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Wanda’s Picks for June 2012
June 3, 2012
I would like to wish all the fathers a blessed and happy Fathers’ Day 2012. It is a hard time to be a parent of a youngster, not to mention an adolescent or youth. The challenges are great, in direct proportion to the rewards. I’d like to congratulate the young fathers who are stepping up and participating in their children’s lives, especially when society equates parenting with one’s largess or paycheck.
Etta James: Two tributes
January 27, 2012
Beyonce performed Etta’s signature song, “At Last” at President Obama’s inauguration in 2009, laying claim to the tune James 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.”
Wanda’s Picks for April 17
April 17, 2009
“Love on Both Sides of the Wall: A Two Way Struggle” plays at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek April 17-18, 6:45 p.m. The production is topnotch, the story of the forgotten Children of the Movement.
Wanda’s Picks for Dec. 26
December 26, 2008
Dr. C. Diane Howell, editor and publisher of the Black Business Listings and founder of the Black Expo, died suddenly on Wednesday, Dec. 24, from complications of pneumonia.
Wanda’s Picks for Dec. 19
December 19, 2008
Prince Lasha wrote, performed – as saxophonist, flutist and clarinetist – and recorded his music all over the globe. He passed away Dec. 12.
Wanda’s Picks for Nov. 14
November 14, 2008
As President Nelson Mandela said of Mama Africa, Miriam Makeba, this week: “Her haunting melodies gave voice to the pain of exile and dislocation, which she felt for 31 long years. At the same time, her music inspired a powerful sense of hope in all of us.”
In loving memory of Mama Africa, Miriam Makeba
November 10, 2008
Miriam Makeba, who rallied the world to end apartheid in South Africa, singing traditional songs in many African languages and American jazz as well, has died at the age of 76. Her great legacy of struggle and achievement is recalled… Read the rest »
N’Kosi Sikeleli Africa – with Miriam Makeba
November 10, 2008
This profoundly moving rendition of “N’Kose Sikelei Africa” (“God Bless Africa”), the South African National Anthem, featuring Miriam Makeba, who made her transition Nov. 10, and Ladysmith Black Mombazo, is a clip from Paul Simon’s film “Graceland: The African Concert,”… Read the rest »