Rightnowish

Porsche Nicole Kelly is an Oakland based motivational speaker, poet and author of the book, 2 Kinds of Fire. For this week's episode of Rightnowish, I step back and let the wordsmith speak to us as only she can, through her poetic critique of race in society in the form of her poem, "Jokes." The poem grapples with cases of police brutality and white nationalist violence. Do what you need to take care of yourself.

You can follow Porsche Nicole Kelly at "thepoetactivist" on Instagram.

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Over the past nine months, I've had the luxury of getting to know some of the most interesting artists and activists the Bay Area has to offer. As the host of the Rightnowish podcast, it's been my goal to give them a platform, while taking a step back.

But this week, given all that has occurred in relation to police brutality and protests, I have something to say. 

Today's episode of Rightnowish is dedicated to the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and all of those who've lost their lives in the struggle to end police brutality and extra-judicial killings of African American people.

I hope this piece creates critical thinking about the numerous ways in which this country shows its lack of value for the lives of African American people.

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For the past three months, San Francisco's Jamal Trulove has been working with UCSF’s Science Policy Group in order to get masks, hand sanitizer and information to groups that have been most impacted by COVID-19.

You might've heard a little bit about Trulove's story.

He's an actor, who played the role of Kofi in the 2019 film, The Last Black Man in San Francisco. He's a rapper, under the stage name 10MilliMilli, he's dropped a handful of songs, and is working on more.

And last year he was awarded a multi-million dollar settlement in a case with the SFPD, after being framed and falsely imprisoned for a 2007 murder; a case that led to him serving over six years behind bars. Since then, he's been vocal about that case and the prison system.

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Chris Riggins has performed on stages across the Bay Area and beyond. And as his career was in mid-stride -- COVID-19 hit. Now Riggins is adjusting to a world where comedy performances, like many forms of art, are happening online.

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Sumayyah Monét Franklin is a birth rights activist, doula and owner of Sumi’s Touch. 

She gives advice to potential parents on conception, coaches new parents through postpartum and is with parents during the birthing process-- she's attended over 500 births and counting. 

As of late, caution around potentially being exposed to COVID-19 has made many people wary about even going to traditional healthcare facilities. Guidelines on how many people can be present for the birthing process have become strict, making more parents hesitant to go to a hospital. This might explain why Sumayyah says she's seeing an uptick in her business-- and she expects that trend to continue.

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When Felicia Gangloff-Bailey and Karega Bailey's newborn daughter, Kamaiu, passed last year, the couple says they became "angel parents." It's a term that exemplifies their seemingly ever-present optimism and uplifting approach to dealing with grief.

This mindset is something the duo brings to their professional life as well, working as educators and restorative justice practitioners. They're also musicians, making up half of the band, Sol Development, along with Brittany Tanner and Lauren Adams.

Recently, the couple has worked to publish a book full of affirmations that can be used as a toolkit, of sorts, to give guidance to other people who are dealing with grief. The book is call Sol Affirmations.

This week on Rightnowish, we're discussing the importance of understanding grief and how uplifting words help process the highs and lows that life can throw at you.

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Mike Nicholls is the founder of Umber magazine, a publication dedicated to telling the stories of Black and Brown artists from the Bay Area. It's so invested in those narratives, the pages are brown and the ink is black.

For the magazine's third issue, which was released last summer, the theme was Sound. Nicholls, who grew up with an intense stutter, says he's always found it easier to express himself through the written word—hence his passion for the visual arts. But he's always been interested in digging into sound, especially as a method for overcoming stuttering.

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Oakland MC Passwurdz 510 is a professional battle rapper. That means he gets paid to go on stage and publicly humiliate his opponents.

It's an art form that dates back to the early days of Hip Hop and has been depicted in movies like 8 Mile. On top of being a competition of lyrical prowess, these battles provide comedic relief for audiences - and a cathartic release for artists, as well.

Passwurdz, aka Pass, is also part of the duo ANML PLNT (along with Jordan Jennings, aka Apes), which released an album earlier this year, called "The Box."

Now that people are dealing with the emotions of daily uncertainty, I figured it'd be a good time to get some tips from a professional about how to use battle raps to constructively release some pent up emotions.

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Paris Warr's dream job has always been to work in a mortuary. Now she's worried about how Covid-19 will impact her industry.

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Radio host DC is working non-stop during shelter-in-place, and he has a pretty good idea of how others in the entertainment industry are dealing with everything that is (and isn't) happening in the Bay Area.

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