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The future of music: an interview wit’ musician Rico Pabón
June 20, 2011
Rico Pabón is one of the most talented, versatile, dedicated and well-informed artists that I know on the West Coast. At home in the studio or on the stage, the Afro-Puerto Rican bilingual musician known as Rico Pabón is a man of many genres. Although hip hop is the music of his generation, he is just as comfortable singing traditional Afro-Carribbean tunes with a live band.
Celebrities shine for San Francisco Black Film Festival June 17-19
June 15, 2011
“The San Francisco Black Film Festival,” June 17-19, opens with the Mario Van Peebles directed film, “Things Fall Apart,” starring Curtis (50 Cent) Jackson III, Ray Liotta and Lynn Whitfield.
Michelle Alexander on California’s ‘cruel and unusual’ prisons
June 14, 2011
On May 23, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 decision ordering California to release tens of thousands of inmates from its overcrowded prisons on the grounds that their living conditions – including lethally inadequate healthcare – were so intolerable as to be “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Hunters Point is home!
June 8, 2011
Standing Up for Ours Tours will launch Sunday, June 26, 1-5 p.m., at Middlepoint and West Point in Hunters Point to listen to and support young people of color – plus poetry, food, entertainment and fun. “Hunters Point is home. It’s what’s made me and what nourished me,” says Jamal Modica of Tough House Project.
Become a star at Black Rep’s Theatrical Day Camp
June 8, 2011
In Berkeley at the Black Repertory Group’s summer day camp, youth are instructed by our own professional theatrical performance staff and famous Black Rep alumni. “We pride ourselves on developing young stars,” says Director Sean Vaughn Scott.
Superfund city
June 7, 2011
Jackie Williams, resident and garden keeper at Alice Griffith housing project, loves her job and loves where she lives, but she doesn’t believe that she will be able to keep these things when the developers come and tear down what she has called home for over 30 years.
Mehserle shooting of Oscar Grant considered a non-violent offense
May 24, 2011
Because California penal code does not classify involuntary manslaughter as a “violent” or “serious” offense, Johannes Mehserle, the convicted killer of Oscar Grant, could be released as early as mid-June of this year, after serving less than one year behind bars.
Blues man: an interview wit’ Oakland’s Augusta Collins
April 24, 2011
“My latest release, ‘In the Studio with Augusta Collins,’ is produced by Emmy award-winning producer Anita S. Woodley. On this album, I am channeling Leadbelly. I am performing my music with something to say about each song.” – Oakland blues man Augusta Collins
Wanda’s Picks for April 2011
April 10, 2011
When Martin Luther King was killed in Memphis, he was about to join the sanitation workers in their protest for a union and more decent wages. The movement for civil rights was taking hold in the North and America didn’t like it – so off with King’s head.
Pierre Labossiere on welcoming Aristide home to Haiti
April 10, 2011
“I was at his (President Aristide’s) house, we heard a roar of shouts of joy, and then over the walls people started coming in, pouring into the courtyard of the house when they saw the car. People were accompanying the car as many as three miles from the airport to his house,” relates Pierre Labossiere of the jubilant welcome that greeted the Aristides on their return to Haiti ending seven long years of exile for them and brutal repression of the people they had to leave behind. Pierre tells the story of the Haitian people and how their never-say-die spirit continues to inspire the world.
Two trials and an anniversary: Bonds, Bailey and Mixon
March 25, 2011
AT&T Park shook so hard I thought I was on a pogo stick the night Barry Bonds crushed a 3-2 Mike Bacsik pitch into right center to go past the great Hank Aaron and crown himself Major League Baseball’s all-time home-run king. He circled those bases to a deafening hometown roar.
A West Oakland hero
March 10, 2011
Washington (Bob) Burnsis a retired pathologist. Unlike most retired doctors, he has spent the past 15 years trying to aid those who have been dealt a hand of poverty and desperation.
What we need is our 40 acres and a mule!
March 2, 2011
In 1910 there were over 1 million African-American farmers, and today there are fewer than 17,000. Now, an emerging movement is sweeping across urban areas to reclaim abandoned lots, under-serviced public parks and vacant lots to grow fresh food for the people.
Survival Radio
January 31, 2011
We don’t need to be “given” a voice. We have a voice. What we don’t have is our own radio transmitters, television and radio broadcasts, and TV stations. PNN is the voices of people who are never heard.
‘In My Country’ is in his heart
January 15, 2011
“In My Country” is a country that knows no borders; it’s a country of the heart,” Tony Robles said about his inspiration for the beautiful short story published in Mythium magazine and nominated by Mythium editor Crystal Wilkinson for the literary honor, the Pushcart Prize.
The Mehserle effect: Vallejo shooting tests era of police accountability
December 24, 2010
In the Bay Area, the veneer of police impunity seems to be thinning even as high-profile cases of police shooting unarmed Black men – in Oakland and nearby Vallejo – continue to occur. Guy Jarreau Jr. was shot and killed by Vallejo police Saturday, Dec. 11. Facing the officer with his hands up, “Guy didn’t have a gun,” said witnesses.
Hustlin in the City: an interview wit Frisco rapper Sellassie
November 13, 2010
The Frisco native and conscious rapper Sellassie has to be one of the hardest working men in independent Bay Area rap music. He has been a big promoter of unifying the Bay Area’s rappers and he has started a campaign against “house nigga” rap. He also hosts a regional up and coming artists’ showcase called “We All We Got.”
Justice for Oscar Grant Rally: Rain falls but does not end the call to rein in injustice
October 27, 2010
The threat of impending rainfall did not deter hundreds of people from showing up and calling out for justice for Oscar Grant on Saturday, Oct. 23 in downtown Oakland.
Stepping in to end Apartheid Radio: an interview wit’ Adam Hudson, candidate for the KPFA Local Station Board
October 10, 2009
To make KPFA’s powerful signal work for us, the Black community is putting its faith in Adam Hudson, who is running for KPFA Local Station Board in an election that ends next week – ballots must be received at KPFA by midnight Thursday, Oct. 15. Call the Bay View at (415) 671-0789 if you need more info. Be sure to vote!
Art official: an interview wit’ visual artist Nia Imara
August 31, 2009
Very few things in life make me feel the way I feel when I come in contact with the work of a dope visual artist. It is amazing to me how, from a thought and a few strokes of the hand, a whole new world can be created that has crossed the dimension of the artist’s mind to exist in tangible reality. What is even more striking to me is an artist with a social or political agenda that refuses to make art for art’s sake.