Tag: Alonzo King LINES Ballet

The Matatu Festival of Stories is in full swing this week, with opening night dinner at Miss Ollie’s featuring Saul Williams, Donte Clark and Bryant Terry. Some of the upcoming activities of the festival are the Thursday night concert featuring neo-soul musician and producer Shafiq Husayn, the Friday night showing of a documentary about Ethiopian musician and thespian Asknaketch Worku, as well as Saturday’s performance by the Alonzo King Lines Ballet.

Gina M. Paige explained that the organization, African Ancestry, started with Dr. Rick Kittles, genetic researcher at Howard University who was interested in isolating the gene that caused prostate cancer, one of the leading causes of death in our community. He found this research methodology applicable in other genetic detective research and so in 2003 African Ancestry was founded with Ms. Paige.

The Maafa Ritual begins before dawn on Sunday, Oct. 11, about 5:30-6 a.m., at Ocean Beach on the Great Highway at Fulton Street in San Francisco. Invited are Black people interested in honoring our ancestors who perished in the European Slave Trade and its aftermath via colonialism and other forms of genocide like incarceration, terrible occurrences or reoccurring disasters felt today. Maafa Awareness Month was founded and has been organized by Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir for 11 years.