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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.”
The stolen life of Jimon Clark
September 4, 2010
Jimon Clark, a young bright Black male, 13 years old, was executed on the mean streets of East Oakland on Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010. His execution was a one-day news story. His young life was so much more. We need police who are trusted by the East Oakland community.
The non-profit industrial complex on trial: One man challenges the myth of ‘supportive’ housing
June 7, 2010
The mainstream media and the educational system indoctrinate us with the propaganda that this society is based on equality and the rule of law. Yet we pay the most and get the least, and trying to exercise our so-called rights becomes a monumental task. We need real housing, not overpriced rented bunk beds and lockers in a crowded facility.
Gentrification journalism
May 11, 2010
In this manifesto that shows why JR Valrey is rightly called the Minister of Information, he exposes “gentrification journalism” as “the public relations team that is put in place to make gentrifiers feel safe,” the media’s twisting of the murders of Chauncey Bailey and Oscar Grant to demonize Blacks and the hyper-funding of “hyper-local media” as an effort to drown out community media. Everyone who wants to stop the exodus of Blacks from the Bay must read this.
Hiero World: an interview wit’ Tajai of Souls of Mischief and Hieroglyphics
January 31, 2010
Souls of Mischief has been one of the major architects of the Bay Area sound in rap music since the early ‘90s. “93 til Infinity” off of their debut album shot the group to meteoric success on the national radio charts and got them booked all over the world for concerts. Let’s hear what Tajai has to say about their newest release, “Montezuma’s Revenge,” and Hiero business in general.
Wanda’s Picks for December
December 1, 2009
Happy New Year, Blessed Eid Al Adha and Happy Kwanzaa. I’ll be back in February 2009. Check the radio show and my blog for updates. I’ll be traveling. Tune in to Wanda’s Picks Radio at www.wandaspicks.com over the next month, when I will be broadcasting from Senegal, Mali and The Gambia.
Black Opera: an interview with opera singer Taiwo Kujichagulia-Seitu
October 26, 2009
The thing that most threw me off about this East Oakland native is that she loves opera. She has been singing longer in her life than she hasn’t been, and seems to be able to hit notes that makes glass break. She has recently been cast in a Black opera called “Dark River,” which tells the story of legendary Civil Rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer. It opens at the Oakland Metro Opera House on Nov. 12 and runs until the 22nd.
The Ghetto to Gaza Speaking Tour featuring Mutulu Olugbala aka M1 of dead prez
October 4, 2009
The first stop on the Ghetto to Gaza Speaking Tour was in Sacramento with the Hip Hop Congress at Capital Garage. The usual Wednesday event is their weekly open mic, but it was altered to feature M1’s experience in Cairo and Gaza. Then we went to East Oakland, San Francisco, Berkeley, West Oakland, San Jose, Santa Cruz and Sonoma.
Educate to liberate: an interview with teacher Sister Linda Johnson of Umoja House
September 4, 2009
Sister Linda Johnson has been a legendary educator in East Oakland since the ‘80s. At her school which is known as Umoja House, she has taught generations of students who have grown up to be productive members of their communities. As a community, we must make it a high priority to give our children the best education possible so that they can come back and help solve some of the problems that we have as a people.
Wanda’s Picks for September
September 1, 2009
Next month the most important item on my agenda is Maafa Commemoration Month to reflect on the legacy of slavery and how everyone benefited from this human rights travesty except those who did the work. We began Aug. 30 with a successful Maafa 2009: Hurricane Katrina Fundraiser and Reportback, thanks to all the poets and the visual artists who donated art for the silent auction and of course to Tess and Yeme, the proprietors of Shashamane Bar and Grill.
I’m staying
August 6, 2009
“We want Oakland our way! We demand the right to stay!” Community voices in resistance to the predatory lending, eviction and foreclosure of poor folks of color rolled down 94th Street in East Oakland this week past boarded up houses – remnants of lost families, lost communities and lost cultures.
Live from the Mehserle courtroom: an interview with Uncle Bobby, Oscar Grant’s uncle
June 2, 2009
The female BART officer that was on that platform even stated in her testimony that she supposedly feared for her life, and she just knew that she was going to have to shoot somebody or kill somebody that night. Those were her words in court. The judge said: “Hold up. Wait a minute, who were you going to shoot first?”
War of words: Police invade the comments at SFBayView.com
May 29, 2009
Ever since the police murder of Lovelle Mixon, after he allegedly murdered four Oakland police officers in East Oakland on March 21, the SF Bay View newspaper website, sfbayview.com, hundreds of messages have been written in the comment sections at the end of the articles by people who are undercover cyber police and people with strong pro-police sentiments, with some coming right out and saying they are members of police departments.
Should Oakland and other U.S. cities replace police with armed mercenaries?
May 11, 2009
The United States is in the midst of the most radical privatization agenda in its history. We see this in schools, health care, prisons and certainly with the U.S. military/ national security/ intelligence apparatus.
The ambivalent silences of the left: Lovelle Mixon, police and the politics of race and rape
April 21, 2009
Many TV channels broadcast live the entire funeral for four Oakland police officers killed March 21, news anchors calling them “heroes” and “angels.” Police funerals are intended to legitimize past and future police violence and tell the public to shut up. The spineless left complies – no mention of Oscar Grant … or Lovelle Mixon.
Police 2, Oakland residents 4
March 24, 2009
On March 21, Lovelle Mixon, 26, was murdered by Oakland police after allegedly killing four of them on MacArthur Blvd off of 73rd Avenue in East Oakland. Listen to JR’s Block Report interview with his family – his mother, Athena, his wife, Amara, and her sister, Alicia – broadcast March 30 on KPFA’s Flashpoints at http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/49609.
Notes from the occupied territories: Black America and the police
March 24, 2009
When the full story is finally told and, though not likely freely admitted by many, deep within the spiritual thinking of numerous African Americans, an emotional candle will be lit in memory of Lovelle Mixon.
October 31, 2008
The Bay View newspaper’s big back page full of exciting photos in vibrant color has long been one of its most popular features. It has made newspaper readers out of countless youth as young as grade school age who are… Read the rest »