Tag: POCC Minister of Information JR

“Equinox” is a ground-breaking film on Black male and female relationships by local director and filmmaker Baayan Bakari. It will be screened Thursday, Nov. 18, 6:30 p.m., at the Black Dot Café, 1195 Pine St., West Oakland. Watch the trailer and learn more about the cast and the film at http://www.equinoxmovie.com.

Hard Knock Radio is a must-listen show broadcast weekdays on KPFA 94.1 FM at 4-5 p.m. On Oct. 26, the show kicked off with this historic conversation between host Davey D, Minister of Information JR and Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X.

In my opinion, passionate writers are the best writers because of their ability to convey emotion from their mind to yours. They’re memorable because of the feelings that they stir up inside of you simply with their wordplay. Talaam Acey is a master spokenword artist and a national artistic treasure in Black communities around the nation.

We often hear about the Harlem Renaissance, but we rarely hear about Harlem’s ghetto heroes and sheroes and the lives they lived. Maybe after such Black biographical books as this one and Lil’ D’s “Weight,” our young people will stop trying to emulate white thugs and come to see that no matter where we as Black people come from or what we strive for, we always have to fight this corrupt system as our main adversary.

August Wilson is one of the most if not the most important playwright of the 20th century. His “Pittsburgh Cycle” pens the 20th century North American African experience through gentrification and trauma of the recurrent loss of geographical space.

I was recently politickin’ in Atlanta with the radio broadcast legend Tenisio aka Dj 4th Wurld of WRFG, who specializes in playing rap music from the continent of Africa. African rappers from the continent are waiting in the shadows for their shot, and Dj 4th Wurld is working the door, giving only the dopest a seat on his radio show.

I recently watched the Zachary Stauffer documentary “A Day Late in Oakland,” which is about the murder of Oakland Post Editor Chauncey Bailey in August of 2007. It is truly a look into the mind of white power media spin-doctors.

Lil’ D aka Darryl Reed is one of the biggest hustlers ever born on the streets of Oakland. In Oakland, his name is right up there with other local legends like Ricky Henderson, Huey P. Newton, Felix Mitchell, Micky Moe, Mark Curry, Gary Payton, Hook Mitchell, Reggie Jackson, Tony Toni Tone, Too Short, Askari X and the likes.

Mercedes Martin is one of the new young emerging political artists out of the Bay with a whole lot to say. The thing is that she does not rock a mic or joust with her pen; she is a political jewelry maker who tends to hover around personalities like Oscar Grant, Malcolm X and political musicians.

Over the years Engla Murphy’s PSundays Fashion House has been one of the most talked about local fashion houses in the Bay Area. Now this independent entrepreneur has opened up a store in Bay Fair Mall, which is one of the main clothes shopping hubs in the East Bay.

Monday nights, 7-10 p.m., on KPFA are a treat for Black listeners and people who like Black programming, but now Walter Turner’s Africa Today and Greg Bridges’ Transitions on Traditions are on the chopping block. Join other defenders of Black radio for the screening of ‘Disappearing Voices: The Decline of Black Voices on the Radio’ on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 6:30 p.m., at the Black Dot Cafe, 1195 Pine St., West Oakland.

After a POCC People’s Investigation into the Oakland 2010 Rebellion’s shutting down of Foot Locker, what baffled me was that many people could not politically put together that liberating merchandise was putting political pressure on downtown to pressure government to prosecute the criminals that killed Oscar Grant on New Year’s morning of 2009.

After Malcolm X passed on, his writings and teachings really took root in the minds of a new generation, inspiring young Black people in Oakland to create the Black Panther Party. Forty-five years later, his first male heir and grandson, Malcolm Shabazz, has come to the Bay. Meet him and Cynthia McKinney Thursday, July 22, 7:30 p.m., at Twinspace, 2111 Mission St., San Francisco.

Cynthia McKinney is kicking off her Bike4Peace cross country campaign with special events July 22 at Twinspace in San Francisco with Malcolm Shabazz, Minister of Info JR and Davey D and a potluck July 23 at the Black Dot Cafe in West Oakland. Enjoy the events and join the ride!

Former Lt. Jon Burge was equipped with a special unit that included individuals such as Joe “Machine Gun” Gorman, who participated in the assassination of Chairman Fred Hampton and Defense Captain Mark Clark. That is how he got his moniker “Machine Gun.”

Lynne Stewart has been a real people’s lawyer for over four decades, representing some of the most politically polarizing cases in this nation’s history. Within the next few days, she is set to be re-sentenced. We want all of our readers to know and assist in any way that they can People’s Lawyer Lynne Stewart, who is a modern-day legal John Brown.

In New York, spreading factual information about the Oscar Grant case, I said that Oakland may not have it all right, but we are definitely in the ring battling these big trees with our small axe, and everybody has to admit, whether we win or lose in court, the people of Oakland have declared once again that we are a force to reckon with.

THE VERDICT is INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER. Justice for Oscar Grant says: ' All out to Broadway and 14th!' And heed these wise words: 'Requesting Activists and Citizens over 50 years old to show up at 14th street and Broadway. HANDS AROUND OUR YOUTH! We the older generation need to be present to protect our youth from possible police brutality. We must bear witness to our youths right to assemble and peacefully demonstrate. Let OPD know these are our children and deserve to be respected as full USA citizens with the right to peacefully demonstrate without police or outside interference. Come and protect our children.'

On Friday, the BART cop who pulled the trigger unjustifiably killing Oscar Grant on a BART station platform in East Oakland, Johannes Mehserle, wrapped up his testimony in one of the most important murder trials of the last 20 years. The courtroom was filled to capacity with reporters, Grant’s family and friends, and concerned community members. Six out of the seven Black males under 40 and three Black journalists were excluded that day from the Los Angeles Jim Crow courtroom of Judge Robert Perry.

One of the high emotional points of the case was when Jack Bryson Jr. described Oscar Grant’s final minutes. “Oscar was yelling, ‘I can’t breathe’ to Pirone, who is over 6 feet and was on the neck of Oscar Grant. Mehserle stood up and said, ‘Fuck this,’ and shot him.” Bryson then said both cops were demanding to see Grant’s arms from under his body, and a few seconds after he revealed his arms, he was murdered. If you're in LA, attend the trial! The jury won't know we care unless we're there. And tell the media, especially the Black press and radio, to cover it!