Jennifer Holliday performs at NYC’s Rainbow Room last January.

Although it hadn't really been 20 years since Grammy and Tony Award winning actress and singer Jennifer Holliday performed in San Francisco, this weekend was definitely one to remember. Two hundred pounds lighter and looking simply fabulous, the show-stopping singer was playing all our favorite songs, taking us on a ride through what can only be called an illustrious career cut short all too soon, on its way to being even more fabulous.

I thought it amusing that the two "Effie Whites" in the stage and screen productions of "Dream Girls" were both named Jennifer. Yet, when Holliday performed "And I'm Tellin' You" at her concert Saturday night, there the similarity ended. Her colorfully nuanced voice was thirst quenching, revved with the kind of power born of deep spiritual connection to self, creator and community.

She didn't have to mention growing up singing in the church, nor was anyone surprised when she mentioned Sister Aretha Franklin, Mahalia Jackson and Etta James as her mentors. She is certainly their child. Holliday, whom I'd never seen live before, has a voice one can't help but remember. She has such vocal range in all directions; then when one thinks there is nowhere else to go, she'd drop into an octave so deep one has to hold one's breath to follow.

The audience stayed on its feet in the almost sold-out house, as Holliday painted her life in song. She sang of despair when the world seemed to forget her; she sang of hope and holding onto one's dreams as she battled depression and suicidal tendencies. Taking a sip from her water, or pouring tea into a glass from a decanter on stage, the artist sat on the stool midway through the show and gave us the highlights of her life over the past year - the articles, the TV spots, YouTube video.
She sang some of her favorite songs with new arrangements - classic Hollidays - and then presented a few medleys, one for STAX Records on its 50th anniversary. There were so many show stopping moments as she performed solo, in duet or with a trio of phenomenal women vocalists.

She even threw in a tune for Elvis Presley - "Yeah, I liked him too" - and a Christmas song, "This Christmas." I hope it doesn't take 20 years for Holliday to return, and I certainly hope, with the awesome band out of Atlanta, she has a new recording planned.

‘Let Us Break Bread'

The Oakland East Bay Symphony, directed by Michael Morgan, presents its biennial choral extravaganza, "Let Us Break Bread Together: A Holiday Celebration," sponsored by Target, on Sunday, Dec. 2, at 4 p.m., at Oakland's historic Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, in Oakland. The concert features the Oakland East Bay Symphony Chorus, the Piedmont Choirs, the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Mt. Eden High School Concert Choir and Kugelplex.

This year's musical selections will range from spirituals and sacred music to classical and popular holiday songs. Concert highlights include Ellen Hoffman's original work "Let Us Break Bread Together" for orchestra and singers, "Hallelujah Chorus" from Georg Friedrich Handel's oratorio "Messiah," Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride," "Alleluia" by Ulysses Kay, and an array of beloved Christmas carols, Hanukkah songs, and American spirituals sure to create a festive prelude to the season.

Oakland East Bay Symphony's highly acclaimed biennial tradition of "Let Us Break Bread Together" is a celebration of American music, choral singing and specifically the rich tradition of community music-making found in the East Bay. This season's "Break Bread" concert for the first time takes on a holiday focus, incorporating the sacred and popular symphonic and choral repertory specific to this joyous season of peace and goodwill.

Tickets for this non-subscription concert are $15-$40 and $10 for youth ages 18 and under. To order tickets, telephone (510) 625-8497 or (415) 421-8497. For additional information, visit www.oebs.org.

Dr. Michael Eric Dyson surveyed New Orleans’ still devastated Black neighborhoods, guided by Common Ground co-founder Malik Rahim, on July 3 during the Essence Festival, which featured Dyson. Photo: Mavis Yorks

The Before Columbus Foundation will formally recognize the winners of the 27th Annual American Book Awards on Sunday, Dec. 2, 4-6:30 p.m., at Laney College Theatre, 900 Fallon St. in Oakland. Michael Eric Dyson, author of "Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster" (Basic Books), is a recipient this year for this marvelous book . Al Young, California's poet laureate, will give the keynote address. Authors attending will read selections from their works and sign copies of their award-winning books. A reception and book signing will take place following the ceremony. This event is free to the public. For more information, call (510) 228-6775.

The 2007 American Book Award winners are

• Daniel Cassidy, "How the Irish Invented Slang: The Secret Language of the Crossroads" (CounterPunch/AK Press)

• Michael Eric Dyson, "Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster" (Basic Books)

• Rigoberto Gonzalez, "Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa" (University of Wisconsin Press)

• Reyna Grande, "Across a Hundred Mountains" (Atria Books)

• Ernestine Hayes, "Blonde Indian: An Alaska Native Memoir" (University of Arizona Press)

• Patricia Klindienst, "The Earth Knows My Name: Food, Culture and Sustainability in the Gardens of Ethnic Americans" (Beacon Press)

• Gary Panter, "Jimbo's Inferno" (Fantagraphics Books)

• Jeffrey F.L. Partridge, "Beyond Literary Chinatown" (University of Washington Press)

• Judith Roche, "Wisdom of the Body" (Black Heron Press)

• Kali Vanbaale, "The Space Between" (River City Publishing).

C-Span will be covering the event for Book-TV.

Free Fun Days at the Museum of the African Disapora

Saturday, Dec. 1, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., visitors are invited to MoAD for a fun day. Family activities are presented in partnership with ECO Village Farm Learning Center at 685 Mission St., at Third, San Francisco. For information, call (415) 358.7200 or visit www.moadsf.org/.

Oakland School for the Arts Benefit features Dwayne Wiggins

The Oakland School for the Arts welcomes Oakland's own guitarist-singer-songwriter-producer Dwayne Wiggins as he performs solo and in combo with Tony! Toni! Tone! at the Oakland School for the Arts Benefit on Friday, Nov. 30, at the Kaiser Center Auditorium. As an added treat, the concert will be opened by the OSA Combo, a talented, award winning funk and R&B ensemble comprised of Oakland School for the Arts students.

The one-time-only performance will benefit the Oakland School for the Arts programs. The concert begins at 8 p.m. at Kaiser Center Auditorium, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Tickets can be purchased by contacting This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or at http://bennubirdbookings.tix.com.

World AIDS Awareness Day, Saturday, Dec. 1

Whether one sees the current viral assault on the African community as a high-tech genocide, the fact remains that we're dying and much of it is preventable, yet knowing better doesn't always translate into making the healthy choice. Michael Buck, founder of Perfect Love, looks at the barriers to health and well-being and tries to offer resources to bridge the gaps. When I met Michael Buck this summer, Easter Sunday, at the Berkeley Flea Market, I'd known about his annual AIDS Awareness events at Jahva House because of our mutual friend, Boundless Gratitude. Michael's work preceded him, but I'd never met the dynamo, nor did I know he was a longtime survivor of the virus.

The brother is walking energy - he is moving so fast. The imperative he's taken on, "save Black people," is commendable and one we should all join. As a part of the Maafa Commemoration last month, Michael co-hosted the Maafa Issues Forum 2: AIDS in the Black Community. It was a wonderful event. Low attendance but the wealth of information is just one aspect of all of Michael's programming. There were several speakers, among them Dr. Lisha Wilson, a physician from the Magic Johnson Foundation, a sister who spoke about rapid testing, a woman living with the virus who told her story, and a filmmaker I invited, Shy Hamilton, whose film, "Taking Chances," framed the discussion that evening.

With AIDS as the No.2 killer of Black men after homicide in San Francisco, and the County of Alameda's state of emergency around AIDS in the Black community in effect for almost 10 years now, Dec. 1 or World AIDS Awareness Day is not something to take lightly. I remember my friend Gary Harmon's work, along with others in the trenches like Betty Bishop and Jane Jackson who advocated for services in Alameda County for people living with the virus. It took many cold nights, Gary chained to various government buildings on both sides of the bay, before Alameda County established an AIDS protocol and eventually an Office of AIDS in the Public Health Department.

It was also a long uphill fight before San Francisco County and Alameda County began, along with service providers elsewhere, to look outside the gay white male prevention model once the disease began to decline in that population. As the numbers increased in other populations, like Black men who love Black men, Black women and children, different strategies were examined and introduced because the current ones were obviously missing this audience.

Michael invited me to several events before I could attend one early Sunday morning. It was at a church in my community, Lily of the Valley. The church was on 91st off International in Oakland. As I sat in the church, I noted the many men at the service along with children. This was certainly a plus.

I'd gotten up before sunrise to drive from Monterey in time to make the morning service. TaSin's best friend, Sara Marie Henderson, married Rick Prada just the night before. It was great fun and, well, since I am not a church goer, it was hard getting up before dawn to drive home, but I wanted to see what Perfect Love was doing to promote a discourse about safer sex and healthy choices in the Black community. I was also curious about a church that allowed such a discussion, since the Black church is notorious for the stigma it attaches to AIDS.
It was worth it - sleep deprivation and all!

The pastor's insightful comments about the disease were so revolutionary coming from the pulpit. He then introduced the special guest who was a sister who'd never had sex out of her marital relationship, but ended up infected by her husband. When she began to cry, we all cried with her. Afterwards, Dr. Lisha Wilson, told us her story and that of some of her women patients at Highland Hospital who were afraid to tell their partners they are infected, for fear of rejection, yet they continued to have unprotected sex with these men. I was like wow!

As the doctor entertained questions and parishioners shared their stories, I marveled about a pastor who fostered such an open and honest discussion. This was certainly a community that practiced unconditional love.

The Perfect Love evening of spoken word for the healing, treatment and awareness of HIV/AIDS in the African American Community next week, Saturday, Dec. 1, is an opportunity to address this Maafa. The free event is from 7 to 9 p.m. at Marcel Diallo's Black New World Social Aid and Pleasure Club, 863 Pine St., Oakland. Visit http://blacknewworldcom.

Hosted by Greg Bridges, the program features Bay Area spoken word luminaries Avotcja, Ise Lyfe, N'er City, Dafina Kuficha and Dominique Jones. Dr. Lisha Wilson, M.D., will also speak. She is the medical director of the Ervin Magic Johnson Clinics in Oakland and San Francisco. Testing will also be available. For information, contact Michael Buck, ACRC, (650) 364-6563 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Perfect Love's mission is to eliminate the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS within the Black church and community through education, thereby encouraging people to test, get treated and LIVE extraordinary lives!

This year the World AIDS Day theme is "Leadership." But outside the UNAIDS theme, I saw other themes such as "Save the Children," "Prevention and Care" and something about stigma. Thirty-six years after the first case was isolated and identified in 1981, we still have too far to go. In Alameda County, there are new cases being diagnosed monthly.

What is it, I wondered, as I exchanged clean needles for dirty ones at the Alameda County Exchange on cold Saturday mornings. What is it, I wondered, as I delivered hot meals as a volunteer for Project Open Hand. What is it that makes our community susceptible to the virus? If it's behavioral, then what can change terminal choices into life-affirming ones? Visit www.unaids.org/en/MediaCentre/PressMaterials/FeatureStory/20070316_WAD_Theme_2007.asp.

Celebration of Bay Area Crafts Women

From fine arts to clothes, from glass to fine ceramics, African American artists are well represented at this year's Celebration of Craftswomen event. There are eight African American women, four of whom reside in the Bay Area, participating at this year's event.

Offering a pleasant and enjoyable alternative to the holiday shopping experience, the Women's Building's 29th annual Celebration of Craftswomen is held Nov. 24-25 and Dec. 1-2, at the Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason Center, Buchanan Street and Marina Boulevard, in San Francisco. The show is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and features a changing roster of more than 150 different artists each weekend. For more information or tickets, telephone (415) 731-5539 or visit www.celebrationofcraftswomen.org.

The celebration is San Francisco's biggest holiday fine crafts retail fair and the largest event celebrating exclusively the craft of women in America. Creating positive social impact, the celebration benefits the programs of the Women's Building, a community center serving women and girls in San Francisco.

Participating African American artists are Mari Morris, Altadena, (626) 791-5233, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , fine art; Belva Sharp, Daly City, (650) 302-1144, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , glass; Sally Mbuto, Cupertino, (898) 613-7776, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , fiber; Dawn Perryman, Pasadena, (626) 396-3210, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , fiber; Sharon Virtue, San Francisco, (415) 861-3851, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , ceramics; Rosalyn Parhams, Fairfield, (707) 428-6039, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , ceramics; Suzanne Etienne, Ashland, Ore., (541) 482-1766, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , fine art; Michi Walden, Hollis, N.Y., (718) 465-2336, fiber.

‘Grounded?'

The performance and visual art exhibit "Grounded?" continues at Intersection for the Arts this Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 29 through Dec. 1, at Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia St., between 15th and 16th, in San Francisco. Visit www.theintersection.org or call (415) 626-3311. There is also an exhibit upstairs and down the street at Southern Exposure, 417 14th St., at Valencia.

The performance pieces combine spoken word with elements of hip hop theatre. The opening weekend I was blown away by the Suicide Kings. The work was an exploration of the violence in public schools from Columbine to Virginia Tech and three guys who happened to be teaching a writing workshop just days before a kid in the workshop went off. Spectacular physical theatre that combine personal narratives with the unfolding saga of dysfunction within and without institutional walls like home and school, self and other. Week Three features Carlos Aguirre, Tommy Shepard, Dan Wolf and Radio Active.

Meet and greet the San Francisco 8

Sunday, Dec. 2, at the African American Cultural Center, 762 Fulton St., San Francisco, at 3 p.m., you can meet and greet members of the SF 8, the brothers who are being tried on evidence extracted through torture over 30 years ago. Six of the men are out on bail, while two remain behind bars. The program begins at 4 p.m. with comments by the SF 8 and attorney Soffiyah Elijah. There will also be poetry and other entertainment.

Monday, Dec. 3, at 850 Bryant in San Francisco, there is a rally on the court steps at 8 a.m. The hearing begins at 9 a.m. Supporters are urged to pack the courtroom.
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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