Wanda's Picks

January is Sexual Trafickking Awareness Month.  Sharan Dhanoa, Director of Strategic Development for the South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking, joins us to talk about this public health emergency that flies to low on the radar, no one is aware of the danger our young Black and Brown girls and boys face. She has organized a series of conversations for the public to educate us about the problem, who's at risk and what can be done to stop it. Sharan facilitates collaboration amongst over thirty-five member agencies. In May 2014, she began facilitating the largest multi-county workgroup in the Bay Area, No Traffick Ahead, which is unifying efforts in eight counties in order to effectuate collective impact across sectors. Prior to joining the Coalition, Sharan worked with women trafficked into sexual exploitation in Calcutta, India, by aiding their development through economic empowerment. She started her career in crime research, has worked in crime surveillance, and in an emergency psychiatric facili

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!  We speak to Benji Carver, programmer, about the 17th Annual Hole in the Head Film Festival Dec. 11-27, 2020 via Eventive.org and Zoom.us. W speak about several films with themes related to African and African Disapora interests and films with SF Bay area directors.  The festival will once again bring the freshest new independent genre films from around the world to San Francisco audiences. The festival will include over forty feature films, a

Today we speak to co-editors of Colossus: HOME (2020), Sara Biel and Karla Brundage  colossuspress.org Sara Biel is a poet, visual artist, and social worker. Her work combines original text with different art materials. She is passionate about collaborative art and performance processes, and focuses on art as a medium for building community. Sara’s work has been featured in Oakland’s Moondrop productions and sPARKLE & bLINK. She is the editor of Colossus: Bay Area Poets Challenge Immigration Injustice, Sara and Karla Brundage collaboratively edited Colossus:Home Karla Brundage is a Bay Area based poet, activist, and educator.  Born in Berkeley, California in the summer of love to a Black mother and white father, Karla spent most of her childhood in Hawaii where she developed a deep love of nature. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee and  the founder of West Oakland to West Africa Poetry Exchange (WO2WA) and is a board member of the Before Columbus Foundation. http://westoaklandtowestafrica.com/ as well as

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. Ms. Adrian Williams, The Village Project presents: Kwanzaa 2020 2. Rebroadcast "Sweet Dreams;" "House of Matter" opened Dec. 2013. The Great Conjunction: Dec. 21, the union of Jupiter and Saturn  https://www.fairbanksmuseum.org/blog/great-conjunction/

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. As they push the Alameda County DA, Nancy O'Malley to reopen the case of Oscar Grant who was shot Jan.1, 2009 as he was detained and bound on the platform-- and charge Head Officer at the time, Anthony Pirone with "felony murder." Also the community is asked to call the BART Board and ask that "underlying documents from law firm Myers Nave be released to Grant's family. Uncle Bobby X, Rev. Wanda Johnson, Sis. Elaine Brown, Hon. Walter Rile

We speak to Benji Carver, programmer, about the 17th Annual Hole in the Head Film Festival Dec. 11-27, 2020 via Eventive.org and Zoom.us. W speak about several films with themes related to African and African Disapora interests and films with SF Bay area directors.  The festival will once again bring the freshest new independent genre films from around the world to San Francisco audiences. The festival will include over forty feature films, and over 250 short films - all available on demand through Eventive. Selected content will also screen live on Zoom during special weekend shows, featuring audience Q&As with the filmmakers. Tickets are $10; a full pass is $125, ten film pass is $75 and five film pass is $40. There are also numerous free programs. For all festival information, visit https://ahith2020.eventive.org/welcome. Free Preview on Zoom tomorrow night starting at 6 pm. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KyiIe2_cSW-Y_Mcd18wHOg  We'll be screening trailers and speaking

Babatunji Johnson was born in Portland, Oregon but raised on the Big Island of Hawaii. He received his formal dance training from Center Stage Dance Studio and the University of Hawaii in Hilo before moving to San Francisco to train at the LINES Ballet Training Program on full scholarship. Currently, he is a dancer with Post:Ballet and SFDanceworks in San Francisco. Sidra Bell Dance New Yorkis rapidly gaining an international profile for work that reveals aspects of the human condition through a distinctly female lens. The Company has performed extensively throughout the USA, Europe, Canada, and South America. Bell’s process is intuitive, collaborative, and emphasizes the integration of multiple design elements and languages. Her work combines design, media, and fashion creating a singular vision in contemporary dance. Robert Moses’ KIN's mission is to produce work that speaks to what is specific and unique in human nature. Robert Moses' KIN uses movement as the medium through which race, class, culture and

1. Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi is a Zimbabwean musician, businessman, philanthropist, human rights activist who recently made his transition Sept. 22, 1952-Jan. 23, 2019.  We share a March 23, 2011 interview. Zimbabwe Music Festival in the Bay Feb. 1-2, 2019, at http://www.ashkenaz.com/ 2. Josh Folan, producer, Ask for Jane at SF Indie Fest 2019 3. CHRISTOPHER GREENSLATE's film, SAVIOR, is at SF Indie Feb. 2 (9:30 PM) and 2/6 (9:15 PM) at the Roxie. 4. Ellen Sebastian Chang is the Creative Director (11 plus years) for The World As It Could Be Human Rights Education Program, where we use the arts to teach the historical and current understanding of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  This event, Feb. 14, 21, 23, is in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the drafting of this important document that only 7% of our population is aware of. Sandy Sohcot is the director and originator of The World As It Could Be Human Rights Education Program. Sandy Sohcot holds a California Lifetime Teaching Credential

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. Min. Imhotep Alkebulan, founding member, Wo'se Community Church (1987). Senior Minister of Wo'se Sacramento.. 2. Demetri Broxton is the Senior Director of Education at Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco, CA. An Oakland native, Broxton has over 19 years of experience working in the field of education and the arts. Outside of his role at MoAD, Demetri is an independent curator and practicing artist. He served as a cura

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!  The International Day to End Violence Against Women & Girls the 16-Day Campaign is Nov. 25-Dec.10 Dr. Kim McMillon is a producer, playwright and upcoming Willow author (Voyages). McMillon is a contributor to the anthology Some Other Blues: New Perspectives on Amiri Baraka (Ohio University Press, 2021). She also produced the Dillard University-Harvard’s Hutchins Center Black Arts Movement 2016 Conference in New Orleans, and with UC Merced’

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!     

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!  We begin with a show aired Nov. 26, 2008 featuring Rafael Jesus Gonzalez and Karla Brundage. We speak about Indigenous Rights and being Thankful.  We close with another show, first aired April 28, 2009. Today's show features: director, Tim Disney and subject, Regina N. Kelly, of the new film, "American Violet," which opens in the San Francisco Bay Area, Friday, May 1, 2009. There is a free screening Tuesday, April 28, 7 p.m. at the Metreon

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. We move to an interview with SFBV Assistant Editor Comrade Malik Washington. This weekend beginning this evening at 6 p.m. and continuing tomorrow afternoon in Bay View Hunter's Point will be a Block Party FundRaiser celebrating the diversity and culture that is SFBV, a community vital to the City and County of SF. As the SFBV makes important tactical moves, we thought it would be great to introduce Malik to tells us about this wonderful ev

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!  We celebrate Jimmy Cobb, Aṣe, the only surviving member of Miles Davis's band on "Kinda Blue" on its 50th Anniversary. He was on tour with a stop in Oakland at Yoshi's. He made is transition this year, May 24, 2020. He was 91. 

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!  Rebroadcast: Conversation with Slave Rebellion Reenactment Veterans (11/21/2019)  

We open with an interview with author, Doris I. Mangrum, whose "A Soiled Identity: From Triumph to Tragedy and Back Again," tells the story of Darnell Cookson, former Marine and former felon as he rejoins society. However, this is not a typical rehabilitation story. Told in the protagonist's voice as if we were seated in his home one evening getting to know one another, we meet Darnell just as he arrives home from prison to new wife, new child and many relationships he has to restore, like that between he and his two older daughters by a prior marriage, and his kid brother who is making a bit too much money fast. Darnell tries to hold his head up when applications are rejected and interviews have no follow-up calls, but it is hard.  Darnell's reentry is a community venture; each chapter ends with what Mangrum calls, "Choice Moments" where her audience gets to imagine a "what if?" In "Live Your Life," the reader is invited to learn from Darnell's experiences while we also gear up to participate in an "Idea I

1. Living at the intersection of Blackness, womanhood, art, and activism, Nia McAllister is a Bay Area born poet, avid reader, and environmental justice advocate. She is the host and curator of the monthly open mic series at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco, where she is the Visitor Experience Manager. Through her work, Nia is dedicated to creating literary platforms for writers of the African Diaspora to be seen, read, and represented. Nia’s poetry has been featured on Poets of Color Podcast and the Nomadic Press Dial-a-Poet series. In her free time, she can be found performing at Open Mics, writing outdoors, and taking care of her plants. 2. Lenard D. Moore is a poet, fiction writer, essayist, book reviewer, public speaker, photographer, and the author and/or editor or co-editor of several books, including All The Songs We Sing (Blair, 2020), The Geography Of Jazz (Blair, 2020), One Window’s Light (Unicorn Press, 2017), and A Temple Looming (WordTech Editions, 2008). His literar

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. Dorsey Nunn, Executive Director, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children. We close with a rebroadcast (10/29) of the interview with artists and co-founder, re: Bakanal de Afrique Nov. 6-20 (bakanaldeafrique.com).

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. Bakanal de Afrique Festival Nov. 6-30 https://www.bakanaldeafrique.com/ Music: "Salaam Nubia from Aswan,"  The Nile Project http://nileproject.org/alsarah/ 2. Rebroadcast Wed., Oct. 28, 2020 

1. Dr. Iyabeji Cathy Royal and Ohen Nedra T. Williams join us https://www.eventbrite.com/e/council-for-global-ancestral-reverence-presents-ancestral-souls-rising-tickets-124636468031?aff=erelexpmlt 2. Jo Kreiter, Flyaway Productions at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco, join us to talk about "Meet Us Quickly Digital Exhibit, curated by Rahsaan "New York" Thomas" open presently.   3. Sister Sheba Makeda Haven joins us to talk about the Stolen Lives Project (10/22) as well as Activism 101   4. We close with a gem, from the Archives, Stanley Nelson (2015)   Free Gwendolyn Brooks Conference, 10/28-29: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/23rd-gwendolyn-brooks-black-writers-conference-2020-tickets-122767941217