8PM, 10PM
 

We support Kev Choice because he supports the Black Arts Movement Business District in Oakland. He has attended our meetings to establish the BAMBD. So we appreciate Kev Choice!

July 3, Sunday, Mandela Foods Cooperative Festival

On Mandela Cooperative's Interdependence Day, we'll be having all sorts of interactive booths, games, movement, and performances. Food'll be free, and the fun don't stop 'til 4-o-clock, so bring family to join in the festivities!"

Volunteers: http://tinyurl.com/Mandela7thVolunteer

Vendors: http://tinyurl.com/Mandela7thVend

July 3, Sunday, 1:30-3:30PM, San Francisco Main Library Discussion of Black Hollywood Unchained

On Sunday, July 3, 1:30-3:30 pm, several of the authors will participate in a panel discussion at the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch to discuss the impact of Django Unchained as well as other Hollywood movie depictions of African-American life. Included with author presentations will be a time for questions and answers.

Along with Ishmael Reed, other participants include Halifu Osumare, Cecil Brown, Marvin X, Justin Desmangles, and myself.

If you’re in the Bay Area that weekend, hope you can make it.

Jesse Allen-Taylor 
July 3 thru September Poetry in The Park

June 29 -- July 20, City of Oakland Young African Leadership Project

Fellows from UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy will shadow City Department Heads to learn about leadership, local government processes and more about Oakland



July 6- 31, California Shakespeare Theatre presents Fences by August Wilson, one of our greatest griots, i.e., story tellers. FYI, the Bay Area and the world needs to know the only dramatist who has produced the complete cycle of works by August Wilson in chronological order is our very own Bay Area diva of BAM theatre, Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD.

 

            
July 15, Memorial for Kamau Amen-Ra and Photo Exhibition honoring his work.  EASTSIDE CULTURAL CENTER,  2277 International Blvd, 5-9PM.  Bring a dish to share. - Please spread the word!

July 23, 25th Oakland Black Expo, Frank Ogawa/Oscar Grant Plaza

   

Black Arts Movement poet/planner Marvin X will speak at the 25th Black Expo, look for the BAMBD booth.

 

July 26, City of Oakland BAMBD Cultural Keepers, Tuesday, 6-8pm, Oak Center Cultural Center, 14th and Adeline

August 25--September 4,  Black Arts Movement Theatre Festival, Flight Deck Theatre, 1540 Broadway, Oakland

The Toilet by Amiri Baraka

We are in the midst of what can be seen as a second wave of appreciation and exploration of the cultural genius of the Black Arts Movement. Amiri Baraka, Larry Neal, Haki Madhubuti, Sonia Sanchez, Askia Toure, Kalamu ya Salaam, Marvin X and countless other voices moved us toward new understandings of Black identity in the late 60s and early 70s. Now we find ourselves in a moment in which their art and their thought were never more relevant.

--Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

October 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Black Panther Party (for Self Defense). History will surely recognize the Party as having organized the single greatest effort by Blacks in the United States for freedom under a radical ideology of national liberation and self determination.

Contact Information

Email: blackpantherparty50@gmail.com

Address: P.O.Box 23963, Oakland, CA 94623

The Movement Newsletter

Contents

1. City of Oakland to host Young African Leadership Initiative Fellowship Program

Oakland, CA – The City of Oakland will host six fellows, who have been selected as some of the most influential and thriving young leaders in Africa, as part of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). They all come from different countries and focus on various interests and ventures such as Food Security, Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, Education, Health and Public Safety. This opportunity to see how a city government works together to provide service to the community inspires and allows the fellows to continue to innovate and envision new ideas that will help their home country. Departments hosting fellows this year are the Oakland Fire Department, City Auditor’s Office, Building & Planning Department, City Clerk’s Office, Public Works Department and Human Resources Management Department.


Courtesy AD
Marshawn Lynch's  Beast Mode opens in the BAMBD



Seattle Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch, center, celebrates the opening of his new "Beast Mode" apparel store on Broadway in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 5, 2016. To the left is his sister Marreesha Lynch and to the right is is grandmother Shirley Lynch and cousin and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh. Beast Mode is in the BAMBD. Buy Black.

The fellows are scheduled to shadow their mentors as well as listen to presentations from various city departments. They will explore different areas of Oakland and be able to meet Oakland leaders, staff and community members. The fellows will be presenting on their home country, their experiences and the work they are doing now through the YALI Speaker Series which is open to City employees and the public.

BACKGROUND

Last summer, a YALI Fellowship cohort came to City of Oakland on four Wednesdays during their program to shadow and learn how the City of Oakland operates. They were mentored by Department Heads from Oakland Fire Department, City Auditor’s Office, Parks & Recreation Department, Port of Oakland, Housing & Community Development Department and Human Resources Management Department. Their experience had a profound impact on the YALI program as well as the employees of the City of Oakland. In 2016, UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy wanted the City of Oakland to have a large role in the fellowship program for a second year.

Dates of the Fellowship and Speaker Series Events

The YALI Fellows will be placed with mentors at the three City administrative buildings in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza as well as at the Municipal Service Center, 7101 Edgewater Drive.

The fellows will visit the City of Oakland sites on:

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

The fellows will be giving presentations to the public and City employees on:

Wednesday, July 13, 2016, 1 to 2 p.m. at Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza

Wednesday, July 20, 2016, 1 to 2 p.m. at the African American Museum and Library at Oakland, 659 14th Street

About the Mandela Fellowship

The Goldman School of Public Policy and the University of California, Berkeley are excited and energized by the Young African Leaders Initiative’s Mandela Fellowship Program and its focus on civic leadership. Throughout UC Berkeley’s history civic leadership and engagement has played a significant role in the campus’ evolution. From the peace strikes in the 1930s, to the Free Speech Movement of 1964, to today’s student body that is active in volunteerism and community service, civic participation and leadership are integral to the Berkeley experience. In summer 2014, the Goldman School hosted 25 emerging leaders from sub-Saharan Africa. They are looking forward to welcoming our second cohort this year.

The Mandela Fellowship for Young African Leaders was announced on June 29, 2013, in South Africa by President Barrack Obama when he stated, “We’re launching a new program that’s going to give thousands of promising young Africans like you the opportunity to come to the United States and develop your skills at some of our best colleges and universities.” The new Mandela Fellowship is personally supported by the President of the United States and the U.S. Department of State. We at the Goldman School believe strongly that President Obama’s vision and mission for this Fellowship and the mission of UC Berkeley for its students are exactly the same – Let there be Light. Our domestic students are grappling with global issues and hunger for more intimate opportunities to understand and be change agents. By hosting this program at the Goldman School, our students will get front row opportunities to interact with these future African leaders, understand the context of global issues, and take part in developing global solutions.

The Goldman School is developing a cohesive civic leadership program that will focus on the skills that young African leaders need to run better ministries and serve their communities. The program will include developing the skills to identify, analyze and solve crucial issues found within a community and allow these civically engaged leaders to empower and motivate others to become involved change agents. The program will also include enrichment activities such as visiting the California State Capitol in Sacramento to view a legislative session, taking a trip to Muir Woods to see conservation in action and a host of cultural and social activities taking advantage of the museums and sights the San Francisco-Bay Area has to offer.

For more information, visit https://gspp.berkeley.edu/global/fellowship-programs/young-

african-leaders-initiative

Black Artists/activists  gather at the Joyce Gordan Gallery in honor of slain journalist Chauncey Bailey. Joyce Gordan far right. 

2. Review: The Grace Jones Project by Kadesh Carter

Over the years I have been asked who was my favorite artist, and for many of those years I did not have an answer. Being a painter, I always told myself to appreciate the works of others, but for some reason I never gravitated towards anyone in particular. I never wanted to make works based on the thought of anyone else, and I never wanted to recreate the works of another artist. I know for some, this method is a form of flattery based on inspiration - which is a beautiful thing, but I always wanted to make my own way. Create from my imagination, no matter how different it may have seemed to be. Uniqueness is a quality right? So, it was I was watching "Boomerang" starring Eddie Murphy, and there she appeared, Strangé, beautiful and boldly herself. Now, I could tell there was more to this actress than lines from a script, so I dug deeper. Her name was one that I would be sure to remember.

What better way to create than to create from the depths of your soul. She was Grace Jones. And she created from her soul without limitation. There are many who live in this world, but few who walk their own path without regret. Grace is definitely one of these humans. The influence of her work changed the art world in more ways than one. Music, fashion, performance, culture, and visual arts have all been mediums mastered. From the start of her public career her one of a kind approach has been purely amazing to see. Using color, bodily expression, and the freedom of art has made many attempt to duplicate what Grace originated. I had found my favorite artist from a great movie and what she represented was what I wished to someday come close to.

mak·er

ˈmākər/

a person or thing that makes or produces something.

synonyms: creator, manufacturer, constructor, builder, producer

In today's time I would define her as the Queen of Makers. In past times I would have called her the future. The weekend had rolled around a couple of months ago, and the date destination was a trip from Oakland to San Francisco to the museum to an exhibit featuring Grace Jones and I was more than delighted. With the many shows that I have experienced at the Museum Of the African Diaspora, The Grace Jones Project is one that I will always remember. Curated by Nicole J. Caruth, everything about the show was astounding. Each art piece individually clearly projected the impact of Grace on the artist and their views of how she is art herself.

The Grace Jones Project is on display now - Sept. 18 at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. For more information please visit moadsf.org.

Best Regards,

Kadesh Carter

Creative Director

www.OasisArtDesign.net

510-600-9805

3. Gentrification by Kujichagulia

Gentrification and “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!”

by Kujichagulia

Kujichagulia

In 1963, former governor of Alabama, George Wallace, delivered his infamous inauguration speech declaring, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!” Fast forward more than half a century later. America boasts of being a post-racial society, yet segregation remains an American epidemic. From colonization to plantations, reservations, ghettos, border patrols, and gated communities of insecurity forever whistling Dixie and protecting the Confederacy, America is determined to go down singing, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!”

Although the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 prohibited segregation, mere legislation cannot regulate bigotry, ignorance, hatred, fear, or inhumanity. Instead of achieving desegregation, thus began half a century of “White flight” from major cities across the country to newly established suburbs where housing, education, liberty and justice were denied to all Melanites (non-Whites). The Kerner Commission Report of 1968 addressed the practice and politics of White flight stating “America’s social norm of segregation and exclusion leads to one obvious conclusion – “Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white - separate and unequal.”

In spite of an exodus from the cities in search of nuevo-segregation elsewhere, myopic dreams of perpetual privilege gave way to the stark realization that white-flight did not improve the quality of white life. Although white-flighters were able to avoid being neighbors to any Melanites, they couldn’t avoid the two- to five-hour segregated commutes that dominated their morning and evening routines from white-washed suburbia to the chocolate/brown cities they abandoned in favor of sustaining segregation and tolerating racism from the sidelines. Once antebellum dreams of racially-sanitized suburbs morphed into daily nightmares of refilling gas tanks for bumper-to-bumper commutes with intoxicating vehicle exhaust, crowded carpools, expensive toll booths, and random acts of road rage, white-flight shifted into reverse.

    The solution – gentrification! Based on the rules of segregation, gentrification displaces Melanite (non-White) families from their homes, communities, and cities so that the gentry (wealthy White class) can relocate back into the cities. As a result, foreclosures, redlining, escalating prices, and exorbitant rents force many Black and Hispanic people/families out of Oakland, as well as many metropolitan cities nationally. Rising property taxes are pricing long-established families out of their homes. Caucasians are consistently awarded with homes and home loans, while Blacks and Hispanics are routinely denied homes and home loans. Likewise, Blacks and Hispanics are generally denied home improvement loans. Moreover, Blacks and Hispanics are often charged exorbitant interest rates on the home loans eventually attained. The result … more segregation.

In February of 2016, the document, ECONOMIC EQUITY: LOCKED OUT OF THE MARKET / POOR ACCESS TO HOME LOANS FOR CALIFORNIANS OF COLOR, revealed an unwavering commitment to segregation and racism in the 21st century. According to journalist, Rob Wile, “The study, co-produced by the Greenlining Institute and Urban Strategies Council, found that in 2013, the top-twelve lenders helped African American borrowers purchase a mere four homes in Oakland, while Hispanic borrowers received just seven  home purchase loans.” The Rob Wile article, Another mortgage lender just settled charges that it discriminated against blacks and Hispanics for years (http://fusion.net/story/141197/another-mortgage-lender-just-settled-charges-that-it-discriminated-against-blacks-and-hispanics-for-years/), documented, “San Bruno, Calif.-based Provident Funding Associates is accused of charging 14,000 minority borrowers interest rates and broker fees that were on average hundreds of dollars, and at times thousands, higher than what white borrowers paid. The practice started as early as 2006 and lasted through at least 2011, according to the Justice Department’s complaint.” Yet it is what it is; it's business as usual; life goes on, et cetera. While gentrification guarantees increased segregation under the guise of urban improvement; it's merely business as usual. It's the same ole progressive racism that patriotically fulfills America's prophecy of “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!”

(Reprinted from the SF Examiner Online  http://www.examiner.com/ethnic-community-in-oakland/kujichaguliaphavia-kujichagulia)

4. Working on a theory about Orlando by J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

WORKING ON A THEORY ABOUT ORLANDO

http://www.safero.org/counterpoints/counterpoints059.html

A CounterPoints Column

By J. Douglas Allen-Taylor

For expert fiction and non-fiction editing consultation, email me at safero@earthlink.net

Among so many other lessons to be learned from the mid-June mass-murder shooting at Pulse, the Orlando LGBT club, is a caution against locking ourselves into assumptions and conclusions before enough information is gathered and known. Now that a few weeks have passed since the horrific event, and the initial furor has cooled off a bit, we can more easily see where some of those early assumptions and conclusions wrong.

Many—including Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump—shut off all further analysis once they learned that the lone American-born shooter was a practicing Muslim, had an Arabic name—Omar Mir Seddique Mateen—and that he had both identified himself as an "Islamic soldier" and pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (commonly known as either ISIS or ISIL) in 911 calls he made in the midst of the shootings. From that moment on, many declared the Orlando massacre to be an act of "radical Islamic international terrorism."

In addition, many of our more conservative friends concluded that the tragedy might have been averted had there been either "some" or "more" armed security inside the club itself.

Of course, there was always an alternate theory that the American-born Mateen was less motivated by radical Muslim theory than he was by traditional American-bred homophobia. And within a day or so of the shooting, evidence emerged—though it has still been not been fully substantiated—that he may have been a self-hating gay, and that the public allegiance to ISIL might have merely been a way to paste on a higher motivation to the shooting and cover up conflicted feelings about his own sexuality.

In addition, timelines released by several news outlets showed that an armed off-duty Orlando police officer was working at the club, and engaged in a shootout with Mr. Mateen before Mateen entered the nightclub, and that two on-duty officers entered the club within minutes and exchanged gunfire with the shooter, forcing him to retreat to a bathroom.

But even though some of this information was available within hours of the first reports of the Orlando gay nightclub shooting, it was ignored in many minds because it included facts that conflicted with convenient conclusions already drawn.

Jumping to conclusions has probably been one of humanity's favorite pastimes since we first came upon this earth. But that human tendency has escalated in American life especially—on both the left and the right—since the rise of social media as our primary news-gathering medium and national discussion forum. This is in part because if one doesn't enter into the conversation early, and with a strong opinion one way or another, the conversation rapidly passes you by. Two weeks, a provocative tweet Facebook post about the Pulse shootings would have gotten you scores, and perhaps hundreds, of replies. Post something about the shootings now and you may get a small discussion, but more likely you'll generate no more than a reply or two and then silence, as most people have moved on to new things.

Another incentive for drawing an early conclusion is that it relieves one of the responsibility of thinking through what to do about something that has disturbed you. Pick a pre-determined cause, and along with it comes a pre-determined set of actions or attitudes to take in response. In the first few hours following the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building, for example, popular opinion in America had labeled it an act of foreign-inspired Arab/Islamic terrorism. I recall that after Timothy McVeigh, a young white American Army veteran, was captured and identified as the bomber, one of the national news outlets interviewed a somewhat befuddled older white woman, asking her about her reaction to the McVeigh arrest. " I don't know what to think, I'm all confused," she replied. "Now I don't know who I'm supposed to hate."

But such confusionment—if that be a proper word—does not have to be. Some years ago, while I was a reporter for Metro weekly newspaper in San Jose, I was assigned to a story that demonstrated to me both the value of waiting before concluding and both a way to bring it about.

Late one weekend night in the winter of 1998, the African-American head of the San Jose State University Black Student Union was discovered lying unconscious in a deserted open-air hallway in an off-campus housing complex, having suffered a severe head injury from a possible assault while talking on a pay telephone. Lakim Washington was a militant and highly vocal leader for Black student rights on the SJSU campus, and had clashed with university administration officials and with a number of white students, including his two white roommates, in the months prior to the assault.

Within hours, leaders of the San Jose State BSU charged that Washington had been the victim of a racially-motivated attack. Although there were no known witnesses to the attack, and Washington himself could give no information because he fell immediately into a coma, my editors at Metro believed the charge. I believed the charge, and was assigned the story, essentially, to provide evidence that it was true.

The problem was, as hard as I tried, I could find no such evidence. No witnesses came forward. Washington came out of the coma, but reportedly could not remember anything about the attack, and his family would not allow reporters to interview him in the hospital where he was recovering. In addition, representatives of the university police began spreading the story that there had been no attack at all, but that Washington had hit his head on the concrete walkway after suffering an epileptic fit, even though he'd had no prior history of epilepsy.

Eventually I turned in a story that presented the Washington assault as an unsolved mystery where a racial attack had been charged but not proved, and which the university police seemed reluctant to investigate. A few days after the article was published  ("Violent Night" Metro newspaper, January 22, 1998), a young woman read it, called the police,  and reported she had information that Washington had actually been assaulted by her boyfriend, an African-American, after the two men had argued over the use of the telephone. In other words, despite the early and "obvious" conclusion of a racial component by so many people, including myself, race had absolutely nothing to do with the assault.

In other words, despite all the first assumptions by so many people—myself, my editors, and members of the SJSU BSU—after first hearing about the Lakim Washington assault, there had been no racial component to that incident.

It was during the Lakim Washington investigation and story that I began to formulate guidelines for guarding against such premature conclusions.

First, work from a "working theory" rather than a conclusion when you don't have enough facts in hand about a particular situation. This is more than just semantics. A conclusion demands defending and is difficult to change because you have committed yourself to it, even when the actual facts eventually prove otherwise. A working theory is just that, a theory. It is presented as a possibility, not as an established truth, is not necessary to defend, and is more easily modified if need be.

Second, continue to collect facts and modify your theory as necessary as new facts are presented.

Finally, use any newly-discovered facts to try to disprove your working theory, rather than trying to prove it. When you try to prove a theory—or a conclusion—you tend to ignore everything that disproves it. But if you work to disprove your original theory, it is easier to see the flaws in it and modify that theory or abandon it altogether, if necessary. On the other hand, if you honestly try to disprove your working theory and find you cannot, it makes it more likely that your original theory was correct.

Using this formula, one could generally start off with the theory that given America's history, any situation involving more than one race in this country is likely to have race as one of its factors, to a greater or lesser extent. But after that, all other possible factors should be taken into account to see if their presence might, in fact, disprove the theory of a racial cause.

Using this method of theorize-and-attempt-to-disprove, its' entirely possible to conclude that there are not enough proven facts available about the Orlando gay nightclub shooting to draw a definite conclusion. It's still possible that Mr. Mateen's actions were inspired by his fundamentalist Islamic religious beliefs and the actions of such terrorist organizations as ISIL. It is also possible that either American-born homophobia or shame-of-being-closeted-gay were the determining factors. And it is possible that the ultimate cause was some combination of these factors or others yet unknown. But it's important to realize that such uncertainty is okay. One ought to be careful not to jump unless one knows where the danger is coming from and which location it is traveling to, lest one ends up jumping directly in its path.

Meanwhile, there's no magic to this method of working through our original theories. Much work has to be done to make it work, in almost every instance. Additional facts have to be ferreted out, sorted and resorted, and retheorized. We often have to throw out our most treasured prejudices. Sticking with pre-conceived notions is far, far easier on the mind, in the short run. In the long run, however, disaster can easily follow if the myths we have manufactured in our heads do not agree with the reality we face in the actual world.

That's my working theory, anyways.

Courtesy AD

Anyka Barber's Betti Ono Gallery

5. Jobs and Justice: The Vote on Coal

Friends, On Monday, I presided over a historic special hearing of the Oakland City Council where my colleagues and I made the unanimous decision (7-0 with Brooks absent) to protect resident and worker health by imposing a ban on the transloading, handling and storage of coal and petroleum in a proposed new terminal at the former Oakland Army Base (OAB). Making this decision was no easy matter.  The Council weighed the information provided seriously.  We hired an independent firm, Environmental Services Associates (ESA) to complete a thorough analysis of the of the testimonies provided by the project sponsor, Terminal Logistic Solutions (TLS), hundreds of residents and health experts, including the Alameda County Public Health Department.  The ESA analysis concluded that the proposed coal terminal will further exacerbate air quality concerns in West Oakland.  The Administration’s analysis further concluded that the proponent’s proposed mitigations (e.g. the use of covered rail cars to contain fugitive coal dust) were insufficient and that “there are currently no enforceable provisions from the U.S. Department of Transportation Surface Transportation Board, the Federal Railroad Administration, or from railroads themselves to require a coal supplier, a terminal developer or operator in Oakland to utilize any dust controls for coal shipped from Utah. Similarly, there are currently no enforceable provisions for a coke supplier or a terminal developer or operator in Oakland to utilize any dust controls for coke shipped via rail from suppliers in northern California.” In the end, we concluded that there is no viable means for the sponsor to protect residents or workers from the associated risks. Our fight is for both jobs and environmental justice. The neighborhoods where I live and represent suffer pervasive economic and health disparities.  According to a 2015 Alameda County Public Health report. http://www.acphd.org/media/401560/cumulative-health-impacts-east-west-oakland.pdf West Oakland’s overall rate of asthma emergency department (ED) visits is almost two times the rate for Alameda County as a whole. Numerous scientific reports reveal that asthma and cancer rates here are among the highest in the state.  I reject the notion that our communities need to suffer additional harm in order to create jobs. I believe in good jobs that produce living wages and healthy working conditions. My concerns about the transport of volatile cargo are not new. In 2014, I co-authored a resolution that received unanimous support opposing the transport of coal, oil, petcoke (a byproduct of the oil refining process) and other hazardous materials by railways and waterways within the City.  We have been joined in this effort to improve public health and safety by an impressive cadre of scientists and elected leaders including Senator Loni Hancock, and Assembly members Tony Thurmond and Rob Bonta.  We remain committed to the successful completion of the OAB development and to the promised opportunity for good jobs as Prologis, CWS, CASS, and OMSS move forward with plans that will yield thousands of logistic, transportation, recycling and support jobs without coal. My office has received hundreds of emails, phone calls and letters from Oaklanders (and beyond) expressing strong feelings about the proposed coal terminal at the former Oakland Army Base. Your voices, your concerns and your wisdom were at the forefront of this process.  We heard you. Thank you. With deep Oakland-love, City Council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney Representing the Heart & Soul of the Town

6. The Black Arts Movement Theatre, University of California, Merced, Professor Kim McMillan

Voices of the Revolutionary Theatre Collective

Social Responsibility is an ideology that states that the individual or group has an obligation to act in a manner that benefits, and is in the best interest of society as a whole. “Theatre and Social Responsibility” refers to theatre artists, playwrights in the case of this class, operating within the belief system that art is created for social change, and to inform the public with regards to human rights issues, and issues of freedom, inequality, and society’s oppression of an individual or group. The focus of this class is The Black Arts Movement in that the movement opened doors for those that have been and continue to be marginalized. The historian and author Dr. James Smethurst states that “The Black Arts Movement was arguably the most influential U.S. arts movement ever.” Dr. Smethurst’s words sum up the enormous impact of the Black Arts Movement. Yet, how does a movement that is responsible for public funding of the arts and birthing black identity remain, for the most part, invisible and forgotten?

The explanation is not simple. However, when the history and culture

of people of color is not taught, unconsciously the dominant culture is saying, “Your culture is not of value.” By lifting the veil on the theatre, culture and literature of the marginalized, the richness and diversity of American culture can be realized. During the 1960s and 1970s, those of African-American, Chicano/Latino, Native-American, and Asian heritage used theatre and art as a weapon, calling on the dominant race to open the door so that all might enter in equality. By showcasing the works and words of those that have been marginalized, real dialogue on racism in America can take place. We can no longer hide this issue in dark places, poisoning the minds and hearts of so many.

The language of these plays is often crude and graphic, but these authors carried a message of revolution, and through their art demanded social and economic change. While many of these plays were written in the 60s and 70s, their message is timely and offers the opportunity for transformation for ourselves and society through art.

Kim McMillon, Lecturer

Theater and Social Responsibility

Theatre and Social Responsibility Guest Speakers and Performers

Martha O. Acevedo has been on the board of the Merced County Arts Council off and on for about 20 years. Retired recently from the California Department of Education after 30 years of service, she was also a county school, district level administrator and teacher. She is a pioneer Administrator and teacher in Bilingual bicultural and Chicano Studies programs and Migrant Education. Born and raised in East Los Angeles (Garfield High School and East Los Angeles College), she earned a B.A. at UC Irvine and an M.A. in Education from Stanford University, specializing in second language learning and teacher education. She has 2 grown daughters and 6 grandchildren.

Judy Juanita enrolled at 16 years old at Oakland City College where she first met Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. Transferring to San Francisco State, she joined students from the Mississippi Bus Rides and Freedom Summer in creating the country’s first Black Student Union and joined the Black Panther Party. When Eldridge Cleaver was jailed after the 1968 shootout, Huey appointed her editor-in-chief of the BPP newspaper. She worked on the newspaper and the BPP Breakfast for Children program while finishing her BA at SF State. She became the youngest faculty member of the SFState Black studies program, teaching black journalism from the freedom journals and abolitionist movement to the present. Her semi-autobiographical novel, Virgin Soul, was published by Viking in 2013. Set in the sixties in the Bay Area, its main character grows from a sexually and politically unaware student into an independent woman in the Black Panther Party.

Marvin X Born Marvin Jackmon on May 29, 1944, Marvin X is a poet, playwright and essayist. One of the movers and shakers of the Black Arts Movement, he has published 30 books, including essays, poetry, and his autobiography Somethin’ Proper. Receiving his MA in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, he has taught at numerous colleges and universities. Important books include Fly to Allah, poems, Beyond Religion, Toward Spirituality, essays on consciousness, and How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy, a manual based on the 12 step Recovery model. Ishmael Reed says, “Marvin X is Plato teaching on the streets of Oakland.” His latest book is the Wisdom of Plato Negro, parables/fables, Black Bird Press, Berkeley. He currently teaches at his Academy of da Corner, in Oakland, CA.

Cheryl Lockett is a vocal entertainer, visual artist and instructor with an innate ability to manipulate sound using her voice. As a visual artist, Lockett integrates music and visual art together, giving sight to sound by creating musical percussion instruments from natural and recyclable product. The instruments are designed and used to explore rhythm for musical composition. Lockett runs a private studio teaching individuals fundamental elements of music and visual art. Cheryl Lockett cultivates, curates and presents an eclectic vision of sound that appeals to a diverse listening audience. The roots music that exemplifies her vocal style is a fusion of modern jazz, vintage blues, classic rock, Afro- Latin and Native American rhythms, with minor key tonality. Her riveting voice and warm style promises any listener an aesthetically pleasing and cohesive composition of music that flows like silk.

Genny Lim is a native San Franciscan poet and playwright. She is the author of the award winning play, Paper Angels, performed here in the U.S., Canada and China, as well as on the PBS’series, American Playhouse in 1985. Author of two collections of poetry, a book of plays and ISLAND; Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island, 1910- 1940 and a children’s book, Wings for Lai Ho. She is currently completing an expanded and revised edition of ISLAND with Judy Yung. Genny has performed in Poetry Festivals in Italy, Sarajevo and Venezuela as well as throughout the U.S. and has collaborated with prominent jazz musicians, including Max Roach, Herbie Lewis, John Santos, Jon Jang, Francis Wong, Lewis Jordan and Hafez Modirzedeh.

Dear Madam President McElhaney,

Marvin X, my mentor and elder, found your response quite eloquent and urged me to respond to you since you referenced my efforts in engaging the community to help with the implementation of a Black Arts Movement Business District. I am deeply committed to the creation of a Black Arts Movement Business District  as envisioned by those who dreamed it fifty years ago. Marvin X and the late Amiri Baraka, both internationally known founding members of The Black Arts Movement envisioned Black Cultural Districts nationwide. In his hometown, Newark, New Jersey, Baraka called his vision The Jazz District. Marvin’s vision for his hometown, Oakland CA., is an immense one. It is in service to that dream that I join the conversation.

Your reply reminds us of the weight of your responsibilities as a council person and you state your current priorities. Thank you for offering us your understanding of where BAMBD fits into current City of Oakland matters as well as the short outline for implementing the  stages of BAMBD.  

As a resident of District 3 who works and lives in the BAMBD footprint, I appreciate your timely update. There is a great deal of community interest in the successful implementation of a vibrant cultural district that will help address some of the issues that are priorities for you.

The things you are prioritizing should indeed be pressing issues for the entire council. I note that some of your priorities align the proposed pillars of BAMBD, which we envision as a comprehensive entity with a design that addresses pressing needs of Oakland’s disenfranchised and marginalized North American African communities in a wholistic fashion.

In my humble opinion the successful implementation of the Black Arts Movement Business District is the only tangible solution currently offered to provide relief to a portion of the city’s population feeling under siege. Neither 90 day moratoriums, nor plans to provide affordable housing in 2020 will serve those who need solutions to exorbitant rents now.

Considering the fact that $2,270.00 a month is the median rent for a one bedroom in Oakland according to Zumper which places Oakland in a tie for 5th on a list of the most expensive cities in America for renters, housing is certainly a pressing issue, which if unaddressed will result in the continued exodus of low income people from Oakland.

If something is not done there will be no substantial North American African population in Oakland to enjoy or benefit from a Cultural District. We look forward to the implementation of BAMBD and its potential to provide additional economic opportunity in Oakland.  The same population plagued by negative interactions with law enforcement is by and large the same group that is affected by housing issues and urgently needs the work you are attempting with police reform. A recent report cites that much of the cycle of violence in Oakland can be tied to structural disparity; that cycle of disparity places the disenfranchised in negative relationship with law enforcement and hastens gentrification while amplifying displacement.

I applaud your efforts to speak to the negative relationship with law enforcement and its deadly effect. I eagerly await the opportunity to assist in the implementation of BAMBD to offer a space to grow solutions that speak to your priorities as well as our vision for North American African survival and meaningful progress in Oakland.   

I am also encouraged by your acknowledgment of our community effort to meet, our visioning and collaborative research  of existing cultural districts. To that end I request a meeting with you to discuss pending development in the BAMBD footprint and to formally request the assistance of your office in the process of drafting community benefit requests for any and all pending development within the footprint and the intended use of funds currently earmarked for BAMBD by process of community negotiation for benefit in the footprint.  

I look forward to reconvening the Culture Keepers to hear your progress on these matters and to work closely with you to make BAMBD a comprehensively designed vehicle that offers tangible ways to address our total needs.

In Service,

Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, PhD

Founding Director,

Lower Bottom Playaz, Inc

BAMBD Servant & Architect

9. BAMBD Notes from Aries Jordan, Associate Editor

Aries Jordan

Jesse Williams has already moved many with his passionate speech at the BET Awards on Sunday and now he has inspired Alice Walker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Color Purple," to pen a poem in response to his message. Walker's new work addresses the "fear of blackness in white culture."

Hamilton and the Negro Whisperers: Miranda’s Consumer Fraud

Preface

In Black Hollywood Unchained, Ishmael Reed gathers an impressive group of scholars, critics, intellectuals, and artists to examine and respond to the contemporary portrayals of Blacks in films. Using the 2012 release of the film Django Unchained as the focal point of much of the discussion, these essays and reviews provide a critical perspective on the challenges facing filmmakers and actors when confronted with issues on race and the historical portrayal of African American characters. Reed also addresses the black community's perceptiveness as discerning and responsible consumers of film, theatre, art, and music.
--Justin Mesmangles



On Sunday, July 3, contributing writers to the anthology Black Hollywood unChained, held a spirited discussion on the collection of essays edited by Ishmael Reed, Third World Press, Chicago. The discussion was facilitated by Justin Desmangles who questioned Ishmael Reed, Jesse Allen-Taylor,
Dr. Halifiu Osumare and Marvin X. It  was  sponsored by Before the Columbus Foundation and the African American Center of the San Francisco Public Library, and videoed for later broadcast by Johnnie Burrell of International Media TV.Com. It will air on July 9 and available on Youtube.

Justin Desmangles, Chair of Before Columbus Foundation, journalist, poet, posed questions to the authors based on their essays. We must await the video for an accurate narration of the event but one question was why must Hollywood continues writing our stories that they can only tell from the white supremacy mythological viewpoint. Jews would not let Nazis write their history, although it was noted Jews take the liberty to narrate North American African history or the white version of it that is nothing less than pure fantasy or stories from the white world of make believe. Jesse Allen-Tayor said Black actors are essentially whores who are pimped by producers and are so desperate for roles they will perform anything, no matter how demeaning and despicable.

Dr. Halifu Osumare explained when the book project began, it was focused on the film Django but evolved into a general discussion on the condition of Blacks in Hollywood. Halifu noted how director Tarantino used the Yoruba myth of Oshun to depict the Black woman as goddess, although she wasn't sure the director had knowledge of Yoruba mythology. She also appreciated how the woman was freed by her man and road to freedom on her own horse to show a certain level of independence yet in harmony with her man.

Marvin X said the story of an individual Black man saving his woman is noble but insufficient because we need stories of communal liberation rather than individual. Referring to his essay, Justin asked Marvin X about the traumatic slave syndrome of the oppressed as described in modern times by Dr. Frantz Fanon. Marvin X said, firstly, Elder Ed Howard, a founding member of Oakland's Afro-American Association, has called for us not to use the term slaves but rather say we were/are Africans caught in the American Slave System. Marvin X said we are still suffering from the traumatic stress of the American slave system. Upon emancipation, we had no therapy and still have none. Justin noted how the nine people were killed in the North Charleston church, South Carolina and what this says about how religion is used to pacify us to the degree we immediately ask forgiveness and mercy for the killer. Marvin replied that their mentality shows the degree of addiction to white supremacy religion. The Southern Blacks still live in fear, Marvin said. For example, when he finished writing How to Recover from the Addiction to White Supremacy in Beaufort, South California and went to Staples for copies, the clerk asked where he was from? He told the Black sister, I'm from here, but she said no you're not. When he asked why she doubted him, she replied because we don't say White Supremacy down here, we know it but don't say it. This reveals a pervasive level of fear disguised as manners.

Jesse-Allen-Taylor would have none of putting down of the South. He's lived in South Carolina and is the author of a novel on South Carolina, Sugarie Rising, and he noted a unique town north of Charleston that had no Confederate statues and that there were people still resisting white supremacy.

Marvin said one of his last book tours through South Carolina his hosts told him to shut up and don't say nothing while you're here, and furthermore, we are not going to give you a book party or help you promote your book, just enjoy yourself and go on up the road. Marvin said he did as his hosts ordered which gave him time to visit the African Village in Sheldon, South Carolina. He noted the young Yoruba King's father was from Harlem and helped spread Yoruba culture throughout the United States. Halifu Osumare agreed the Yoruba King in South Carolina is highly respected, including a visit from the Oba of Ife, Nigeria. It was asked why don't more writers utilize African mythology in their work. Marvin recalled that in the play A Black Mass, Amiri Baraka utilized myths from Islam (the myth of Yakub) and Yoruba mythology. Baraka had studied the Yoruba religion as did many  poets and writers during the Black Arts Movement. The founding  Oba of Olatunji Village married Amiri and Amina Baraka.

Justin probed for more religious influences in North American African culture. Panelists replied the Catholic church has made ample use of Yoruba and Vudun in their services and even the Protestant religious community employ the Holy Ghost ritual similar to riding the god. Ishmael Reed noted how many writers have researched and studied Yoruba and Vudun myth-rituals in our culture, especially Katharyn Dunham. During the Q and A, videographer Ken Johnson stated he wished we would explain more of this mythology because he'd never heard of Yemanja or Oshun and would like to know.

Ishmael, whom we graciously acknowledge as one of our Master writers or griots ,who has overwhelming knowledge  of European and African mythology, yet he admitted ignorance of African revolts against the slave system.  Marvin told Ishmael and the audience to check out the History Channels documentary Slave Catchers and Resisters, also Negro Slave Revolts by Herbert Aptheker.

Jesse Allen-Taylor said the truth is that there was almost daily resistance to the American Slave System. When  the Roots and  Neo-Roots films series came into the discussion, Halifu said  the original Roots had the positive because for the first time many Blacks and Whites got some understanding of the American Holocaust, and this was a good thing. Marvin X replied, I don't want to see no more films about slavery, only resistance. "Show me Toussaint, Garbriel Prosser, Nat Turner, Denmark Vessey. If I go to one more movie about slavery, I might kill some white people." He quoted Amiri Baraka's Dutchman, in which the character Clay says, "If Bessie Smith had killed some white people, she wouldn't have needed to sing the Blues,  she could have talked very straignt and plain about the world."

Ishmael Reed was asked about his review of the Broadway musical Hamilton. Ishmael said it was a scam, pure and simple. He said his research revealed Hamilton was a slave owner, not an abolitionist  as the original text claimed. Hamilton had slaves and so did his wife. Thus Hamilton is a thousand dollar ticket scam and a reverse of the Black Arts Movement revolution. Hamilton put Black and minority actors in the costumes of the Slave Masters and it ain't even Halloween.  Ishmael noted in his review that at least during the Black Arts Movement of the 60s, writers took the language of the master and flipped it, but in Hamilton they took the Hip Hop poetry and rap and put it in the mouth of the slave masters!

Ishmael mentioned that Malcolm X was less than truthful when he claimed it was in Mecca that he discovered blue-eyed devil Muslims who exercised true Islamic brotherhood. He noted Malcolm had met blue-eyed Muslims in New York at the United Nations, so his letter from Mecca is a sham and Marvin X agreed. As per Islamic brotherhood, Marvin X interjected, "My friends, including members of the Last Poets, made their pilgrimage to Mecca forced to ride in the back of the bus from Amman, Jordan to Mecca, Saudi Arabia,  forced by white racist Turkish Muslims who were then made to pay a fee for disrespecting the Black Muslims from America. And just as 11AM Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in Christian American, 1PM Friday is the most segregated hour in Muslim America.
--Marvin X