by Jean Damu

Bay View publisher Willie Ratcliff congratulates the seven legendary Tuskegee Airmen – LeRoy Gillead, James Goodwin, Clyde Grimes, Richard Harder, Harold Hoskins, James Warren and Les Williams – honored by San Francisco Supervisor Malia Cohen and the entire Board of Supervisors Jan. 24. – Photo: Lance Burton

However – and with all due respect – for those of us who wrote their high school book reports after reading the Classic Comics version or watched the Disney Channel version and, perhaps even more worrisome, for those of us who may be Tyler Perry fans, then “Red Tails” is surely a must see.

For those, however, who took the time to read a book or take seriously African Americans’ participation and contributions to everyday life probably will want to take a pass. “Red Tails” is decidedly not another “Glory,” the 1989 Morgan Freeman film that was relatively accurate in its telling the story of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, the first all-Black infantry unit of the Civil War.

“Red Tails,” so named because the Tuskegee Airmen painted the tails of their planes red, is a cartoonish caricature of great fighting men who contributed much to the world’s titanic struggle against fascism that was WWII. But who, according to Lucas and film writers John Ridley (“Under Cover Brother” and Fox News contributor) and Aaron McGruder (“Boondocks”), had no personal relationships with family or Black women – not one Black woman appears in the film – and who were hopelessly criminal in their refusal to follow orders and complete a mission as assigned.

To be fair, all the exploits attributed to the Black pilots in “Red Tails” are absolutely true. Black pilots were originally assigned to strafing duty, the most dangerous of all air assignments, with outdated planes. They did blow up an ammunition train. They did destroy a German airfield, and one airman was among the first allied pilots to shoot down an ME (Messerschmitt) 262 fighter jet.

But for purposes of calming and soothing the qualms of Lucas’s financial backers and film industry banks who feared a film with a nearly all-Black cast would bomb – figuratively speaking of course – at the box office, all these exploits are depicted as being carried out by one lone rogue pilot, a pilot so undisciplined and uncontrollable that in real life he would have been subjected to court martial and likely expelled from the service.

Actually in real life the 332nd all-Black fighter group was assigned to clear the sea-lanes and provide air cover for the Allies’ invasion of Sicily. In the film, key members of the 332nd abandon their mission to provide air cover and criminally wander off to bomb a German airfield. Progressive military leaders don’t like to stifle self-initiative, but David Oyelowo’s role as Joe Little, rogue fighter pilot, was beyond anything reasonable or credible. Those kinds of stunts are far more suited to Saturday morning television, at which McGruder is quite successful.

Far in excess of the cartoon caricatures that are the Tuskegee Airmen in “Red Tails” are the embarrassing, emasculated 332nd squadron leading characters assigned to Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr.

Gooding is particularly annoying as an eternally pacific, pipe-smoking mentor to his young protégé pilots. But what he comes across as is nothing more than a pretentious MacArthur wannabe, never personally putting himself in harm’s way and never taking the damn pipe out of his mouth. Meanwhile Howard’s character, Col. A.J. Bullard – a nice tip of the pilot’s cap to Eugene Bullard, a Black pilot who flew for the Lafayette Esquadrille during WWI – is a thinly disguised representation of the Tuskegee Airmens’ primary leader, Lt. Col. (later Gen.) Benjamin O. Davis. In “Red Tails,” both Howard and Gooding are little more than administrative pencil pushers far removed from any form of combat and would more appropriately have been costumed in aprons and granny hats rather than flight jackets.

In reality, Davis and other senior flight squadron officers all had their own planes and fully participated in combat missions. This was true not just in the Black units but all the white units as well. During WWII the Army Air Corps was an OJT air force. For everyone it was an on the job training because military air science was a new field and few knew very much about it.

Importantly Davis’ plane was named “By Request,” because after the Red Tails became known for providing particularly close protection for bombing raids and bomber groups’ losses diminished, they were requested specifically by the white bomber groups for protection.

As a matter of course, the actors can’t be blamed for the miserable script that was handed them. We have to assume they did the best they could.

Curiously, the “Red Tails” episode that raised the biggest question centered on the pilot shot down, captured by the Germans and taken to prison camp. What followed on screen was apparently cut and pasted from the 2002 Bruce Willis vehicle, “Hart’s War,” which featured Terrence Howard as the downed Tuskegee man.

A far more revealing episode could have been provided about the two Red Tail pilots who actually were shot down over Yugoslavia, rescued by an armed patrol of the Yugoslav Communist Party and repatriated to the Allies on the Italian border. But those kinds of political points are not attractive to film writers and producers sucking up to the banks.

But Ridley and Lucas somewhat redeem themselves.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Ridley relates that in the run-up to actually writing the Red Tails story, Lucas provided him with a van full of newspaper and magazine articles and military combat and personnel records that took months to research and review.

Unfortunately, very little of Ridley’s research found its way into McGruder’s clumsy script.

However, where Ridley’s research paid off remarkably well was in the making of the “Red Tails” companion piece, “Double Victory: the Documentary.”

Here the real and nearly complete story of the Tuskegee Airmen’s struggle against fascism overseas and racism at home is honestly and inspiringly told. It ranks among the very best, if not the best documentary ever made telling the role of Black military men in WWII.

Black women’s role as spiritual and material sustainers of the Black pilots as wives and girlfriends is fully revealed. We learn that when the first class of Tuskegee Airmen graduated, Lena Horn attended the dance that followed and danced with every graduating cadet. We get misty eyed when one former Red Tail, now in his mid-80s, tells us that after the first graduation dance, he walked his girlfriend home and asked, “Will you fly with me for the rest of our lives?” Yes, she said.

“Double Victory: the Documentary” is absolutely everything “Red Tails” is not. It’s the only redeeming aspect of the main feature. This is the film everyone absolutely should see.

Jean Damu is the former western regional representative for N’COBRA, National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America, and a former member of the International Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, taught Black Studies at the University of New Mexico, has traveled and written extensively in Cuba and Africa and currently serves as a member of the Steering Committee of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration. Email him at jdamu2@yahoo.com.

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by Minister of Information JR

Block Report Radio interview broadcast recently on KPFA 94.1FM

M.O.I. JR: How are you?

Runoko: I’m very good, my Brotha. How are you?

M.O.I. JR: I’m great. I know that you have been doing a lot of research around the planet, relating to different civilizations, talking about the seed of those civilizations being Africans. Can you tell us a little bit about who you are, for those who have never heard of you.

Runoko: Well, my name is Runoko Rashidi. I’m a historian first and foremost and I guess an anthropologist too. I travel a great deal. Over the last 12 years, I’ve been very fortunate to have visited a hundred different countries, colonies and overseas territories in a certain time, all in search of the African presence. I write a lot, I spend a lot of time on Facebook just disseminating information and I’m also an author.

I have a new book that came out; it’s called “Black Star: The African presence in early Europe.” So that’s what I am, Brotha. I’m a historian, and I love Black people. I’m trying to make the world a better place.

I believe that what is so important is that people know who they are and have a high sense of self-esteem and have a degree of confidence that can only come from knowing your history. And I think that if you think you start with slavery, you’re messed up. And that’s what we are taught, that we either have a very negative history of slavery and colonization or that we don’t have a history at all, that we emerged out of the jungle a long time ago, and we act that way. And so we need a knowledge of self in order to counter the negative imagery and influences that we have, so in fact that it can be a guide for our behavior.

We are taught that we either have a very negative history of slavery and colonization or that we don’t have a history at all, that we emerged out of the jungle a long time ago, and we act that way. And so we need a knowledge of self in order to counter the negative imagery and influences.

M.O.I. JR: Let’s talk a little bit about your new book. What is the significance of the new book, and why did you pick the early African presence in Europe as the subject?

Runoko: Well, it just kind of came up that way. I’ve done a lot of work on the African presence in early Asia, in particular, going all the way back to the 1980s working with Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, who is an ancestor now. And I’ve also researched Africans in many other parts of the world. I spent a great deal of time in Europe, so over a period of time, I was able to gather up a lot of information.

I submitted a large manuscript to a Black publishing house in Europe a couple of years ago, and for some reason they focused on Europe. And since the manuscript was so large, I think we just decided and common sense dictated that we would take one section in particular on Europe, since the book was being published in Europe, and focus on that. So it’s a nice work. It’s a nice companion volume to the stuff that I have on Asia.

I’ve done a lot of research on Kemet, on Egypt. And really where my head is right now, where I’m being led to, is the Pacific and Australia. To my knowledge, there has never been an African-centered book to focus on the Black presence or African presence in that part of the world, and so something like that will be pioneering. It would be like Europe in the sense that it’s another chapter in the global history of African people – and chapters that only Africans themselves can write.

M.O.I. JR: Let’s get deep into your book. Tell us a little bit about the history of Europe and when Africans got to Europe.

Runoko: Well, there were many migrations out of Africa. The first migration, I don’t know if I should say migration or migrations, into Europe probably would have taken place, I don’t know, 40-50-70,000 years ago. And there would have been sporadic ice ages in there that would have transformed those original Black-skinned people into the Caucasoids that we know of today. Now there may have been several migrations like that. Maybe the first migrants perished in that ice. I don’t know.

Runoko Rashidi and Emmanuel Mah, the head of Books of Africa publishers, at an appearance in London in December 2011

So ancient Europe, pre-historic Europe, had these series of ice ages and it dramatically affected those original Black people, not only physically, but also psychologically, and it made them into what we can call a much colder people where survival of the fittest was the dominant theme, and might made right and a dog became a man’s best friend. And that was the Europe that those Africans went into and were transformed into, if that makes sense.

Pre-historic Europe had these series of ice ages and it dramatically affected those original Black people, not only physically, but also psychologically, and it made them into what we can call a much colder people where survival of the fittest was the dominant theme, and might made right and a dog became a man’s best friend. And that was the Europe that those Africans went into and were transformed into.

So the first African presence in Europe is in the pre-historic phase, where African people are the first people in Europe, and they mutate, if that is not too cold a word. And then we follow the history of African people a little later, and you find Africans still in the pre-historic phase, but they are worshipped as deities. You find these images of the Black woman, no doubt in my mind worshipped as god in Europe, especially in central Europe 20,000 years ago.

Alexandre Dumas – Photo: Nadar, 1855

Then you have Africans in the Greco-Roman world itself. It would appear that there was a Black community in ancient Athens and a Black community in the city of Corinth, where Paul went and preached and thus the Corinthians. And then you have Africans in the Roman world, African senators, African popes, African theologians, African marytrs, African saints, African writers, the head of Roman legions African – you had that.

Then you have the Moors, these Black people who converted to Islam and dominated southern Europe for hundreds of years. You have the Black Madonnas, and then you have slavery introduced, and this introduces a different kind of African who somehow was still able to distinguish himself, and thus you have the African family background, to say for example to Alexandre Dumas, the Brotha in France who wrote “The Three Muskateers,” who said, “One for all and all for one,” who said, “Your work may be finished, but your education is never complete.” He said, “A man’s mind is elevated to the status of women with whom he associates.” This is a Black man who identified himself as such.

Alexandre Dumas, the Brotha in France who wrote “The Three Muskateers,” who said, “One for all and all for one,” who said, “Your work may be finished, but your education is never complete.” He said, “A man’s mind is elevated to the status of women with whom he associates.” This is a Black man who identified himself as such.

You find the same thing and even more with Alexander S. Pushkin, the father of Russian literature, who was a man of African lineage. So African people have always been in Europe. Then you have Africans who fought in the colonial armies of Europe, in the British army, in the French army, in the Dutch army, the German army, the Belgian army, the Portuguese army, the Spanish army.

Alexander Pushkin by Vasily Tropinin

Abraham Hannibal, maternal great-grandfather of Alexandre S. Pushin, father of Russian literature, was born in Cameroon. – Photo courtesy of Dieudonne Gnammankou via Runoko Rashidi

Runoko: No, I don’t think that they are any more embracing than Europeans are here. Most of them are not aware of it, and if they were aware of it, a lot of them would resent it, because Africa is made to look so bad in the world. You hear these expressions, even from Black folks in the United States: I’ve heard people say, “Call me anything but an African.” I’ve heard Sistas and Brothas, educated Africans in America, say, “Thank God for slavery because at least it got us out of Africa.” “Slavery might’ve been bad, but at least we were able to meet Jesus” – those kinds of things.

When I do presentations, I start by asking people a lot of times, what do you think of when you think of Africa? And, my Brotha, I get three answers consistently: One is wild animals, is the first thing that people always tell me, and the second thing is disease; then you can follow that by poverty, hardship, corruption – bad things to the point where people don’t want to identify with Africa. You know the way in which we are taught: African booty scratcher, African this, jungle, the Tarzan, King Kong – so you’re permeated with a negative image of Africa.

So in 2011, when a Black man comes up and says, “You come from Africa”; no matter how white you are, your lineage is ultimately African. Well, hey, that doesn’t make me a popular fellow. But there are some people that are open, that are interested in scholarship, who have a receptive mind for the truth or facts as they are presented. They are very different, and those people are rare.

M.O.I. JR: Can you talk about the difference in which Africans see our way versus the way that European society sees its women? Even back from the time of antiquity, how would you compare people like Auset or Isis to Queen Elizabeth, or somebody like that who is in the pantheon of the Europeans?

Runoko: Nobody has ever asked me that before, Brotha. Auset for those that don’t know, is the same as Isis. It’s just that Isis is the Greek name, Auset is the African name. She is the feminine aspect of God, from Kemet, from ancient Egypt. And the name Auset means the throne. And Auset has had a history that is far more significant, as opposed to a real figure like Queen Elizabeth.

“The Black Madonnas of Europe are the superstars of the cult of Mary. I absolutely love them. They are recent depictions of the Black mother goddess, especially Ast (Isis). This is one of my favorites. This is the Black Madonna and child in the church of St. John In Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. I went to great lengths to see it and photograph last August,” writes Rashidi in Facebook. – Photo: Runoko Rashidi

M.O.I. JR: Wait. Wait. Expand on that. What did you just say? They are miracle workers because they are Black?

Runoko: (laughing) I don’t know how many people are familiar with what we call the Black Madonnas or Black Virgins.

M.O.I. JR: I’ve seen them, but I can’t really say that I know the history.

Runoko: Well, these are the superstars of the cult of Mary. They are depictions of the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus, I guess in the Catholic world, in the Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe, that are Black. And they are the most important of all the Madonnas and child figures in Europe. They are called Black Madonnas or Black Virgins, and there are more than 500 of them that have been documented. The majority of them are in France, but they are in virtually every culture in Europe. And because they are Black, it is seriously believed by the devotees of this religion that they are able to perform miracles.

“Our Lady of the Dark Wood,” Black Madonna of Switzerland – Photo: Runoko Rashidi

Joan of Arc used to pray before a Black Madonna. Soldiers in France going on the Crusades to take Palestine away from what they considered the infidel Muslims would stop before a shrine of the Black Madonna. People who had diseases like polio or diseases of that type, you could see the braces and the crutches that they threw away in the church. You could see the notes that people wrote to the Madonnas pasted in the church, because of the miracles that they were thought to have performed.

They are called Black Madonnas or Black Virgins, and because they are Black, it is seriously believed by the devotees of this religion that they are able to perform miracles. You could see the notes that people wrote to the Madonnas pasted in the church, because of the miracles that they were thought to have performed.

They are truly the superstars of a cult of Mary, and they are called Black Madonnas or Black Virgin statues and they are scattered all over the world. And it’s one of the most fascinating chapters in “The African Presence in Europe.” It’s deep. It’s very profound. And I show a lot of pictures of them in my presentation.

M.O.I. JR: Can you tell the people a little bit of history of the Moors, ‘cause if my information is correct, this was one of the last African conquering civilizations before the Europeans took over, after the voyage of Columbus.

Runoko: Yeah, that’s true. That’s true. The word Moor means “scorched.” It means black; it comes out of the Greco-Roman world. And it was a term applied to Black populations in Northwest Africa: Algeria, Morocco, maybe Tunisia, Mauritania, certainly Northwest Africa. And the first time we find the Moors, they are fighting in the army of the Carthaginians led by Gen. Hannibal Barca. They were an important part of the Carthaginian army.

Hannibal crossing the Alps

You know the Arabs come out of the Arabian Peninsula, they go into Egypt, they go into Libya, and they don’t meet much resistance. And then they get into Algeria, and they meet fierce resistance. And the resistance comes from the Berbers and the Moors. And they are led by a Black woman, interestingly enough, named Al-Kahina, probably a prophetess of some sort, and they fight a serious war against the Arabs, but they are ultimately defeated.

Now about 710, the Moors convert to Islam and, as Muslims, they go into Spain in 711 along with some Arabs and they defeat the white Spanish Christian army and re-introduce civilization into Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire. They introduce concepts of literacy, of hygiene, of science, of mathematics, of agriculture.

M.O.I. JR: Let me get you to back up. When you say lost civilization, what are you talking about? I know you said what they gave them. When a civilization collapses, what does that mean?

Runoko: That means you kind of go backwards. You lose the things that made you great or the perception of the world that made you great. And so when the Roman Empire falls, after its invaded by the northern European Barbarians, I guess you could say that civilization in Europe was kaput. People are really living in a very primitive state, where even basic things like bathing are considered sinful, where reading and writing becomes virtually unknown again. And this is the kind of lifestyle – I won’t call it a civilization – this is the kind of culture that you find in Europe, and this is like in the fifth century.

Moorish nobles playing chess in 13th century Spain, a page from the chessbook of Alfonso the Wise. Note the Black servant giving orders to a white servant or slave. – Photo: Runoko Rashidi

Early in the eighth century, here come the Moors, these Black people on horseback who cross over from Africa into Europe, who build libraries and palaces and gardens and re-introduce public hygiene and improve the medical practices. Among the Moors, the role of women was very, very high. People had a degree of freedom that they didn’t experience in the white Spanish era of Spain.

Then other movements of Moors, particularly one called the Almoravid come in, in the 12th century led by a Brotha named Yusuf ibn-Tashmin, a Black man, but it doesn’t last very long and the Moors start to fighting among themselves again. Then another Moorish army comes in, and that doesn’t last very long. These white Spanish Christians are relentless, and by the 15th century, they have put so much pressure on the Moors that the Moors have been backed into the southernmost regions of Spain. And finally in January of 1492, a Moorish leader named Boab Dil, a weak Moorish ruler, surrendered to the forces of Ferdinand and Isabella of Aragona Castille. I believe Jan. 2 or Jan. 6 of 1492.

La Mezquita de Cordoba, Spain, a stunning example of Moorish architecture, was built as a huge mosque, then converted to a Christian cathedral in 1523.

M.O.I. JR: Last question because we are running out of time: How do you look at what just recently went down in North Africa, particularly in Libya, where you just identified the people calling them Moors, later Berbers. Muammar Qaddafi was a Berber. Can you put what happened in Libya over this last year into a historical context?

Runoko: Libya used to be a Black country. All of Africa was a Black continent. For one thing, Libya produced a Black man who become the emperor; his name is Septimius Severus. He was born in Northern Libya in a place named Leptis Magna in April of 145.

Libya used to be a Black country. All of Africa was a Black continent. For one thing, Libya produced a Black man who become the emperor; his name is Septimius Severus.

Libya has a Black history. It has an African history. Over a period of time, beginning in the eighth century, it’s overrun by Arabs, and it loses its Blackness, maybe even before then. Certainly by that time, you could see North Africa being transformed Black to Arab and Berber. Now you have white Berbers and Black berbers. I’ve seen both. Now, what happened in Libya was just tragic. It was a shame. It was a disgrace. There was no getting around it.

Not all Libyans are Arab; nearly half are Black Africans. This Libyan woman is Tuareg, an ancient nomadic people of the Sahara renowned as great warriors. They developed an alphabetic script to write their language in the third century. – Photo: Runoko Rashidi

And then you have other Africans, who come from various parts of Africa, going to Libya to look for work, who are trying to use Libya as a transit zone to leave Africa altogether and go to Europe. And so I think that a lot of the Sistas and Brothas who I have heard about who were killed during this overthrow of the Qaddafi regime, I think were those Black migrants. I don’t know to what extent Sistas and Brothas that have lived in Libya for generations were affected.

Now I’ll give you an example: I take people on tours and in July I took a group to Kemet. I take a group to Egypt every year. And on the first day that we were there, I was with my small group and interestingly enough I ran into two groups of Black folks besides ourselves. One was a group of four newlyweds, two couples from Darfur, of all places, in the Sudan. And we met each other right by the Great Sphinx, Herumakhet.

We talked, and interestingly enough what we talked about was Malcolm X. How about that? And right after that I met a son of a very Black young Brotha with a very heavy melanated son, and we got to talking. I said, where you from? They said, we’re from Libya. And I said, oh, you are among the migrants? And they said, oh no, we’ve been there for a very long time. And so I don’t think we know enough about the indigenous and Black populations in that part of the world to really speak with any degree of accuracy.

But I deplore what happened in Libya. I think it’s a damn shame, and I have nothing good to say about it. I think it shows how powerless African people are in many ways to resolve a conflict on their own continent – and how, even 50 years after independence, most African countries are still relatively impotent.

Let me say this, and I know we got to go. Why is this important? Well, what you do for yourself depends on what you think of yourself, and what you think of yourself depends on what you know of yourself, and what you know of yourself depends on what you have been told. So we are able to link the ancient past, what happened in pre-historic Europe, to what is happening in Libya today, because we know there is no disconnect between the past, present and the future. They are all linked. And people who know their history are in a better position to defend themselves and advance their own interests than people who do not.

The People’s Minister of Information JR is associate editor of the Bay View, author of “Block Reportin’“ and filmmaker of “Operation Small Axe,” both available, along with many more interviews, at www.blockreportradio.com. He also hosts two weekly shows on KPFA 94.1 FM and kpfa.org: The Morning Mix every Wednesday, 8-9 a.m., and The Block Report every Friday night-Saturday morning, midnight-2 a.m. He can be reached at blockreportradio@gmail.com.

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by Wanda Sabir

At the Rainbow Recreation Center, Brother Fred hands out bagged food while his youngest son, Bilal, checks names off the list. Bilal studied law in Britain and is a solicitor. – Photo: Wanda Sabir

Saturday morning, Jan. 28, 2012, I called friends looking for someone to ride bikes with – remember my club, Ramadan Rides: Rides for Every Body? We should ride to San Quentin on Feb. 20 for the Occupy Action. Let’s talk about it.

Hamdiyah called me back and couldn’t ride – a meeting this morning at Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, but she told me that her husband, Brother Fred, and his youngest son, Bilal, visiting with his wife from Egypt, where he told me he is working with displaced Sudanese refugees, were feeding people at Rainbow Recreation Center, International and Seminary. Bilal studied law in Britain and is a solicitor.

I walked over to Rainbow, where each Saturday for the past seven years East Bay Educational Program has been giving away food to needy Oaklanders. With a line around the block when I arrived, Brother Fred and Bilal had a list with peoples’ names. As they gave them a bag of food, produce and dry goods like macaroni we spoke about food security and people served here weekly, numbering from 200 to 400 persons. At the beginning of the month, Brother Fred said the lines tend to be longer. There were people being served from all walks of life, all ethnicities and all ages and physical abilities. One woman I met told me that she picks up food and often gives it to neighbors who are not able to get to the site.

I love feeding people – there is a rush that one gets and a feeling of warmth when one satisfies this need which is basic to all one’s endeavors. Can’t think when you’re hungry. True, Americans do not know true hunger, but one can’t compare hunger in a Third World country at war to hunger in a First World city like Oakland, where we have our battles, but …

There is hunger and there is homelessness and unemployment and under-education here. It might not look like the Alexandra Township or Soweto, but for us it is cause for concern and I was so happy to find something in my neighborhood to smile about and want to participate in.

In case you haven’t heard, I do not like my neighborhood, my block or any of the blocks nearby. The feeling of a small town which I felt in West Oakland’s Oak Center before all of us were evicted and/or left when our bid to change the Oak Center 1 apartment complex into a cooperative was denied – was when I loved this city. Now, I just live here. I am a property owner who feels gipped. I know the few homeowners I share property lines with, unless the house is owned by a bank, the worse type of slumlord. These neighbors wave and say hi as they blast their music on weekends and late at night, operate illegal businesses out of their homes and take up all the parking on the street. None of the homeowners nearby are Black nor are the renters. I am not plugged in at all. All I like about East Oakland is the Bay Trail at Zone Way – once I hitch my bike to my car and drive to it. There I can let my worries about safety and poor city services pave the road behind me as I toss them over my shoulder.

I enjoyed Madagascar, perhaps more than Johannesburg, which is a city that is like New York, unfriendly. I met a few nice people through friends and a few expatriates who wanted to be reached – all didn’t return calls. I was like, I gave ten years of my life to free your nation – can’t I get a phone call response. It was weird. But the good people I met like Shaka Jamal’s friend, Tsakane was a great brother. He and his wife and little boy picked me up one evening when I was dying of boredom and took me by a friend’s who is a visual artist, a fine artist, to visit with his wife and baby girl. That was fun. We never got back over but it was great meeting Black folks and finding out what they thought on the eve of the African National Congress’s 100th anniversary Jan. 8 in Bloemfontein. I couldn’t find anyone interested in going – with 82 percent unemployment and most of the kids failing the Metric or high school exit exam that same week, the timing was kind of dismal – not to mention the controversy with President Jacob Zuma and Julius Malema, the leader of the ANC Youth League.

Crystal Carter spoke of how for the past five years she has been coming to Rainbow, often getting food to share with neighbors who can’t get out. As Carter gave Brother Fred a hug, she said she often comes because it’s good for her soul. Recovering from a really horrific car accident hasn’t been easy on Carter either, as she has had to adjust to living with less income. – Photo: Wanda Sabir

I stayed at a youth hostel in Melville. Melville is a college town, walking distance from Johannesburg University and the premier university of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg or Wits. While I was there, there was a stampede at JU, where the mother of an applicant was trampled to death, others ended up in the hospital where they described being impaled under foot as people stepped on their chests and necks, arms and legs trying to rush the gate which was pushed down by anxious enrollees.

In America people camp out on Black Friday for a good deal. This past November a person was shot in a parking lot over a TV. In Joburg people camp out in front of a university to get a shot at late admission. Not that a college degree guarantees employment, nope, but it is something constructive to do with one’s time. I met a college graduate in Soweto. He is recycling plastics. Another young man wants to be a doctor; he is a tour guide sharing his reality with others.

The tours set up by the hostel were really Euro centered – animals and buildings, not people. Of course there were people there but there was no opportunity to really connect. I didn’t do any road trips – next time. I want to see the parts of South Africa that don’t look like cloned America. The cost of living was similar to here and the Ashby Flea Market had better gifts and goods than I saw in Rosebank, a celebrated African marketplace in a suburb outside of Joburg proper. I saw many products I could get cheaper here. I heard there were African films, indie films and directors, but I didn’t see any such films in any of the theatre listings, which were playing American films.

Lonnie Scoggins, program co-founder, is proud of his granddaughter, who spoke of how much she enjoyed helping others on Saturday mornings with her grandfather. – Photo: Wanda Sabir

While in Joburg, I couldn’t find any African music or places to dance or hear poetry. I was near Seventh Street, a place known for its music and lively night scene, but nothing was happening. The time when I was there was between holiday and the start of school – a kind of limbo time. I thought of the irony of a Seventh Street in Joburg like the Seventh Street in Oakland. The weekend I left there was a concert with Pinise and Bheki Khoza at The Lucky Bean, which sold out before I could get tickets. I thought about walking down and just hanging out, but one doesn’t hang out in a big city alone. Selaelo introduced me to jazz singer Brenda Joyce, whom I spoke to but didn’t get a chance to meet this time. I think she’s been in South Africa for 17 years.

I can’t begin to know what it must feel like to live in a country owned by the colonizers. The SA government doesn’t own or control a third of the land, just public land where the railroad tracks lie. There are no more gold mines in Joburg, though the wealth is still tied up by multinationals – some African, most not. I saw many old mines where people sift for gold dust. Oprah’s school sits behind one such mountain. While I was in the country, her first class graduated.

These newspapers were spread out on the sidewalk for sale in Joburg on Jan. 12. – Photo: Wanda Sabir

Mbeki actually opened a conference, which began in Cape Town as I was leaving the country. It’s entitled: The Knowledge Conference.

The Rosebank Market in a suburg of Johannesburg is reminiscent of the Ashby Flea Market in Berkeley. – Photo: TaSin Sabir

The police were looking for counterfeit goods; the only problem was they were beating up pedestrians in the way of their SWAT operation, spraying pepper spray at close range, snatching cameras off witnesses filming the brutality and humiliating onlookers like a taxi driver who laughed. He was made to lie face down in a muddy puddle. The police used the fire department’s Jaws of Life to pry the bars from merchant windows closed when they saw the police coming. One woman said the police take her entire inventory.

I thought this attention to corporate profits was rather insane, yet typical in a world where corporations have more rights than flesh and blood people. The only response to the excessive force complaints was to make sure they were documented, that the operation wasn’t supposed to harm pedestrians.

The newspaper for the homeless community, like our Street Spirit or Street Sheet is called: Homeless Talk: Helping the Poor Help Themselves, www.homelesstalk.org.za. On the cover is “homeless babe,” a scantily clad woman with a whistle in her mouth. Looks like the kind of whistles women wear to alert the police – counter intuitive juxtaposition of images, especially given the high level of violence against women in South Africa, per the news coverage. This is why playwright Selaelo Maredi’s latest work is about violence against women. I was privileged to see the first staged reading while I was there at the Westend Theatre in a historic area of Pretoria called Tshwane.

Paepae Kenny Mmekwa, Usuthu Art Productions, invited me to hear his percussion group perform the following week, so that’s what took me back to Pretoria. We danced too. Paepae is also a famous choreographer in the Pedi tradition. This dance uses the movement of birds and other animals. It was really fun. Lulu or Abu Baker, who is a member of the Mouride Brotherhood (the Muridiyya), told me that the day I was visiting was the day of the great pilgrimage at Touba in Senegal, so he left to go pray after we dropped by a diner. He told me they chanted all night – sounded really nice. The fourth member of the group was Joseph Mmaphuti Kgomo.

A young woman sells art prints at the Rosebank Flea Market outside Joburg. – Photo: TaSin Sabir

Motshepe, a member of the percussion ensemble, connected me with his uncle, Tlokwe Sehume, who for many years brought a cultural program to Pretoria that united the cultural traditions of the indigenous South African people from all the regions. Normally hosted in the past during Heritage Month, the absence of funding suspended the production for the past few years. With the ANC’s 100th celebration, it is back this year.

Sehume will be in Austin, Texas, at the University of Texas in March and when back in South Africa will host this highly anticipated and welcome collage of African culture. It shows how despite differences there is more the various ethnic groups share than they differ. This is also seen in the great Museum Africa. Visit www.medupromotions.co.za. He calls his work “music of the mountains.”

The Usuthu Art Productions percussion ensemble is composed of, from left, Motshepe Kgawane, Lulu “Abu Bakr” Tseola, Joseph Mmaphuti Kgomo and Paepae Kenneth Mmekwa in front of the drums. – Photo: Wanda Sabir

The enemy of the people in the past is the same enemy today: greed, power, self-interest. This enemy doesn’t have a particular hue, although in Africa, more often than not, he isn’t Black – he is green or gold or multifaceted. There are Black leaders who are keeping the people oppressed, but in South Africa the wealth never really changed hands. The Black African-led government is not really in charge of anything significant, which is why most of the people are still suffering.

I met a movie star at the local IT café which I hung out at and filed my grades one rainy afternoon. The rain was no joke in South Africa or Madagascar. Once one hears the thunder and sees the lightning, run for cover. The rain, which falls at an angle, wets you unless you have a large umbrella and serious rain gear. I took to wearing sandals and TaSin and I carried rain ponchos or plastic rain jackets.

I met Mike Mvelase, who plays Kaphela, Kethiewe’s husband, in the popular African show, Generations on SABC 1. He wasn’t going to Blomfontein either. I also met a sister who is a journalist, poet and jeweler, Faith Balaji. Her business is called negritude.

Paepae, Joseph, Abu Bakr and Motshepe are joined here by Margaret Makoka of Cool Arts. – Photo: Wanda Sabir

My last day in town I actually tasted South African food: a starchy item mixed with beans and some screaming cabbage, green sweet potatoes and pumpkin. We dropped by a fast food place, but the food was too spicy. The food at Woolworths was really yummy – funny, Woolworths isn’t owned by Black Africans, but they work there. Wal-Mart is on its way.

I went to a Black church on Martin King’s birthday, My Father’s House, but couldn’t get a lift to the program the American Blacks were throwing that afternoon for King’s Birthday, so I ended up working on my application for the World Cultures doctoral program at UC Merced, which was due Jan. 15. One great thing about being in Africa was getting an extra 10 hours. When I woke up later on the next day in Joburg, it was still Jan. 15 in California.

My last day in Joburg I spent at Artist Proof Studio talking to artists like Prince Newtown, who crafts jewelry from utensils. I bought earrings made from forks and he gave me rings from other cutlery. He also had really beautiful sterling work. He was quite flamboyant and fun. I loved his costume work, like the glasses made from scissors forks. He also made hats.

It started storming so I ended up spending the entire day at Artist Proof and left just in time to get back to the hostel, change clothes and leave for the airport – I thought my flight was Monday, when in fact it was Tuesday, so this was my second run. I had a rehearsal the evening before and still almost missed my plane when I spent too much time trying to spend the last of my rand. The attendant actually came looking for me, and then we sat in the hanger for another hour.

Wanda joins the percussionists and dancers of Usuthu Art Productions in the State Theater rehearsal studio.

Gregory Maqoma, a choreographer who has performed here like Kweyama, who produced work at UC Berkeley in 2009, was here with his acclaimed solo performance, “Beautiful Me.” Moving into Dance is a part of what’s called the dance corner, where I believe at least three, maybe four companies are housed. Paepae went there – it is the second oldest dance company in South Africa.

Many of the institutions are not Black African founded, like Moving or the company next door or Artist Proof for that matter. The new South Africa seems to be a place where a homogenized population is the aim. Opening night for plays at the Market Theatre was so Berkeley as in bi-cultural and urban chic, although I did see Black men with Black women. The majority population is still Black, even if the directors for these works were not all Black and in the recent search for an artistic director the aim was to keep the leader Black.

Well, I’ve been back a week now and don’t necessarily feel like running around and have been lying low, teaching four classes and getting back acclimated to this time zone. For the first time, I actually have jet lag. I am taking an Afro-Haitian dance class with Colette Eloi, new adjunct faculty at Laney College. She just completed her MFA.

Alexandra Township is near the center of Johannesburg. Its infrastructure was designed for a population of about 70,000. Current population estimates vary widely from 180,000 to 750,000. – Photo: Wanda Sabir

I was looking through my business cards and ran into one with Yvette Hochberg’s name written on the back. She passed peacefully, I hear, the day there was a fundraiser scheduled for her. I got a letter from a brother with an herbal remedy – thanks, but it arrived too late.

Independent Lens ‘Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock’

“Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock” airs Feb. 2 on PBS at 10 p.m. (check listings). Director Sharon La Cruise’s excellent first feature film highlights the story of a wonderful self-made woman, Daisy Bates, whom Bayard Rustin introduces at the March on Washington as the organizer of the Children’s Civil Movement, referencing her organization efforts in the 1957 integration of Central High by the Little Rock 9. She and her husband owned the first Black newspaper, the Arkansas State Press, which certainly provided a platform for their politics.

The story of her presidency of the Arkansas chapter of the NAACP was a contentious one, as were most of her actions and victories. The director balances the criticism of Bates and her praise well. A beautiful woman, Mrs. Bates was accused of loving the camera too much, of being uneducated, which in my opinion made her work that much more remarkable. She took up with a married man for 10 years before he and she married; however, she never held her life up as an example of perfection for moral scrutiny – in fact, she would never have been the poster child for the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks, Bates’s good friend, was, when in fact Emmett Till was the poster child literally for the start of the Civil Rights Movement. Mrs. Bates brought the movement full circle when once again she let the children lead.

She played not only a crucial role in the fight against segregation, but a thankless role, which cost her husband the newspaper he loved and Black people a major vehicle for liberation. She died almost penniless, and her grave remained unmarked from 1999 to about 2007.

La Cruise’s film is a wonderful treatment and long overdue tribute to a woman who up to now remained one of our unsung heroes. I don’t remember her story or photo in the “I Dream a World” exhibition, but I am happy the director was captivated enough to write Mrs. Bates’ attorney and, after two years, during which Mrs. Bates died, decide to step out on faith and make this wonderful film based on Bates’s memoir: “The Long Shadow of Little Rock,” containing much archival material and conversations with friends and colleagues who knew Mrs. Bates.

“Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock” presents a woman whose complexity at birth is not lessened by her life, which is certainly more interesting than anything one could imagine as this woman keeps her peers and foes on their collective toes. Her relationship with her husband, Lucious Christopher “L.C.” Bates, an insurance agent and an experienced journalist, is one of teamwork. Certainly he was a man who was secure in his masculinity to the extent that he allowed his wife the freedom to be herself – certainly a more public persona than he, not to say that they were not without their tribulations. They never had any children; to a certain degree, the work – African liberation – was their passion and their child.

Born to a mother who was raped and murdered by three white men, who were never prosecuted, and raised by friends of the family after her father abandoned her, Daisy Bates was a woman who used her life to right the wrong she experienced as a child growing up in the small lumber town of Huttig, Arkansas.

Never a dull moment, one sees echoes of Zora Neale Hurston in Daisy Bates, also Dr. Dorothy I. Height. She was a fearless woman who held her own in all male assemblies, a woman racists called Mrs. Bates. Listen to an interview with the director on my radio show, www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks, Jan. 27 and don’t miss the itvs.org national debut.

‘Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War’ by Leymah Gbowee

“Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War” is Leymah Gbowee’s challenging and exciting story about peace in Liberia, a country once at war. Liberia is a country with a complex history. It is the country where formerly enslaved African Americans were shipped once slavery ended and free labor was outlawed, which in itself created a dilemma, “Mighty” discloses.

African Americans brought with them a plantation mentality where American-born Blacks thought themselves better than indigenous Africans and over the centuries developed a class system based on a birthright despite the eventual blurring of concrete indicators as African Americans became more African. Gbowee’s story is really inspiring. Before the war, she’d planned to attend university to become a doctor, and war – the immediacy of war – changed all that temporarily as the protagonist became a mother and common law wife.

“Mighty” speaks to how dreams never really die as long as there is memory and hope and support. It also speaks to the great sacrifices a leader makes and the price these sacrifices exact on her, emotionally and physically, and on her family. The people whom the protagonist loves and whom she sacrifices much for often don’t stand by her in the end, as petty drama and jealousy eat at the fabric of their bond.

Excellently recounted, “Mighty” shows a woman whose life is a work in progress. At times I lose track of her age and then realize how young Gbowee is and what decisions she has to make concerning the lives of so many others. When the peace talk protests grow intense, she is awake around the clock. I am amazed she has time for debriefing and self-reflection. Her sister’s support and her children’s understanding is amazing. I love the aspects of the book that look at the culture she is a part of, which is clearly not Western. The end of the book is too quickly summed up.

There is too much left to cover; I hope this is just Part 1 of the story. I’d love to read the story from the perspective of Gbowee’s children, adopted and ones she bore. I’d love to hear the story from the perspective of the wonderful friend she had in Tunde.

“Mighty” isn’t a love story, unless perhaps it is the story about a young woman coming to value herself and that love’s growth. “Mighty” addresses the stress or pressures a leader faces and how unhealthy habits escalate and grow. True to form, we learn that Gbowee is stubborn and learns her lessons the hard way, whether that is as a girl or a more mature woman. She is not one to be pushed.

Luckily we know the end of the story – that she survives. “Mighty” fills in the details as we count the casualties along the way. It is a sad and triumphant story. No one wants the hero’s journey. Those who jealously pulled at Gbowee’s glory didn’t really want what she suffered, though in many cases her comrades suffered as much or more. I wish there was more regarding the strategy the organizers used and more information about what their handbook covered. It would have also been great to hear more of the women’s stories, perhaps in another book we will.

“Pray the Devil Back to Hell,” directed by Gini Reticker, produced by Abigail E. Disney, shows the courage of the Liberian women who defeat the Charles Taylor war machine with prayer and nonviolent resistance. The women, led by movement spokesperson Leymah Gbowee, assemble along the road where the president’s caravan passed twice daily. Dressed in plain white garments, these women – from the city, from the countryside, rural women, educated and uneducated women, Christian and Muslim women, women who called on the ancient indigenous spirits and goddesses – sat or stood together in the oppressive heat and in the summer storms getting wet and growing dark and weak as they became the key voice for peace in a country that was violently spinning out of control. The film is on-line at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/full-episodes/pray-the-devil-back-to-hell/. There are also links to other films in the “Women, War and Peace” series, as well as to interviews with Ms. Gbowee.

Unlike her memoir, the film “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” is a heroines’ story, the story of a nation which is confronted by its most vulnerable population, its women. Liberia’s quest for peace is a story, a story which ends as it begins. The film could be a miniseries; the culminating event is not the end, rather the beginning, which we’d never know unless we read 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner Gbowee’s tale of triumph and personal sacrifice.

I am happy Abigail Disney told me about the memoir when we last spoke in a radio interview – what a wonderful journey it has been this weekend. I am just disappointed I wasn’t able to meet Ms. Gbowee when she was here on tour last year.

22nd Annual African American Celebration through Poetry

The 22nd Annual African American Celebration through Poetry is Saturday, Feb. 4, 1-4 p.m., at the West Oakland Branch Library, 1801 Adeline St., (510) 238-7352. I started this event 22 years ago, and I host it. This year the theme is great Black women. All are welcome to attend. There is an open mic at the end of the program.

Author event

Tim Wise is touring with his new book, “Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority,” with a stop at Cal State East Bay Thursday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m. It is a free event. Visit http://csueastbaytickets.universitytickets.com/user_pages/event.asp?id=164&cid=26. The location: MPR, New Union, Cal State East Bay. Contact ASI Diversity Center at CSU East Bay, (510) 885-3908 for more information.

Film

At Stanford University, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 7-9 p.m., in the Black Community Services Center there will be a screening of a “We Still Live Here – Âs Nutayuneân.” The director will be there as well as linguists. The film is about an indigenous nation which revived a “sleeping” language. The Wampanoag nation are the people who welcomed the Pilgrims and helped them through that difficult first winter in the New World. Remember that first Thanksgiving? Listen to our interview Friday, Jan. 27. She is my second interview. Visit http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/we-still-live-here/film.html and http://www.makepeaceproductions.com/screenings/201201-stanford.jpg.

Theatre

Community Works presents the Bay Area Premiere of Daniel Beaty’s “Through the Night,” Feb. 11 at Brava Theater, 2781 24th St., in San Francisco, 7 p.m. This is a celebration of Community Works’ 15th anniversary. Tickets are $40 with $100 VIP tickets, which include preferred seating and entrance into the Sweet and Savory post-show reception with the playwright-actor Beaty and honorees. Visit brava.org and communityworkswest.org. CW produces work that empowers youth and strengthens families impacted by incarceration.

‘Word Becomes Flesh’ at Black Choreographers Here and Now

Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s “Word Becomes Flesh” at Laney College, 900 Fallon St., Oakland, Feb. 11, 8 p.m., Feb. 17, 8 p.m., and Feb. 19, 4 p.m., at Dance Mission in San Francisco, $25 general admission, $15 students and seniors. It is a collaboration between La Peña Cultural Center, Black Choreographers Here and Now, and the Living Word Festival.

Formerly a solo performance, this male soul journey is now danced by multiple men. In the work the characters question their masculinity, approaching fatherhood, relationships with their baby’s mama, not to mention their fathers and father’s fathers. It is a fluid tapestry that traverses landscapes above and below plane surfaces.

Bamuthi is a lovely choreographer and writer, so the poetry is in his character’s feet as much as in the words one hears from their mouths. I don’t remember if they speak; when it was a solo work, Bamuthi spoke. I have only seen the work as a company performance once, and alas, that detail escapes me. When I met the choreographer perhaps 15 years ago, it was as a poet. He was in a film screening I attended called “Slamnation.”

This work is not as abstract as his last, performed at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, “Red, Black and Green,” which was physical theatre as well as a visual art work, similar to site specific works used by Joanna Haigood’s Zaccho Dance Company and Alonozo King’s LINES Contemporary Ballet.

“Word Becomes Flesh” is a fluid evening-length choreopoem written in the form of a narrative verse play. Presented as a series of performed letters to an unborn son, the piece uses poetry, dance and live music to document nine months of pregnancy from a young single father’s perspective. These performed letters incorporate elements of ritual, archetypes and symbolic sites within the constructs of hip hop culture. Directed by Marc Bamuthi Joseph, it features Daveed Diggs, Dahlak Brathwaite, Dion Decibels, Ben Turner, Mic Turner and B.Yung.

Second Annual Ubuntu Awards Dinner

Saturday, Feb. 11, 5-9 p.m., is the Second Annual Ubuntu Awards at the Lake Merritt Hotel, 1800 Madison St., Oakland. Dr. Yao Graham, Third World Network, Africa, will give the keynote. Linda Burnham will be the mistress of ceremonies. Honorees include Adam Hochchild, Christine Chacha, Jacqueline Copeland-Carson and Mutombo Mpanya, Dr. Robert Scott (posthumous), The Allen Temple AIDS Ministry and Dr. Wangari Maathai (posthumous). For tickets or more information, call (510) 663-2255 or email PriorityAfrica@priorityAfrica.org.

More film

The Indie Film Festival is in San Francisco Feb. 9-23.Visit http://sfindie.virb.com/. The African Film Festival continues at Pacific Film Archive, UC Berkeley, 2575 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, Jan. 26-Feb. 29. Visit http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/filmseries/african_2012. Friday, Feb. 3, at 9:30 a.m. on Wanda’s Picks Radio we speak to the director of the New York based African Film Festival on tour. Some of the films I have seen and recommend are “Kinshasa Symphony” and “Viva Riva,” which I have a love/hate relationship with. As the first feature to come out of Congo in decades, it is too bad such an unsavory character stars. It is Melvin Van Peebles’s “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song” set in Africa, with bloody African sensibility and a boogyman that looks just like the protagonist.

Also at PFA, Saturday, Feb. 11, 3 p.m., is “Screenagers: 14th Annual Bay Area High School Film and Video Festival” (U.S., 2010-11, c. 90 mins.). The artists will be there in person. Witness the future of film in this innovative program of works by local high-school students, curated by their own peers.

Also at PFA, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 7 p.m., is “The Green Wave,” by Ali Samadi Ahadi (Germany/Iran, 2010, 80 mins.). It’s introduced by Jeffrey Skoller. This riveting documentary for the 21st century combines powerful animation, minute-by-minute Twitter feeds, blog accounts and cell phone footage with conventional on-camera testimonies to recount the abortive 2009 antigovernment Iranian youth revolt. Dubbed “the Green Wave,” it was a revolution in flux, yet evergreen with hope.

Black Choreographers Here and Now

Black Choreographers Here and Now will be performed in two locations, in Oakland and San Francisco, Feb. 10-26. Visit www.bchandn.org.

Museum of the African Disapora events

This month the MoAD, 685 Mission St. in San Francisco, will host films on Thursday evenings, 6-8 p.m. and for the month of February will offer a two for one admission. Visit moadsf.org/visit/calendar.html.

'Redefining Black Power' cover

Thursday, Feb. 9, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m., Joanne Griffith will be at Marcus Books, 3900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland, with guests Hodari Davis, national program director for Youth Speaks, with Dereca Blackmon, social justice activist, to discuss “Activism in the Age of Obama” and her new book, “Redefining Black Power,” at Marcus Books in Oakland. For more information, call (510) 652-2344.

Alliance for California Traditional Arts 2011 Apprenticeship Program

Master artist Patricia A. Montgomery and apprentice Helen Anderson discuss the work and process for the three quilts Helen Anderson will have on display Feb. 4, 1-3 p.m., at Eastbay Church of Religious Science, 4130 Telegraph Ave, Oakland. In the work, Anderson uses the adinkra symbol, the Sankofa bird who is looking over his shoulder, to literally retrace the European slave trade as a way to heal the trauma of post-traumatic slave disorder. The intended six month art-making journey ended up taking a year, a year in which Anderson learned quilting techniques and discovered in the art-making process keys to her own pain unlocked by the stitching, piecing, matting, placing, covering and uncovering process within the textile – the fabric and the quilting metaphor where nothing is ever really lost or discarded. Hum, so what does that mean for a people sold and purchased, disrespected and abused?

Initially the plan was to create six quilts – one per month. Anderson completed three quilts. This means the journey is not over – rather it has just begun – but then that’s the way life works, isn’t it? Healing is an on-going process. Patricia said of Helen that her Sankofa journey was material and spiritual, that her stitching was experiential, a different process than her own. The vitamin one takes today serves this moment; one has to keep taking supplements, keep drinking water and washing oneself in the river of remembrance. Both the master teacher and student will join me on the air Friday, Feb. 3, 8:30 a.m., so tune in: blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks.

SFJAZZ Spring Season

For all the SFJAZZ events January-June , visit www.sfjazz.org.

Art at Jazz Heritage Gallery

James Knox, Jim Dennis and James Gayles have work on display at Jazz Heritage Gallery. The reception is Thursday, Feb. 2, 6-9 p.m., with a panel discussion in the Jazz Heritage Center Theatre, 1330 Fillmore St., San Francisco, from 6-7 p.m. This will be followed by a reception from 7-9 p.m. in the Lush Life Gallery with live music provided by guitarist Calvin Keys. The photography exhibit runs from Feb. 1 through March 4.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company at Cal Performances

On Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24 and 25, at 8 p.m. at Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley Campus, Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave., Berkeley, Bill T. Jones brings his new work, “Story/Time,” to Cal Performances for its West Coast premiere. The work is based on more than 70 very short stories from Jones’ life. This work features a collaboration between Bill T. Jones, choreography, and writer and director Ted Coffey, music and moving images. Tickets are $30, $40, $46, $52, $60 and $68, available through the Cal Performances Ticket Office at Zellerbach Hall. Call (510) 642-9988 to charge by phone, visit www.calperformances.org or buy your tickets at the door.

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

Related Posts

• Wanda’s Picks for January 2012
• Wanda’s Picks for December 2011
• Wanda’s Picks for October 2011
• Wanda’s Picks for May 2011
• Wanda’s Picks for February 2011

A political obituary of Etta James

by Kenyon Farrow

Etta James, 1960

No one understood the awkwardness of that casting choice better than James herself, who told The New York Post’s Page Six in 2007, when she learned the film was already in production, that “she is going to have a hill to climb, because Etta James ain’t been no angel! … I wasn’t as bourgie as she is, she’s bourgeois. She knows how to be a lady; she’s like a model. I wasn’t like that … I smoked in the bathroom in school, I was kinda arrogant.”

The woman born Jamesetta Hawkins on Jan. 25, 1938, was far more than just a torch song singer and was not at all the tragic mulatto with a white daddy complex that “Cadillac Records” constructed. In many ways, James’ personal and artistic journey, as opposed to the film’s caricature, has a lot to teach us about the shifting politics of race, class and feminist politics over the course of the last half century.

Etta James was born in Los Angeles, when many African Americans were moving due West to escape the brutality of the Jim Crow South and chase the promise of manufacturing jobs. She was raised by a handful of caregivers, as her mother was often running the streets chasing a good time. Her mother was a woman James sometimes despised and at the same time desperately wanted to please. Her father’s identity was not really known to her, though it has been rumored her father was white. In fact, James learned late in life during an argument with her mother that he was likely legendary pool shark Rudolf “Minnesota Fats” Wanderone, whom James met in 1987.

At age 5, James developed two relationships that would remain with her throughout her life: one relationship with singing and one with Black gay men and the LGBT community as a whole. In her 2003 autobiography, “Rage to Survive,” James describes her first vocal coach, James Earl Hines – musical director at L.A.’s St. Paul Baptist Church and one of the early gospel superstars – as “married, acted gay as a goose, and I was crazy about him…. Truth is, all the gay guys in the choir sang like angels and acted so different…. I loved their little underground talk, their gossiping about the sisters.”

Though James’ formative years were spent singing in the church, she turned to the streets and street life for inspiration. She moved to San Francisco’s Fillmore district as an early teen, where she sang in the doo-wop group, the Creolettes (which later become The Peaches), and recorded on Modern Records before leaving in 1960 to sign with the legendary Chess Records, which the film “Cadillac Records” attempts to profile. Her debut album “At Last!” was released the same year, when she was 22 years old.

Unlike most artists who work for many years before writing or recording their “definitive” work, James is most remembered for songs from this debut album, including “At Last” (though it was not a crossover single) and “I Just Want to Make Love to You” and “A Sunday Kind of Love.”

“At Last” has become arguably the most popular song in the U.S. for weddings, Valentine’s Day or other kinds of bourgeois events calling for cheap sentimentality – despite the fact that James’s powerhouse vocals and phrasing actively work against the sentimentality of the song’s arrangement, as it does in most of her work covering jazz standards during that period.

But her vocals weren’t the only place James was working decidedly against a safe “jazz singer” image. She worked in her personal life and her styling to embody the kind of Black urban street culture in which she was immersing herself:

“I [was] serious about turning little churchgoing Jamesetta into a tough bitch called Etta James…. I wanted to look like a great big high-yellow ho’. I wanted to be nasty.”

James ascribes the blonde-yellow hair and black eyebrows that she adopted early in her career to being closely associated with street-based sex workers and drag queens at the time. That’s who she was emulating.

She also says the beginning of her addiction to heroin was not a way to cope with the abandonment issues or physical abuse she suffered as a child. She started shooting drugs because she thought that’s what bad girls do and because she saw Billie Holiday, her idol, as the ultimate bad girl. She lost many friends to issues related to substance addiction – Billie Holiday, Destiny, a Black drag queen and best friend to James, even Janis Joplin, who emulated James and for whose overdose James felt personally responsible. She was able to kick heroin in the 1970s, but she struggled with addiction much of her adult life, and she was pretty open about that fact.

“In 1950,” according to African American Registry, “James’ real mother took her to the Fillmore district in San Francisco (where her next door neighbor was Bay View publisher Willie Ratcliff). Within a couple of years, James began listening to doo-wop and was inspired to form a girl group, called the Creolettes. The 14-year-old girls met musician Johnny Otis. Otis took the group under his wing, helping them sign to Modern Records and changing their name to the Peaches, and he gave the singer her stage name, reversing Jamesetta into Etta James.”

But James in many ways was exactly the kind of convert the Nation of Islam sought – Black people from urban areas involved in various forms of street culture. “My religious practices might have been erratic, and my wildness surely overwhelmed my piety, but for 10 years I called myself a Muslim,” said James.

As the 1960s moved on, James’ music also began to shift from doo-wop and jazz to more R&B, blues, rock and even country over the course of the 1960s and 70s. Though James began doing the kind of gospel-influenced R&B, which later got described as “soul” music, in the early 1960s, it was Aretha Franklin who got credit for ushering in the soul era, along with James Brown, whom James toured with and sometimes sang for in the 1960s.

James really capitalized on the blues resurgence of the 1970s to make a living touring the world. She got frustrated by the fact that people constructed a blues identity for her work and deeply resented the “Earth Mama” trap she felt that put her in. It’s a trap many other Black women artists find difficult to escape as well. In the end, though, she went with it, as she saw it as the easiest way to make money to support herself and her two young sons.

By the end of the 1970s when Chess Records folded, James was on hard times, still struggling with an addiction, and trying to make a living in the disco era, without a record label and doing her own bookings. James said that without the gay community, she would have starved in the late 1970s early 1980s, when she performed in a lot of gay bars across the country. Her 1994 release, “Life from San Francisco,” was actually recorded in March 1981 in a gay bar. In her memoir, Etta recounts a harrowing premonition at the time about the onset of the AIDS epidemic.

James eventually began to record again. With her two adult sons serving as bandmates and co-producers, she recorded and toured from the 1990s up through 2011, mostly recording in the jazz and blues genres.

Is it any wonder that a woman who struggled to define herself, her sound and her career over the span of 50 years would be a little suspicious of a Hollywood portrayal of her in a film on which she was not consulted?

James was not happy about her portrayal in “Cadillac Records,” for which Beyonce served not only as actress but also as producer. Contrary to the portrayal of James in the film, she was not romantically involved with Chess Records founder Leonard Chess. Nor did she use drugs because she was distraught over not knowing the identity of her biological father – James knew this was a possibility, but clearly saw herself as Black and never tried to identify as mixed or biracial.

The film tries to suggest James was sexually attracted to Chess because he represented the white daddy she never had. Marshall Chess, the surviving son of Leonard Chess, said of the Chess-James relationship, “Now, my father was no angel, but (he) was never caught in an affair. It never happened.” Marshall reported that he asked James about it, and she said, “He kissed me on the cheek once.”

To add insult to injury, after the film, Beyonce performed Etta’s signature song, “At Last” at President Obama’s inauguration in 2009, laying claim to the tune James was still singing professionally and which she relied on to make a living. James told an audience shortly after that that Obama “is not my president” and “that woman he had singing for him, singing my song … she’s going to get her ass whipped.”

James (or likely her publicist) later released a statement saying James was “kidding” about the comment. But the conflict between James and Beyonce is not as simple as divas behaving badly. It really represents an artist angered by the attempts made without her consent to control the public’s understanding of her life and legacy. Audiences will hopefully be willing to go beyond “At Last” and beyond “Cadillac Records” to find a woman whose talent and legacy went beyond both.

Kenyon Farrow, an organizer, communications strategist, and writer on issues at the intersection of HIV/AIDS, prisons and homophobia, was one of Black Entertainment Television’s “Modern Black History Heroes” for 2011. He can be reached at kenyon@kenyonfarrow.com. This story first appeared on Colorlines.

Etta James: Rebel until the end

by Norman (Otis) Richmond aka Jalali

In April 2003, Etta exults on receiving her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Rhongea Southern (now Daar Malik El-Bey), Carl Dyce (the late Sigidi Abdullah), the late Harold Clayton and myself were there auditioning for Motown. Gaye and Fugua are the talent scouts.

Our audition is interrupted by a long distance call from Etta James, who is calling all the way from Chicago. In the mid-‘60s this was the equivalent of receiving a call from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as far as we were concerned. We were impressed to say the least. All the guys in the group loved Ms. James. We were all from the same bowl of grits. Like us, she was from Angel Town.

James lost her battle with leukemia on Jan. 20, 2012. She was born Jamesetta Hawkins on Jan. 25, 1938. The Los Angeles-born James is regarded as having bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll, is the winner of six Grammys and 17 Blues Music Awards. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Grammy Hall of Fame both in 1999 and 2008. Rolling Stone ranked James No. 22 on the list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and number 62 on the list of the 100 Greatest Artists.

The outspoken James said she was of two minds about being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She made her views known in her autobiography, “Rage to Survive: The Etta James Story,” which she wrote along with David Ritz.

Says James: “Part of me is thrilled to be recognized, but another part resents the lily-white institution that sends down its proclamations from on high. They decide who is rock and rock and who isn’t, they decide who is important and who isn’t. Man, I grew up with some cats who should have been inducted years ago – Jesse Belvin and Johnny “Guitar” Watson to name two.” It must be mentioned that Johnny Otis, the man who introduced her when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, died days before her, on Jan. 17.

James attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Los Angeles along with Belvin and Watson. “Jeff,” as it is called by Angelenos, has a heavyweight cast of graduates: Noble Peace Prize Winner Ralph Bunche, Dorothy Dandridge, Alvin Ailey , Roy Ayers and Richard “Louie Louie” Berry also went there.

Etta James’ life was surrounded by controversy. It was widely reported that she wanted to sing “At Last” at President Barack Obama’s inauguration. Beyonce ended up serenading President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

I saw her only one time in Toronto. Unfortunately, I never interviewed her. However, I have read and enjoyed “Rage to Survive.” The book reveals many little known things about Soul Sister James. She was once Jamesetta X when she joined the Nation of Islam at Temple No. 15 in Atlanta, Georgia. She says her mother used to know members of Temple 27 in Los Angeles. Sam Cooke, Hank Barry White and others came to Temple 27 to hear Minister John Shabazz, who today is Abdul Allah Muhammad.

James’ life is Africa history at its best and worst – she witnessed many major historical developments. One example: She was staying at the Hotel Theresa in Harlem when El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X) met with Cuban President Fidel Castro in September 1960. Says James, “Fidel Castro was living up in the Theresa Hotel the same time as us. They blocked off the top six floors for him – this was in 1960 – and had coops on the roof with live chickens so he could prepare his own food. Fidel worried about being poisoned.” This is probably why he is still in the land of the living.”

After she parted company with the Nation of Islam, she became part of the Ahmadiyya branch of Islam. She was influenced by her partner at the time, John Lewis. “John became pious, praying five times a day. He was also urging me to become more serious. I tried and for a while I was. At the same time, running around with characters like James Brown, I got distracted.”

She was so distracted by Soul Brother No. 1 that she along with Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Kwame Ture, aka Stokely Carmichael, B.B. King, Sister Sledge and Bill Withers ended up in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) for the “Rumble in the Jungle” between Muhammad Ali and George Forman. James points out, “In fact, it was a singer, Lloyd Price, who had first introduced (Muhammad) Ali to (Don) King.”

However. James ended up not performing. She returned to the USA because of the treatment she received from Mobutu Sese Seko, aka Joseph Mobutu , the man who played a role in the assassination of the great African patriot Patrice Emery Lumumba on Jan. 17, 1961.

Unlike many of her contemporaries, she did not write off the current crop of Black music makers as untalented. “I don’t subscribe to the school that says great soul music is dead. That’s usually some old fart talking, remembering his youth while forgetting that new generations are entitled to cultures of their own.”

James, like all human beings, had merits and demerits. However, the world will remember Etta James for vocal renditions of songs like “At Last,” “I’d Rather Go Blind,” “Sunday Kind of Love,” “I Just Want to Make Love to You” and “All I Could Do Was Cry.”

Norman (Otis) Richmond aka Jalali can be heard on Diasporic Music on Uhuru Radio, www.uhururadio.com, on Sundays 2-4 p.m. and Saturday Morning Live on Regent Radio, www.radioregent.com, 10 a.m.-1 p,m. every Saturday. He can be reached at norman.o.richmond@gmail.com. The co-host of SML is Malinda Francis, @docuvixen, Toronto filmmaker.

Live at Ebony Showcase Theatre in Los Angeles, April 15, 1987

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by Tony Robles, POOR Magazine co-editor

POOR Press authors for 2012 are, in the back row from left, Terrilyn Woodfin, Ruyate Akio McGloughlin, Dee Allen, Bruce Allison, Joe Bolden; front row: co-teachers Martin Figueroa, Sandra Estafan and author and teacher Tiny aka Lisa Gray-Garcia.

This new collection is written with passion, with stories gleaned from the experiences of poverty skolahs who have lived through and survived houselessness, the criminal (in)justice system and isolation in Amerikkka. POOR Press provides publishing access to poverty skolahs whose important stories go untold in the classist and exclusionary world of book publishing. Poverty skolahs conceive their books – poetry, memoir or short stories – write the text and work on overall design.

Poverty skolah and mother of two Terrilyn Woodfin articulates houselessness and landlessness with passion in her book, “I am Homeless: The new face of Homelessness.” Her story begins in Knoxville where she sets off for San Francisco. She ends up in Santa Ana for two years, facing innumerable obstacles to housing and food. During hard times, which included her being ostracized unjustly from her church, she recalled the words of her spiritual mother who said she was going to go through a “great deal of heartache and the rollercoaster ride of her life before she would see the real blessings manifesting.”

Uprooted and not knowing where her family would sleep, Terrilyn felt the guilt of being a poor woman of color – guilty that she had let her kids down. But her faith remained strong with the knowledge that God never lets you down. Her writing is reminiscent of Filipino American author Carlos Bulosan, whose seminal novel, “America Is in the Heart,” published in 1946, painted a portrait of individuals who behaved in heroic yet unheralded ways – in contradiction to the ubiquitous racism and classism in society – to aid their neighbor. Similarly, Terrilyn’s experience shows that God looks out for us by working through people.

Dee Allen is an important poet, articulating the struggle of the workers, police brutality victims, migrants and houseless folks. “Unwritten Law” is the second volume of poems by Dee published by POOR Press. This moving collection of poems rises like fire. Dee eloquently decries the police state in “Requiescat,” a poem with a haunting refrain, “Let them rest,” that envisions a world without “enforcers of hate.”

“Unwritten Law” draws upon the history and presence of native peoples, the overlooked and those whose stories have been erased from history. Dee asks, who is the migrant in Amerikkka today? Dee’s poetic vision is the shared breath and heartbeat of the workers, the builders of civilization – the Zapotec day laborer, the Salvadorean youth, the Lebanese woman, the Senegalese taxi driver. How are these people terrorists? he asks. How are they criminals?

Dee Allen is a poet who continually puts himself on the line for the community, participating in civil disobedience – refusing to be intimidated when issues of justice are at the forefront. He is truly one of the best poets I know.

In the world of Joseph Bolden, real or imagined, all roads lead home – although he has been known to lose his way. Joe’s “Lost in Amerikkka” is anecdotal, weaving irony and humor into the quilt of struggle in connecting with loved ones and the important choices we make on our life’s journey. Well-travelled shoes adorn the cover of Joe’s book – perfect metaphor for the chaotic pace of society. Joe gets lost, his shoes covering the landscape from San Francisco to New York to Colorado to Hawaii. His stories of sweat lodges, the search for love, his neighborhood, his shoes, glasses, hat etc. make his book a journey not to be missed without a pair of well-worn shoes.

Lisa Gray-Garcia, aka Tiny, has bestowed on us a beautifully written and illustrated inter-generational book – as Tiny says, it’s for both parents and children – called “The Man in the Moon” (“El hombre en la luna”). The story is allegory at its finest, with indigenous farmers who thrive with their animals until the rains no longer come. At the top of a hill lives a man with a plentitude of food and water so the villagers ask for help, which he repeatedly refuses. When the man is confronted by what appears to be a mother and child appealing to his humanity and later transforms into the Orisha Yemoja, he finds that he is accountable for his self-centeredness and faces a fate that will allow him to make amends.

These books make for great reading. You can purchase any of these beautiful books on-line at http://www.poormag.info/static/. If you would like to publish your own book with POOR Press, you can enroll in POOR Magazine’s PeopleSkool revolutionary media program, which begins on Jan. 31. More info can be found at http://www.racepovertymediajustice.org/ or by calling POOR at (415) 863-6306.

Tony Robles, co-editor of POOR Magazine, can be reached at tonyrobles1964@hotmail.com.

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Book review of Project Censored’s ‘Censored 2012’ (New York: Seven Stories Press, October 2011, $19.95)

by Dr. Paul W. Rea

Even more than its predecessors, “Censored 2012” makes for highly engaging and informative reading. This collection is a well-mixed bag containing much that we need to know but typically don’t.

In part, this deficit occurs because many Americans are, in Neil Postman’s memorable phrase, “amusing ourselves to death” and also because many exhibit an aversion to discussing issues. But above all, this deficit results from increased media malpractice and censorship. When a study shows that regular viewers of Fox News are less informed – and likely more misinformed – than those who don’t follow the news, something is seriously amiss.

According to Project Censored director Mickey Huff, the corporate media are serving up a diet of “junk-food news to avoid telling the public what is really going on at home and abroad” (p. 12). If this strikes many readers as obvious, fewer seem fully aware of just how pervasive this censorship has become – how very little coverage many significant issues receive.

As a result, even Americans who consider themselves informed don’t understand how their government attempts to minimize or even eliminate public awareness. On Dec. 9, 2011, the climactic final day of the Durban Conference on Climate Change, NPR’s “Science Friday” featured a long segment on bedbugs. “Censored 2012” reveals that even less coverage – none at all, in fact – is afforded to ongoing federal preparations to use a real or contrived state of emergency as a pretext to suspend the Constitution, declare martial law and herd “dissidents” into mass holding camps (p. 85).

Both the book and the process that produces it are highly educational: As former director Peter Phillips observes, the democratized and educational nature of Project Censored invites faculty and students “to speak the truth to power with news and stories of the abuses of empire and the successes of our resistance” (p. 30). Under the guidance of present director Mickey Huff, this year’s volume delivers exceptional contributions, especially from students and faculty at San Francisco State University, Sonoma State University and Diablo Valley College in California. In all, close to 20 universities participated this year, with over 100 professors and several hundred students.

Dave Lindorff writes in “Toxic Intervention: Are NATO Forces Poisoning Libya with Depleted Uranium as They ‘Protect’ Civilians?” “Images of Libyan civilians and rebels celebrating around the burning hulks of the Libyan army’s tanks and armored personnel carriers, which had been hit by US, French and British aircraft ordnance … could well have been unknowingly inhaling the deadly dust of the uranium weapons favored by Western military forces for anti-tank warfare.”

This year’s volume is organized around “clusters,” key areas of related issues. These include “Health and the Environment,” “Media Distortion of Nonviolent Struggles,” and Peter Phillips and Craig Cekala’s “Human Cost of War and Violence”; all present readable, concise treatments of topics that are, of course, the subjects of many current books.

As its title suggests, “Censored 2012” features two essential topics: the mechanisms of media censorship and the key issues they’ve censored. Censorship, defined as one type of propaganda, itself takes many forms: skewed “framing, slight of content and appealing to emotion over logic, among other tactics of media manipulation ….” These methods involve de facto “conspiracies to manipulate or withhold information” (p. 37). Canadian scholar Randal Marlin presents an excellent overview of traditional propaganda techniques, including the more recent (and most useful) concept of “state crimes against democracy,” or SCADs.

Equally insightful is Jacob Van Vleet’s reprise of French sociologist Jacques Ellul (“The Technological Society,” 1964). In it, Professor Van Vleet notes that “propagandists often use a combination of true and false statements in their appeals,” thereby creating “the illusion of objectivity when in fact only one side of the issue at hand is being presented.”

In addition, Van Vleet indicates that much propaganda is “social,” aiming to influence a society’s lifestyle. Such propaganda, often in the form of advertising, not only promotes consumption and an uncritical belief in technology; it also encourages “individuals to believe that their society … holds the best way of life.” This leads to what Marx described as “false consciousness.” Van Vleet also rightly points to “conditioned reflex and myth,” paying particular attention to the societal rituals such as reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. These, according to Ellul, reinforce conditioned reflexes that impart excessive and exclusive “pride, patriotism and even awe” (pp. 316-19).

A Predator drone fires a missile. On April 21, 2011, Pentagon chief Robert Gates announced that President Barack Obama had approved the use of armed Predator drone aircraft in Libya.

Ann Garrison makes points that will surprise many readers: that U.S. foreign aid to Africa … often involves “covering a military fist with a velvet glove of humanitarian and development aid.”

Citing well-known interventions, Garrison shows how U.N. peacekeepers paid by the Security Council are often combatants dispatched at the behest of the U.S. In Somalia, under the guise of fighting terrorism, these African “peacekeepers” actually expanded areas of armed conflict. In addition to having Africans do the dying, these “peacekeepers” have commonly consumed funds previously used for humanitarian aid, aggravating problems with agricultural production, famine and refugees. Garrison also reveals how, especially in Congo, the U.N. enabled the World Bank to facilitate massive plunder of natural resources by neighboring Uganda and Rwanda (pp. 389-403).

On April 22, 2011, a missile fired by a Predator drone hit Qaddafi’s residence in the Tripoli suburb of Tajura. – Photo: Mahmud Turkia, AFP/Getty Images

Other outstanding chapters include Mickey Huff, Abby Martin and Adam Bessie’s feisty “Framing the Messengers: Junk Food News and News Abuse for Dummies” and Kenn Burrows and Tom Altee’s meditative “Collaboration and the Common Good.”

Despite this diversity, the book does present unifying themes. Much as Occupiers unite around the idea that “the capital of government has succumbed to government by capital,” “Censored 2012” shows us that, to an increasingly shocking degree, freedom of information has succumbed to the corporatocracy.

Fortunately, this book goes a long way toward telling us what we need to know.

Paul W. Rea, PhD, is the author of “Mounting Evidence: Why We Need a New Investigation into 9/11” (2011). He can be reached at paulrea@mountingevidence.org. This review first appeared on Global Research.

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by Lee Hubbard

San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis scores on a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Smith over New Orleans Saints strong safety Roman Harper to win Saturday's divisional playoff. “You’ve got to call it The Grab,” said Davis. – Photo: Paul Sakuma

“I knew I had to step up and make some plays in the game,” said Davis. “We were down and I had to make it happen.”

The Saints would get the ball back with 15 seconds to go, but the 49ers would stop any last second wins, as the 49ers won their first NFC divisional playoff game in nine years. They did this in front of a sold out house of 70,000 people and now they will be playing in the NFC championship game, which was something that would have been unheard of at the beginning of the season. But these 49ers are for real and they believe.

“This was a great team victory,” said 49er head coach Jim Harbough. “We knew they were going to make plays. We were able to make more plays than them to win.”

The playoff game started off with the Saints driving up the field. Drew Brees was throwing pinpoint passes on the 49ers. The Saints were inside the 20 yard line when running back Pierre Thomas was hit by 49er safety Dante Whitner, fumbling the ball on the 49er 2-yard line. Patrick Willis recovered the ball and the hit on Thomas would knock him out for the rest of the game.

That play set the tone for the 49ers. The 49ers jumped off to a 17-0 lead in the first half on Alex Smith’s touchdown passes to Davis and Michael Crabtree. The 49ers converted on various Saint miscues, as the Saints had five turnovers in the first half – two Brees interceptions and three fumbles. The Saints, however, would battle back on a nine-play 80-yard drive, capped off with a Brees’ 14-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham, making the game 17-7 in the second quarter.

The Saints stopped the 49ers on their next possession and they would score again on an eight-play 66-yard drive, capped off with a Brees 25-yard pass to Marques Colston, making the game 17-14, the score at halftime. The 49ers recovered a Saints fumble on their 27-yard line off of an Andy Lee punt. They were stopped on three downs, but a David Ackers’ field goal of 41 yards gave the 49ers a 20-14 lead in the third quarter.

The scoring fireworks would begin in the fourth quarter. The Saints scored on a 48-yard John Kasey field goal to make it 20-17. After a 42-yard Frank Gore run, the 49ers had a stalled drive and Ackers kicked a 37-yard field goal to give the 49ers a 23-17 lead. The Saints would take their first lead in the game on a seven-play 79-yard drive capped off with a Darren Sproles 44-yard touchdown catch from Brees, giving the Saints a 24-23 lead with four minutes in the game.

This is when Davis stepped up. Davis caught a 37-yard pass of the left side of the field to put the 49ers in Saints territory. After two runs, which netted 7 yards, the 49ers faked out the Saints. On third down and 3, Smith dropped back to pass, but instead he ran an end round play up the left sideline for a 28-yard touchdown, giving the 49ers a 29-24 lead with two minutes and 18 seconds in the game.

The Saints, however, weren’t done. After two passes moved the ball to the 34-yard line, Brees connected with his tight end Jimmy Graham up the middle for a 66-yard catch and touchdown run, giving them a 32-29 with a minute and 40 seconds left.

With the game on the line for the 49ers, Davis caught a Smith pass and scampered up the sidelines for a 47-yard gain, putting the 49ers at the Saints 20-yard line with 40 seconds to go. It looked as if the 49ers were going to settle for an Ackers field goal to tie the game and bring it into overtime. But they weren’t settling, as they went for the win.

That is when Smith hit Davis over the middle for his game winning “grab,” which re-established the 49ers as a playoff winning team that may be capable of winning championships. That will be determined in next week’s game.

“This is history for us,” said Davis. “I had confidence in myself and we won.”

Lee Hubbard is a Bay Area journalist who is well known to longtime Bay View readers. He can be reached at superle@sbcglobal.net.

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by Jacquie Taliaferro

Midday is now midnight and the smell of burning bright lights and fresh brewed coffee is in the air, cables are taped to the floor, a young Black woman wearing a utility belt makes the final adjustments on the lights and returns to the soundboard. The director sets up the scene with the actors and gets behind the camera and calls, “Action!” This is one of the two dozen Black independent films or videos being produced in the San Francisco Bay Area at any given time.

‘Red Tails,’ tale of the Tuskegee Airmen, by LucasFilm

In Hollywood, you can get a meeting and make “The Help,” “Precious” and “Driving Miss Daisy or some other “Mammy”-”I don’t know nothing ‘bout birthing no babies” movie. To my knowledge, here in the Bay Area no Black producers or filmmakers are cutting deals for films.

Network TV outlets are no better. ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, along with the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner newspapers, have very few Black people on staff. All of them are losing market share to social media like Facebook, Twitter, Huffington Post, YouTube and other Internet-based information delivery systems.

When it comes to Black talent, the Internet-based companies mirror the conventional media companies. I was recently at Twitter and after encountering over 100 employees, my eyes saw only one Black employee. The whole truth cannot be told, if there is not representation from all segments of society at a media company. The sad state that most one or two Blacks at a media outlet find themselves in is that they must produce the same white-washed stories as the majority or they’re “outta there lickety-split.”

To my knowledge, here in the Bay Area no Black producers or filmmakers are cutting deals for films. Network TV outlets are no better. I was recently at Twitter and after encountering over 100 employees, my eyes saw only one Black employee.

Sean Penn was at the 2011 Cannes International Film Festival doing a fundraiser for “Haiti” – not Morgan Freeman, not Oprah Winfrey, not Denzel Washington, not James Earl Jones. It was great that he was doing a call for action for Haiti and since the majority of the people he was appealing to – 99 percent of the 1 percent – looked like him, he was probably the appropriate spokesperson.

So on one hand, he appeals for the sake of the people of Haiti, but closer to home, his actions hurt the opportunities for Black independent filmmakers and others here in the Bay Area. Penn’s public service announcement in 2004 against Prop. L, which would have provided distribution locations using all the underused theaters in the City for independent filmmakers and added entertainment commerce to the region, shut down those efforts to the glee of established theater owners. To this day, many of the theaters are boarded up, just sitting there. It’s a shame Penn and the opponents of Prop. L just shut the effort down without providing any alternatives. Years later, potential commerce lies fallow.

Hollywood and those doing well by the system are not welcoming to potential competition. Recently, a director friend of mine told me he ran into Robin Williams and said, “Hey, I’m shooting a film here in San Francisco and …” Before he could finish, Robin said, “I can’t help you, man,” and quickly walked away. I am sure he gets people asking him for help all the time.

Except, this was an award-winning stage director who helped launch the careers of Terri J. Vaughn (Steve Harvey Show and most recently in Tyler Perry films) and Kellita Smith (Bernie Mac Show, Jamie Foxx Show and Hair Show with Mo’Nique). And he has two feature films under his belt. I could go on with similar stories; however, you “get the picture,” pun intended.

I’ve met George Lucas three times – first at the Danny Glover event to fight hunger. He was all the way hip. We met again in Cannes when he screened “Star Wars.” I never liked “Star Wars” from the beginning – that image of Darth Vader with James Earl Jones’ voice was a big turn off, a kind of twisted subliminal message of the dark evil Black man, in my opinion. Plus, Black men, we have our own princesses to save.

The third time we met was at the “Red Tails” screening in December. He was standing outside as the film was ending and I asked him if he was nervous. He calmly replied, “No, I’ve been to lots of my films’ screenings.” Yeah, well 95 percent of the filmmakers I know, including myself, would be sweating like Newt Gingrich at a Black Panther Party meeting. I was standing 2 feet from him and I could tell George was confident.

Jacquie Taliaferro interviews Method Man of “Red Tails” at LucasFilm’s screening of the film in December.

Lucas will most likely outdo them all with that magic (Industrial Light and Magic) technology. He has the money and power to hire the best writers, directors and actors. There are many books out on the Tuskegee Airmen so that story almost writes itself. During the recruitment of the airmen, only the top 1 percent of the talent was chosen. Eleanor Roosevelt took to the skies with a Tuskegee pilot before Secret Service could stop her. Upon landing, she immediately called her president husband saying, “These men can fly. Fund the program!”

I think George Lucas is a good guy in a notoriously unscrupulous business, trying to do the right thing. Hiring a Black director and writer was the right thing, unlike Steven Spielberg with “The Color Purple” and “Amistad,” Francis Coppola’s “Cotton Club” and Oliver Stone’s “Any Given Sunday,” for which he never credited Jamie Williams, the former 49er and now director of athletics at Academy of Arts University. Stone additionally moved away from “right” when he cast two White men in his 9-11 Movie, “World Trade Center,” that was based on the action of two real life people, one of whom was Black.

Moving from Hollywood and any expectation of “right,” the bottom line is we must build our own studios, networks and social media companies and bring our own money back to our communities now.

The bottom line is we must build our own studios, networks and social media companies and bring our own money back to our communities now.

On Jan. 15, 2012, the actual birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and on the observed MLK Jr. holiday the following day, there were numerous celebrations around what he stood for – human rights, equal rights, peace and many other super things. However, the two things that brought him the most heat – protest against the war in Viet Nam and economic inclusiveness – are overshadowed. His rallying at the grassroots level – marching with sanitation workers and organizing for economic justice – was shut down and the celebratory band plays on without one note of emphasis on economic justice. Booker T. (Taliaferro) Washington, founder of Tuskegee Institute, emphasized entrepreneurship, economic justice and self-reliance as a predecessor to King.

The two things that brought Dr. King the most heat – protest against the war in Viet Nam and for economic inclusiveness – are overshadowed in his birthday celebrations.

In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Harriett Tubman, Sojourner Truth and Gordon Parks – the first person I met with a Tuskegee Airmen script – let’s pick a war and stop it. And then pick another and another, until they are all gone. And for a whole week, go and support a Black artist’s film, video, theater, art, spoken word, museum exhibit etc., putting the money into that artist’s hands.

Jacquie Taliaferro, filmmaker and director of LaHitz Media, can be reached at lahitznews@yahoo.com or (415) 821-1111.

LaHitz Media and Method Man at “Red Tails” screening

“Red Tails” trailer

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by Michael L. Sanders

Michael Sanders with Yolanda “YoYo” Whitaker, founder of YoYo’s School of Hip-Hop in Los Angeles, which she wants to replicate in the Bay Area

Yolanda Whitaker is an acclaimed international recording star and actress born in Compton, California, on Aug. 4, 1971. Affectionately known to the world as YoYo, Whitaker took the world and radio waves by storm when she was first heard on Ice Cube’s platinum selling album, “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted,” in 1990. Not long after making that cameo appearance, YoYo made the world take notice with her first single, “You Can’t Play wit My YoYo,” which reached the top 10 billboard markings during the next summer.

Refusing to limit her talents to the hip-hop scene, Whitaker would also become a pop culture icon when she played Keylolo, Sheneneh’s best friend on the Martin Lawrence sitcom. Her movie credits include “Boyz in the Hood,” “Menace II Society” and “Three Strikes,” which were all box office hits in the 1990s.

While growing up in South Central Los Angeles, she had dreams of becoming a professional dancer, inspired by weekend dance shows like Soul Train, Solid Gold and Dance Fever. “Those were the premiere shows at the time, so I copied all the latest dance moves and would practice in front of a mirror all day until I got them exactly like the people that danced on those shows.” After years of dancing, she decided to try her hand at rapping and discovered she was good while battling other MCs, male and female, around her neighborhood.

After recording four more albums and being nominated for a Grammy award, YoYo wanted to complete another dream and open a school for teaching the business of hip-hop. “My generation was always referred to as Generation X. Myself, I was tired of that label, so I am attempting to reach Generation Y and show them not only how to become successful but also how to handle success when it becomes overwhelming, because it will. I was always good at humbling myself, and that is a quality I am trying to instill in the youth here at my school.”

“Demand respect, whether it’s in the music industry or in the general public. Don’t let society profile you by looks. Show them you have skills in all areas.” – YoYo

YoYo’s School of Hip-Hop, founded by Whitaker, opened in the summer of 2011. Beginning with 63 students, the school now has 250 inspired young men and women between the ages of 8-18. Located in South Central Los Angeles, the school focuses on hip-hop literacy, healthy lifestyles and self-discipline, while YoYo empowers young women to work hard towards denouncing sexism in America.

Postponing her next music project, “Black Butterfly,” so she can start the school, she found it necessary to put the children first because she feels the youth of today are being neglected when it comes to helping them build a future. “I want these young ladies to understand that because you are beautiful and have a nice physique that you are not an object. Demand respect, whether it’s in the music industry or in the general public. Don’t let society profile you by looks. Show them you have skills in all areas. That was the motivation behind founding this school.”

The school features dance programs, computer technology classes and sports. Recently the school was presented with the “You Must Learn” Award for achievements in education, a big accomplishment considering the short time the school has existed. Students are eager to learn, and YoYo says she hasn’t had any disciplinary problems from any of the students, which means a lot. She plans on starting a school here in the Bay Area.

YoYo plans on starting a school here in the Bay Area.

YoYo’s School of Hip-Hop is located at 3351 West 43rd St., Los Angeles, California. There is also a website for the school, www.yoyoschoolofhiphop.com.

Michael Sanders, an Oakland writer on the staff of the Laney Tower, can be reached at sanders.mike1974@gmail.com.

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by Malaika Kambon

The Ratcliffs accept an award presented by Jackie Wright and accolades for the SF Bay View’s history of fighting injustice. – Photo: Malaika Kambon

The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, the premiere African American theater in the Bay Area, also garnered a $10,000 contribution from long time donors Jerry and Ruth Vurek and has been wildly successful in its new home on the second floor of San Francisco’s stylish Kensington Hotel on Union Square.

Renowned artist Eugene White joined Willie Ratcliff and other theatergoers at a reception before the performance of “REJOICE!” at the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre’s beautiful new home. – Photo: Malaika Kambon

Our media matters!

Look for the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre to become the truly premiere company on the West Coast and to eventually have a national and an international reputation, in the finest tradition of the African woman playwright and painter, Lorraine Hansberry, for whom it was named!

Malaika H. Kambon is a freelance photojournalist, candidate for the University of California at Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and the 2011 winner of the Bay Area Black Journalists Association Luci S. Williams Houston Scholarship in Photojournalism. She can be reached at kambonrb@pacbell.net.

‘Our Media Matters’ Theater Night, a model of mutual support for Black arts and media

by Jackie Wright, Wright Enterprises

Jackie Wright, left, and Jacquie Taliaferro, right, organized the “Our Media Matters” Theater Night honoring the SF Bay View newspaper, represented by publisher and editor Willie and Mary Ratcliff. – Photo: Malaika Kambon

“The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre is creating an atmosphere of unity as it reaches out to individuals, businesses and nonprofits that can utilize an entertaining play to raise capital,” said Jacquie Taliaferro, filmmaker and director of LaHitz Media. “The Bay View, celebrating 36 years of journalism for the Black community, rejoiced at this opportunity to join forces with the venerable LHT for the benefit of our youth.”

Lorraine Hansberry Theatre Artistic Director Steven Anthony Jones, an actor acclaimed and beloved in the Bay Area, accepts a generous donation from longtime LHT supporters Jerry Vurek and his wife, Ruth (not pictured). – Photo: Malaika Kambon

“Thanks to Shirley Howard Johnson, Al Dixon and the board of directors, the theatre functioned in their darkest period last year until they found a new home in Union Square and hired their new artistic director, Steven Anthony Jones. Now in their 31st year, the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre is worthy of our support as it gives a platform for Black voices and Black talent in a multicultural enterprise that benefits all of San Francisco and the arts world,” added Jacquie.

Eager for the play to begin are Jacquie Taliaferro’s son Alex, 18, and his friend. – Photo: Malaika Kambon

Just recently New Birth Church of Antioch and Oakland, headed by Bishop C. Carl Smith, bought out the house to thank their more than 400 volunteers for their year-long service. “New Birth not only enjoyed ‘REJOICE!’ but they also brought additional commerce via parking, shopping and dining into the city.

This ad generously provided by LaHitz Media and Wright Enterprises, sponsors of "Our Media Matters Theater Night" at the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre's Dec. 29 production of "Rejoice!" to benefit the SF Bay View

LaHitz Media and Wright Enterprises have hosted events at international venues such as the Cannes International Film Festival.

More opportunities for Theater Nights are available with the upcoming production of “Blue/Orange” by Joe Penhall, directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe and featuring Carl Lumbly, Feb. 5-March 18.

More opportunities for Theater Nights are available with the upcoming production of “Blue/Orange” by Joe Penhall, directed by Edris Cooper-Anifowoshe and featuring Carl Lumbly, Feb. 5-March 18, just in time for Black History Month and Women’s History Month celebrations.

Jackie Wright is the president of Wright Enterprises, a full service public relations firm serving the corporate, non-profit and government sectors. A seasoned media and public relations professional, Wright has 20 years of media experience, including more than a decade of award-winning journalism experience in radio, television and print communications, and holds degrees in both journalism and drama from the University of Georgia. She can be reached at jackiewright@wrightnow.biz.

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by Michael L. Sanders

Mistah F.A.B. shows North Oakland youngsters that he care. - Photo: Michael L. Sanders

Santa appeared in hip-hop form Dec. 21 in a North Oakland neighborhood as Oakland rap artist Mistah F.A.B. (Faeva after bread) brought joy to his childhood neighborhood, supplying gifts and serving food and entertainment to children whose parents or guardians were not financially able to provide gifts. Along with help from New York Yankees star pitcher CC Sabathia, who was born and raised in Vallejo, and some North Oakland community volunteers, F.A.B. made this possible and brought delight to the many awaiting youngsters whose eyes gleamed with joy and anticipation.

For five years Mistah F.A.B., whose birth name is Stanley P. Cox, has not only dominated the Bay Area rap scene as the prime minister of the hyphy movement, he has also recorded and performed with international stars such as Lil Wayne, Drake and Snoop. F.A.B. has worked just as hard in the communities, not only giving back by way of charity events to his North Oakland community but others as well. “Toys for Joy” is just one of the many programs that he has produced through his self-funded K.I.D.S. program, founded in 2007.

Since it started, the program has organized fundraisers and activities for inner-city youth. Events like celebrity basketball games, camping trips and book club meetings are just a few of the wonderful things that are provided through F.A.B. and his friends and family who help him when these events occur. K.I.D.S. is a program set up to empower the youth of Oakland. His program also helps inner-city youth in Atlanta, Louisiana and New York.

“You got to give for something to live,” said F.A.B. as he tossed the football around with some of the waiting youth. “I started this program to protect the innocence of our youth who are in danger every day when they come out of their house. We are led to believe that only negative things happen here.

Michael Sanders salutes Mistah F.A.B. for giving back to Oakland with his Christmas giveaway, an example for other artists to follow.

As he talked about the program and what changes need to be made in Oakland, word circulated that there was a murder directly around the corner. Some of the children attempted to cure their curiosity walking around the corner to see who the victim was. “See, it’s sad that our children has this hood mentality about who got shot, who can I rob, what woman I can pimp. It’s absurd and we must step up as leaders to end these things.”

Once a month events are held to keep a fresh thought in children’s minds that there is someone who cares about them. As the interview concluded, a young man walking down the street attracted his attention. He asked the young man what size shoe he wore, the young man replied, “11,” and Mistah F.A.B. proudly produced some brand new Jordan tennis shoes, handed them to him and said, “Merry Christmas.”

After losing his mom last year, F.A.B. has taken a different approach to life, feeling guided to serve his purpose of giving back. And that was the inspiration for him to start these programs.

One thing is for sure: The North Oakland community and the children within are blessed to have heroes like Mistah F.A.B. His latest CD, “I Found My Back Pack 2,” was released Dec. 13 and is in Rasputin’s music store and also on iTunes.

Michael Sanders, an Oakland writer on the staff of the Laney Tower, can be reached at sanders.mike1974@gmail.com.

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by Wanda Sabir

Wanda is writing this month from Madagascar, the big island off the southern coast of Africa. Give yourself a quiz; see how many African countries you can name.

Sentinels never rest.

The 22nd Annual African American Celebration through Poetry is Feb. 4, 1-4 p.m. The rehearsal for those featured is Jan. 28, 10 a.m.-12 noon at the West Oakland Branch Library, 1801 Adeline St., Oakland, (510) 238-7352.

My good friend, Yvette Hochberg, has been diagnosed with brain and lung cancer. I met Yvette in Vukani Mawethu Choir many years ago. I think we were in the same section.

She is one of the programmers on the Women’s Magazine at KPFA radio and has been a supporter and advocate for issues ranging from justice in the Congo to any number of issues affecting women and girls throughout the world, whether that is Palestine, which she traveled, Egypt or West Africa. When I traveled to Senegal three years ago, she connected me with the West African Research Center, where I met Professor Ibrahim Seck, whom I am still in touch with.

There is a fundraiser to help her raise funds for alternative therapies at La Pena Cultural Center on Sunday, Jan. 8, 3-5 p.m., 3105 Shattuck Ave., in Berkeley. There will be many great people in attendance.

Habari Gani?

Monday finds me in Madagascar, where no one I have spoken to knows about the Pan African celebration of first fruits or Kwanzaa.

A herder with his zebu – Photo: TaSin Sabir

Vivi made us dinner and it was so delicious – better than the finer traveler restaurants as compared to the local fare in hoteles (Madagasy for restaurant).

Vivi’s home-fries or fritz (pronounced: freets) were so good. It was so hot, we could make tea with our water from the bottle. I think Miandrivazo is the second hottest place in Madagascar. There was going to be a party that evening and the DJs were playing techno TaSin knew from home.

We met a really cool b-boy. Brother man had on the bling, double strand rhinestone studded necklace, a big piece of ice in his right earlobe and rings on multiple fingers – all in a setting of silver.

He is Madagasy on his mother’s side, with Reunion heritage on his dad’s side. He was well traveled and could speak English, having studied at a college in Capetown, which he loved. He told us about his travels to France, which he didn’t like much, Germany, which he said was the party capital of Europe. He also spoke of Montreal as a place he’d like to return to.

He wants to come to California to LA and SF. Where else? He has relatives in most of the places he has visited and was in town this weekend to visit cousins. He and his cousins fixed us fish and rice, which was really nice of them to share their meal with us. They also bought us some water.

Our wakeup call two days in a row, today included, was 5 a.m., yes, too early for a vacation. Christmas, Vivi had a flat tire so though we were up early, we didn’t get on the road until 10 a.m. By the time we reached the second hottest place, where we spent the night, the tire was flat again.

On our way to Monrondava, the coastal city, in Mandivazo, we stopped at another inn; that one lost its electricity just as we arrived and got our room. We had a candle. It was pretty primitive. But hey, that’s what Third World country means, right?

Panning for gold is a family affair on this Madagasy stream. Unfortunately, the mine is not locally owned. – Photo: TaSin Sabir

The 99 percent looks basically the same – well almost.

Today the tire held up and we stopped first at the gold mines. Yes, families were out mining for gold. A gram was $40 US or $80,000 AR. I have been trying to find cloth with Madagasy sayings on it. I have about five pieces now. I can’t remember what each one means. I have to ask Vivi again to read them to me: “No matter how much people talk against you, you do not get angry,” “He loves you the best,” “You know how to keep a confidence.”

There are similar cloths in Tanzania, which means they are being made elsewhere and sold in these different countries. I wonder if they are made in China? Many of the roads are sponsored by the Chinese government. This afternoon we traveled down a road with lots of potholes, yet even on the worse roads the vistas are so breathtaking one can’t help but marvel over the Goddess or God’s creation.

This afternoon for lunch we dined at a restaurant in Antsirabe TaSin liked from our first stay here. She had vanilla chicken and I had grilled – of course the entree name was in French. The vegetables were great and I could actually chew the chicken which was cut the way we do at home, thigh and back together. Madagasy cooks are really creative with the way they carve a chicken.

Sakalava folk dancers at the King’s Palace – Photo: TaSin Sabir

Tonight he wanted to ride the merry-go-round, but his mother didn’t like it: too fast for him even if he’s with his dad. Owen took a ride in the push-push or man pulled carriage.

Yeah, it’s weird, being pulled by a man running with a cart. It reminds me of the Indian system with what they called “coolies.” Some people call it slavery.

We were dancing to the Madagasy music, which was nice. Kids and youth sat at tables gambling at a board with numbers on it. Some kids had lots of coins piled up high in front of them. While we were there it started to thunder, lightning streaked across the sky and then the drizzle started.

Kids with incarcerated moms on an outing to the zoo. In Madagascar, the children live in prison with their mothers. – Photo: TaSin Sabir

People have come to know the Americans. Can’t miss us: I wear a read cloth hat and TaSin has been rocking her Madagasy basket hat. But when one pulls out the camera and our “Salamus” don’t have the same accent as the locals, we start getting hit up to purchase other items. In other areas, like the country, kids would ask us for presents.

Vivi’s been trying to get me into a prison, a women’s prison, but so far we haven’t gotten far. Today, we visited a men’s prison. The prisons are right in the neighborhood. The men were working in the field today. In Madagascar, mothers keep their children, so the children are in prison too. Often from what I read, the children don’t get enough to eat and as they grow older, if there is no family to receive them outside they are serving time with their moms. One mother had two babies while inside – she was a returning prisoner.

We met the children on an outing at the zoo in Antananarivo, the capital. The woman with the kids said that they take them on outings twice a month or was it twice a week?

TaSin in a Madagasy basket hat – Photo: Wanda Sabir

This afternoon after visiting the larger marketplace where we couldn’t find hats large enough to fit our heads we went to Chez Joseph, who sells precious stones. It was quite the tour, almost theatrical as we went from one part of the establishment to another. The cast members told us about the stones from rose quartz to rubies to fossilized wood, plants and other gems. There were even tortoises crawling on a bed of precious stones which the establishment gave us an envelope to fill. Then came the sell, which was left to Joseph, the gracious host, who met us at the start of the tour and returned at the end.

Indri lemurs in the local rainforest: Voi Mma in Andasibe. This forest is supported by the local people. – Photo: TaSin Sabir

Now I know why throughout Antsirabe there is so much rose quartz. It literally lines the porches and walkways of many establishments.

To read more about my travels, visit my blog via my website: wandaspicks.com. Click the link.

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

PHOTO: Madagascar panning for gold 1211 by TaSin Sabir

CAPTION: Panning for gold is a family affair on this Madagasy stream. Unfortunately, the mine is not locally owned. – Photo: TaSin Sabir

PHOTO: Madagascar Queen’s Palace, kids on field trip 1211 by TaSin Sabir

CAPTION: Queen’s Palace, kids on a fieldtrip – Photo: TaSin Sabir

PHOTO: Madagascar King’s Palace 1211 by TaSin Sabir

CAPTION: King’s Palace – Photo: TaSin Sabir

PHOTO: Madagascar King’s Palace, Sakalava folk dancers 1211 by TaSin Sabir

CAPTION: Sakalava folk dancers at the King’s Palace – Photo: TaSin Sabir

PHOTO: Madagascar kids with incarcerated moms on zoo outing 1211 by TaSin Sabir

CAPTION: Kids with incarcerated moms on an outing to the zoo. In Madagascar, the children live in prison with their mothers. – Photo: TaSin Sabir

PHOTO: Madagascar TaSin in Madagasy basket hat 1211 by Wanda Sabir

CAPTION: TaSin in a Madagasy basket hat – Photo: Wanda Sabir

PHOTO: Madagascar Christmas morning in Morondava 1211 by TaSin Sabir

CAPTION: Christmas morning in Morondava, a coastal city – Photo: TaSin Sabir

PHOTO: Madagascar Indri lemurs in Voi Mma rainforest supported by local people, Andasibe 1211 by TaSin Sabir

CAPTION: Indri lemurs in the local rainforest: Voi Mma in Andasibe. This forest is supported by the local people. – Photo: TaSin Sabir

PHOTO: Madagascar herder, zebu 1211 by TaSin Sabir

CAPTION: A herder with his zebu – Photo: TaSin Sabir — 9009

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by Amelia Harvey

During their tour with Carl Raye in late October, these students posed at the Booker T. Washington statue, Tuskegee University.

The Intel Computer Clubhouse Network is an international community of 100 Computer Clubhouses located in 20 different countries around the world. The Computer Clubhouse provides a creative and safe out-of-school learning environment where young people from underserved communities work with adult mentors to explore their own ideas, develop new skills and build confidence in themselves through the use of technology.

The tour was coordinated by Carl Ray, a Tuskegee University graduate and educational consultant to the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network. Ray, a San Jose resident, has organized HBCU tours for the past 24 years. More than 5,000 students have participated in the tours.

Before boarding the bus for the hotel, the students met and became acquainted with others over dinner in the airport atrium. Many of them were meeting for the first time but would form bonding friendships over the next five days.

On Thursday morning the excited group arrived at the Atlanta University Center comprised of Spelman College, Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse School of Medicine and the Interdenominational Theological Center.

While the young men toured Morehouse, the ladies toured Spelman. The Morehouse orientation session was held in an auditorium with photos of famous alums: Spike Lee, “movie director,” Samuel L. Jackson, “actor,” and David Satcher, former U.S. Surgeon General. Students ask questions about GPA requirements, SAT scores, application fees and financial aid. The tour guide informs all seniors who had not taken the SAT, but plan to take it before they graduate high school, they probably would not be accepted to Morehouse if they applied. The SAT test should have been taken no later than June of their junior year in high school.

On Spelman’s campus the young ladies marveled at Camille Olivia Cosby Academic Center, which was constructed with funds from a $20 million donation from Bill and Camille Cosby in 1989. The Center houses the departments of fine arts, social sciences, humanities, a library and archival program of international African women research and resources.

The students had the opportunity to meet a former clubhouse member, Emanuel Ford. Ford, a junior majoring in Business and Marketing at Morehouse, from Portland, Oregon, went on the tour his junior year in high school. Ford said, “I had never heard of Morehouse before coming here on the tour. I am sure I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the tour.” Malik Maye, an eight-grader from Detroit, said he would like to attend Morehouse to study Marketing and Filmmaking.

The group had lunch at Clark-Atlanta University with another former clubhouse member, Bilal Abbey, from the 3 River Clubhouse in Pittsburgh, Pa. Bilal is a junior majoring in History.

After lunch the group visited The Martin Luther King Jr. Center. They viewed the crypt of Dr. and Mrs. King, Eternal Flame, Freedom Walkway and the house where Dr. King was born and lived with his parents, grandparents and siblings.

At 5 p.m. the bus departed Atlanta for the two-hour ride to Moton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama. Moton Field was the air base of the Tuskegee Airman. African American aviators flew more than 200 missions escorting bombers in World War II and they never lost a bomber – at a time when the military view was that Blacks were not smart or brave enough to fly.

On Friday morning, the sun was shining in Montgomery as the group visited the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church. Dr. King was pastor of the church in 1954 and helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott after Mrs. Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger. Montgomery is the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement.

Friday afternoon the group visited the historic campus of Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama. The students were met at the Booker T. Washington statue by two former clubhouse members, Nikki Martinez from New York and Gerald Watson from Chicago; both went on the tour in 2008. Nikki is a junior majoring in Marketing and Sales and Gerald is majoring in Computer Science. They shared their memories of participating in clubhouse activities and coming on the tour. They both agreed that the tour was the reason they attended an HBCU.

Deontay Scott, a junior from Chicago, sat under the statue with the group on a sunny Alabama afternoon and reminisced of going to school down South. He stated that he liked Tuskegee and Clark Atlanta University; adding, “This trip showed me that there is a different world outside of Chicago. Now I know I can go to college and be successful.”

The afternoon included a visit to the George Washington Carver Museum. The scientist was known for his research with peanuts, which produced more than 300 products. The tour of the 5,000-acre campus included a visit to the campus cemetery where Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver and several other Tuskegee notables are buried, the Kellogg Convention Center and Hotel, campus chapel, recreational center and book store. The group learned that Tuskegee is the number one producer of African American aerospace engineers in the United States and 70 percent of African-American veterinarians in the world.

Saturday morning at 9 a.m. the group was back at Tuskegee University for the Fall Open House, where over 1,500 high school students were introduced to the academic majors and careers offered at the university. The students met professors, financial aid staff, academic department deans, admission recruiters and college students. After the Open House, students were treated to a step-show, performed by members of the campus fraternities and sororities. In the afternoon they yelled, chanted and danced at the football game between Clark-Atlanta University and Tuskegee University. Tuskegee won the game, but more exciting than the game was the bands half-time performance.

On Saturday night the bus, filled with reenergized clubhouse members, returned to Atlanta. Destiny Mitchell from East Palo Alto announced, “Before this tour I was planning on attending a community college. Now I really want to attend Tuskegee or Spelman.” Carolyn Blue, coordinator and chaperone from the Detroit clubhouse, responded: “The opportunity for our youth to participate in these tours is a rewarding experience. The entire trip is filled with history, learning and sharing. They are motivated to succeed because they are exposed to positive people and historic places.”

For information on future tours, contact Carl Ray at (408) 259-6516 or www.carlraye.com/bctour.shtml.

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by Paradise Free Jahlove

This image of a Black Jesus, from a church in Rome, dates from AD 530.

In the ‘60s if you bought something that said “Made in Japan,” people would laugh at you and say,”Don’t look at it too hard. It might break. Hahaha.” Because Japan’s early post World War II products were “rinky dink.” But by the time the ‘80s came around, nearly every appliance in every house and every car on your block was “Made in Japan.” Let’s put up a sign on the door of the Motherland that says: Afrika closed for 20 years or until further notice, for inventory, repairs, reconstruction and healing.

Let’s close Afrika to foreigners from 2020 to 2040, if not longer, and keep and decide what we want to do with our gold, our diamonds, our oil, our land, our resources and ourselves. Let us take our Afrikan riches, bodies, minds, souls and spirituality back in exchange for giving them back their religions, gods and saviors.

Let’s put all the voluntary intergration, assimilation and multiculturalism on hold for a while until we rehabilitate, recover and cure our schizophrenia from being gang raped by the other cultures of the world. In other words, no disrespect but how can you be a Gay Rights Activist Feminist Liberal Republican Capitalist Christian Muslim Army Navy Alpha Phi YT Harvard Graduate Afrikan and ever find time to be Black? You feel me?

We need more full time Afrikans who are Black on purpose; like black ants whose only concern is the welfare of and what goes on in their black ant colony. And bees who only concern themselves about the hive. Mother Afrika is the hive of all Black people. All humans. And the breadbasket of the world.

If your house is on fire, do you: A. Cry out to Jesus? B. Pray to Allah? C. Go to college and learn how to extinguish fires? Or D. Man up and put out the fire? I ask you that question because the Black House is on fire. One in five Afrikan babies die before they reach 5 years old and our communities are going up in flames. We desperately need more Black firefighters. NOW. The Gods don’t need you but your people do. Let’s worry about the hereafter hells in the hereafter, because we got hundreds of millions of brothers and sisters who need to be rescued from hell on earth here and now.

Let’s worry about the hereafter hells in the hereafter, because we got hundreds of millions of brothers and sisters who need to be rescued from hell on earth here and now.

We need folks to unplug themselves from the Matrix, pull out, withdraw and pull together. Harambe. I can hardly believe how gullible we Black people are sometimes, expending so much money, time, energy and resources fighting other people’s battles and supporting everybody else’s causes but our own. And then having the nerve to accept being reciprocated by being put on the bottom of the totem pole in every culture, cause and religion. (You tell me if I’m lying.) Let’s take a panoramic view of what good the bloody religions have done for us the last 6,000 years and peep their efficiency ratings, shall we.

Islam has not reproduced another Muhammad in 1,400 years.

Christianity has not christened another Jesus in over 2,000 years.

Buddhism has not given the world another Buddha in 2,600 years.

Judaism has not seen another Moses in 3,300 years. And

Hinduism has not produced another Krishna in 5,600 years.

That means collectively these top five religions have not given the world another Messiah in 14,000 years.

Zero for 14,000 is the worst batting average ever. Who in their right mind would attend a college if they knew they hadn’t graduated a student with a Master’s Degree in 14,000 years? They say if you keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results, that is the surest sign of insanity and retardation. Unlike the mystery schools of ancient Egypt that produced world teachers, community avatars, healers and magicians, the church pastor and clergyman doesn’t want you to graduate from his congregation. He wants to keep you and yours and those “money streams” in his stable for a lifetime.

And the main reason why these religions have such a high failure rate and have played a large part in placing the world in the pitiful condition it’s in today is because they all have borrowed or stolen from ancient African civilizations, culture and spirituality and worship great Black Afrikan messiah god kings (Black Jesus, Black Buddha, Black Moses, Black Muhammad and Black Krishna), but they all refuse to acknowledge their Afrikan origins. And they not only dishonor the living Afrikans and today’s Black geniuses, but they are trying to completely deface and erase us from the picture.

So these religions are cursed for disrespecting their elders, the Black race – the number one principle of Afrikans and indigenous people is to respect your elders – and for suppressing or trying to suppress the rise of the very Afrikan people they worship; largely because they know that if they catered to Afrikan glory and greatness, people would follow Afrikans religiously instead of these bogus religions and they would lose power over the people. People would want to “be like Mike” – Michael Jordon, Michael Jackson, Michael Johnson and even Mike Tyson and follow the Martin Luther Kings of the world.

So to put it more succinctly, I give thanks to all the religions for the good they’ve done and will continue to do, but when it comes to discussing Black unity, as Malcolm said, “You need to leave’m at home.” Especially when

Modern day Christianity is white supremacy disguised as religion.

Islam is Arab supremacy disguised as religion.

Buddhism is Asian supremacy disguised as religion.

Judaism is Jewish supremacy disguised as religion. And

Hinduism is Indo-European-Aryan supremacy disguised as religion.

And most of the churches in the world are basically little whore houses for the big pimp daddy Catholic Church in Rome – not Afrika.

Similarly every mosque and Muslim gives vitality and finances to Mecca and Arabian causes – not Afrika.

Buddhism has brothers and sisters chanting,”Nam myo ho renge kyo”, speaking tongues and turning heads toward Asia – not Afrika.

Every Jew puts Israel on blast, although no Jew could ever teach you how to be an Afrikan Hebrew.

And Hinduism, which has been called “sanctified racism,” is the godfather of all religions. And its main feature is its caste system, which puts light-skinned East Indians and whites in the upper castes and darker skinned Indians and Afrikans at the very bottom of these caste systems – forever – and appeases each class by giving everyone somebody to look down on and feel superior to and makes “happy slaves” out of the bottom caste members by telling them they are doing Dharma (God’s work and God’s will) and they are where they are because of their Karma (what they did in a past life).

So 200 million Afrikans have sailed in the bowels of the slave ship India for 3,000 years and have been designated as Black Untouchables (too despicable to even touch) and told not to go within 20 feet of the sacred Hindu temples because even if their shadows should touch the temple walls, the temples will be defiled. Wow! What a vicious con. Adolf Hitler was so impressed with how Hinduism sanctified white supremacy, he borrowed the Swastika from them – probably not knowing that the Swastika originated as an ancient Afrikan symbol representing the “wheel of life.”

During his annual Christmas speech recently, the Pope seemed to be defending his wayward priests by saying child sexual abuse is not an absolute evil. And as the head of the Roman Catholic church, the Pope speaks for all the churches and all the churches speak for the Pope. Men having sex with boys has always been Rome-antic. Like Jeffrey Dahmer, Mr. Penn State had a preference for little Black boys and he was given safe sanctuary by the whole university for decades. Screwing you and your children is their religion. For how long will you support these systems of abuse?

All of these bloody religions and/or their cultures have enslaved and are oppressing people, especially Afrikans. And these Baby Souls have the audacity to put themselves in the position as teachers and priests of God who claim that they can teach the Ancient Souls the way better than we can teach ourselves. Listen to the language of their religions: “Bow down!” “Cover up!” “Worship!” “Obey!” And “Thou shalt not!” That is not a language for the parents of humanity, the planetary elders and the gods and goddesses of earth. This is the language for the young newborn races and the barbaric juvenile delinquent man.

They stole your mojo and repackaged it and are now selling it back to you, brother. Europa is a differently lettered way of saying Yoruba. Christ and Krishna sound alike because they both mean “Black” in Sanskrit and Afrikan languages. And the word Messiah was inspired by the Masai (warriors) and means “Spiritual Warrior.”

But if all of this evidence and theft and deceit and wickedness isn’t enough to convince you to withdraw out of their worlds like a turtle into your protective shell of pure Afrikanness and get back to Black, because you want to continue your journey as a “happy slave,” then so be it. But I’m a Malcolm eXorcist trying to exorcize the devil from my people; so I must encourage all true Afrikan revolutionaries to drop their affiliations with these theological Bloods and Crips, organized crime and Mafia owned, blood soaked religions. We have to stop putting our wealth in other people’s banks, purses and pockets..

And even though I compare the Christians and the Muslims to the Crips and the Bloods, I will make slight exceptions for the Ethiopian Church and the Rastafarians and the Black Muslims because they prove my point: Their religiosity is Black and Afrocentric. The Rastas produce plenty of strong Black Messiah/Maisai Warriors, as do the Black Muslims. One billion multicultural Muslims cannot compete with the tiny Black Nation of Islam, who has given the world fierce Black warrior prophets like Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Louis Farrahkhan and Khalid Muhammad.

Dr. Martin Luther King proves my point also because he would’ve remained a relative unknown until he stepped out of the church and stepped up for Black people. And Reggae music has never wavered as a powerful, funky music for our people, Africa and the Most High. Plus I like how the Rastas are willing to work with anybody who is truly down for humanity, Afrikans and the Creator. Can’t you see? There is power in Blackness.

“Our Blacks are better than their Blacks.” This is what a Republican politician blurted out recently when comparing her party with the Democratic Party. And this pretty much sums things up across the board in world politics. These people cherish your skills but they actually think they own you – like pets. The NBA might as well be called the Negro Basketball Association because the vast majority of its players are Black. And I think the players went on strike so long this year because they’re starting to realize … we have great value, brothers and sisters.

Whole cities root for “our Blacks.” What would Major League Baseball and the National Football League be without us? And in the Olympics every four years America gets to show off and parade us around and say: “Our Blacks are better than yours.” Like we are a stable of well bred horses. Brothers, you have the best basketball players in the world. Start your own league. The ABA, Afrikan Basketball Association. Afrikan people start your own league: the Afrikan Union or the United States of Afrika.

But this sentiment goes much deeper than sports. How bland would Christianity and Islam be without Afrikans? Can’t nobody put nothing on blast like Black people. Who can fight better for a religion than Muhammad Ali? Or sing for one like Patti LaBelle? Afrikans were here for millions of years before anybody else, but these Johnny Come Latelys appeared on the scene a few years ago and made a religion out of you – Black Jesus, Black Moses, Black Buddha, Black Muhammad and Black Krishna, and out of Black Genius and Black Culture. And although they try to leave Afrikans and the African origins of their religions out of the picture, their underlying sales pitch to the world is “Our brand of Black is best.”

Even though the Hindu religious leaders paint pictures of Krishna as blue and any color but Black, the very word Krishna in Sanskrit means “black.” But the Christians say, “Our brother is God’s only Son.” He is exclusive – the best of the best. And the Muslims say, “Mohammad is the last prophet.” But they say the same thing about our great basketball players: There will never be another Elgin Baylor, another Oscar Robertson, another Doctor J, another Magic Johnson, another Michael Jordon, another Kobe Bryant, another LeBron James. They continue to underestimate the greatness of God and Black Genius, which continues to shock the world and outdo what the world believes is possible.

All around the world your Afrikan All Stars are worshipped, except in the West where you have to be clowning, on a leash or dead to pass the test. Tupac couldn’t pay to get into a university when he was alive but now that he’s passed on they have college classes and courses about him! When Michael Jackson got tired of the world of Cross-tianity, he went to Saudia Arabia. When he came back he was about to shake up the world and cross over and become a Muslim like his brother Jermaine. Or he had already done so and was about to make it official during his comeback world tour. But Crosstianity said if we can’t have you, nobody can. Michael Jackson got double crossed.

“Our Blacks are better than theirs.” One brags: We occupy Egypt now, the inspiration and blueprint for all religions. Another says: We occupy the hood. One says: We occupy their corner grocery stores. Another says: We occupy their behinds. One says: We occupy their hair and money with weaves. Another says: We occupy their minds.

Seems like everybody wants to occupy Black but Black people. And so the world is deprived of what it needs most: African values, African wisdom, Afrikan spirituality, Afrikan culture and great Black Afrikan genius. And this Black deprivation is a lot like sleep deprivation which makes you cranky and irritable and drowsy and can lead to schizophrenia, insanity and death. Because when you sleep, dream, meditate and pray, what do you do first? You close your eyes and see BLACKNESS – which is the door, the way, the truth and the source to everything, including light and power.

Humanity originated from a Black womb. And creation, like the morning sun from midnight, was born out of dark matter and black space. But Black women are being deprived of functional Black men. Black men are being deprived of loving Black women. And Black people and the whole world is being deprived of its planetary elders, Black people, in a healthy state of mind and productivity.

If you are a Harlem Globetrotter, why would you want to play for the Washington Generals? Know thyself, brother, sister. You are the life of the party. Religions and other such rashes and even whole species of animals have come and gone with the centuries and the ages, but your Blackness is here to stay. If you want to do something religious excavate the richness of your own Blackness and Black history and culture religiously.

Put yourself and your people on blast. Listen to that Afrikan All Star in the New Testament who said, “Ye are Gods.” And to that other Afrikan All Star, Marcus Garvey, who said, “Be Black, think Black, buy Black.” Your Black is better than theirs. Theirs is a copy. You are the Original. “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for,” said the Afrikan All Star June Jordon. “We are the Black Gods we’ve been searching for,” said Abby Lincoln. Once we get from under religious suppression and societal oppression, couples will be capable of having quintuplets like Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, Krishna and Moses in one family or one birth. Woooohooo. And our Black unity will be the greatest religious experience in the history of the universe. Buy Black Wednesday.

Paradise is president of the International Black Writers & Artists Local 5 in Oakland and was recently honored by the City of Oakland with “Paradise Day,” on Oct. 6! He may be reached at oaklandworldsfair@yahoo.com. Paradise also facilitates the Buy Black Wednesdays Facebook page and group, hosts the Black Wednesday Show every Wednesday at 6 p.m. on www.harambeeradio.com and blogs at www.blackwednesdays.blogspot.com.

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by Minister of Information JR

Dj Illinoiz, G1, Rodstarz and Minister of Information JR were in North Oakland on 55th and Market right under the stoplight that the Panthers put in the Black community in the ‘60s. Rebel Diaz was in Oakland on their #OccupytheAirwaves Tour.

The automatic reflex of many in the mainstream media is to insulate and protect their corporate bosses from all grievances, complaints and critiques. On the other side of the game, you have “Occupiers” whose self-righteous stance makes them believe they can lead people without having to answer to the community critiques on how they’re running their “ship.”

Mental growth is occurring when there many questions in people’s minds, dying to be answered. The England-born, Chicago-bred, Bronx-based rap group known as Rebel Diaz is one of mediators of this conversation through their music. Where political differences break people apart, music brings them together, and that is why the music of groups like dead prez, the Coup and Rebel Diaz are essential to this discussion.

Check out Rebel Diaz, as they speak in their own words about the Occupy Movement.

M.O.I. JR: Can you tell me about your new mixtape and why you chose to call it that?

G1: We chose to call our new mixtape “#OccupyTheAirwaves” because we feel it’s important to support the current global movements, and as Hip Hop artists, our context is culture and music.

The hood has beeeeen in a recession! So we know and understand this energy of rebellion and feel our views are not being played on the radio, so we felt it was important to #OccupyTheAirwaves. The corporations that run the rap music industry are also the 1 percent. If you haven’t noticed, they impose values on our community of consumerism, capitalism, misogyny, individualism and violence – all values which in nature are forms of social control.

M.O.I. JR: What are your thoughts on the different Occupy movements that y’all have been a part of?

Rodstarz: Well, we are currently doing our last shows on this tour. We were able to visit and show solidarity with Occupies all over the West Coast and Midwest. In Seattle, we built with Hip Hop Occupies with MC Julie C. In San Diego we linked with Dj Kuttin Kandi, who has formed the All Peoples Revolutionary Front, which is a nationwide group of people of color who are pushing the idea of “rise and decolonize.”

There’s a strong sentiment across the country that the Occupy movements aren’t addressing the needs of the most marginalized communities. The term “Occupy” itself comes from a perspective of power. The hood is already occupied by police departments, gentrification etc. Palestine and Puerto Rico are occupied.

There’s a strong sentiment across the country that the Occupy movements aren’t addressing the needs of the most marginalized communities.

That is why we see Occupy the Hood and these other groups popping up. However, we feel it’s important to be a part of this conversation. If there’s a national and international conversation going on against capitalism and imperialism, we need to be a part of that. But folks also gotta undersand that racism needs to be talked about and that white privilege still exists.

M.O.I. JR: Now that the encampments have been shut down all over the country, what do you want to happen next?

G1: While the encampments have been shut down, we feel they will come back stronger. My gut feeling from being around these encampments is that people aren’t going anywhere. They are in it for the long haul. Communities have been formed at the encampments. Folks lived there for two months in some places. In New York City, they are well funded, so they seem to be ready to stick it out through the winter.

Rodstarz: Personally, I think if folks want to talk about Occupy, we need to start occupying condominiums and buildings in the hood. There’s problems with housing; there’s no community centers for and by the people. Well, then take a building , occupy it, put 200 folks outside to defend it and get to work.

There’s problems with housing; there’s no community centers for and by the people. Well, then take a building , occupy it, put 200 folks outside to defend it and get to work.

Also, what are the demands? In Chile, where we are from, hundreds of thousands of youth are demanding free education. Not education reform – free education. High school students have occupied their schools for months at a time. Now that’s gangsta right there.

We need demands and clarity. A good friend of mine brought up a great question: Are you really against slavery or just mad you aren’t the one holding the whip?

We need demands and clarity. A good friend of mine brought up a great question: Are you really against slavery or just mad you aren’t the one holding the whip?

M.O.I. JR: How does political music in general and your music specifically play a part in socio-political and economic movements?

Dj Illanoiz: Historically, movements have always had culture and music as a strong component. That’s why corporations are quick to want to co-op culture. The Nueva Cancion movement in Latin America was very important in social movements, with artists like Mercedes Sosa, Victor Jara and Silvio Rodriguezo. To us, our Nueva Cancion is Hip Hop. We have been told that our music inspires folks to organize and resist. We also hope that folks learn through it.

M.O.I. JR: Can you tell the people a little bit about the work that you do with youth out in the Bronx?

Rodstarz: Well, three years ago we occupied an abandoned candy factory and turned it into an autonomous Hip Hop community center – for the hood and by the hood. With 20 of our friends and crew from Hunts Point, the poorest neighborhood in the Bronx, we built a music studio, performance stage area, with walls full of graffiti – the main piece was actually done by Oakland-based artist Desi from WOME crew.

Three years ago we occupied an abandoned candy factory and turned it into an autonomous Hip Hop community center – for the hood and by the hood – with 20 of our friends and crew from Hunts Point, the poorest neighborhood in the Bronx.

Basically, it was a community effort. The idea is that we don’t need folks to come and empower us. We found out we already had power. Everybody in our community has value. We learned that.

Folks volunteered with skills we didn’t know they had: unemployed electricians, carpenters etc. Now we have summer and winter programming. We teach Hip Hop classes, music production. We are teaching youth to do their own media – high school kids learning to use Final Cut, Pro Tools etc.

We got some super dope MCs also coming out of the camp. It’s fresh ‘cause there’s a lot of young leaders in the crew. So here we are on the road for like three weeks and the classes are still going. The youth are teaching the youth.

M.O.I. JR: How do people keep up with you online?

Rodstarz: Www.rebeldiaz.com – that’s our website. Folks also can follow us on Twitter @rebeldiaz @illanoiz or become a fan on Facebook. For info on the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective, you can check out www.rdacbx.org.

The People’s Minister of Information JR is associate editor of the Bay View, author of “Block Reportin’” and filmmaker of “Operation Small Axe,” both available, along with many more interviews, at www.blockreportradio.com. He also hosts two weekly shows on KPFA 94.1 FM and kpfa.org: The Morning Mix every Wednesday, 8-9 a.m., and The Block Report every Friday night-Saturday morning, midnight-2 a.m. He can be reached at blockreportradio@gmail.com.

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Don Griffin is wearing #33 in this January 1969 game between Brigham Young University and Stanford. This was the first game ever played at the then new Roscoe Maples Pavilion, Stanford's current home arena.

In 1964 Don was key to Fremont High School’s first OAL championship and to its invitation to the Northern California Tournament of Champions, California’s renowned basketball tournament for over 30 years. Under the perceptive guidance of Coach Leo Allamanno, Fremont placed fourth in their first trip to the TOC, only to return the following year, in 1965, to win the first place trophy. For three years this remarkable team was led not only by the fine athleticism of Don but also that of his friend, neighbor and team mate, Wayne MacDonald. Wayne, who went on to play for the University of Arizona, passed away earlier this year

Wearing #45, Don Griffin represents Stanford against Cal (UC Berkeley), which five of his siblings attended, in March 1967 at the old Stanford Pavilion. The two Cal players are Charles Perkins on the floor, a childhood friend of Don’s from the days he lived in Alameda, and Rusty Critchfield, a longtime competitor and Cal great out of Salinas.

Don broke ranks with his siblings, five who attended UC Berkeley, when he chose Stanford. After graduating from Stanford, Don signed to play professionally with the Oakland Oaks and later with the Washington Capitals. In 1971 Don joined the U.S. Army, where he played for the All Armed Forces Team and the All Army Team. In 2003, after having lived in Denver for over 25 years, Don returned home to the Bay Area. Don and his wife, Diana, who have one daughter, now reside quietly in Hayward, where he is retired enjoying the “sweet life” of grandparenting.

Don and his fellow inductees join the ranks of more than 300 Stanford athletes to have received this honor; 35 who played basketball for Stanford.

For more information, contact Jerome Loston at (925) 838-8442 or lindaloston@gmail.com.

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by Malaika H. Kambon

Andre Ward’s fans wanted him to shut down Carl Froch. He obliged. – Photo: Malaika Kambon

Well, shut Froch up and shut him down Ward certainly did. Froch’s braggadocio about walking through Ward’s punches with laughter and glee came to naught.

Carl Froch was missing his shots all night. Andre Ward, on the other hand, was not, delivering devastating blows with either hand to stop the fighter known as “The Cobra” in his tracks. – Photo: Malaika Kambon

Mixing his movements in a style uniquely his own but reminiscent of boxing greats Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, Ward had a very slow Froch disassembling under the pressure – off balance, swinging wildly and tiring early – while Ward dominated with a unanimously scored win: 118-110 from judge John Keane (U.K.) and double 115-113 scores from judges Craig Metcalfe (Canada) and John Stewart (U.S.).

Andre Ward displayed his timing and speed with his lightning fast jabs to the chest and face of Carl Froch. – Photo: Malaika Kambon

But thankfully, New Jersey referee Steve Smoger let the fighters box close in and work out of clinches on their own, unlike referees in previous Super Six bouts.

It doesn’t take a doctorate to recognize that Andre Ward is fast becoming one of the greatest inside fighters of this era and, pound for pound, one of the best boxers. And he’s bringing something to the artistry of the sweet science that hasn’t been seen recently: a thinking mind and a refusal to go all blood, guts, gore and glory to satisfy a ravening crowd that is steeped in too much Rocky-esque Holly-weird unreality.

One of Froch’s more spectacular misses – Photo: Malaika Kambon

The man needs to be given his props for this, particularly being as young as he is, and the fact that he owns the impressive, mind bending record of being undefeated for all of his amateur career save one fight, and all of his professional career, bar none – for a stunning 15-year run.

He’s redefining the art, right under the noses of the naysayers and the critics, and they apparently haven’t the sense to wake up and smell the coffee and the tea.

A victorious Andre Ward wears his newly won WBC title belt. Both the World Boxing Council and the World Boxing Association sanction professional boxing matches and award title belts. Andre Ward now holds the title belts for both organizations in the 168-pound super middleweight division. – Photo: Malaika Kambon

And yet, attracting belts to his trophy case like the gravitational pull of a small sun hasn’t weakened Ward’s mindset. He could easily sit back and rest on his laurels, but he doesn’t. He doesn’t walk about as if he is invincible, nor does he take his eye off the ball. He does the work that it takes to win; he loves, respects and treasures his family, remains true to his spiritual beliefs – while quietly becoming one of the more vicious competitors in boxing – the man to beat if opponents can get past a lightening fast left hook, being dissected on the inside, and being out-thought and out-maneuvered in the ring by whatever battle plan the situation demands.

Andre Ward smiles at his wife Tiffany and his 2-year-old daughter Amira while holding the Super Six Boxing Classic victory cup, as veteran New York photographer Taylor Hallman calls in Carl Froch’s defeat. – Photo: Malaika Kambon

And again, the building of such a solid foundation and base of support has not been seen in boxing in recent memory.

This reporter, who has been watching boxing and reading about boxing legends since before Cassius Clay became The Greatest, can see the planted seeds of a new era emerging and recognize that no one has yet seen all that this young boxer will offer to the art.

Andre’s wife Tiffany and daughter Amira, 2, bask in the glory. – Photo: Malaika Kambon

What truly matters more is what is being built, brick by brick, like a breath of fresh air, bringing a truly competitive spirit into the sweet science that is born of respect for the art as well as for the individual athlete, his or her boxing team and the truly great masters from before.

This will be a priceless legacy for the youth – men and women – who enter the sport and are fast coming up behind Andre Ward.

Frank Ward and the world are watching and can be very proud.

Malaika H. Kambon is a freelance photojournalist, candidate for the University of California at Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and the 2011 winner of the Bay Area Black Journalists Association Luci S. Williams Houston Scholarship in Photojournalism. She also won the AAU state and national championship in Tae Kwon Do from 2007-2010. Injured in 2011, she plans to resume training in January 2012. She can be reached at kambonrb@pacbell.net.

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For tickets, call the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre Box Office, (415) 474-8800, with the code “WE.” Treat your family and friends to a joyous evening and support the Bay View!

by Wright Enterprises

Reggie D. White as Joseph and Kate Ball as Mary in “REJOICE!” directed by Margo Hall, playing Dec. 8-31 at the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. – Photo: Richard Peña-Lopez

“We are pleased that the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre is giving not only a platform for multicultural dialogue and cultural change, but they are giving back to the community in a financial way by allowing this fundraiser to begin funding our Youth Media Project,” said Mary Ratcliff, co-publisher and editor of the Bay View newspaper, which was founded by Mohammed al Kareem in 1976.

San Francisco Bay View newspaper publishers Willie and Mary Ratcliff – Photo: Luke Thomas, FogCityJournal

Tickets for “Our Media Matters” Theater Night, the perfect launch for the New Year’s celebrations, are $45 for general admission if purchased before Dec. 27 and $50 after the early-bird special. A no-host bar will be provided 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. prior to the performance. Also in advance of “REJOICE!” there will be a short ceremony honoring the Ratcliffs.

VIP tickets are $65 with an early bird special of $55, if purchased prior to Dec. 27. VIP tickets include an after-party with the cast of “REJOICE!” hors d’ oeuvres, and special guest Tony Saunders, who has written music for television and films and will be sharing from his latest CD, “Romancing the Base.” Visual art by artist Malik Seneferu and others will be on display. A percentage of the artists’ sales will be donated to the Youth Media Project.

“The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre is creating an atmosphere of unity as it reaches out to individuals, businesses and nonprofits that can utilize an entertaining play to raise capital,” said Jacquie Taliaferro, filmmaker and director of LaHitz Media. “We hope everyone comes out for a wonderful time and in support of Willie and Mary, who have sacrificially given to the community via the San Francisco Bay View newspaper,” added Taliaferro.

Renowned artist Malik Seneferu, who still lives in Bayview Hunters Point, shows his tribute to Stevie Wonder. – Photo: Minister of Information JR

The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre is an independent Black-owned arts company that has overcome many challenges over the years, including the deaths of founders Quentin Easter and Stanley Williams within months of each other in 2010. “Community, businesses, nonprofits, visitors from around the world can continue to enjoy the legacy started by Quentin and Stanley and the thousands of supporters and volunteers that held the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre together for over 30 years,” said Wright.

“Thanks to Shirley Howard Johnson, Al Dixon and the board of directors, the theatre functioned in its darkest period last year until they found a new home in Union Square and hired their new artistic director, Steven Anthony Jones. Now in its 31st year, the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre is worthy of our support as it gives a platform for Black voices and Black talent in a multicultural enterprise that benefits all of San Francisco and the arts world,” added Wright.

Now in its 31st year, the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre is worthy of our support as it gives a platform for Black voices and Black talent in a multicultural enterprise that benefits all of San Francisco and the arts world.

“The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre is a multicultural artistic business that positively impacts the City’s tourism,” said Shirley Howard Johnson, general manager. “By allowing individuals, businesses and nonprofits to benefit from Theater Nights which are available throughout our entire season, it’s our way of promoting community combined with commerce.”

In “REJOICE!” the three wise men are portrayed by Terry Stanley, Luther Michael Spratt and Rudy Guerreroas. “REJOICE!” runs through Dec. 31, 2011. – Photo: Steven Anthony Jones

To purchase tickets, call the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre Box Office, (415) 474-8800, with the code “WE.” Tax-deductible sponsorships for “Our Media Matters” Theater Night include promotion and visibility into January 2012 and are still available. Contact Jackie Wright at (415) 525-0410 for sponsorships that begin at $500. The San Francisco Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women is the fiscal agent.

To purchase tickets, call the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre Box Office, (415) 474-8800, with the code “WE.”

For more information about the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, visit www.lhtsf.org. Group sales and Theater Nights are still available through Dec. 31.

Wright Enterprises is a full service public relations firm headed by Jackie Wright, who has 20 years of media experience, including more than a decade of award-winning journalism experience in radio, television and print communications. She holds BAs in both journalism and drama from the University of Georgia, home of the prestigious George Foster Peabody Awards. Wright can be reached at Jackiewright@wrightnow.biz or (415) 525-0410.

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‘The Adventures of Sasha and Malia at the White House’ by Carol Francois and P Segal with illustrations by Jay Mazhar (New Vision Works: 47 pages; $23.99 in hard cover, $14.99 in soft cover)

Review by Mary Ratcliff

The perfect gift, “The Adventures of Sasha and Malia at the White House” is available at Black-owned Marcus Books, at 3900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Oakland or 1712 Fillmore St. in San Francisco.

In the delightful new book, “The Adventures of Sasha and Malia at the White House,” author Carol Francois and co-author P Segal have woven an intricate tale that will indelibly imprint important lessons in Black history on young minds. The story “came to me in a dream one night,” writes Francois in the preface. “I decided to publish this book because young people are not always taught about racism, slavery and the unpleasant parts of American’s past. I realized that children growing up today might think that because we have a Black president, such opportunities might have always existed for people of color in this country.”

Carol Francois

We meet Sasha and Malia as they move in and explore “one of the biggest houses in the world” and play with Bo, their long awaited puppy. Their adventure begins with Bo and leads them through a section of library shelving that opens into a passageway through time – more than a century in the past, where they meet Hosiah.

Carol Francois weaves the painful truth and ever present danger of being Black in America into the adventure story without mincing words. “’In your time, Sasha and Malia,’ Hosiah explains, ‘there are no slaves in America. In these times, Frederick (Douglass) and (his son) Charles and I are among the very few Black people who aren’t slaves. We are free men. But the mean Jebediah can’t tell the difference between a very educated free man, who is Black, and a runaway slave. He thinks that he can find a slaveholder who owns Frederick and collect a lot of money for returning a runaway.’”

Frederick Douglass, tied to a chair, winks at Sasha as she talks with Jebediah at his door.

As a child, I loved stories with child heroes – children brave enough change history. Hosiah’s assignment to Sasha and Malia is just that. “’If you don’t do it,’ Hosiah said, ‘all of history since my time will be different, and life would be very different for you. It is because you can do this that you can now live in the White House.’

“’You mean that if we don’t do this, our dad wouldn’t be president?’ Malia asked.

“’That’s right,’ Hosiah assured her. ‘When you go back to your modern times, your dad would not be president, and you wouldn’t be living in the White House.’”

Further into the adventure, Hosiah tells Sasha exactly what she must do: “’Sasha, you will have to go to Jebediah’s house.’ …

Children are invited to enter a coloring contest by coloring one of the black and white renderings of the beautiful color illustrations in the book. Top prize is $100 and the winner’s work will be displayed on the publisher’s website. Go to newvisionworks.com.

Will two little girls from the future manage to save Frederick Douglass and his mission to ensure the emancipation of millions of enslaved Africans? As Carol Francois explains in her author’s note, “Mr. Douglass convinced President Lincoln to make the Civil War a confrontation about the institution of slavery. He also convinced President Lincoln to allow Blacks to fight for the Union Army during the Civil War, which essentially became a fight for their freedom.”

This book is the very first venture into publishing for New Vision Works, a San Francisco-based, woman-owned company founded in 2009 – and they’ve gone all out to encourage parents and teachers to use it as a launching pad for a variety of exciting history lessons and projects.

On the publisher’s website, http://www.newvisionworks.com/, there’s a coloring contest and a teacher’s guide with provocative questions for children, such as “Describe the slave children’s toys” and “What does Malia think about slavery?” You can order the book there as well.

If all children read and discuss this book, racial justice will be achievable as soon as they are old enough to lead. This is a book that will light up the life of every child and set those you love on a life path to solve the world’s thorniest problems. Don’t take my word for it, though. Here’s Danny Glover’s assessment:

“In this wonderfully entertaining and educational story, Sasha and Malia go back in time to help Frederick Douglass end slavery in America. In the process, they learn a lot about how the world has changed, the magic of childhood, and the values of life. It brings adult ideas to life for young minds, and inspires them to be part of positive changes in the world. ‘The Adventures of Sasha and Malia at the White House’ is a book every young child should read.”

Bay View editor Mary Ratcliff can be reached at editor@sfbayview.com or (415) 671-0789.

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by Michael Sanders

For years Oakland has demonstrated a strong female presence in the music industry, beginning with the groups like The Pointer Sisters, who sold a multitude of albums in a 20-year time span. The tradition continued years later with superstar groups like En Vogue and Oaktown’s 3.5.7, who also were widely recognized for platinum selling tunes.

The early days of hip-hop supplied listeners with different sounds from female artists such as MC Lyte, Yo Yo, and Salt & Pepper. For a long time these women controlled the airwaves, which resulted in outstanding record sales. That paved the way for future female stars like Lil Kim, Foxxy Brown and Trina to invade the hip-hop nation with their sultry and seductive rap styles that have given those artists longevity in the rap industry.

Karryl Smith, Special One, was one half of the world renowned Conscious Daughters.

As this was happening, Oakland’s own female rap group The Conscious Daughters were making noise throughout the Bay Area, going toe to toe with opposite gendered MCs and earning their respect in the process. Karryl Smith (Special One) and Carla Green (CMG), better known as The Conscious Daughters (TCD), exploded nationally on the hip-hop scene when their first single, “Funky Expedition,” from the debut album “Ear to the Street” dominated video stations like MTV, BET and The Box in the early 1990s.

CMG (Carla Green, right), the other half of The Conscious Daughters, is comforted by a friend. – Photo: Michael Sanders

On Dec. 10, one half of The Conscious Daughters, Karryl Smith, was unexpectedly found unconscious and unresponsive in her downtown apartment. Smith, affectionately known as Special One, was pronounced dead at the scene. She died from blood clots that reached her lungs. She was 44 years old.

Smith was widely recognized and loved, not just here in the Bay Area, but everywhere from Los Angeles to Amsterdam. She was a standout athlete in basketball and softball for El Cerrito High School in 1985 and made her musical debut working as a DJ at the school with her childhood friend Carla Green. Realizing their talents, both decided to battle male MCs across the Bay.

Kason Smith, 10, is the son of Karryl Smith and Jill Hedgepeth. – Photo: Michael Sanders

Some years later, while never giving up their dreams of being recording stars, CMG and Special One found themselves delivering a demo tape to San Francisco based rapper Paris, who would take the ladies under his production wing and produce their first album, “Ear to the Street,” on his Guerilla Funk record label.

TCD began to travel the world performing and recording with other artists who were mainstream and gain notoriety for their hard core funk and rough street lyrics. Other hit singles included “Sticky Situations,” “We Roll Deep” and later “Gamers.”

“When we started, we weren’t playing. We had all intentions on taking our careers all the way. K was the motivation. She never gave up and demanded respect from others in the game. And they took notice,” said Green as she wiped tears talking about her fallen comrade.

“One thing’s for sure: I don’t believe any of these rap females like Krayshon, Nicki Menaj and others would have the respect if it wasn’t for K,” said her uncle, Michael Haney.

Funeral services for Smith were held at First AME Baptist church in North Oakland. A host of family, friends and rap fans who never had the joy of knowing Smith filled the church to pay their last respects to a Bay Area rap legend. Services were rendered by Pastor Shakir, who took a close look at the words “special” and “conscious,” which seemed to describe Karryl and the group.

Qui510, who broke into a ballad and rap during her testimony, stands with Special One’s uncle, Michael Haney at the funeral. – Photo: Michael Sanders

Smith, along with being an entertainer, was also a very active member in inner city communities. She was a proud supporter of women’s rights, gay rights and recently was in strong support of the Occupy Oakland protest.

“She never turned away from helping and encouraging others. A beautiful soul is what she was,” said Stephanie Bond. Karryl Smith’s parents, Thelma Elizabeth Collier and Edward Joseph Smith, her son Kason Smith, 10, and her special friend Jill Hedgepeth survive her. She will be dearly missed.

Michael Sanders, an Oakland writer on the staff of the Laney Tower, can be reached at sanders.mike1974@gmail.com. On a personal note, he adds: “I found a special interest to write this story not only because Karryl was a good friend of mine but as a reminder of the trends that artists from Oakland set, though they never get the recognition. Back in the day, all female rappers with the exception of MC Lyte and Boss used their beauty and seductive movements to sell records and get recognized. Karryl and Carla were of a different cloth. They kept their style and dress ‘gutta’ and we loved it but still recognized the inner beauty that they both greatly possessed. I will miss her dearly.”

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