Culture Currents

As the third-generation director of the San Francisco Black Film Festival, Cree Ray is carrying more than a family legacy — she is helping preserve a vital piece of Black Bay Area culture in a region where Black communities continue to be displaced and diminished. In this conversation, Ray reflects on inheriting the vision of her grandmother, Ave Montague, and her father, Kali O’Ray, while charting a future that embraces new filmmakers, emerging technologies and the next generation of storytellers. More than a film festival, she argues, SFBFF remains a gathering place where culture, community and ownership of Black stories can be protected, nurtured and passed forward.

“Burlesque is the art of seduction, storytelling, confidence and performance. True burlesque is theater. It’s dance. It’s glamour. It’s comedy, sensuality, character work, music, fashion, and personal expression all living in the same space." - Jujuana Williams

Every summer, thousands gather to celebrate culture, community and resistance through music, dance, food and pageantry at Oakland Carnaval. More than a festival, organizers say Carnaval is a living expression of African cultural survival across the Americas, tracing its roots from ancient Africa to the Caribbean, Brazil and beyond. In this conversation, longtime Carnaval leader Theo Aytchan Williams reflects on the history of the celebration, Oakland’s unique contribution to the tradition, and why creating spaces for Black joy, wellness and cultural pride remains a revolutionary act in the Town.

The film centers around humanizing the lives of boosters, people who steal clothes from corporate stores to resell at a discount on the streets, in contrast to US media's normalization of humanizing corporate and government war criminals and environmental and ecological terrorists. 

The white record execs are so “helpful” to Mike in the movie, we do not get to see that Mike was a shrewd businessman. The movie has no soul or Blackness in it, when at one time MJ was the epitome of Black music and dance.

As Salaam Alaikum! Revolutionary Greetings! We are Jalil Muntaqim and Ashaki Binta, national co-coordinators of the National Mobilization Against Genocides, July 4, 2026, in Atlanta,...

The historic Ruth Williams Opera House in San Francisco is the venue for a powerful night of reggae, roots and conscious sound as ReggaeTownMusic.com brings together an extraordinary lineup of artists rooted in culture, community and creative expression.

Concert is Sunday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m. As Oshalla continues her own healing journey following a life-altering stroke, the community she has poured into for decades is responding in kind.

“STARLIGHT” is the perfect show for families and children of all ages. We all need more moments to sit down all together, to celebrate, reflect and LAUGH!

Too many students experience the classroom as a thing to escape rather than a place for self-governance. Parents feel it too; one of the most searched questions on social media is, “How do I help my child learn at home?”

After relocating recently to Calabash in downtown Oakland – and being open only for brunch – Samara Southern Creations is easily the most poppin’ place to be on any given Sunday afternoon.

Thomas Robert Simpson facilitated this amazing event. He also is a local organizer of community events in San Francisco.

By celebrating independent and underrepresented filmmakers worldwide, OIFF not only uplifts diverse voices but also strengthens Oakland’s reputation as a destination for the arts, tourism and innovation.

The India Basin park project signifies more than just the creation of a recreational space; it symbolizes the revitalization of a neglected community in an area of the city where attention is long overdue.

The unique role of Juneteenth in San Francisco and labor history will be revealed as ILWU Local 10 marks Juneteenth on Thursday, June 19, at our Labor Temple, 400 North Point St., beginning at 10 a.m.

Opening weekend performances are Friday, June 20, at noon and Saturday, June 21, at noon and 2:15 p.m. at Yerba Buena Gardens, 760 Howard St., between Third and Fourth streets in San Francisco.

SFBFF 2025 runs from June 19 to June 22 at venues across San Francisco and promises a dynamic lineup ranging from gripping documentaries to laugh-out-loud comedies.

The U.S. Army had to capture, often burn to the ground plantations in order to release African-Americans. By 1865, only 1 million of the 3.6 million enslaved had been freed.

Wiggins’ passing leaves a deep void, but his contributions to music and culture remain indelible.

The comedy “She the People” depicts the unlikely political career of Antoinette Dunkerson, a Mississippi Lieutenant Governor candidate.