Wanda's Picks

Guests: Parnell Herbert and Tracie Washington from Louisiana Justice Institute, Kenneth Cooper, CeCe Campbell Rock join us from New Orleans and California to discuss New Orleans six years after Hurricane Katrina. We conclude with two poets: Marta Sanchez, writer and artist from Panama who now lives in Oakland, CA, and Furaha Youngblood from Louisiana by way of Los Angeles and Oakland, CA who now lives in Panama (smile). We discuss their books: Cat-Eyed Woman from Louisiana (FY) and Beauty Unbalanced (MS). Music: Anthony Brown Orchestra's Afro-Blue, Babatunde Lea.

Sheila Phipps, artist, speaks about her son, No Limit Rapper, "Mac," who is serving 30 years, and her art currently at Sandra Berry's Neighborhood Gallery in New Orleans, who she says is innocent. Visit www.free-mac.org Kenneth Cooper is an independent writer and life-long resident of New Orleans. He recently graduated from the University of New Orleans (UNO) in 2008 with a degree in English and has his work published in the New Orleans Review, the Alternet, Sync504, and the New Orleans Examiner. Meshawn Tarver: In June 2010 Meshawn, graduate of George Washington University with a Masters in Public Health, became Executive Director of Common Ground Health Clinic (CGHC), a patient centered integrated medical home, serving the underinsured and uninsured population. CGHC also provides herbal medicine, acupuncture, women’s wellness group and broad array of classes including health education, cooking, gardening and art classes. Robert H. King, former political prisoner, only free member of the Angola 3, is author of  "From the Bottom of the Heap: The Autobiography of Black Panther Robert Hillary King," with an introduction by Dr. Terry Kupers, MD, MSP. Dan, a representative from the Gulf Restoration Network, the only non profit environmental advocacy group with an exclusive focus on the Gulf of Mexico based in New Orleans. The second half of the program is a discussion of August Wilson's Seven Guitars with actors: L. Peter Callendar (Red Carter), Charles Branklyn (Hedley), and Shinelle Azoroh (Ruby), at the Marin Theatre Company through September 11, 2011. Visit www.marintheatre.org or call (415)388-5208. Music: Somi's "When the Rain Comes" & Babatunde Olatunde Lea's "Umbo Weti: Tribute to Leon Thomas."

Rebroadcast interview with Michelle Alexander: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colonialism and interviews with Joanna Haigood and visual artist Charles Trapolin, re: their collaboration with premiered earlier this year: The Monkey and the Devil. Visit http://www.ybca.org/content/zaccho-dance-theatre-monkey-and-devil Music: CHELLE! and Friends, who commemorate the music of Mardi Gras, New Orleans, and celebrates its Creole people and their remarkable music.

Announcements: Words Upon the Waters: A Gulf Coast Update and Fundraiser is Sunday, August 28, 2011, 2-5 PM at Joyce Gordon Gallery, 406 14th Street, Oakland. There will be poetry, a film screening and current information on what's happening in New Orleans and Mississippi.

Congratulations to Francisco Torres, SF8 member, whose charges were dropped and who is now free. Torres was the last member of the SF8 who was being prosecuted. Visit http://revolutionaryfrontlines.wordpress.com/2011/08/20/cisco-torres-is-free-of-all-charges-in-the-sf8-case/

Thanks to the brave and courageous men who called the hunger strike July 1, 2011 at Pelican Bay to protest their inhumane treatment and to the Hon. Tom Ammiano, Chair, Assemblymember, Thirteenth District, California Legislature, for hosting the Policy Review of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secure Housing Unit(SHU), Tuesday, August 23, 2011. We will broadcast testimony from the public comment part of the meeting next Wednesday.

Rebroadcast of the AUG 17, 2011, Marcus Garvey Special featuring guests: Dr. Oba T'Shaka, Sister Nefertina Abrams

Sister Sheba Makeda Haven, Elder Ronald Freeman, Jabari Shaw and Robert King on George Jackson, Marcus Garvey, Black August and African Resistance.

8 AM: Stepology choreographers: Jason Rodgers & Channing Cook-Holmes; 8:30 AM: Carol Stickman, Staff Attorney, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children re: Legislative Hearing and Rally in Sacramento, August 23, 2011, on Pelican Bay Hunger Strike & CA Corrections;

9 AM:Dinizulu Gene Tinnie re: Commemoration of the End of the Slave Trade and the Haitian Revolution. Historic Key West African Cemetery, in Florida, located on Atlantic Boulevard adjacent to Higgs Beach, between the White Street Pier and the West Martello Tower fort, will be the special venue for the Third Annual Observance of the International Day of Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, on Sunday, August 21, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. 9:30 AM:Ava DuVernay, director, "I Will Follow," which is having its DVD release Tuesday, August 23, 2011.

8 AM: Dr. Oba T'Shaka: Garvey's organization and how this impacted his life and work

8:30: Nefertina Abrams on Marcus Garvey's Legacy and His Wives. there is an event this weekend in FL.

9:00: Sheba Makeda Haven, UNIA Member; Elder Freeman, event in LA, Jabari Aali Shaw re: Marcus Garvey Parade and Event in Oakland, CA, Saturday, August 20, 2011.

9:30: Sundiata Tate (wasn't able to make it, Elder Freeman, Robert King re: Black August and George Jackson. Sheba and Jabari join us as well.

One of the most recognized voices in Cuba, Wilfredo Campa combines his love of salsa, son, and jazz into an infectious, energetic blend of Afro-Latin rhythms and big-band sounds.

Born and raised in the countryside of Cuba, Campa’s ambition and love for music, dance and song-writing led him to study professional singing at Cuban’s acclaimed Escuela Superacion de Arte Raul Sanchez. While a student, Campa toured internationally with the group Cumbre, performing at venues throughout Cuba and worldwide. His exciting stage presence and booming vocals brought him to join the GRAMMY-nominated band Maraca. From 1998 to 2005, Maraca released three critically acclaimed albums and shared the stage at prestigious jazz festivals with the ranks of Winston Marsalis, Poncho Sanchez, Natalie Cole, Joe Lovano, and other luminaries.

In 2005, Campa formed the 13-piece Wil Campa y Su Orchestra, a collaboration of some of Cuba’s most celebrated artists. Es Tiempo, released in 2006, charted multiple singles, including the smash hit “Son a Santiago.” Their second album, Todo Es Posible was released in summer of 2010. The band has been playing to audiences across the globe since then, spreading Campa’s passion for Cuba and its music worldwide.

Wil Campa performs at the Stern Grove Festival, Sunday, August 14, 2011. The concert opens with Brazilian singer Luísa Maita. Listen to August 10, 2011, Wanda's Picks for an interview with her.  Visit http://www.sterngrove.org/

Terri J. Vaughn joins us from Atlanta to talk about Take Wings Foundation Awards 2011 Aug. 13, 2011 in San Francisco. Heriberto Ocasio & David Santos talk about the People's Patrol in Oakland, CA, formed to witness, call out, and stand up to any and all illegal actions by the police against the people. "7 Women, 7 Stools," opens for one night only at the Black Repertory Group Theater, Sat., Aug. 20, 2011, 8 PM. Lady Kitty Griffin talks about her work which tells the stories if 7 very different women. Visit emergetheplay.com We close with a look at the transformative power of art, theatrespecifically, at San Quentin State Prison through the work of Lesley Currier, founding Managing Director of Marin Shakespeare Company. She holds a B.A. in Religion from Princeton University, where she was awarded the Frances LeMoyne Page Award for Theatre.  Lesley, 2007 Marin Women's Hall of Fame awardee, is founder of Shakespeare at San Quentin. The company, San Quentin Shakespeare, directed by Suraya Susana Keating, mother, yoga instructor, actress, director, theatre teacher and a Registered Drama Therapist dedicated to creating peace and transformation through the arts, performed Twelth Night or What You Will at San Quentin, Friday, August 5 to inmates and invited guests. Visit http://www.marinshakespeare.org/ & http://www.suraya.org/

BRGT Summer Theatre Co-directors Tanyonika Scott & Tavia Council join us to talk about closing week of The Wiz, August 10-14. For the entire summer children ages 4-16 have been honing their theatre and vocal skills for these public performances culminating this week at Black Repertory Group, 3201 Adeline Street, Berkeley, CA, (510) 652-2120.  Show times are: 10 AM & 1 PM today and tomorrow, Friday, August 12 there are three performances: 10 AM, 1 PM and 8 PM. Saturday, August 13 there 2:30 & 8 PM and Sunday, August 14, 5 PM Visit http://blackrepertorygroup.com/Main_Stage.html  Next Antoine Hunter, Founder/Artistic Director Urban Jazz Dance Company, joins us to speak about "The Dance Up Close/East Bay" series at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley, August 19-20, 26-27 8pm at the Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, 2704 Alcatraz Avenue, (510) 654-5921, www.UrbanJazzDance.com, www.shawl-anderson.org  Antoine is joined by company members, Erin Carper & Loran Clay-Tolbert.  Week 2 Deaf star, Fred Beam and Wild Zapper from Washington D.C., join the conversation as well This all male dancer troupe uses not just dance, but gesture, storytelling, and physical theater to great effect. The Zappers have zapped deaf and hearing audiences across the nation and abroadVisit http://invisiblehands.com  We close with an interview with Brazil's hottest new artist, Luísa Maita, hailed as the "New Voice of Brazil" by NPR and was recently awarded as the "Best New Artist" by the Brazilian Music Awards, Brazil's equivalent to a GRAMMY. Sultry, seductive and infused with that inimitable samba swing, Luísa’s music embodies the modern spirit of Brazil. Luísa Maita will perform at Stern Grove in San Francisco on August 14th. The free show begins at 2:00 PM

8 AM: Ayana Labossiere, teacher, member, Haiti Action Committee is working with Alex Walker, Vagant Poetics, on a Benefit for Haiti--an open mic for activists at Goodbellies Cafe in Oakland; Robert Roth, teacher, is a co-founder of the Haiti Action Committee and a board member of the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund. 8:30 AM: Jovelyn Richards, playwright, Ms. Pat's House, which is opening at La Pena, August 19; she is joined by director Stephanie Johnson. 9 AM: Kevin Epps, filmmaker, joins us to talk about his film, The Black Rock, a film about blacks incarcerated in the USA's first maxium security prison, and his year long artist residency through Feb. 2012. As a Fellow at the deYoung Museum in San Francisco, Epps is hosting a series of Filmmakers Lounge screenings. The next one is Friday, August 12, 2011, 5-8:45 PM, where he will show The Black Rock in the Koret at the deYoung. It is a part of Fiesta Friday nights. Black August screens Saturday, August 13, 1 PM followed by a Q&A with the director. Saturday, August 20, 1-3 PM is a special screening and conversation with the director and subjects on the film: Confessions of a Burning Man. "The experience shared by four first-timers demonstrates how Burning Man dissolves the barriers between races, nationalities, and economic classes." Kevin Epps is featured in the cast.  Tickets will be given out in front of the museum beginning at 12 noon. Visit http://deyoung.famsf.org/deyoung/calendar/filmmakers-lounge-kevin-epps-black-rock-black-august-confessions-burning-man-and-mo