| Wanda’s Picks |
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| by Wanda Sabir | |
| Wednesday, 10 October 2007 | |
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Eid Mubarak! Wishing all those fasting a blessed holiday this weekend
 Exonerated political prisoners Geronimo ji jaga and Robert King at Tuesday’s press conference on the steps of the Governmental Building in Baton Rouge were undeterred by a negative ruling against Herman Wallace of the Angola 3. Photo: Mavis Yorks He refused to throw out Wallace's conviction for the 1973 killing of a 23-year-old corrections officer. King said this means it will be that much easier for the legal team to push the case to the next judicial level, which is the state supreme court. It's a shame that Wallace has had to waste yet another year of freedom because his legal team waited until just a couple of weeks ago to set fire under the judge's seat to make him respond, which he did almost immediately. I guess one grows patient when one has been locked up as long as Wallace - 30 years and counting - what else can he do? But I think sometimes those who are free forget that we are not behind bars. No matter how sympathetic we are, we go back to our comfortable homes, soft beds, relative security and certainly a lot more control over our lives than those comrades locked behind bars. We have to be impatient for them. Geronimo ji jaga, who was at the press conference Tuesday, Oct. 9, when the judge conveniently released his ruling, will be in town Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Gospel Music and Civil Rights event at the Oakland Museum. He will be receiving an award. King, when I last spoke to him, was on his way to England for a memorial for his friend and Angola 3 supporter Anita Roddick, whose husband Gordon plans to step up the fight and get their friends out of prison. Visit www.anitaroddick.com/. Maafa Art Exhibit opens Friday, Oct. 12 When TaSin and I decided to co-host an exhibit this Maafa 2007, I was intrigued by her use of buttons to indicate actions. Her opening reception for The Oakpod in August was "Push Play," Hurricane Katrina Reportback was "Push Pause," the Maafa Art Exhibit is "Push Rewind." The inspiration was the Sankofa bird. The Sankofa bird looks backward as a reminder to the observant that what is past shouldn't be forgotten, that reflection is an opportunity to correct mistakes, an opportunity to revisit historic lessons for wisdom and guidance. Tuesday evening at our second program at the Oakland Public Conservatory, we showed Anyinka Kwesi Nkulueko's film, "Maat, Maafa, Sankofa." The film is a sound and image landscape that moves Africans in the Diaspora from the trauma of enslavement - whether that was chattel slavery or colonialism - to health and prosperity. The acknowledgement that we are African people, that our greatness is innate, and that our strength and survival is genetic is evident in the majesty seen in our people's carriage, even when that carriage is draped in rags.
 Robert King, the first of the Angola 3 to be freed, shares the good-bad news with comrade Marina Drummer, coordinator of the National Coalition to Free the Angola 3. Photo: Mavis Yorks Scott says: "I stained the dresser with a reddish-toned stain to reflect the blood shed on the journey from Africa. Each side of the dresser is adorned with the Adinkra symbol representing bondage. In the center I used another Adinkra symbol, the sankofa symbol. This symbol serves to remind us of our experience in the middle passage and slavery, which in many ways has defined our existence as Africans throughout the Americas. The drum is a symbol of not only our culture, but as an aspect of our culture that has survived centuries of repression, a symbol of resistance." Nena St. Louis says of her "Bosnian Women," sculpted wooden women, that they disturb people. These 4-foot sculptures are still standing despite the literal fire they have walked through. That these figures are still standing is testament to the strength of women in adversity, especially in those instances where rape is a weapon of war. Both Scott and St. Lewis' work chart a journey or a path many if not all Africans are still traveling. Other artists are Orlonda Uffre, whose abstract painting springs, she says, from a place of alienation. "Kind of Blue," 56"x 32", mixed media, she says, "is about the existential angst of ‘wearing the mask,' being apart from and not belonging." Jason Austin's "12 Boys" is about the unspoken connection of our people. "'Reflections of the Past,'" he says, "is about thoughts of our ancestors, and ‘Stars and Bars' is about America's impression on our youth." This is so apropos considering the Jena 6 and what happened in Paris, Texas, where 15-year-old Shaquanda Cotton who was sentenced to seven years for pushing a hall monitor, while the same judge, three months earlier, sentenced a 14-year-old white girl to probation after she burned down her family's home. Other featured artists are TaSin Sabir, James Gayles, Ashanti, Omar Lionel Sow and Kimara Dixon. For more information, visit www.theoakpod.com, (206) 202-1101, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Gallery hours are Friday and Saturday 1-4, Monday through Thursday by appointment. Call (206) 202-1101. Maafa Issues Forum 1: Violence in the Home Two Maafa Issues Forums will be held this year. Maafa Issues Forum 1: Violence in the Home, is on Monday, Oct. 15, 6-9 p.m., in observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The film "NO!" (90 minutes), directed by Aishah Simmons, will be screened, followed by a conversation facilitated by Derethia Duvall, Ph.D. The event is at the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music, 1616 Franklin St., Oakland, (510) 836-4649. Maafa Issues Forum 2: AIDS in the Black Community Friday, Oct. 19, 6-9 p.m., is Maafa Issues Forum 2: AIDS in the Black Community, presented in collaboration with Perfect Love Foundation and the California Coalition for Woman Prisoners. Speakers are Michael Buck, Perfect Love Foundation and Dr. Lisha Wilson, filmmaker Shy Hamilton and special guests. Films screened between the conversation and presentation beginning at 6 p.m. are "Taking Chances," directed by Shy Hamilton, and "Results," directed by Eddie Boles, winner of best short film at the San Francisco Black Film Festival 2007. Shy Hamilton will be present at the event. This event is also at the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music, 1616 Franklin St., Oakland, (510) 836-4649. Gospel Music and Civil Rights The Civil Right Concert Series and Courage Awards National Tour stops in Oakland this Saturday, Oct. 13, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St. Mumia's lead attorney, Robert R. Bryan, will be receiving a special award during the evening ceremonies. Also receiving awards will be Geronimo ji jaga (Pratt) and Herman Bell of the San Francisco 8, attorney Stuart Hanlon and Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris.
Robert Bryan will also be receiving a contribution to Mumia's legal defense fund. Otherwise, the all-day event is $27 for advance tickets, $37 at the door. Food plates are $15. For tickets visit www.museumca.org. Please contact Laura Herrera, (415) 364-9715, if you would like to help staff the table for the Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu Jamal. Otherwise, you can call the numbers below for advance reservations. Talk by Maasai leader from Tanzania Kesume Ole Kasikasi, a Maasai leader from Tanzania, is being hosted in the Bay Area this week by Stanford University and a few other NGOs to raise awareness on the challenges faced by the Maasai indigenous community as they are being displaced from their ancestral lands in Tanzania. The talk, titled "Endangered Tribal Communities and One Maasai Leader Committed to His Land and His People," will be given Friday, Oct. 12, 12:30-1:30 p.m., at Global Exchange, 2017 Mission St., second floor in San Francisco. For more information, contact Andrea at (415) 786- 6934 or visit www.kitumusote.org. Pharoah Sanders Hear "Sacred Space" with Pharoah Sanders, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m., at Grace Cathedral, California and Taylor, San Francisco. Tickets are $25 general admission and $45 for the reserved section. Last year, this concert sold out; I heard it was magnificent. The tenor saxophonist, Pharoah Sanders, will be accompanied by William Henderson on piano. Visit www.sfjazz.org. Dee Dee Bridgewater
 Dee Dee Bridgewater I spoke to Ms. Bridgewater over a year ago about her first trip to Africa and how the red earth reminded her of the red earth of her Southern home. She recalled how when she arrived, tired and jet-lagged, there was a brother there at the airport who welcomed her home. The next day she looked out the window and saw an ocean of red earth. See www.sfjazz.org. Living Word Project
The Living Word Project continues this weekend at the Black New World with a panel discussion, "The Women and The Men," featuring Def Jam poets, along with former San Francisco poet laureate devorah major and Greg Hodge. The program begins at 8. Tickets are $5 for 18 and under and $10 for adults. In a photography exhibit, Tracey Brown looks at the celebration of Eid Al Adha, or the feast of sacrifice, in a Muslim community in Benin. The exhibit is up Oct. 15 through Feb. 1, 2008. There will be a reception Friday, Nov. 2, 6-8 p.m. The exhibit is on the second floor photography row in the African American Arts and Culture Complex, 752 Fulton St., San Francisco. For information, call (415) 922-1995 or www.aaacc.org. Nicolas Bearde Hear vocalist Nicholas Bearde Tuesday, Oct. 16, 8 and 10 p.m., at Yoshi's. Glen Pearson is on piano and Charles McNeal's on saxophone. I don't know the bassist, Jason Lewis, or the drummer, Nelson Braxton, but Braxton could be a member of the superstar family. Visit www.yoshis.com or call (510) 238-9200. Matthew Shipp Matthew Shipp is in town for one night, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 8 and 10 p.m. Shipp is a phenomenal pianist. Visit www.yoshis.com or (510) 238-9200. David Sanchez closes out the week at Yoshi's Oct. 14-21.
Bay View Arts Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at
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Visit her website, www.wandaspicks.com, for an expanded version of Wanda's Picks and for exciting "web exclusives." |
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