PHOTO #1: Babatunde Lea-0165.jpg

CAPTION #1: Babatunde Lea

PHOTO & CAPTION #2: Jesus Chuchito Valdes

Photo: Brian Ring-Chicago

Calling all African Diaspora poets

Join us this Saturday, Jan. 27, 10 a.m.-12 noon at the West Oakland Branch Library, 1801 Adeline St., Oakland, (510) 238-7352, for a rehearsal. The program, “Black Love: the 17th Annual African American Celebration through Poetry,” is Saturday, Feb. 3, 1-4 p.m., at the same location. All poetry with themes suitable for a general audience is appropriate and welcome.

AAMLO presents ‘Buffalo Soldiers in the Philippines?’

Saturday, Jan. 27, 2 p.m., at the African American Museum and Library, 559 14th St., Oakland, Abe Ignacio, Enrique de la Cruz and Jorge Emmanuel will talk about “The Forbidden Book: Philippine-American War in Political Cartoons.” Filipinos were aware of racial injustices in America. Illustrators and artists depicted African Americans as wild beasts in popular magazines and advertisements portrayed blacks as buffoons. These racial caricatures were then re-applied to Filipinos during the Philippine-American war in 1896. The Forbidden Book addresses these issues. This is a free book event. For information call (510) 637-0200.

Theatre: ‘365 Days/365 Plays’

Suzan-Lori Parks’ “365 Days” is at Berkeley Rep Sunday, Jan. 28, 3 p.m. Visit zspace.org for the weekly listings of where the play is being performed.

The Marsh

“Rude Boy” closes Jan. 27 at The Marsh, Berkeley. Visit www.themarsh.org or call (415) 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley.

Education Not Incarceration presents ‘The Trial’

Next week “The Trial” premieres at Black Rep, 3201 Adeline St., Berkeley, (510) 533-3204. The show is Feb. 4, 7 p.m. Admission is $15 general and $10 for students.

Kenny Garrett with Bobby Hutcherson

Don’t miss saxophonist Kenny Garrett with special guest, vibe master Bobby Hutcherson, Jan. 25-28, at Yoshi’s Jack London Square, Oakland. There are two shows nightly. Call (510) 238-9200 or visit www.yoshis.com.

Babatunde Lea

The infamous percussionist and summoner of the ghosts, Babatunde Lea is at Jazz at Pearl’s this weekend, Friday-Sunday, Jan. 26-28, (415) 291-8255. Pearl’s is located at 256 Columbus Ave., San Francisco. Tickets are $15-$20.

Baba Ken’s Afro-Groove Connexion and KTO Project

Saturday, Jan. 27, 9 p.m., for just $13, get your dance on with two great bands from two different regions of the African Diaspora. It’s guaranteed fun at Ashkenaz Music and Dance Center, 1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. Call (510) 525-5054.

Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie!

Geno Delafose was here this summer at Stern Grove and was really wonderful. People were up doing their Cajun Zydeco two steps or just vibing to the catching music on his accordion. So if you missed him, he’s in San Rafael Saturday, Jan. 27, at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center, 200 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $26. Call (415) 444-8000 or visit marinjcc.org.

Musical Masterpieces

What does a painting sound like? Can you hear colors? Listen to Bay Area jazz musicians perform music inspired by art. Let the music inspire a painting. Create your own masterpiece this Sunday, Jan. 28, 1-5 p.m. There are three distinct Family Explorations connected to the 100 Families Oakland exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland, near Lake Merritt BART. Last week the opening reception for 100 Families Oakland was lovely. Visit www.museumca.org or call (510) 238-2200.

Oakland Museum First Fridays

On Friday, Feb. 2, 6-8 p.m., join artist and professor of art Mike Henderson, whose paintings are in the permanent collection at the OMCA, for an evening of discussion and performance, which will include a slide show, film and a performance. For information, call (925) 938-9869. Tickets for the event are $10 general, $5 for students and do not include museum admission. This program is sponsored by the Museum Art Guild.

MoAD presents ‘Slavery in 19th Century California’

In conjunction with the exhibit, “Slavery in New York,” Jan. 24-April 30, MoAD presents “Slavery in 19th Century California.” Have you ever wondered how African people got to Northern California? Did most of us arrive during the Great Migration West to work in the shipyards during World War II? Did any of us see our likenesses in the deguerreotype or copper or brass photos of gold miners?

When one thinks about African history, one certainly doesn’t think to look in Solano County. Richmond, Oakland, San Francisco, yes … Benicia and Suisun, no. But this is exactly where one Adam Willis lived from 1946 to his death, independent researcher Sharon McGriff-Payne, tells us, and Willis was not alone. If one looks at California counties like Solano and the cities with growing Black populations like Vallejo, Suisun, Benicia and Vacaville – if you dig, and it’s pretty easy because the records are digitized – you can find early African people who were slaves. Imagine that: slavery in 19th century California.

Saturday, Jan. 24, 2-3:30 p.m., at the Museum of the African Diaspora, 638 Mission St., San Francisco, McGriff-Payne will be on a panel discussing the manumission papers of Adam Willis, a man born in Missouri to a slaveowner. The family arrived in Solano Country before the territory became a state in 1846. He was freed, according to legal documents, in 1855 in Benicia. Other early Solano County African Americans were John Grider, who led the Bear Flag Revolt, and George Wyatt. Stay tuned for her forthcoming book: “African Americans in Solano County.”

Willis, to hear McGriff-Payne speak of him, was a wonderful brother to his sister Mary Ann, whom he traced down via a Black newspaper, The Elevator, in 1876. He lived in Suisun City until he died Nov. 19, 1902. All of these documents and more are a part of the current exhibit at MoAD.

The issue of slavery in the Western territories is one that is clouded in mystique, yet for McGriff-Payne, growing up in Vallejo, she always wondered where her people were when the West was settled, why their pictures weren’t in the textbooks, and why was there so much silence whenever she asked?

If slaveowners were migrating to the West, do you think they would leave their slaves at home? Of course not, the historian answered before I could open my mouth. Not only did Willis travel with his owner, Singleton Vaughn, here, he went back to Virginia alone to fetch Vaughn’s family and bring them to Benicia. Black people have been in California from 1500 in the mining trades, many of them with Caribbean roots. Benicia is the oldest township in Solano County, and Singleton Vaughn was the county’s second tax assessor.

McGriff-Payne was like a hound with a scent she couldn’t shake once she started this project, and the story of how she pieced all the elements together to locate Mr. Willis is a fascinating one you don’t want to miss.

She said in answer to my question, “Why should we care about Mr. Adam Willis and the countless other early African Californians?”: “I heard my teacher talk about her grandfather in a covered wagon and I wondered where my grandfather was. Because we aren’t talked about much, we think we weren’t here.

“We have a deep history, and Adam Willis’ story is one of struggle and success. We have a vested interest in this state and in this region. Adam Willis’ sister Mary Ann from Bay County, Missouri, brought to Solano County two adult children, Benjamin and David. A single man, Adam Willis had a full house by 1880. He always worked as a cook and did so almost up to his death.

When I commented to Ms. Griff-Payne how well she knew his history, she said that she wanted to show Willis and his family as human beings with full lives. “We know most of us were slaves, yet we don’t know the names. They don’t want us to forget them, so first we need to get to know them, so I checked out the county records.”

It took Griffth-Payne nine months to research this man’s life, but as a retired newspaper woman she found herself on the trail similar to another ancestor, Delia Beasley, who went around in early California tracking down African history in her classic and seminal, “Negro Trailblazers of California.” In this book is a chapter on slavery in California.

You don’t want to miss hearing McGriff-Payne this Saturday afternoon. She will be joined by Guy Washington, Pacific West Regional Manager of the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, and Douglas Henry Daniels, professor of Black Studies and History at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Admission to the salon is $7 for members and $10 for nonmembers. Visit www.moadsf.org or call (415) 358-7200.

‘Legacy of Torture: The War Against the Black Liberation Movement’

Sunday, Jan. 28, 12 noon, at the Roxie Theatre, there will be a premiere of a new film which looks at domestic torture through the cases of five former Black Panther Party members: Ray Boudreaux, John Bowman, Richard Brown, Hank Jones and Harold Taylor. Directed by Claude Marks of The Freedom Archives, this film chronicles the horror, harassment and pain experienced by these men as New Orleans’ policemen, witnessed by San Francisco policemen and the FBI, participate in this unlawful behavior – at least it was unlawful then.

The director, an attorney on the case and others will be present at the screening for a panel discussion afterwards. The men have been arrested again, 34 years after the case was dismissed. The film and panel will be followed by a memorial for John Bowman, one of the men charged, at 3 p.m. at the African American Art and Culture Complex, 762 Fulton St., San Francisco.. The donation requested for the film is $8-$25, though no one will be turned away for lack of funds. For information, call (415) 863-9977.

Free Mumia Abu Jamal Event

Friday, Jan. 26, 6:30-8:30 p.m., join poets and activists in an evening featuring politics and art highlighting Mumia’s continued battle against a racist frame-up and his tenacious role as the voice of the voiceless. The program includes performances by Rudy and United Playaz, plus comments from JR and the Prisoners of Consciousness Committee and Kiilu Nyasha, revolutionary journalist and former Black Panther. It’s happening at Marcus Books, 3900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland, near MacArthur BART station. The event is sponsored by the Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and Marcus Books.

Spirit, Sound & Silence: A Day-long Retreat with Onelife Institute

Saturday, Jan. 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., gather for a day of spiritual renewal, inspiration and enrichment. Plant seeds of intention for the New Year. The gathering will be facilitated by Dr. Liza J. Rankow and the OneLife team. Destiny Muhammad, “Harpist from the Hood,” is the special guest. The retreat center location is Holy Redeemer Center, 8945 Golf Links Rd., out by Knowland Park, the Oakland Zoo. Tuition is sliding scale $35-$100, more if you can, less if you can’t. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Advance registration is requested for planning purposes. Bring a journal, a potluck item for the shared lunch and anything you need to be comfortable for the day. Visit www.onelifeinstitute.org or call (510) 595-5598.

People of color Vipassana meditation

Come Saturday, Jan. 27, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., to the East Bay Meditation Center, 2147 Broadway, Oakland, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , for a retreat with Larry Yang. Meditation instructions will focus on cultivating an open awareness spacious enough to include whatever arises moment to moment. This day will include guidance in sitting, walking and eating meditations in the Vipassana Buddhist tradition. There will be a dharma talk and opportunities for group sharing. Open to all levels of meditation experience with a special invitation to beginners. You are invited to bring a sacred object to create our communal altar. The teachings are regarded as priceless. Participants are invited to support the teachings with voluntary donations – the practice of “Dana” – for the expenses of the space and the support of the teachings.

‘A Night in Havana’: Chuchito Valdes Quartet

Cuban-born pianist Jesus Chuchito Valdes is the third generation of an acclaimed musical family including his grandfather, Bebo, and father, Chucho. On Saturday, Jan. 27, at the Brava Theater, 2781 24th St., San Francisco, enjoy “A Night in Havana” with the Cuban master pianist, who will be joined by Grammy Award winning Afro-Cuban drummer Raul Pineda (Chucho Valdés), world class bassist, Sawa Perez (Buena Vista Social Club), and special guest, world class Cuban percussionist Jesus Diaz. Opening the show is the Bay Area’s own Pellejo Seco, a Son Tipico group led by Cuban tresero Ivan Camblor and great Cuban Sonero Fito Reinoso! For more info, contact (415) 647-2822 or www.brava.org. Tickets are $20 general, $25 at the door, with a $4 discount to students, seniors and groups.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo at SFJAZZ

Friday evening, Jan. 26, 8 p.m., at the Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, (800) 850-7353, join the Grammy Award winning ensemble, South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo, in what will be a stunning performance of a cappella music and dance. Tickets are $25-$64. They’re celebrating their latest album, “Long Walk to Freedom,” a collection of noted songs covering an expansive 45-year career.

When Albert Mazibuko and I spoke last week, he said the group had been recording for 20 years worldwide and “Long Walk” reflects a best-of album recorded with many of the artists they’d met in performances along the way, like Taj Mahal on “Mbube,” Paul Simon on “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes,” many South African artists such as Hugh Masekela, Lucky Dube, Vusi Mahlesela and Phusekhemisi. Still other artists the men had never met yet were musicians they enjoyed and wanted to collaborate with on a project included Emmylou Harris on “Amazing Grace” and “Nearer My God to Thee,” Zap Mama on “Hello My Baby,” Joe McBride and Melissa Etheridge on “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes,” and Natalie Merchant.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo will also perform at Memorial Auditorium, Sunday-Monday, Jan. 28-29, at Stanford University. Performances are Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and Monday at 11 a.m. Tickets are $44, $38 and $26. For tickets and information, call (650) 725-2787 or visit www.livelyarts.stanford.edu. Visit www.wandaspicks.com for a great interview with Albert Mazibuko.

African Film Festival at PFA

From Sunday, Jan. 28, through Sunday, Feb. 18, UC Berkeley’s Pacific Film Archive will feature a festival of African Diaspora films. Sunday, Jan. 28, 3:30 p.m., is “A Child’s Love Story,” directed by Diogaye Beye (Senegal, 2004, 93 min.), followed at 5:30 p.m. by “New Visions from Africa,” featuring several directors in a series of short dramatic new fictions and personal documentaries.

The dates for the films are Friday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m., for the screening of “The Night of Truth,” a really powerful film about memory, forgiveness and hatred. Set in a fictional African village, two ethnic groups decide to mend the riff between them caused by ethnic warfare, similar to that in Rwanda; however, one woman is so mad with grief she can’t. What follows is something so horribly possible everyone who values his or her humanity should see this for him or herself. “The Night of Truth,” directed by Fanta Regina Nacro (France/Burkina Faso, 100 min.) is followed at 9 p.m. by “U-Carmen eKhayelisha” (South Africa, 2005, 120), directed Mark Dornford-May, a rousing musical that sets Bizet’s “Carmen” in South African townships. To see the entire series, visit www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/pfa or call (510) 642-5249.

If I forgot something, shoot me an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , and I’ll post it at www.wandaspicks.com: A San Francisco Bay Area Black Arts and Events Resource.

Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Visit her website, www.wandaspicks.com, for an expanded version of Wanda’s Picks and for exciting “web exclusives.”

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