Culture Currents

California Department of Public Health director and state health officer Dr. Ron Chapman has unveiled new ethnic-market advertisements that will continue to educate Californians on the harmful effects of tobacco use. The advertisements, which include radio and print ads for the African American market, will start airing in early January and can be viewed at TobaccoFreeCA.com.

A new Bayview Branch Library is currently under construction at the corner of Third Street and Revere and the branch will open to the public early in 2013. Friends’ Bayview Branch Library Campaign Committee hosted an essay contest, asking, “How can the new Bayview Branch Library help to build a stronger Bayview community?”

This week, PBS will air “The Abolitionists,” a movie about people who during the 19th century spoke out against the evils of chattel slavery. The Abolitionist Movement has been subject to historical revisionism and an attempt by white America to pick our heroes. African Americans must become experts in the field of their own history, as no other racial group would dare trust the interpretation of their culture to others.

This year, on the 150 anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, we all need to heed the words of Sister Jayne Cortez: “And if we don’t fight / if we don’t resist / if we don’t organize and unify and / get the power to control our own lives / Then we will wear / the exaggerated look of captivity ...” And don't miss Wanda's excellent, no holds barred reviews of “Django Unchained,” “Lincoln and “Red Hook Summer,” plus Dr. King birthday events listing and much more

Going back to nature is going back to what’s natural and good for your health and wellbeing and going back to your natural selves. Going back to nature is going back to Black, Mama Nature’s original people. We should teach our children about the cycles of the moon and the difference between planting and harvesting seasons, the ancient Afrikan Sciences of the Years.

In a very candid interview with Dr. Boyce Watkins, Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan shared his thoughts about Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained.” He also revealed the greatest attribute of leadership. Amongst many thoughts Min. Farrakhan had about “Django Unchained,” one candid thought he shared was he believes the film could serve as preparation for race war.

Just as organizations like the NAACP denounced conservative-revisionist textbooks in Texas in 2010, they should denounce liberal-bent historical accounts that either ignorantly or deliberately fail to concede that “Abraham Lincoln did the right thing for the wrong reasons.” Or as Lerone Bennett aptly conveyed in the title of his book, Lincoln was in effect “Forced Into Glory.”

Batala’s live performances, mixing Afro, Brazilian and reggae sounds, make fans wherever they go! The drummers are available for parties, shows, demonstrations, school assemblies and much more. They are starting to get busy for the Carnival 2013, when Abel plans to bring all Batala sister bands around the world to the Bay Area.

My youngest of two sons was diagnosed with Down syndrome. I’ve been advocating through projects for over seven years. “Then You Stand”, a play on Down syndrome starring an all-Black cast, is a production that anyone will be able to relate to. I hope people walk away with the feeling that no matter what they face in life, they can and will rise above it.

The Village Project and the Bayview Y present San Francisco’s seventh annual Kwanzaa, featuring a special celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. This year’s event will again highlight the seven principles of Kwanzaa (Nguzo Saba), with 14 free events taking place over seven days throughout San Francisco.

Monday, Nov. 26, at the Bay Area Black Media Awards event hosted by Greg Bridges and sponsored by the San Francisco Bay View and Block Report Radio, it was so wonderful to see all the media friends and family for an evening of celebration. KPOO, KPFA, New California Media/Pacific News Service, Wanda’s Picks Radio, Oakland Post, Globe, Poor News Network, Oakland International Film Festival, Black Panther newspaper alumni and others were in the house as “Best” this and “Best” that were saluted.

Taiwo Kujichagulia-Seitu's theatrical piece centers around the story of Harriet Tubman rescuing her brothers from slavery during Christmas-time. “Go Tell It!” paints a picture of what is was like for men who lived through slavery their whole lives getting word from their runaway sister Black Moses, that she was coming to put them on the Underground Railroad to freedom in the North.

Shaka Camera of Oakland, a leather worker for over 43 years, specializes in hand stitched and hand tooled leather bags embellished with beads, shells, silver and bronze acquired from his multiple trips to Africa. Shaka will show his work at the 42nd annual KPFA Crafts Fair on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 8 and 9, at the Concourse in San Francisco.

I have known the artist and teacher Naru from the streets of Oakland for over a decade, and within that time he has never ceased to amaze me with the creative necessity of his community projects to our community. His most recent and probably most important work to date, in my opinion, is Hip Learning, which is a Hip Hop based curriculum on human anatomy for elementary school youth.

The rap group dead prez have by far some of the most radical politics of any artists in American music today. We caught up with M1 to talk music and politics for a minute, right before they come out here this Saturday, Nov. 24, and rap songs from their new album “Information Age” as a part of the Rebel Soul Fest, which is going down at Yoshi’s in San Francisco.

Aaron Dixon was the first leader within the Black Panther Party to bring it out of California to Seattle, Washington. He recently authored a book, “My People Are Rising,” which is the memoir of a Black Panther Party captain and a community organizer who also had two blood brothers within the Black Panther Party. Check out Aaron Dixon in his own words ...

Boxing is viewed in the U.S. and around the world as a man’s sport, but that is quickly changing. Under the tutelage of Frisco’s boxing trainer extraordinaire Ben Bautista, Flyweight Champion of the World Ava Knight is a rising star in the world of boxing

On Nov. 6, a majority of the voters in California voted to amend the Three Strikes Law. In Cali alone, according to the film “Cruel and Unusual,” there are over 4,000 people locked up doing life under Three Strikes for nonviolent offenses. The Documentary Film Fest is featuring “Cruel and Unusual” on Nov. 11, 12 and 15 in San Francisco and Berkeley.

In the world of jazz, John Coltrane is viewed as a spiritually driven supremely gifted sax player, one of the greatest horn players to ever live. So when I ran into Gary Golio’s book “Spirit Seeker,” I was interested in seeing if he was trying to exploit our beloved St. John Coltrane or if he was trying to bring another generation into the knowledge of Coltrane’s legacy. He did the latter, masterfully.

Recently I went to the Marin Veterans’ Memorial Center in San Rafael, where the famed Shaolin Warriors of China were to give a performance in display of their hand-to-hand and weapons martial skills. The performance was designed to be a dazzling display of gung-fu couched in a “theatrical display” of a “sacred and deadly art.”