Wanda's Picks

We have a really full program; make certain to listen to the archived program which features a special interview and update with spokesperson for MOVE, Ramona Africa. I speak to Ms. Africa the evening before she and Pam Africa get on the plane to visit the Bay Area for the Celebration of Life & Struggle and Welcome Home for Lynn Stewart this weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area, May 2-4, 2014: http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php/calls-to-action/8513-lynne-stewart-people-s-attorney-speaking-events-in-bay-area  We open the show with an interview with artist, scholar, Jeramy DeCristo whose Document/in the hold opens this evening, May 2, the exhibit up through May 30, with an artist talk next week, May 16, 2014, at Siete Potencias Africanas Gallery, 777 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco (415) 323-9406. We shift next into a true freedom story as told by Zenobia Powell Perry, in the opera Tawawa House. We happily welcome into the studio members of the cast: Shawnette Sulker (soprano, as Fanny) & Barry L. Robinson (baritone, as Jake); Janis-Rozena Perry, Zenobia Powell Perry's daughter; Jeannie Pool, the arranger, orchestrator and biographer; and Matthew Buckman, General Director of Townsend Opera to talk about the world premiere of Zenobia Powell Perry’s African American folk opera Tawawa House at the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto, CA this weekend, tonight, Friday, May 2 and Sunday, May 4, 2014: http://townsendopera.com/blog/2014/04/03/townsend-opera-announces-cast-tawawa-house/ We close with an interview with Michael Asberry, understudy for the role of Gabriel in Marin Theatre Company's production of August Wilson's Fences, performs this role Sunday, May 4, at 2 and 7 p.m. Visit http://www.marintheatre.org/

We have a really full program; make certain to listen to the archived program which features a special interview and update with spokesperson for MOVE, Ramona Africa. I speak to Ms. Africa the evening before she and Pam Africa get on the plane to visit the Bay Area for the Celebration of Life & Struggle and Welcome Home for Lynn Stewart this weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area, May 2-4, 2014: http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php/calls-to-action/8513-lynne-stewart-people-s-attorney-speaking-events-in-bay-area  We open the show with an interview with artist, scholar, Jeramy DeCristo whose Document/in the hold opens this evening, May 2, the exhibit up through May 30, with an artist talk next week, May 16, 2014, at Siete Potencias Africanas Gallery, 777 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco (415) 323-9406. We shift next into a true freedom story as told by Zenobia Powell Perry, in the opera Tawawa House. We happily welcome into the studio members of the cast: Shawnette Sulker (soprano, as Fanny) & Barry L. Robinson (baritone, as Jake); Janis-Rozena Perry, Zenobia Powell Perry's daughter; Jeannie Pool, the arranger, orchestrator and biographer; and Matthew Buckman, General Director of Townsend Opera to talk about the world premiere of Zenobia Powell Perry’s African American folk opera Tawawa House at the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto, CA this weekend, tonight, Friday, May 2 and Sunday, May 4, 2014: http://townsendopera.com/blog/2014/04/03/townsend-opera-announces-cast-tawawa-house/ We close with an interview with Michael Asberry, understudy for the role of Gabriel in Marin Theatre Company's production of August Wilson's Fences, performs this role Sunday, May 4, at 2 and 7 p.m. Visit http://www.marintheatre.org/

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

1. David Minkus, Ph.D., Graduate Fellows Training Program Coordinator, has been a Research Associate and Coordinator of the Graduate Fellows training program at the Institute for the Study of Social Change, now now the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues) for more than three decades. He joins us with Teresa Córdova, Ph.D., now Director of Great Cities Institute and Professor of Urban Planning and Policy at University of Illinois at Chicago to talk about Breaking Barriers, Building Community: 35 Years of Training Social Change Scholars, Friday, May 2nd, 8:30am-4:30pm. at the Alumnae Hall, 2537 Haste St. (between Telegraph Ave. and Bowditch St.). They speak about the relevance of the academy to achieving social justice then and now. The conference is free. Register by April 27, 2014, and get a free lunch: http://crsc.berkeley.edu/conference  2. Joyce Jenkins is editor of Poetry Flash, Literary Review & Calendar for the West (Poetryflash.org), presenter of the Poetry Flash reading series at Moe’s Books (Berkeley) and Diesel, A Bookstore (Oakland), Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival, and the Northern California Book Awards. She is chair of Northern California Book Reviewers, a volunteer association which has its 33rd Annual Northern California Book Awards this Sunday, April 27, 2014, at the San Francisco Main Library on Larkin Street, 1-2:30; 2:30-4:00 p.m. The event is free. For more information on the awards visit www.poetryflash.org or 510/525-5476. 3. African American Shakespeare Company presents Much Ado About Nothing: L. Peter Calendar, Director; Leontyne Mbele-Mbong as Beatrice, Ryan Vincent Anderson as Benedick. www.african-americanshakes.org

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1. David Minkus, Ph.D., Graduate Fellows Training Program Coordinator, has been a Research Associate and Coordinator of the Graduate Fellows training program at the Institute for the Study of Social Change, now now the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues) for more than three decades. He joins us with Teresa Córdova, Ph.D., now Director of Great Cities Institute and Professor of Urban Planning and Policy at University of Illinois at Chicago to talk about Breaking Barriers, Building Community: 35 Years of Training Social Change Scholars, Friday, May 2nd, 8:30am-4:30pm. at the Alumnae Hall, 2537 Haste St. (between Telegraph Ave. and Bowditch St.). They speak about the relevance of the academy to achieving social justice then and now. The conference is free. Register by April 27, 2014, and get a free lunch: http://crsc.berkeley.edu/conference  2. Joyce Jenkins is editor of Poetry Flash, Literary Review & Calendar for the West (Poetryflash.org), presenter of the Poetry Flash reading series at Moe’s Books (Berkeley) and Diesel, A Bookstore (Oakland), Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival, and the Northern California Book Awards. She is chair of Northern California Book Reviewers, a volunteer association which has its 33rd Annual Northern California Book Awards this Sunday, April 27, 2014, at the San Francisco Main Library on Larkin Street, 1-2:30; 2:30-4:00 p.m. The event is free. For more information on the awards visit www.poetryflash.org or 510/525-5476. 3. African American Shakespeare Company presents Much Ado About Nothing: L. Peter Calendar, Director; Leontyne Mbele-Mbong as Beatrice, Ryan Vincent Anderson as Benedick. www.african-americanshakes.org

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We open with a conversation with Jasmine Heiss, Senior Campaigner with Amnesty International USA's Individuals and Communities at Risk program. She advocates on behalf of the prisoners of conscience, human rights defenders, communities and other individuals who are at the heart of Amnesty International's work. She is lead on AIUSA's work on behalf of the Angola 3: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=6645049&aid=520358 We then shift to a matter dear to all our hearts, food, healthy food choices this Vegetraian Week in Alameda County. We speak to Veg Week and Meatless Monday Founder, Kristie Middleton, food policy manager for The Humane Society of the United States and the founder of Oakland Veg. She has successfully worked with dozens of corporations, hospitals, and other institutions to improve the plight of farm animals through humane-minded purchasing programs, and has worked with some of the nation’s largest school districts, including Los Angeles Unified School District, Detroit Public Schools, and Broward County Schools, to implement Meatless Monday. Her work has been covered by national media, including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and CNN. She is joined by Krystil Smith, Food Policy Coordinator at the Humane Society of the United States. She works closely with food and nutrition professionals across the nation to implement Meatless Monday and other healthy, sustainable and humane eating initiatives. She specializes in sustainable food solutions, particularly the environmental impact of modern agricultural practices and food systems. She holds a Juris Doctor and a Masters of Environmental Law &Policy from Vermont Law School.Music:The Angola Project:Amazing Grace, Rise&Fly, No More My Lawd;Fela'sNoMoreWater

We open with a conversation with Jasmine Heiss, Senior Campaigner with Amnesty International USA's Individuals and Communities at Risk program. She advocates on behalf of the prisoners of conscience, human rights defenders, communities and other individuals who are at the heart of Amnesty International's work. She is lead on AIUSA's work on behalf of the Angola 3: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=6oJCLQPAJiJUG&b=6645049&aid=520358 We then shift to a matter dear to all our hearts, food, healthy food choices this Vegetraian Week in Alameda County. We speak to Veg Week and Meatless Monday Founder, Kristie Middleton, food policy manager for The Humane Society of the United States and the founder of Oakland Veg. She has successfully worked with dozens of corporations, hospitals, and other institutions to improve the plight of farm animals through humane-minded purchasing programs, and has worked with some of the nation’s largest school districts, including Los Angeles Unified School District, Detroit Public Schools, and Broward County Schools, to implement Meatless Monday. Her work has been covered by national media, including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and CNN. She is joined by Krystil Smith, Food Policy Coordinator at the Humane Society of the United States. She works closely with food and nutrition professionals across the nation to implement Meatless Monday and other healthy, sustainable and humane eating initiatives. She specializes in sustainable food solutions, particularly the environmental impact of modern agricultural practices and food systems. She holds a Juris Doctor and a Masters of Environmental Law &Policy from Vermont Law School.Music:The Angola Project:Amazing Grace, Rise&Fly, No More My Lawd;Fela'sNoMoreWater

Dan Hoyle joins us to talk about his new play, written in collaboration with Tony Taccone, Game On, directed by Rick Lombardo, at San Jose Rep through April 19, 2014. https://www.sjrep.com/ Bonnie Boswell joins us via the archives (2012) to talk about The Power Broker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rightshttp://www.pbs.org/independentlens/powerbroker/Carl Lumbly joins us to talk about August Wilson's Fences, directed by Derrick Sanders which opens at Marin Theatre Company April 10, tonight and continues through May 11 (after multiple extensions). www.marintheatre.org 415-388-5208. We close with a conversation about opera and musical theatre with Dr. Lynne Morrow, Musical Director, Oakland Symphony Chorus, conducting Handel's Messiah, this weekend, April 13, 2014, 5:30 p.m.at Cathedral of Christ The Light, Oakland oaklandsymphonychorus.org; joining her are Kelly Gregg (producer) and Sammi Cannold (director) of the Immersive Production of Les Miserables at Stanford University, April 11-12; 17-19 8 p.m. in the University's Memorial Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. http://musical.stanford.edu/tickets.htmlMusic: Anthony Brown's AfroAsian Orchestra's Afro Blue;  Abraham Burton's Nebulai.

Dan Hoyle joins us to talk about his new play, written in collaboration with Tony Taccone, Game On, directed by Rick Lombardo, at San Jose Rep through April 19, 2014. https://www.sjrep.com/ Bonnie Boswell joins us via the archives (2012) to talk about The Power Broker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rightshttp://www.pbs.org/independentlens/powerbroker/Carl Lumbly joins us to talk about August Wilson's Fences, directed by Derrick Sanders which opens at Marin Theatre Company April 10, tonight and continues through May 11 (after multiple extensions). www.marintheatre.org 415-388-5208. We close with a conversation about opera and musical theatre with Dr. Lynne Morrow, Musical Director, Oakland Symphony Chorus, conducting Handel's Messiah, this weekend, April 13, 2014, 5:30 p.m.at Cathedral of Christ The Light, Oakland oaklandsymphonychorus.org; joining her are Kelly Gregg (producer) and Sammi Cannold (director) of the Immersive Production of Les Miserables at Stanford University, April 11-12; 17-19 8 p.m. in the University's Memorial Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. http://musical.stanford.edu/tickets.htmlMusic: Anthony Brown's AfroAsian Orchestra's Afro Blue;  Abraham Burton's Nebulai.