Next month the most important item on my agenda is Maafa Commemoration Month to reflect on the legacy of slavery and how everyone benefited from this human rights travesty except those who did the work. We began Aug. 30 with a successful Maafa 2009: Hurricane Katrina Fundraiser and Reportback, thanks to all the poets and the visual artists who donated art for the silent auction and of course to Tess and Yeme, the proprietors of Shashamane Bar and Grill.
Tags:
actor Danny Glover,
Aguas da Bahia,
Al Green,
Alanis Morissette,
Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet,
Alvon Johnson,
ancestor remembrance,
Anna’s Jazz Island,
Art Hazelwood,
ASA Academy,
Baba Ken and the West African Highlife Band,
Barbara Attie,
BART police oversight,
Beres Hammond,
Black August 2009,
Blind Boys of Alabama,
Bradley C. Walters,
Bro. Malique Amenhotep,
budget cuts,
Casper Banjo,
Chick Corea,
Chitresh Das Dance Company,
College of Alameda Small Ensemble,
Common Ground Health Clinic,
Cuban saxophonist Yosvany Terry,
Dawn Logsdon,
Dr. Al Green,
Dr. Ivan Van Sertima,
Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio,
East Oakland,
Eric Benet,
Erykah Badu,
Esperanza Spalding,
Evan Ziporyn,
Francisco Aguabella,
Friends of the Oakland Public Library,
Gary Graves,
George Clinton,
Hank Jones,
Hiroshima,
Hurricane Katrina,
Hurricane Katrina Memorials,
illiteracy rate,
India Irie,
Islamic jurisprudence,
James P. Anderson,
Jan Zvaifler,
Janet Goldwater,
Jason Moran,
Jay Electronica,
jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders,
John Legend,
Juan R. Fuentes,
Judy Juanita,
Julie Bridgham,
Kim Longinotto,
Leela James,
Lenny White,
Library Director Carmen Martinez,
LIFE of Mississippi,
Linda Tillery & the Cultural Heritage Choir,
Litquick,
Liz Wright,
Lolis Eric Elie,
Lucie Faulknor,
Luis Arias Vera,
Maafa Commemoration Month,
Machiavelli’s “The Prince”,
Mark Morris Dance Group,
MC Hammer,
Michael Eugene Sullivan,
Michael Franti and Spearhead,
Michael Jackson,
Michael Navarra,
Mike Clark’s Blueprints of Jazz,
MMDG Music Ensemble,
Monaco’s Ballet Russe,
Monterey Jazz Festival,
Mos Def,
Ná Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu,
Nahid Persson,
Nubian oud master Hamza El Din,
Oakland Public Library Bookmobile,
Oscar Grant strategy organizing,
Pete Seeger,
police chases in Black neighborhoods,
police killings,
Power to the Peaceful,
Professor Herbert Mims Jr.,
Raja Rahim,
Regina Carter,
Richard Frederick,
San Francisco Fringe Festival,
San Francisco Mime Troupe,
San Francisco Presidio,
San Francisco Reads,
Sari Soldiers,
Sausalito Art Festival,
Sellasie,
Shakespeare in the Park,
Shashamane Bar and Grill,
Sixth Annual Dance-a-thon,
Sly and Robbie,
social genocide,
Sonoma Wine Country Weekend,
Soulive with Fred Wesle,
Stanley Jordan,
tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain,
Tambores Julio Remelexo Drum and Dance Ensemble,
TaSin Yasmin Sabir,
Ted Pontiflet’s James Baldwin,
the BaAka Pygmies of the Central African Republic,
The Neville Brothers and Dr. John,
the Shaolin Monks of China,
Truth Universal,
UNESCO’s International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition,
Vieux Farka Touré,
Vijay Iyer Trio,
Wanda Sabir,
West Oakland,
Winton Marsalis,
Winton Marsalis' Lincoln Center Orchestra,
Ziba Mir-Hosseini,
Zulu Spear,
“Pray the Devil Back to Hell”,
“The Bottoms”
The U.S. Constitution requires that an accused person who lacks the means to hire a lawyer is provided one. Yet budget cuts are forcing public defenders to turn away defendants who have no other legal recourse.
Tags:
ACLU attorney Robin L. Dahlberg,
budget cuts,
constitutional right to counsel,
constitutional rights,
criminal justice system,
cruel and unusual punishment,
disparate treatment of people of color,
economic downturn,
ethical breaches,
Excessive caseloads,
governmental misconduct,
inadequate funding,
inadequate medical care,
indigent criminal defense,
inmate lawsuit,
Judge Thelton Henderson,
National Right to Counsel Committee,
politicization,
poor criminal defendants,
prison overcrowding,
Public Defender Jeff Adachi,
public defenders,
wrongful convictions
DJ Twelvz is one of the up and coming dj’s in the Bay Area who has one foot in conscious circles and the other within street rap. In my opinion, this is where the movement needs to go.
Tags:
after-school programs,
budget cuts,
Chasing Demons,
Conscious Daughters,
Damon Jamal,
DJ Twelvz,
East Oakland Community High School,
institutionalized racism,
Kaz Kyzah,
Lovelle Mixon,
Mahasen,
Oscar Grant,
POCC Minister of Information JR,
Rico Pabon,
T-Kash
English