Crosscurrents

Today, a Bay Area harpist finds her way to playing on hip-hop stages. Then, learning life lessons from a game of chess. And, a festival puts the spotlight on Black choreographers.

GEOWAV brings the harp into hip-hop spaces, flipping a classical instrument and carving out a sound that feels fully Bay Area.

Visits with loved ones are a special time in prison. Families come from all over the state to see their loved ones for a short while, and it's one of the only opportunities incarcerated parents can connect with their kids. Uncuffed producer Fonuamana Fuahala recounts one memorable visit with his son.

One of host Jeneé Darden's favorite things to do is dance. She's no pro but she loves watching the pros on stage. Which brings us to the 21st annual Black Choreographers Festival.

Today, the historical significance behind a special creek in East Oakland. Then, we hear a father in prison sends a love letter to his daughter. Plus, Oakland poet James Cagney draws from Zen Buddhism for his latest collection.

Just last week the Oakland City Council approved the transfer of funds to purchase 16-acres of undeveloped land which includes Sausal Creek. It will be held by the Indigenous women-led Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and its ancestral caretakers, the Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation. 

Derrell “Sadiq” Davis doesn’t get to see his daughter that often. He’s incarcerated at San Quentin where visits and phone calls are monitored and brief. But one day last year, the prison held a prom for fathers and their daughters. 

A koan is a Japanese word for a paradox or riddle that can’t be solved. Koans are used to train Zen Buddhists to release dependence on reason, and gain spiritual enlightenment. The word inspired Oakland poet James Cagney’s latest book “Ghetto Koans: A Personal Archive.” 

The San Francisco Unified School District tells a school it has to close. What will happen to its students and its campus? Then, a lesson in embodying Black identity.

This fall, SFUSD announced it would close a small alternative high school, called The Academy. KALW’s Education reporter, Julia Haney, wanted to find out why there was such a big reaction to the closing of this small school. And in the process, she uncovered a different story. One about how the district’s decision to close this school is making room for another school’s expansion and resurfacing a decades-old tension.