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Black Media Appreciation Night 2015 is Saturday, Sept. 12, 6 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. program, at the African and African American Art and Culture Complex, 762 Fulton St. at Webster, San Francisco – your tickets are waiting right HERE
by The People’s Minister of Information JR Valrey
We all know how important it is for our minds to consume good media, and with Black Media Appreciation Night rolling around again, here is our opportunity to return the love that so many Black journalists, artists and organizers have dished out to us over the years in the form of articles, broadcasts, songs and events.
Annually, we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Willie Ratcliff, publisher of the San Francisco Bay View newspaper, during the reception before Black Media Appreciation Night. Then we look at the work of people in and around the media world who focus on creating the text, audio and imagery for the education of Black people and our supporters.
This year, performers include political rapper M1 of the revolutionary rap group dead prez and the Afrobeat sounds of Sista Iminah Ahmad. We will honor rappers M1 of dead prez and Mac Mall for their political lyrics, Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza for her work on police terrorism, science reporter Ahimsa Sumchai, KPOO and KPFA broadcaster Safi wa Nairobi, publicist Jackie Wright, publisher Amelia Ashley Ward of the San Francisco Sun Reporter, the Let’s Talk Sports Nation crew, legendary broadcaster, Pan African musician and internationally known poet Avoctja Jiltonilro, and the late KPFA Side Show radio broadcaster Wesley Burton, who lost his life in a late night car wreck after his radio air-shift earlier this year.
In the past, we have honored the late great journalist recruiter Kevin Weston, the owners of the San Francisco Marcus Book Store, contributors to The Black Panther newspaper, political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal, directors of the San Francisco Black Film Festival Kali and Katera, director of the Oakland International Film Festival David Roach, djialli (griot) P. Kujichagulia, legendary Hip Hop journalist Davey D, KPOO broadcasters Melonie and Melorra Green, Africa Today host Walter Turner, KCSM and KPFA host Greg Bridges, filmmaker Kevin Epps and many more.
We are inviting and urging you to come out to support the people who care about reporting and making art so that your voice can be represented on the airwaves and screens across the planet. Are you somebody who sits on the sidelines, criticizing and applauding those of us in the real fight for human rights and self-determination, or are you somebody who wants to actively play a part, even it is just in a quiet financial way, in keeping the proverbial ball rolling?
Early bird tickets are only $25. Click HERE to purchase yours now on Eventbrite.
The People’s Minister of Information JR Valrey is associate editor of the Bay View, author of “Block Reportin’” and “Unfinished Business: Block Reportin’ 2” and filmmaker of “Operation Small Axe” and “Block Reportin’ 101,” available, along with many more interviews, at www.blockreportradio.com. He can be reached at blockreportradio@gmail.com.
