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"title": "The Heard v. Depp Trial is Finally Over—The Biggest Winner Was Misogyny",
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"content": "\u003cp>The verdict is in, and it’s strangely fitting: Everybody lost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday afternoon, a jury came to the conclusion that Johnny Depp and Amber Heard had defamed each other after a livestreamed trial that was as long as it was disturbing. In the end, the jury awarded Depp $10.35 million of the $50 million he sought from his ex-wife over the \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ive-seen-how-institutions-protect-men-accused-of-abuse-heres-what-we-can-do/2018/12/18/71fd876a-02ed-11e9-b5df-5d3874f1ac36_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2018 \u003cem>Washington Post\u003c/em> op-ed\u003c/a> in which she described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” They awarded Heard $2 million of the $100 million she sought when she counter-sued him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond the difference in amounts, the person who lost the most in this trial is Amber Heard. Heard, whose life has been on hold for the last four years while her ex-husband doggedly pursued her and dragged her through courts on both sides of the Atlantic. Heard, who has been painted online as a conniving villain despite a British High Court judge concluding in 2020 that she “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13889064/johnny-depps-uk-libel-case-failed-and-his-us-one-is-likely-doomed-too\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">was the victim of sustained and multiple assaults by Mr. Depp\u003c/a>.” Heard, who survived an obviously excruciating marriage, only to become the subject of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/06/15/1104925752/amber-heard-says-social-media-was-a-factor-for-her-defamation-trial-jury\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">excruciating public ridicule\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13914332\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13914332\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amber Heard listens in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse, May 23, 2022. \u003ccite>(STEVE HELBER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s clear that Depp’s regular reliance on alcohol and drugs made their situation at home hellish. Heard, unfortunately, did not react to that difficult set of circumstances in the way the world expects (or wants) to see from a woman experiencing abuse. She didn’t cower. Instead, she lost her temper, she mocked him, and (as she admitted in one infamous recording) she hit him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amber Heard’s biggest crime of all, probably, was repeatedly lying about donating her $7 million divorce settlement. (She donated $1.3 million, but not all of that came directly from her.) Because of that lie, an assumption took hold that Depp couldn’t possibly have assaulted Heard in the ways she described. (And make no mistake, her testimony about those alleged assaults has often been \u003ca href=\"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/amber-heard-johnny-depp-bottle-scars-b2080069.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">harrowing\u003c/a>.) Apparently, in the court of public opinion, if you lie about one thing, you must be lying about everything—even credible abuse claims backed by a mountain of \u003ca href=\"https://nypost.com/2022/05/18/ex-amber-heard-bff-says-she-saw-abuse-inflicted-by-depp/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">photos\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.newsweek.com/johnny-depp-violent-texts-paul-bettany-amber-heard-trial-1699979\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">messages\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She’s begging for total global humiliation,” Depp wrote about Heard in one furious 2016 text. “She’s gonna get it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='pop_97650']It took him six years, but there can be no doubt that Depp, with the help of his fans and his privilege, has now thoroughly succeeded in that revenge mission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With Depp back to swanning around the world, \u003ca href=\"https://deadline.com/2022/05/johnny-depp-jeff-beck-performance-england-1235035309/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">playing guitar for supportive rock stars\u003c/a>, it’s important to look beyond the two flawed characters at the center of this awful case. Because the most damage sustained in all of this isn’t to Heard or to Depp—it was to the survivors of domestic abuse and intimate partner violence who’ve been watching in horror for the last six weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That damage has been inflicted on multiple fronts throughout this trial, and relentlessly so. It was inflicted inside the courtroom, when we saw Heard’s dating history and friendships with men picked apart, as if those relationships were grounds to doubt the likelihood she’d been assaulted. (It felt reminiscent of the recent past when rape survivors were still routinely asked about their sexual histories.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Online and outside the courtroom, Heard was subjected to mockery, abuse and hatred by people whose support for her more famous husband was persistently aggressive. She was talked about as if she were the one pursuing him in court, not the other way around. And fellow \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8R3EXXlKxg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">celebrities have piled on\u003c/a> too. When Chris Rock said “\u003ca href=\"https://variety.com/2022/film/news/chris-rock-depp-heard-trial-believe-women-amber-1235268125/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Believe all women except Amber Heard\u003c/a>” a couple weeks ago, far too many people laughed along.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just months after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13903795/britney-spears-conservatorship-documentaries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Framing Britney Spears\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13902631/women-reclaim-the-narrative-of-the-clinton-sex-scandal-in-impeachment-american-crime-story\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Impeachment: American Crime Story\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13908915/pam-tommy-are-sympathetic-figures-in-an-infamous-culture-war\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Pam & Tommy\u003c/em>\u003c/a> all suggested America no longer eviscerated famous women in public for cheap laughs, the response to this trial has unequivocally proven otherwise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Worst of all, the decision against Heard will serve to silence abuse survivors. Because—and it’s important to remind ourselves of this—Amber Heard did not name Johnny Depp in the \u003cem>Washington Post\u003c/em> article that prompted Depp’s lawsuit. Dots could be connected because of the couple’s high-profile marriage, and the 2016 restraining order she filed against him for abusing her while under the influence. But she did not name him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not only will this knowledge prevent other survivors from speaking publicly or writing about their abuse, it puts in particular jeopardy any and all famous activists who’ve led their relationships in the public eye.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13910124']Consider \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13910124\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evan Rachel Wood\u003c/a>, who campaigned successfully to extend the statute of limitations for domestic violence in California. Part of what made her such a compelling witness was the harrowing testimony she gave about the intimate partner violence she suffered at the hands of an anonymous former boyfriend. (The world now knows him to be Marilyn Manson—a figure that came up in the Depp v. Heard trial due to his close friendship with Depp.) Would Wood give that testimony now, before cameras and on the record, knowing the verdict that just landed on Heard? If people can’t speak out about their experiences with abuse while granting their abusers anonymity, when can they speak at all?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almost everything about this trial has been a keen reminder of the Bad Old Days. The days when a woman had to be a stoic and saintly image of victimhood in order to be believed. The days when a man’s appalling private behavior could be ignored by the masses because he was a beloved public figure. The days when it was acceptable to demonize and bully a woman because she said things about a famous man that the world would rather not hear. The days when bystanders pointing any of these things out online would earn them a swift and proverbial beatdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13914330\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13914330\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-2048x1367.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-1920x1282.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amber Heard supporter Daniel Lee, 26, is flipped off by a Johnny Depp supporter outside court during the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard civil trial at Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia on May 27, 2022. \u003ccite>(Cliff Owen/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This whole trial has been a depressing and demoralizing mess. It is a confirmation that we still live in a place where, when it comes to a complicated he-said-she-said, the winner will always be the one with the most power, the most fans, the most money to buy the best lawyers, and the biggest reserves of good old fashioned misogyny to deploy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amber Heard and Johnny Depp both lost today. But it’s America that’s losing the most.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The verdict is in, and it’s strangely fitting: Everybody lost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Wednesday afternoon, a jury came to the conclusion that Johnny Depp and Amber Heard had defamed each other after a livestreamed trial that was as long as it was disturbing. In the end, the jury awarded Depp $10.35 million of the $50 million he sought from his ex-wife over the \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ive-seen-how-institutions-protect-men-accused-of-abuse-heres-what-we-can-do/2018/12/18/71fd876a-02ed-11e9-b5df-5d3874f1ac36_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2018 \u003cem>Washington Post\u003c/em> op-ed\u003c/a> in which she described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” They awarded Heard $2 million of the $100 million she sought when she counter-sued him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond the difference in amounts, the person who lost the most in this trial is Amber Heard. Heard, whose life has been on hold for the last four years while her ex-husband doggedly pursued her and dragged her through courts on both sides of the Atlantic. Heard, who has been painted online as a conniving villain despite a British High Court judge concluding in 2020 that she “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13889064/johnny-depps-uk-libel-case-failed-and-his-us-one-is-likely-doomed-too\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">was the victim of sustained and multiple assaults by Mr. Depp\u003c/a>.” Heard, who survived an obviously excruciating marriage, only to become the subject of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/06/15/1104925752/amber-heard-says-social-media-was-a-factor-for-her-defamation-trial-jury\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">excruciating public ridicule\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13914332\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13914332\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1240858246-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amber Heard listens in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse, May 23, 2022. \u003ccite>(STEVE HELBER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s clear that Depp’s regular reliance on alcohol and drugs made their situation at home hellish. Heard, unfortunately, did not react to that difficult set of circumstances in the way the world expects (or wants) to see from a woman experiencing abuse. She didn’t cower. Instead, she lost her temper, she mocked him, and (as she admitted in one infamous recording) she hit him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amber Heard’s biggest crime of all, probably, was repeatedly lying about donating her $7 million divorce settlement. (She donated $1.3 million, but not all of that came directly from her.) Because of that lie, an assumption took hold that Depp couldn’t possibly have assaulted Heard in the ways she described. (And make no mistake, her testimony about those alleged assaults has often been \u003ca href=\"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/amber-heard-johnny-depp-bottle-scars-b2080069.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">harrowing\u003c/a>.) Apparently, in the court of public opinion, if you lie about one thing, you must be lying about everything—even credible abuse claims backed by a mountain of \u003ca href=\"https://nypost.com/2022/05/18/ex-amber-heard-bff-says-she-saw-abuse-inflicted-by-depp/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">photos\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.newsweek.com/johnny-depp-violent-texts-paul-bettany-amber-heard-trial-1699979\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">messages\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>It took him six years, but there can be no doubt that Depp, with the help of his fans and his privilege, has now thoroughly succeeded in that revenge mission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With Depp back to swanning around the world, \u003ca href=\"https://deadline.com/2022/05/johnny-depp-jeff-beck-performance-england-1235035309/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">playing guitar for supportive rock stars\u003c/a>, it’s important to look beyond the two flawed characters at the center of this awful case. Because the most damage sustained in all of this isn’t to Heard or to Depp—it was to the survivors of domestic abuse and intimate partner violence who’ve been watching in horror for the last six weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That damage has been inflicted on multiple fronts throughout this trial, and relentlessly so. It was inflicted inside the courtroom, when we saw Heard’s dating history and friendships with men picked apart, as if those relationships were grounds to doubt the likelihood she’d been assaulted. (It felt reminiscent of the recent past when rape survivors were still routinely asked about their sexual histories.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Online and outside the courtroom, Heard was subjected to mockery, abuse and hatred by people whose support for her more famous husband was persistently aggressive. She was talked about as if she were the one pursuing him in court, not the other way around. And fellow \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8R3EXXlKxg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">celebrities have piled on\u003c/a> too. When Chris Rock said “\u003ca href=\"https://variety.com/2022/film/news/chris-rock-depp-heard-trial-believe-women-amber-1235268125/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Believe all women except Amber Heard\u003c/a>” a couple weeks ago, far too many people laughed along.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just months after \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13903795/britney-spears-conservatorship-documentaries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Framing Britney Spears\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13902631/women-reclaim-the-narrative-of-the-clinton-sex-scandal-in-impeachment-american-crime-story\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Impeachment: American Crime Story\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13908915/pam-tommy-are-sympathetic-figures-in-an-infamous-culture-war\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Pam & Tommy\u003c/em>\u003c/a> all suggested America no longer eviscerated famous women in public for cheap laughs, the response to this trial has unequivocally proven otherwise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Worst of all, the decision against Heard will serve to silence abuse survivors. Because—and it’s important to remind ourselves of this—Amber Heard did not name Johnny Depp in the \u003cem>Washington Post\u003c/em> article that prompted Depp’s lawsuit. Dots could be connected because of the couple’s high-profile marriage, and the 2016 restraining order she filed against him for abusing her while under the influence. But she did not name him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not only will this knowledge prevent other survivors from speaking publicly or writing about their abuse, it puts in particular jeopardy any and all famous activists who’ve led their relationships in the public eye.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Consider \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13910124\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evan Rachel Wood\u003c/a>, who campaigned successfully to extend the statute of limitations for domestic violence in California. Part of what made her such a compelling witness was the harrowing testimony she gave about the intimate partner violence she suffered at the hands of an anonymous former boyfriend. (The world now knows him to be Marilyn Manson—a figure that came up in the Depp v. Heard trial due to his close friendship with Depp.) Would Wood give that testimony now, before cameras and on the record, knowing the verdict that just landed on Heard? If people can’t speak out about their experiences with abuse while granting their abusers anonymity, when can they speak at all?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almost everything about this trial has been a keen reminder of the Bad Old Days. The days when a woman had to be a stoic and saintly image of victimhood in order to be believed. The days when a man’s appalling private behavior could be ignored by the masses because he was a beloved public figure. The days when it was acceptable to demonize and bully a woman because she said things about a famous man that the world would rather not hear. The days when bystanders pointing any of these things out online would earn them a swift and proverbial beatdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13914330\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13914330\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-2048x1367.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-1241024671-1920x1282.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amber Heard supporter Daniel Lee, 26, is flipped off by a Johnny Depp supporter outside court during the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard civil trial at Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia on May 27, 2022. \u003ccite>(Cliff Owen/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This whole trial has been a depressing and demoralizing mess. It is a confirmation that we still live in a place where, when it comes to a complicated he-said-she-said, the winner will always be the one with the most power, the most fans, the most money to buy the best lawyers, and the biggest reserves of good old fashioned misogyny to deploy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amber Heard and Johnny Depp both lost today. But it’s America that’s losing the most.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "How We Process the Texas Shooting",
"headTitle": "How We Process the Texas Shooting | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>There is no right way to grieve the violent, bloody killing of 19 elementary school children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you are a functioning human, then in the past day you’ve probably swung from shock, to sadness, to frustration and anger—and then back again. You’re not alone. Those of us at KQED Arts & Culture have been navigating the same storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How are \u003cem>you\u003c/em> doing? If you just need a place to vent, cry, lament, or try to make sense of the senseless, \u003ca href=\"mailto:gmeline@kqed.org?subject=Processing%20the%20Texas%20Shooting\">send us an email and let us know how you’re doing\u003c/a>. We promise one of us will get back to you, human to human.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, we’ve been processing the news out of Texas, and its all-too-familiar news cycle—and finding sources of support, comfort, and determination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Skip to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#resources\">Resources for Grief\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#help\">How to Help\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/iStock-1317456533.jpg\" alt=\"Sad Girl Hiding Face\" width=\"591\" height=\"591\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13913994\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/iStock-1317456533.jpg 591w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/iStock-1317456533-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 591px) 100vw, 591px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Shutting Down and Feeling Drained\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>I have to admit, I shut down. Like, completely. I had to stop working, I took a late afternoon nap, and I had a dream that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was in his car next to me, on the phone, rebutting demands to advance gun control legislation with facts that were patently untrue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dream felt real, because, well, it essentially is. Our nightmare of mass shootings is not going to stop until Capitol Hill takes action; until \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/bessbell/status/1529290355669028864\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">NRA-backed senators\u003c/a> put human life above money; until we stop hearing “cast your vote in November” and start hearing about the lawmakers that we’ve already voted for doing their job, and protecting our kids. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I woke up from my dream and put on Archie Shepp’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLf8CINFnEM\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Damn If I Know\u003c/a>,” a searing cry from a jazz master who turned 85 yesterday and got the worst birthday present imaginable, 19 children, bodies mangled in the classroom, dead, dead, dead. When my daughter came home from elementary school, my job as a dad was to hug her with all the love in the world. But I am so, so tired of this, and believe me, I was almost too drained to even greet her at the door.\u003cem>—Gabe Meline, Senior Editor\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13909111']\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Utilizing Anger as a Productive Fuel\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>I’ve written guides for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13886630/how-to-stop-doomscrolling-and-start-using-the-internet-mindfully\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">avoiding doomscrolling\u003c/a> and practicing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13876619/self-care-tips-to-get-you-through-the-new-coronavirus-normal\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">self-care through tragedy\u003c/a>. But after two years of COVID, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/05/24/1101050970/2022-school-shootings-so-far\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">27 school shootings in the United States this year alone\u003c/a>, I find it cruel and perverse that we repeatedly need to learn to cope with escalating, inhumane violence. I’m tired of elected officials offering thoughts and prayers or encouraging us to vote. \u003ci>Please actually do something.\u003c/i> Getting out to the ballot box isn’t enough—this situation calls for direct action, in order to make this human rights crisis impossible for those in power to ignore. It also calls for an entire examination of our political system and the powerful influence of special-interest groups like the NRA. If you’re full of pent-up rage, channel it into action. Make protest signs, call your legislators, get creative. Rage can be productive fuel for change.\u003cem>—Nastia Voynovskaya, Associate Editor\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Sharing a Shroud of Grief\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>I spent last night going to a show in August Hall with a dear friend who lost her husband suddenly two years ago. She’s still in that stage of grief where it hangs on her like a dark shroud, even when she’s not talking about it. I recognize the shroud, because it took me five years to emerge from under my own after my husband died in 2013. My friend and I didn’t talk about Uvalde’s elementary school slaughter. Instead, we held each other close, told each other we loved each other, and went home early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before I went to sleep, I read the details. I looked closely at the teachers’ smiles, and the children’s faces brimming with promise. I tried to imagine the unimaginable—the agony of the parents. That first day is like an out-of-body experience. Coroners and police must be spoken to, forms must be signed, family and friends must be informed, funeral homes must be called. And then you must go back to your deafeningly silent home, and begin the process of learning to live with a metaphorical shroud where your person used to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deep grief leaves you feeling cut off from everyone else. But the truth is that too many people are living under the same shroud. In 2020, 19,384 Americans were shot to death by other Americans. And 4,300 of them were children and teenagers. Picture five sold-out shows at August Hall, each populated exclusively by young people. Now picture absolutely no one coming home from any of them. That’s the reality America’s youth is currently living, year over year over year, and America’s chaperones are doing absolutely nothing about it.\u003cem>—Rae Alexandra, Staff Writer\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13893843']\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Demanding Immediate Legislation from Lawmakers\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>I first heard the news on Slack when the victims were thought to be just two children. I didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to pause work and doomscroll through the imminent Twitter storm. Before letting the news hit me, before even knowing what the news was, I scrambled to gather resources to add to the conversation. I did this almost on autopilot—this has happened many times before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These included archival stories we’re all too familiar with from these recurring atrocities. “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11790663/18-songs-we-listen-to-in-times-of-tumult\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Songs We Listen to in Times of Tumult and Distress\u003c/a>.” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13893843/9-helpful-things-to-know-about-grief-that-nobody-warns-you-about\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">9 Helpful Things To Know About Grief That Nobody Warns You About\u003c/a>.” Insightful, poignant resources that I hope will help others. But I haven’t yet let them help me. Personally, I’m not ready to talk about grief. I’m ready for immediate action to curb this horrific and ceaseless domestic terrorism. If those in power don’t effectuate gun reform and pull out all stops to cease the murders of children, Black families, Asian churchgoers and other innocent lives, then I never want to hear a politician lament their “thoughts and prayers” again. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I want to \u003ca href=\"https://archive.thinkprogress.org/corporations-nra-f0d8074f2ca7/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">boycott companies who support the NRA\u003c/a>; I want to advocate against gun lobbyists, corrupt lawmakers and the military-industrial complex that promotes military-grade gun ownership and enables more lives to be taken. At a time when the imminent repeal of reproductive rights is threatening lives, and gun rights continue to take them, we need to ask what freedom truly means, and then fight for it.\u003cem>—Justin Ebrahemi, Digital Engagement Manager\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/iStock-1217439400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"724\" height=\"483\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13913993\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/iStock-1217439400.jpg 724w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/iStock-1217439400-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Becoming Numb to Constant Catastrophe\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Columbine happened on my birthday. I was in school with other high school students, gossiping, passing notes in class, when out of nowhere, an assembly was called to explain what happened. There were tears everywhere, guidance counselors, teachers holding students, and parents picking up their kids early to hold them close. That was almost 25 years ago. Nothing has changed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s actually not true—massacres like this are far more common now. I have young nieces and nephews for whom a school shooting, or an open slaughter of people at grocery stores, movie theaters or even churches is not shocking. We grieve and mourn because we are helpless. We hear the same condolences and apologies from those who could prevent these killings but don’t. We compartmentalize because tragedies like this happen weekly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most terrifying part for me is that I can have tears in my eyes for the sadness I feel, and then a few minutes later I’ll continue on as normal. I am becoming numb to the constant sense of catastrophe. You are not alone in your confusion of how to process what’s happening. You are not alone if you feel everything, and recoil in the fetal position. You are not alone if you feel nothing, and go about your day scrolling through posts and articles numb and without reaction. Simply put: you are not alone.\u003cem>—Ria Garewal, Engagement Producer\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Resolving In Our Sadness To Take Action\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>I lost a son to illness nearly 30 years ago. When it’s your child, you don’t stop grieving; you grow with it. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when something like the Uvalde school massacre happens, when 19 young lives are erased, snuffed out, as in so many school massacres before, I cannot access my grief. And while I ache for the families, knowing, as I do, just some of what they are going through, I can only rage against a society that will not act to stop this killing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In our sadness, we must all do something. Even if in the immediate term, it’s only an email or text to your senators (or \u003ca href=\"https://www.270towin.com/elected-officials/contact-us-senators\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">all 50 senators\u003c/a>) demanding a vote on legislation stalled in the Senate requiring background checks for gun purchases. Let them know you won’t be numbed into submission. And that we will not abandon our children to gun violence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, if you haven’t already, open your arms wide to your grief.\u003cem>—David Markus, Executive in Charge\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"resources\">\u003c/a>Resources for Grief and Trauma\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11764070/how-to-talk-with-kids-after-a-traumatic-event\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">How to Talk With Kids After a Traumatic Event\u003c/a> (KQED)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/08/11/749765103/from-pain-to-purpose-5-ways-to-cope-in-the-wake-of-trauma\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">From Pain to Purpose: 5 Ways to Cope in the Wake of Trauma\u003c/a> (NPR)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/59143/war-crisis-tragedy-how-to-talk-with-kids-when-the-news-is-scary\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">War, Crisis, Tragedy: How to Talk With Kids When the News is Scary\u003c/a> (MindShift)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13881725/where-to-find-affordable-culturally-competent-therapy-in-bay-area-and-beyond\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Where to Find Affordable, Culturally Competent Therapy in the Bay Area\u003c/a> (KQED)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pNvBomQazaRMif9sharZoypE_85NXleP/view\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">A Watch Guide for \u003cem>When the Waters Get Deep\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (KQED) \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd6DH16H9eo\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">KQED’s Brian Watt Talks With Warriors Coach Steve Kerr About Preventing Gun Violence\u003c/a> (Commonwealth Club)\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"help\">\u003c/a>How to Help\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/donate-to-texas-elementary-school-shooting-relief\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Donate to Texas Elementary School Shooting Relief\u003c/a> (GoFundMe)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://lulac.org/uvaldefund/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Fund for Families of Victims and Survivors of the Uvalde School Shooting\u003c/a> (League of United Latin American Citizens)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ucisd.net/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=4&ModuleInstanceID=1167&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=13134&PageID=1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Uvalde School District Fund for Families\u003c/a> (USD)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>There is no right way to grieve the violent, bloody killing of 19 elementary school children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you are a functioning human, then in the past day you’ve probably swung from shock, to sadness, to frustration and anger—and then back again. You’re not alone. Those of us at KQED Arts & Culture have been navigating the same storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How are \u003cem>you\u003c/em> doing? If you just need a place to vent, cry, lament, or try to make sense of the senseless, \u003ca href=\"mailto:gmeline@kqed.org?subject=Processing%20the%20Texas%20Shooting\">send us an email and let us know how you’re doing\u003c/a>. We promise one of us will get back to you, human to human.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, we’ve been processing the news out of Texas, and its all-too-familiar news cycle—and finding sources of support, comfort, and determination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Skip to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#resources\">Resources for Grief\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#help\">How to Help\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/iStock-1317456533.jpg\" alt=\"Sad Girl Hiding Face\" width=\"591\" height=\"591\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13913994\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/iStock-1317456533.jpg 591w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/iStock-1317456533-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 591px) 100vw, 591px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Shutting Down and Feeling Drained\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>I have to admit, I shut down. Like, completely. I had to stop working, I took a late afternoon nap, and I had a dream that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was in his car next to me, on the phone, rebutting demands to advance gun control legislation with facts that were patently untrue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The dream felt real, because, well, it essentially is. Our nightmare of mass shootings is not going to stop until Capitol Hill takes action; until \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/bessbell/status/1529290355669028864\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">NRA-backed senators\u003c/a> put human life above money; until we stop hearing “cast your vote in November” and start hearing about the lawmakers that we’ve already voted for doing their job, and protecting our kids. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I woke up from my dream and put on Archie Shepp’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLf8CINFnEM\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Damn If I Know\u003c/a>,” a searing cry from a jazz master who turned 85 yesterday and got the worst birthday present imaginable, 19 children, bodies mangled in the classroom, dead, dead, dead. When my daughter came home from elementary school, my job as a dad was to hug her with all the love in the world. But I am so, so tired of this, and believe me, I was almost too drained to even greet her at the door.\u003cem>—Gabe Meline, Senior Editor\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Utilizing Anger as a Productive Fuel\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>I’ve written guides for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13886630/how-to-stop-doomscrolling-and-start-using-the-internet-mindfully\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">avoiding doomscrolling\u003c/a> and practicing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13876619/self-care-tips-to-get-you-through-the-new-coronavirus-normal\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">self-care through tragedy\u003c/a>. But after two years of COVID, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/05/24/1101050970/2022-school-shootings-so-far\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">27 school shootings in the United States this year alone\u003c/a>, I find it cruel and perverse that we repeatedly need to learn to cope with escalating, inhumane violence. I’m tired of elected officials offering thoughts and prayers or encouraging us to vote. \u003ci>Please actually do something.\u003c/i> Getting out to the ballot box isn’t enough—this situation calls for direct action, in order to make this human rights crisis impossible for those in power to ignore. It also calls for an entire examination of our political system and the powerful influence of special-interest groups like the NRA. If you’re full of pent-up rage, channel it into action. Make protest signs, call your legislators, get creative. Rage can be productive fuel for change.\u003cem>—Nastia Voynovskaya, Associate Editor\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Sharing a Shroud of Grief\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>I spent last night going to a show in August Hall with a dear friend who lost her husband suddenly two years ago. She’s still in that stage of grief where it hangs on her like a dark shroud, even when she’s not talking about it. I recognize the shroud, because it took me five years to emerge from under my own after my husband died in 2013. My friend and I didn’t talk about Uvalde’s elementary school slaughter. Instead, we held each other close, told each other we loved each other, and went home early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before I went to sleep, I read the details. I looked closely at the teachers’ smiles, and the children’s faces brimming with promise. I tried to imagine the unimaginable—the agony of the parents. That first day is like an out-of-body experience. Coroners and police must be spoken to, forms must be signed, family and friends must be informed, funeral homes must be called. And then you must go back to your deafeningly silent home, and begin the process of learning to live with a metaphorical shroud where your person used to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deep grief leaves you feeling cut off from everyone else. But the truth is that too many people are living under the same shroud. In 2020, 19,384 Americans were shot to death by other Americans. And 4,300 of them were children and teenagers. Picture five sold-out shows at August Hall, each populated exclusively by young people. Now picture absolutely no one coming home from any of them. That’s the reality America’s youth is currently living, year over year over year, and America’s chaperones are doing absolutely nothing about it.\u003cem>—Rae Alexandra, Staff Writer\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Demanding Immediate Legislation from Lawmakers\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>I first heard the news on Slack when the victims were thought to be just two children. I didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to pause work and doomscroll through the imminent Twitter storm. Before letting the news hit me, before even knowing what the news was, I scrambled to gather resources to add to the conversation. I did this almost on autopilot—this has happened many times before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These included archival stories we’re all too familiar with from these recurring atrocities. “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11790663/18-songs-we-listen-to-in-times-of-tumult\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Songs We Listen to in Times of Tumult and Distress\u003c/a>.” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13893843/9-helpful-things-to-know-about-grief-that-nobody-warns-you-about\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">9 Helpful Things To Know About Grief That Nobody Warns You About\u003c/a>.” Insightful, poignant resources that I hope will help others. But I haven’t yet let them help me. Personally, I’m not ready to talk about grief. I’m ready for immediate action to curb this horrific and ceaseless domestic terrorism. If those in power don’t effectuate gun reform and pull out all stops to cease the murders of children, Black families, Asian churchgoers and other innocent lives, then I never want to hear a politician lament their “thoughts and prayers” again. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I want to \u003ca href=\"https://archive.thinkprogress.org/corporations-nra-f0d8074f2ca7/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">boycott companies who support the NRA\u003c/a>; I want to advocate against gun lobbyists, corrupt lawmakers and the military-industrial complex that promotes military-grade gun ownership and enables more lives to be taken. At a time when the imminent repeal of reproductive rights is threatening lives, and gun rights continue to take them, we need to ask what freedom truly means, and then fight for it.\u003cem>—Justin Ebrahemi, Digital Engagement Manager\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/iStock-1217439400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"724\" height=\"483\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13913993\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/iStock-1217439400.jpg 724w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/iStock-1217439400-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 724px) 100vw, 724px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Becoming Numb to Constant Catastrophe\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Columbine happened on my birthday. I was in school with other high school students, gossiping, passing notes in class, when out of nowhere, an assembly was called to explain what happened. There were tears everywhere, guidance counselors, teachers holding students, and parents picking up their kids early to hold them close. That was almost 25 years ago. Nothing has changed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s actually not true—massacres like this are far more common now. I have young nieces and nephews for whom a school shooting, or an open slaughter of people at grocery stores, movie theaters or even churches is not shocking. We grieve and mourn because we are helpless. We hear the same condolences and apologies from those who could prevent these killings but don’t. We compartmentalize because tragedies like this happen weekly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most terrifying part for me is that I can have tears in my eyes for the sadness I feel, and then a few minutes later I’ll continue on as normal. I am becoming numb to the constant sense of catastrophe. You are not alone in your confusion of how to process what’s happening. You are not alone if you feel everything, and recoil in the fetal position. You are not alone if you feel nothing, and go about your day scrolling through posts and articles numb and without reaction. Simply put: you are not alone.\u003cem>—Ria Garewal, Engagement Producer\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Resolving In Our Sadness To Take Action\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>I lost a son to illness nearly 30 years ago. When it’s your child, you don’t stop grieving; you grow with it. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when something like the Uvalde school massacre happens, when 19 young lives are erased, snuffed out, as in so many school massacres before, I cannot access my grief. And while I ache for the families, knowing, as I do, just some of what they are going through, I can only rage against a society that will not act to stop this killing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In our sadness, we must all do something. Even if in the immediate term, it’s only an email or text to your senators (or \u003ca href=\"https://www.270towin.com/elected-officials/contact-us-senators\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">all 50 senators\u003c/a>) demanding a vote on legislation stalled in the Senate requiring background checks for gun purchases. Let them know you won’t be numbed into submission. And that we will not abandon our children to gun violence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, if you haven’t already, open your arms wide to your grief.\u003cem>—David Markus, Executive in Charge\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"resources\">\u003c/a>Resources for Grief and Trauma\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11764070/how-to-talk-with-kids-after-a-traumatic-event\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">How to Talk With Kids After a Traumatic Event\u003c/a> (KQED)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/08/11/749765103/from-pain-to-purpose-5-ways-to-cope-in-the-wake-of-trauma\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">From Pain to Purpose: 5 Ways to Cope in the Wake of Trauma\u003c/a> (NPR)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/59143/war-crisis-tragedy-how-to-talk-with-kids-when-the-news-is-scary\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">War, Crisis, Tragedy: How to Talk With Kids When the News is Scary\u003c/a> (MindShift)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13881725/where-to-find-affordable-culturally-competent-therapy-in-bay-area-and-beyond\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Where to Find Affordable, Culturally Competent Therapy in the Bay Area\u003c/a> (KQED)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pNvBomQazaRMif9sharZoypE_85NXleP/view\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">A Watch Guide for \u003cem>When the Waters Get Deep\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (KQED) \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd6DH16H9eo\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">KQED’s Brian Watt Talks With Warriors Coach Steve Kerr About Preventing Gun Violence\u003c/a> (Commonwealth Club)\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"help\">\u003c/a>How to Help\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/donate-to-texas-elementary-school-shooting-relief\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Donate to Texas Elementary School Shooting Relief\u003c/a> (GoFundMe)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://lulac.org/uvaldefund/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Fund for Families of Victims and Survivors of the Uvalde School Shooting\u003c/a> (League of United Latin American Citizens)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ucisd.net/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=4&ModuleInstanceID=1167&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=13134&PageID=1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Uvalde School District Fund for Families\u003c/a> (USD)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note:\u003c/strong> Two years into the pandemic, artists are charting new paths forward. Across the Bay Area, they’re advocating for better pay, sharing resources and looking out for their communities’ well-being. Welcome to \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/ourcreativefutures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Our Creative Futures\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a KQED Arts & Culture series that takes stock of the arts in this unpredictable climate. \u003ca href=\"https://artskqed.typeform.com/Artist2022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Share your story here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside tag='our-creative-futures' label='Read the Series']Those of us who’ve been going out lately feel like our eyes are too big for our stomachs. We want to stand by the speakers at concerts and feel the bass rattle our rib cages. We want to see all the art, whether it’s in formal theaters or garage galleries. We want to try all the foods and give all the hugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet [cue sound of deflating balloon], as the Bay Area hits \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Area-officials-recommend-masks-17171290.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">its fifth COVID-19 surge\u003c/a>, a blend of anxiety, fatigue and grief have tempered all this excitement. Even though California’s economy reopened last summer, independent artists are nowhere near a full recovery. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13912324/mask-requirements-touring-musicians-covid-tsa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">without a social safety net\u003c/a>, artists have to fend for themselves in this unpredictable climate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But because artists possess the gift of making something out of nothing, examples of their ingenuity abound in all corners of the Bay Area. This week in \u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/ourcreativefutures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>Our Creative Futures\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, you’ll read about mutual aid networks, new economic models and volunteer efforts to keep the arts thriving and sustainable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='large' align='center']The artists in our communities are pressing on, sometimes at great personal cost. We shouldn’t take that for granted, and nurture them, support them and celebrate them.[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With few public health measures against COVID-19 still in place, artists have to make difficult tradeoffs. You inevitably risk spread when your profession involves packing strangers into rooms. Not only is that dicey from a health perspective, for gigging artists who’ve lost significant income over the past two years, the prospect of illness is destabilizing when trying to get your career back on track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The arts bring communities closer and offer us spiritual relief, and there’s an economic case for supporting them as well. A healthy arts ecosystem equals a healthy overall economy: When people go out to concerts, museums and plays, they patronize restaurants, bars and other small businesses, and help neighborhoods thrive. According to the 2022 \u003cem>Otis College Report on the Creative Economy\u003c/em>, California’s creative industries contributed 23% to the state’s GDP in 2020. [aside postID=\"arts_13913584\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/WORKING-FILE-Our-Creative-Futures-Featured-Image-1-1020x574.jpg\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unsurprisingly, the report found that the fine arts and performing arts were hit the hardest at the start of the pandemic. Those sectors experienced a 20% drop in employment that year, reversing the progress made in the 14 years since the Great Recession.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Statewide, the average self-employed fine or performing artist makes only $36,200 a year. That’s barely enough to pay rent and eat in the Bay Area, which makes every missed couple-hundred dollars significant. Other jobs that have traditionally bolstered artists’ income—like food service, driving rideshares and teaching—come with their own COVID risks that can lead to further setbacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artists make our cities livelier, open us to new ideas and provide much-needed light amid all this darkness. They’re pressing on, sometimes at great personal cost. We shouldn’t take that for granted, and nurture them, support them and celebrate them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Read more stories from \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/ourcreativefutures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Our Creative Futures\u003c/a>\u003cem> here. Have something to share? Tell us about how \u003ca href=\"https://artskqed.typeform.com/Artist2022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the pandemic has impacted your art practice or community\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Those of us who’ve been going out lately feel like our eyes are too big for our stomachs. We want to stand by the speakers at concerts and feel the bass rattle our rib cages. We want to see all the art, whether it’s in formal theaters or garage galleries. We want to try all the foods and give all the hugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet [cue sound of deflating balloon], as the Bay Area hits \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Area-officials-recommend-masks-17171290.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">its fifth COVID-19 surge\u003c/a>, a blend of anxiety, fatigue and grief have tempered all this excitement. Even though California’s economy reopened last summer, independent artists are nowhere near a full recovery. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13912324/mask-requirements-touring-musicians-covid-tsa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">without a social safety net\u003c/a>, artists have to fend for themselves in this unpredictable climate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But because artists possess the gift of making something out of nothing, examples of their ingenuity abound in all corners of the Bay Area. This week in \u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/ourcreativefutures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>Our Creative Futures\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, you’ll read about mutual aid networks, new economic models and volunteer efforts to keep the arts thriving and sustainable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "The artists in our communities are pressing on, sometimes at great personal cost. We shouldn’t take that for granted, and nurture them, support them and celebrate them.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With few public health measures against COVID-19 still in place, artists have to make difficult tradeoffs. You inevitably risk spread when your profession involves packing strangers into rooms. Not only is that dicey from a health perspective, for gigging artists who’ve lost significant income over the past two years, the prospect of illness is destabilizing when trying to get your career back on track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The arts bring communities closer and offer us spiritual relief, and there’s an economic case for supporting them as well. A healthy arts ecosystem equals a healthy overall economy: When people go out to concerts, museums and plays, they patronize restaurants, bars and other small businesses, and help neighborhoods thrive. According to the 2022 \u003cem>Otis College Report on the Creative Economy\u003c/em>, California’s creative industries contributed 23% to the state’s GDP in 2020. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unsurprisingly, the report found that the fine arts and performing arts were hit the hardest at the start of the pandemic. Those sectors experienced a 20% drop in employment that year, reversing the progress made in the 14 years since the Great Recession.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Statewide, the average self-employed fine or performing artist makes only $36,200 a year. That’s barely enough to pay rent and eat in the Bay Area, which makes every missed couple-hundred dollars significant. Other jobs that have traditionally bolstered artists’ income—like food service, driving rideshares and teaching—come with their own COVID risks that can lead to further setbacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artists make our cities livelier, open us to new ideas and provide much-needed light amid all this darkness. They’re pressing on, sometimes at great personal cost. We shouldn’t take that for granted, and nurture them, support them and celebrate them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Read more stories from \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/ourcreativefutures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Our Creative Futures\u003c/a>\u003cem> here. Have something to share? Tell us about how \u003ca href=\"https://artskqed.typeform.com/Artist2022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the pandemic has impacted your art practice or community\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Mike Barnes Thinks He Should Be Able to Say the N-Word",
"headTitle": "Mike Barnes Thinks He Should Be Able to Say the N-Word | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Content Warning\u003c/strong>: This article contains multiple uncensored uses, including a recording, of derogatory phrases which some may find highly offensive.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, we arrived at San Francisco’s Hippie Hill in Golden Gate Park on 4/20, excited to document the return of the stoner celebration. Among the crowd were primarily young, Black and Brown people enjoying themselves—far more than you typically see in one space in modern-day San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We—Julian, the reporter, and Amaya, the photojournalist—were looking forward to collaborating on a photo essay that centered Black and Brown entrepreneurs and artists. We wanted to help foster a sense of pride, and capture how folks who look like us have shaped California’s cannabis industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, as Black journalists, we experienced an angry harangue from a white man named Mike Barnes involving aggressive use of the n-word. In a follow-up conversation, he used it many more times, and doubled down on his right to say it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes is a fixture in press coverage of Bay Area cannabis events, and appears to openly court media attention. We’ve decided to give it to him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913394\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913394\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged white man in a marijuana-themed suit and hat, covered in leaves, points his finger at a young Black reporter during an interview.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">KQED reporter Julian Sorapuru (right) interviews Mike Barnes at Hippie Hill at 4/20. Shortly after the interview began, Barnes aggressively used a racial slur. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Yes, With a Hard ‘R’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At Hippie Hill on April 20, we see someone who we think would make an interesting addition to our story. He carries himself with the energy of a total character, dressed in a gaudy, black suit and bucket hat adorned all over with green marijuana leaves. It was hard to miss this large, middle-aged white man, so we identify ourselves as journalists and stop him for an interview. He agrees, and introduces himself as “Big Mike.” Neither of us expect what happened next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Amaya snaps some photos of him and we kick off the interview, Big Mike begins boasting about how many times he’s been in the media: \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/stoners-celebrate-420-weed-pot-cannabis-824550/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rolling Stone\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, KTVU, the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/San-Francisco-s-420-celebration-lights-up-17110328.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/a>\u003c/em>—he’s something of a minor celebrity in the Bay Area cannabis scene. He says he’s a weed grower just there to have a good time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pretty standard answer so far. Then he suddenly launches into a story about an interaction he had with Mike Tyson while the former boxer and cannabis entrepreneur spoke on stage earlier in the day. He gets visibly angry as he describes how, in his version of events, Tyson swatted away the handfuls of weed Big Mike decided to throw at him while he spoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I said, ‘Fuck you, nigger,’ and turned around and walked away,” Big Mike says aggressively. “You don’t want my weed? You want the whole bag?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Hear Mike Barnes’ interview in full below:\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003caudio controls=\"controls\">\u003csource src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/MikeBarnes.mp3\">\u003c/source>\u003c/audio>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At this point, I’m stunned into silence. My eyes go wide and I size him up. He’s a big dude: about 6 feet tall and over 200 pounds. Now I’m thinking about our safety. Centuries of generational trauma tell me that when a white man uses the n-word with that much vitriol, it’s either time to fight or get the hell out. Hearing that word could have meant life or death for our ancestors. It still can. But my journalism training tells me to let the source finish his statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he does: “Let’s just say I’m not a Mike Tyson fan anymore,” Big Mike says. I half-expect to hear an apology or a joke, but he keeps doubling, tripling and quadrupling down on disparaging Tyson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally I get out. “Have a good day, man,” I say, maintaining an air of professionalism and respect towards an interviewee who showed neither to us. I walk away and end the recording as he continues with his rant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Did a white man dressed in a weed suit he ordered from Amazon really just say the n-word with a hard “R” without any provocation at a 4/20 festival? The absurdity of the incident made me feel like I was in an episode of \u003ci>Atlanta\u003c/i>. This is an event that’s supposed to be all about good vibes and relaxation, not hatred and bitterness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amaya laughs the way you do when you’re trying to hold back tears. “He can’t be serious,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It turns out, he absolutely \u003cem>was\u003c/em> serious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913383\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913383\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Barnes poses for a portrait at the 420 Hippie Hill event on Apr. 20, 2022 in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Who Is Mike Barnes?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Big Mike’s real name is Mike Barnes. He is a 52 year-old resident of the Berkeley area. He’s a former Army airborne combat engineer, he says, who previously ran a dispensary called the Hayward Patients Resource Center, which is now defunct. Today, he is self-employed, earning a living by doing “handyman things” and growing marijuana for “a small group of private individuals for medical reasons.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes has a habit of popping up at cannabis-related events. Photos of him in his eye-catching suit at previous iterations of the 4/20 festival have appeared in the \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/sf-may-start-permitting-cannabis-sales-consumption-at-events/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Francisco Examiner\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfweekly.com/news/cannabis/4-20-in-golden-gate-park-is-officially-cancelled/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SF Weekly\u003c/a>\u003c/i> and \u003ca href=\"https://ksltv.com/412196/brands-roll-stoner-holiday-pot-legalization-grows/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KSL TV\u003c/a>. Barnes was photographed for a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/Smokeless-medicinal-pot-has-its-advocates-2661126.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Francisco Chronicle article\u003c/a> as far back as 2005 (in a shirt that read: “The DEA took my medical marijuana away!… and all I got was this lousy t-shirt!”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13913116']Barnes was photographed and quoted in \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2018/01/01/crowds-gather-6-celebrate-first-sales-recreational-cannabis-berkeley?doing_wp_cron=1652725845.1196229457855224609375\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Berkeleyside\u003c/a> and \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.dailycal.org/2018/01/01/first-sales-of-recreational-marijuana-in-berkeley-usher-in-whole-new-era/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Daily Cal\u003c/a>\u003c/i> at the ribbon-cutting for Berkeley’s first legal recreational marijuana sale at the Berkeley Patients Group dispensary. His photo also appeared in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article114091003.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>Sacramento Bee\u003c/i> opinion article\u003c/a> on Proposition 64, which legalized the use of recreational cannabis in California. In the photo, Barnes is pictured smoking inside of his “420 Limo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We decided it was important to hold Barnes accountable for his words, so we called him on May 6 to inform him of our intention to publish the interview, and to see what he had to say for himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Well, make the spelling N-I-G-G-A if you do it,” he says. “It’s like, people say nigga all the time, and it’s acceptable if you’re a Black man, but if you’re a white man, and you say nigga, then it’s completely racist, which is just, you know, completely hypocritical.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He began rattling off other racial slurs against Latino, Asian and Black people, arguing that they only refer to the “lowlives” of each ethnic group and, in his eyes, are therefore OK to use. In the same breath, he asked us not to publish his quote, even though he gave it to us knowing full well that this was an on-record interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I meant it in a disrespectful way towards [Tyson] specifically, nobody else,” Barnes says. “So if anybody else takes offense at it, well, fuck them. I wasn’t talking to you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913382\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913382\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Close-up on a bag of marijuana, a large joint, held by a man in a marijuana-themed outfit \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Barnes holds a bag of marijuana at the 420 Hippie Hill event on Apr. 20, 2022 in San Francisco, Calif. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Deeply Disturbed,’ Says Friend and Dispensary Owner\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Barnes is a white man gaining clout, attention, and potentially income from a drug that has been used to criminalize Black people for decades. (Barnes told us that he’s been raided by law enforcement four times, but never charged with a crime.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ve seen white people profit the most from the corporatization of cannabis in recent years while people of color continuously get left behind. The Associated Press reports that the cannabis industry was worth \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-business-race-and-ethnicity-8e047483fc6e83e2e5f6dc971cb4aa73\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$33 billion in sales in 2021\u003c/a>. Of all cannabis business owners in the United States, 81% are white, while just a little over 4% are Black, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://mjbizdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Women-and-Minorities-Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2017 survey from Marijuana Business Daily\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13849783']Not to mention that hundreds of thousands of Black and brown people are still sitting in jail for marijuana offenses. According to \u003ca href=\"https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/marijuanareport_03232021.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a 2020 report by the American Civil Liberties Union\u003c/a>, the national Black population is still nearly four times more likely than the white population to be arrested for marijuana possession, even after weed became legal in several states. These arrests have detrimental impacts, running along intersections of class and income, for communities of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Etienne Fontan, co-owner and vice president of Berkeley Patients Group, whom Barnes called “a friend of mine” who he has known for “a long time,” wrote in a statement to KQED, “I, along with the team at Berkeley Patients Group, do not tolerate racism or hate speech and this is the first we are learning of any accusations relating to Mr. Barnes’ use of such language.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am deeply disturbed to learn that Mr. Barnes, who apparently attended public events held by BPG several years ago, expressed such views,” Fontan continued. “Such rhetoric and actions in no way reflect my or my company’s values.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Watch Mike Barnes’ and Mike Tyson’s stage interaction below, filmed by Rich America Production Co. & Jamal Trulove:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/Md4o4CUltHA\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Mike Tyson and Harmful Stereotypes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Barnes using the n-word to describe Mike Tyson is especially unsettling, considering that Tyson has often been portrayed in popular media as a Black Brute, a caricature of Black men that portrays them as dangerous, animalistic, sexually aggressive and unintelligent. This framing was especially prominent in the ’80s and ’90s, when Tyson was at the height of his boxing powers. (Representatives for Mike Tyson did not respond to requests for comment.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the event in San Francisco, the media has covered Tyson for his “angry” interactions with fans, the first of which occurred April 21 aboard Tyson’s flight departing from San Francisco. A fellow passenger \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/04/21/mike-tyson-punches-passenger-airplane-tmz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">repeatedly harassed Tyson\u003c/a>, according to reports, which led the former boxer to punch the man multiple times. (Authorities declined to file charges against Tyson for the incident.) On May 3, a fan in Las Vegas \u003ca href=\"https://www.al.com/sports/2022/05/mike-tyson-has-another-angry-interaction-with-fan-when-woman-appears-to-try-to-pick-his-nose.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">attempted to stick their finger up Tyson’s nose\u003c/a>, which prompted an annoyed reaction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes’ behavior—throwing things at Tyson while he is on stage attempting to give a speech—is in this same category of fans going too far. Many people, it seems, feel entitled to violate Tyson’s personal space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tyson is not perfect. He has done some reprehensible things. But to portray him as a brute is a reductionist and racist point of view of a complicated man. Regardless of one’s image or status, no one deserves to be called a racist slur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913381\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 480px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13913381\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-1020x1530.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged white man holds a bag of marijuana and a large joint, dressed in a marijuana-themed suit and bucket hat covered in leaves.\" width=\"480\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Barnes poses for a portrait in a gaudy marijuana-themed costume at the 420 Hippie Hill event on Apr. 20, 2022 in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The So-Called ‘Progressive’ Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Barnes’ comments should not only make us interrogate one dimensional views of Mike Tyson, but it should also make us think critically about how we view race relations in the Bay Area. Often, the Bay is hailed as a racially enlightened, progressive haven where everyone is respectful of each other’s identities, culture and humanity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as a Black person in this country, living in a “progressive” place does not mean a reprieve from the smothering presence of racism; it just means your suffocation happens in the shadows. Our experience encountering anti-Black hate speech is not an isolated one. We just happen to have it on tape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This incident is about more than just one word said by one man on one day. It’s a case study; a harsh, slap-to-the-face reminder that anti-Black racism is alive and very well, even in San Francisco. Barnes weaponized the power he holds as a white man in this country to disarm and dehumanize both Tyson and ourselves—a microcosm of the racial power dynamic inherent in the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='news_11905492']\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Taking the Power Back\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Black people must get through each day with a cloud over our heads, knowing that as our proximity to whiteness increases, so does the likelihood that we may be the victim of racism. Power coupled with ignorance is a terrible combination. It’s why everyone should strive to better understand the ways in which the n-word has been and continues to be weaponized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That word from the mouth of a white person is a reminder of the ideology used against our ancestors to justify the inhumane atrocities of chattel slavery. It was the word shouted in hate by white mobs as they lynched Black people without due process of law. It was the word ordinary Black folks heard through ringing ears as they were brutalized by police simply for demanding their right to vote. It was the word \u003ca href=\"https://www.businessinsider.com/buffalo-shooting-suspect-had-n-word-written-on-gun-2022-5\">painted onto the barrel of the Buffalo shooter’s gun\u003c/a>. A white person saying the n-word is a reminder of the things that have been denied to us; the ways we have been treated as subhuman; how we have been forced to make a way out of no way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, in that grand tradition of those who came before us, we are attempting to create something proactive out of a negative experience. Hopefully we are not presumptive by saying that we speak in the interests of not only ourselves, but for many other Black people who don’t have the opportunity to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes’ actions should serve as a cautionary tale to anyone who feels emboldened to use that word in such a hateful way. For all of our sakes, hold your tongue—or be ready to face the consequences if you don’t.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Content Warning\u003c/strong>: This article contains multiple uncensored uses, including a recording, of derogatory phrases which some may find highly offensive.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, we arrived at San Francisco’s Hippie Hill in Golden Gate Park on 4/20, excited to document the return of the stoner celebration. Among the crowd were primarily young, Black and Brown people enjoying themselves—far more than you typically see in one space in modern-day San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We—Julian, the reporter, and Amaya, the photojournalist—were looking forward to collaborating on a photo essay that centered Black and Brown entrepreneurs and artists. We wanted to help foster a sense of pride, and capture how folks who look like us have shaped California’s cannabis industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, as Black journalists, we experienced an angry harangue from a white man named Mike Barnes involving aggressive use of the n-word. In a follow-up conversation, he used it many more times, and doubled down on his right to say it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes is a fixture in press coverage of Bay Area cannabis events, and appears to openly court media attention. We’ve decided to give it to him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913394\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913394\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged white man in a marijuana-themed suit and hat, covered in leaves, points his finger at a young Black reporter during an interview.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Image-from-iOS-8-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">KQED reporter Julian Sorapuru (right) interviews Mike Barnes at Hippie Hill at 4/20. Shortly after the interview began, Barnes aggressively used a racial slur. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Yes, With a Hard ‘R’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At Hippie Hill on April 20, we see someone who we think would make an interesting addition to our story. He carries himself with the energy of a total character, dressed in a gaudy, black suit and bucket hat adorned all over with green marijuana leaves. It was hard to miss this large, middle-aged white man, so we identify ourselves as journalists and stop him for an interview. He agrees, and introduces himself as “Big Mike.” Neither of us expect what happened next.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Amaya snaps some photos of him and we kick off the interview, Big Mike begins boasting about how many times he’s been in the media: \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/stoners-celebrate-420-weed-pot-cannabis-824550/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rolling Stone\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, KTVU, the \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/San-Francisco-s-420-celebration-lights-up-17110328.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/a>\u003c/em>—he’s something of a minor celebrity in the Bay Area cannabis scene. He says he’s a weed grower just there to have a good time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pretty standard answer so far. Then he suddenly launches into a story about an interaction he had with Mike Tyson while the former boxer and cannabis entrepreneur spoke on stage earlier in the day. He gets visibly angry as he describes how, in his version of events, Tyson swatted away the handfuls of weed Big Mike decided to throw at him while he spoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I said, ‘Fuck you, nigger,’ and turned around and walked away,” Big Mike says aggressively. “You don’t want my weed? You want the whole bag?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Hear Mike Barnes’ interview in full below:\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003caudio controls=\"controls\">\u003csource src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/MikeBarnes.mp3\">\u003c/source>\u003c/audio>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At this point, I’m stunned into silence. My eyes go wide and I size him up. He’s a big dude: about 6 feet tall and over 200 pounds. Now I’m thinking about our safety. Centuries of generational trauma tell me that when a white man uses the n-word with that much vitriol, it’s either time to fight or get the hell out. Hearing that word could have meant life or death for our ancestors. It still can. But my journalism training tells me to let the source finish his statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he does: “Let’s just say I’m not a Mike Tyson fan anymore,” Big Mike says. I half-expect to hear an apology or a joke, but he keeps doubling, tripling and quadrupling down on disparaging Tyson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally I get out. “Have a good day, man,” I say, maintaining an air of professionalism and respect towards an interviewee who showed neither to us. I walk away and end the recording as he continues with his rant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Did a white man dressed in a weed suit he ordered from Amazon really just say the n-word with a hard “R” without any provocation at a 4/20 festival? The absurdity of the incident made me feel like I was in an episode of \u003ci>Atlanta\u003c/i>. This is an event that’s supposed to be all about good vibes and relaxation, not hatred and bitterness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amaya laughs the way you do when you’re trying to hold back tears. “He can’t be serious,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It turns out, he absolutely \u003cem>was\u003c/em> serious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913383\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913383\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-12.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Barnes poses for a portrait at the 420 Hippie Hill event on Apr. 20, 2022 in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Who Is Mike Barnes?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Big Mike’s real name is Mike Barnes. He is a 52 year-old resident of the Berkeley area. He’s a former Army airborne combat engineer, he says, who previously ran a dispensary called the Hayward Patients Resource Center, which is now defunct. Today, he is self-employed, earning a living by doing “handyman things” and growing marijuana for “a small group of private individuals for medical reasons.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes has a habit of popping up at cannabis-related events. Photos of him in his eye-catching suit at previous iterations of the 4/20 festival have appeared in the \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/sf-may-start-permitting-cannabis-sales-consumption-at-events/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Francisco Examiner\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfweekly.com/news/cannabis/4-20-in-golden-gate-park-is-officially-cancelled/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SF Weekly\u003c/a>\u003c/i> and \u003ca href=\"https://ksltv.com/412196/brands-roll-stoner-holiday-pot-legalization-grows/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KSL TV\u003c/a>. Barnes was photographed for a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/Smokeless-medicinal-pot-has-its-advocates-2661126.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Francisco Chronicle article\u003c/a> as far back as 2005 (in a shirt that read: “The DEA took my medical marijuana away!… and all I got was this lousy t-shirt!”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Barnes was photographed and quoted in \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2018/01/01/crowds-gather-6-celebrate-first-sales-recreational-cannabis-berkeley?doing_wp_cron=1652725845.1196229457855224609375\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Berkeleyside\u003c/a> and \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.dailycal.org/2018/01/01/first-sales-of-recreational-marijuana-in-berkeley-usher-in-whole-new-era/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Daily Cal\u003c/a>\u003c/i> at the ribbon-cutting for Berkeley’s first legal recreational marijuana sale at the Berkeley Patients Group dispensary. His photo also appeared in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article114091003.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>Sacramento Bee\u003c/i> opinion article\u003c/a> on Proposition 64, which legalized the use of recreational cannabis in California. In the photo, Barnes is pictured smoking inside of his “420 Limo.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We decided it was important to hold Barnes accountable for his words, so we called him on May 6 to inform him of our intention to publish the interview, and to see what he had to say for himself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Well, make the spelling N-I-G-G-A if you do it,” he says. “It’s like, people say nigga all the time, and it’s acceptable if you’re a Black man, but if you’re a white man, and you say nigga, then it’s completely racist, which is just, you know, completely hypocritical.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He began rattling off other racial slurs against Latino, Asian and Black people, arguing that they only refer to the “lowlives” of each ethnic group and, in his eyes, are therefore OK to use. In the same breath, he asked us not to publish his quote, even though he gave it to us knowing full well that this was an on-record interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I meant it in a disrespectful way towards [Tyson] specifically, nobody else,” Barnes says. “So if anybody else takes offense at it, well, fuck them. I wasn’t talking to you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913382\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913382\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Close-up on a bag of marijuana, a large joint, held by a man in a marijuana-themed outfit \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-04.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Barnes holds a bag of marijuana at the 420 Hippie Hill event on Apr. 20, 2022 in San Francisco, Calif. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Deeply Disturbed,’ Says Friend and Dispensary Owner\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Barnes is a white man gaining clout, attention, and potentially income from a drug that has been used to criminalize Black people for decades. (Barnes told us that he’s been raided by law enforcement four times, but never charged with a crime.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ve seen white people profit the most from the corporatization of cannabis in recent years while people of color continuously get left behind. The Associated Press reports that the cannabis industry was worth \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-business-race-and-ethnicity-8e047483fc6e83e2e5f6dc971cb4aa73\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$33 billion in sales in 2021\u003c/a>. Of all cannabis business owners in the United States, 81% are white, while just a little over 4% are Black, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://mjbizdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Women-and-Minorities-Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2017 survey from Marijuana Business Daily\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Not to mention that hundreds of thousands of Black and brown people are still sitting in jail for marijuana offenses. According to \u003ca href=\"https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/marijuanareport_03232021.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a 2020 report by the American Civil Liberties Union\u003c/a>, the national Black population is still nearly four times more likely than the white population to be arrested for marijuana possession, even after weed became legal in several states. These arrests have detrimental impacts, running along intersections of class and income, for communities of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Etienne Fontan, co-owner and vice president of Berkeley Patients Group, whom Barnes called “a friend of mine” who he has known for “a long time,” wrote in a statement to KQED, “I, along with the team at Berkeley Patients Group, do not tolerate racism or hate speech and this is the first we are learning of any accusations relating to Mr. Barnes’ use of such language.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am deeply disturbed to learn that Mr. Barnes, who apparently attended public events held by BPG several years ago, expressed such views,” Fontan continued. “Such rhetoric and actions in no way reflect my or my company’s values.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Watch Mike Barnes’ and Mike Tyson’s stage interaction below, filmed by Rich America Production Co. & Jamal Trulove:\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/Md4o4CUltHA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Md4o4CUltHA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003ch2>Mike Tyson and Harmful Stereotypes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Barnes using the n-word to describe Mike Tyson is especially unsettling, considering that Tyson has often been portrayed in popular media as a Black Brute, a caricature of Black men that portrays them as dangerous, animalistic, sexually aggressive and unintelligent. This framing was especially prominent in the ’80s and ’90s, when Tyson was at the height of his boxing powers. (Representatives for Mike Tyson did not respond to requests for comment.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the event in San Francisco, the media has covered Tyson for his “angry” interactions with fans, the first of which occurred April 21 aboard Tyson’s flight departing from San Francisco. A fellow passenger \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/04/21/mike-tyson-punches-passenger-airplane-tmz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">repeatedly harassed Tyson\u003c/a>, according to reports, which led the former boxer to punch the man multiple times. (Authorities declined to file charges against Tyson for the incident.) On May 3, a fan in Las Vegas \u003ca href=\"https://www.al.com/sports/2022/05/mike-tyson-has-another-angry-interaction-with-fan-when-woman-appears-to-try-to-pick-his-nose.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">attempted to stick their finger up Tyson’s nose\u003c/a>, which prompted an annoyed reaction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes’ behavior—throwing things at Tyson while he is on stage attempting to give a speech—is in this same category of fans going too far. Many people, it seems, feel entitled to violate Tyson’s personal space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tyson is not perfect. He has done some reprehensible things. But to portray him as a brute is a reductionist and racist point of view of a complicated man. Regardless of one’s image or status, no one deserves to be called a racist slur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913381\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 480px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13913381\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-1020x1530.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged white man holds a bag of marijuana and a large joint, dressed in a marijuana-themed suit and bucket hat covered in leaves.\" width=\"480\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/20220420_MikeBarnes-10.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mike Barnes poses for a portrait in a gaudy marijuana-themed costume at the 420 Hippie Hill event on Apr. 20, 2022 in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The So-Called ‘Progressive’ Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Barnes’ comments should not only make us interrogate one dimensional views of Mike Tyson, but it should also make us think critically about how we view race relations in the Bay Area. Often, the Bay is hailed as a racially enlightened, progressive haven where everyone is respectful of each other’s identities, culture and humanity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as a Black person in this country, living in a “progressive” place does not mean a reprieve from the smothering presence of racism; it just means your suffocation happens in the shadows. Our experience encountering anti-Black hate speech is not an isolated one. We just happen to have it on tape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This incident is about more than just one word said by one man on one day. It’s a case study; a harsh, slap-to-the-face reminder that anti-Black racism is alive and very well, even in San Francisco. Barnes weaponized the power he holds as a white man in this country to disarm and dehumanize both Tyson and ourselves—a microcosm of the racial power dynamic inherent in the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Taking the Power Back\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Black people must get through each day with a cloud over our heads, knowing that as our proximity to whiteness increases, so does the likelihood that we may be the victim of racism. Power coupled with ignorance is a terrible combination. It’s why everyone should strive to better understand the ways in which the n-word has been and continues to be weaponized.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That word from the mouth of a white person is a reminder of the ideology used against our ancestors to justify the inhumane atrocities of chattel slavery. It was the word shouted in hate by white mobs as they lynched Black people without due process of law. It was the word ordinary Black folks heard through ringing ears as they were brutalized by police simply for demanding their right to vote. It was the word \u003ca href=\"https://www.businessinsider.com/buffalo-shooting-suspect-had-n-word-written-on-gun-2022-5\">painted onto the barrel of the Buffalo shooter’s gun\u003c/a>. A white person saying the n-word is a reminder of the things that have been denied to us; the ways we have been treated as subhuman; how we have been forced to make a way out of no way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, in that grand tradition of those who came before us, we are attempting to create something proactive out of a negative experience. Hopefully we are not presumptive by saying that we speak in the interests of not only ourselves, but for many other Black people who don’t have the opportunity to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barnes’ actions should serve as a cautionary tale to anyone who feels emboldened to use that word in such a hateful way. For all of our sakes, hold your tongue—or be ready to face the consequences if you don’t.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Kendrick's Most Important Song That No One's Talking About",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">W\u003c/span>ith Kendrick Lamar about to drop his fifth studio album, \u003ci>Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers\u003c/i>, it’s the perfect time to argue about his most significant song.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the half decade since Kendrick dropped \u003cem>Damn\u003c/em>, fans have been left to revisit old tracks repeatedly during his hiatus. Which is fitting, because one of Kendrick Lamar’s greatest gifts is going back and revisiting—or rather, revising—his earlier music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>K-dot is a master of retelling the same story again and again, but on a larger level each time. If you listen closely, the arc of his musical output shows that refining and retelling your story, over and over, is an important aspect of growth, both as an artist and a human.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The king MC from Compton has done it with his “The Heart” series, often using that title as a jumpoff to spaz and let loose on the issues he’s dealing with at the time of recording. He dropped the fifth entry in this series this past Sunday just days before his full album release, as he’s done in the past. (In the video, he uses deepfake technology to morph into the likeness of Kobe, Nipsey and more.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/uAPUkgeiFVY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s also revisited, or remixed, “She Needs Me,” “P&P,” and “Vanity Slaves,” among others. Which in art, especially in hip-hop, isn’t new, revolutionary, deep, or profound. Old art gets remixed everyday, B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the act of revising and revisiting, expanding and expounding on a piece of art—it’s seen more often in other mediums. Poets famously revisit concepts, as do comedians. Thelonious Monk reportedly wrote the jazz standard “\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2000/11/20/1114262/npr-100-i-round-midnight-i\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Round Midnight\u003c/a>” as a teen, and played thousands of renditions of it his whole life. Issa Rae created her idea of an awkward Black girl first as \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/nIVa9lxkbus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a YouTube series\u003c/a>, and from that came \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Misadventures-of-Awkward-Black-Girl/Issa-Rae/9781476749099\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a bestselling memoir\u003c/a>, the hit show \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/40693/how-issa-raes-insecure-is-leading-a-quiet-revolution-in-television\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Insecure\u003c/a>\u003c/em> and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick, too, has managed to work and rework one specific concept, and we’ve watched it grow from a couple of lines, to a song, to a concept album and signature aspect of his artwork.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So let’s be clear: I’m here to tell you why the track “Average Joe,” from Kendrick Lamar’s 2010 \u003cem>Overly Dedicated\u003c/em> \u003cem>EP\u003c/em>, is his most important song.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913174\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913174\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man holds an analog camera in the photo pit of a large arena event.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kendrick Lamar attends the 2018 BET Experience Concert at L.A. Live on June 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. \u003ccite>(Ser Baffo/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">N\u003c/span>o, it’s not his highest charting song (“Humble”), nor his most famous (“Alright”). It’s not the one that gets the party turnt (“Michael Jordan”). I’m not taking away from his collaborations with Bono or Beyoncé, and definitely not the voice of Tupac Shakur (“Mortal Man”) or the song that President Obama said was the best song of 2015 (“How Much a Dollar Cost”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kenny’s catalog boasts songs with Travis and Drake that have been played so many times it’d be torture to hear them again. The Black Hippy tracks are dope, and despite his impending departure from their shared record label, Top Dawg Entertainment, I hope we get more collaborations from him and Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q. (Hell, even if we just get \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/Z-48u_uWMHY?t=130\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">that song from the opening of the “Alright” video\u003c/a>, I’d be happy.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick’s career is decorated with honors and accolades, from executive-producing the \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> soundtrack to performing at this year’s Dr. Dre-led Super Bowl halftime performance. I mean, the guy won a freaking Pulitzer for \u003cem>DAMN\u003c/em>—a Pulitzer for \u003cem>spitting rhymes\u003c/em>—did we even know that was possible?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13865026']And even in failure, like losing a Grammy to \u003ca href=\"https://www.gawker.com/macklemore-is-a-ho-bag-1509862810\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">some white guy from Seattle\u003c/a>, Kendrick won our hearts—and proved why the act of reworking your craft is important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the novel-like album \u003cem>Good Kid, M.A.A.D City\u003c/em>, Kendrick is a bystander exploring the dichotomy of good and evil in his community, using clever lyrics recited over drums that punch like Kimbo Slice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He describes his transformation as an outside observer on the track “m.A.A.D City”:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Seen a light-skinned nigga with his brains blown out\u003cbr>\nAt the same burger stand where (redacted) hangs out\u003cbr>\nNow, this is not a tape recorder saying that he did it\u003cbr>\nBut ever since that day, I was lookin’ at him different\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then, later in the song, he gets pulled into this world of sinister behavior:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>My pops said I needed a job, I thought I believed him\u003cbr>\nSecurity guard for a month and ended up leavin’\u003cbr>\nIn fact, I got fired, ’cause I was inspired by all of my friends\u003cbr>\nTo stage a robbery the third Saturday I clocked in\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick, a neutral narrator who gets influenced by his associates, has been this guy for some time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjKlzdnoBGg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his self-titled song “Kendrick Lamar,” a 2012 track where he drops the moniker K-Dot to go by his given name, he says:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>I’m just a good kid from Compton that want to rap\u003cbr>\nWeighing my options, pick up a Bible or a strap?\u003cbr>\nI never killed a man, never sold any crack\u003cbr>\nAll I ever did was try to keep my city on the map\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s these four bars, above, that underscore a philosophy further explored in 2012’s \u003cem>Good Kid m.A.A.D City\u003c/em>, and brought to visual life in \u003ca href=\"https://i.discogs.com/IisP10nUmJmiyxaAtenOChe3Ng5Q56YzMneN6GopVQQ/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTMzNjkw/NDItMTU4NjA5MTUx/OC03NzYyLmpwZWc.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the cover art for his \u003cem>Section 80\u003c/em> mixtape\u003c/a>. But before the idea shows up in album form, it’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jHV0HxQQGw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Average Joe\u003c/a>” where Mr. Duckworth explains the same concept in the earliest, most vivid colors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick opens the song by saying “The hardest thing for me to do / Is to get you to know me within 16 bars.” He then does just that, illustrating his position of being gang-adjacent, a good kid who’s just trying to rap but is still getting caught up in the life:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_10886808']\u003cem>Everyone I knew was either Crip or Piru\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Cousins in elementary, relatives in high school\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>With that being said, each one of their rivals\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Was aiming something at my head, I needed survival\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Got jumped, got jacked, shot at, shot back\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>And I don’t even push a line, I’m just tryna push these rhymes\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>In the midst of staying neutral and discreet\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>My momma said you’re judged by the company you keep\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a nutshell, this is Kendrick’s story; the premise of his entire career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is why they fuck with me,” goes the chorus, twice, before Kendrick says, “I’m no gangster, no killer, I’m just your average Joe (know that) / But one thing you should consider, I’m the realest you know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boom. That’s it. He’s an authentic person who’s telling his story, and growing as he does. He hones this theme through poetically energetic slick storytelling, a mix of Iceberg Slim, Gil Scott-Heron, DMX and Rass Kass, but yeah: Kendrick’s formula really is that simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11057865\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11057865\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline.jpg\" alt=\"Kendrick Lamar performs at Outside Lands, Aug. 8, 2015. (Photo: Gabe Meline/KQED)\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kendrick Lamar. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>‘ve followed Kendrick’s work since before 2011, when he \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cIQe2iaQRk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">performed at the New Parish in Oakland\u003c/a>—still the only time I’ve seen him perform. The first song I ever heard from him was “Heaven or Hell,” a track about the drastic dichotomies in life. Again, the same theme of good and evil, and him standing as an honest observer in the midst of it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now on the verge of releasing \u003cem>Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,\u003c/em> the Gemini MC is bracing us for more stories about the polarizing aspects of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Looking at his catalog, there’s a lesson on the importance of revising, reworking and retelling our stories of growth. No, I’m not saying you too can be Kendrick Lamar—there’s only one big-eared Pulitzer Prize winning lyricist from Hub City. But we can all work and rework ourselves, and our stories. Word to Average Joe.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "An early track by Kendrick Lamar provides the secret origin for his gift of revisiting familiar themes, writes Pendarvis Harshaw.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">W\u003c/span>ith Kendrick Lamar about to drop his fifth studio album, \u003ci>Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers\u003c/i>, it’s the perfect time to argue about his most significant song.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the half decade since Kendrick dropped \u003cem>Damn\u003c/em>, fans have been left to revisit old tracks repeatedly during his hiatus. Which is fitting, because one of Kendrick Lamar’s greatest gifts is going back and revisiting—or rather, revising—his earlier music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>K-dot is a master of retelling the same story again and again, but on a larger level each time. If you listen closely, the arc of his musical output shows that refining and retelling your story, over and over, is an important aspect of growth, both as an artist and a human.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The king MC from Compton has done it with his “The Heart” series, often using that title as a jumpoff to spaz and let loose on the issues he’s dealing with at the time of recording. He dropped the fifth entry in this series this past Sunday just days before his full album release, as he’s done in the past. (In the video, he uses deepfake technology to morph into the likeness of Kobe, Nipsey and more.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/uAPUkgeiFVY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/uAPUkgeiFVY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>He’s also revisited, or remixed, “She Needs Me,” “P&P,” and “Vanity Slaves,” among others. Which in art, especially in hip-hop, isn’t new, revolutionary, deep, or profound. Old art gets remixed everyday, B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the act of revising and revisiting, expanding and expounding on a piece of art—it’s seen more often in other mediums. Poets famously revisit concepts, as do comedians. Thelonious Monk reportedly wrote the jazz standard “\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2000/11/20/1114262/npr-100-i-round-midnight-i\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Round Midnight\u003c/a>” as a teen, and played thousands of renditions of it his whole life. Issa Rae created her idea of an awkward Black girl first as \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/nIVa9lxkbus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a YouTube series\u003c/a>, and from that came \u003ca href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Misadventures-of-Awkward-Black-Girl/Issa-Rae/9781476749099\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a bestselling memoir\u003c/a>, the hit show \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/40693/how-issa-raes-insecure-is-leading-a-quiet-revolution-in-television\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Insecure\u003c/a>\u003c/em> and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick, too, has managed to work and rework one specific concept, and we’ve watched it grow from a couple of lines, to a song, to a concept album and signature aspect of his artwork.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So let’s be clear: I’m here to tell you why the track “Average Joe,” from Kendrick Lamar’s 2010 \u003cem>Overly Dedicated\u003c/em> \u003cem>EP\u003c/em>, is his most important song.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13913174\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13913174\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man holds an analog camera in the photo pit of a large arena event.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/05/Kendrick.2.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kendrick Lamar attends the 2018 BET Experience Concert at L.A. Live on June 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. \u003ccite>(Ser Baffo/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">N\u003c/span>o, it’s not his highest charting song (“Humble”), nor his most famous (“Alright”). It’s not the one that gets the party turnt (“Michael Jordan”). I’m not taking away from his collaborations with Bono or Beyoncé, and definitely not the voice of Tupac Shakur (“Mortal Man”) or the song that President Obama said was the best song of 2015 (“How Much a Dollar Cost”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kenny’s catalog boasts songs with Travis and Drake that have been played so many times it’d be torture to hear them again. The Black Hippy tracks are dope, and despite his impending departure from their shared record label, Top Dawg Entertainment, I hope we get more collaborations from him and Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q. (Hell, even if we just get \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/Z-48u_uWMHY?t=130\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">that song from the opening of the “Alright” video\u003c/a>, I’d be happy.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick’s career is decorated with honors and accolades, from executive-producing the \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> soundtrack to performing at this year’s Dr. Dre-led Super Bowl halftime performance. I mean, the guy won a freaking Pulitzer for \u003cem>DAMN\u003c/em>—a Pulitzer for \u003cem>spitting rhymes\u003c/em>—did we even know that was possible?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>And even in failure, like losing a Grammy to \u003ca href=\"https://www.gawker.com/macklemore-is-a-ho-bag-1509862810\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">some white guy from Seattle\u003c/a>, Kendrick won our hearts—and proved why the act of reworking your craft is important.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the novel-like album \u003cem>Good Kid, M.A.A.D City\u003c/em>, Kendrick is a bystander exploring the dichotomy of good and evil in his community, using clever lyrics recited over drums that punch like Kimbo Slice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He describes his transformation as an outside observer on the track “m.A.A.D City”:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Seen a light-skinned nigga with his brains blown out\u003cbr>\nAt the same burger stand where (redacted) hangs out\u003cbr>\nNow, this is not a tape recorder saying that he did it\u003cbr>\nBut ever since that day, I was lookin’ at him different\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then, later in the song, he gets pulled into this world of sinister behavior:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>My pops said I needed a job, I thought I believed him\u003cbr>\nSecurity guard for a month and ended up leavin’\u003cbr>\nIn fact, I got fired, ’cause I was inspired by all of my friends\u003cbr>\nTo stage a robbery the third Saturday I clocked in\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick, a neutral narrator who gets influenced by his associates, has been this guy for some time.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/EjKlzdnoBGg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/EjKlzdnoBGg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In his self-titled song “Kendrick Lamar,” a 2012 track where he drops the moniker K-Dot to go by his given name, he says:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>I’m just a good kid from Compton that want to rap\u003cbr>\nWeighing my options, pick up a Bible or a strap?\u003cbr>\nI never killed a man, never sold any crack\u003cbr>\nAll I ever did was try to keep my city on the map\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s these four bars, above, that underscore a philosophy further explored in 2012’s \u003cem>Good Kid m.A.A.D City\u003c/em>, and brought to visual life in \u003ca href=\"https://i.discogs.com/IisP10nUmJmiyxaAtenOChe3Ng5Q56YzMneN6GopVQQ/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTMzNjkw/NDItMTU4NjA5MTUx/OC03NzYyLmpwZWc.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the cover art for his \u003cem>Section 80\u003c/em> mixtape\u003c/a>. But before the idea shows up in album form, it’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jHV0HxQQGw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Average Joe\u003c/a>” where Mr. Duckworth explains the same concept in the earliest, most vivid colors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick opens the song by saying “The hardest thing for me to do / Is to get you to know me within 16 bars.” He then does just that, illustrating his position of being gang-adjacent, a good kid who’s just trying to rap but is still getting caught up in the life:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cem>Everyone I knew was either Crip or Piru\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Cousins in elementary, relatives in high school\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>With that being said, each one of their rivals\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Was aiming something at my head, I needed survival\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>Got jumped, got jacked, shot at, shot back\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>And I don’t even push a line, I’m just tryna push these rhymes\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>In the midst of staying neutral and discreet\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>My momma said you’re judged by the company you keep\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a nutshell, this is Kendrick’s story; the premise of his entire career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is why they fuck with me,” goes the chorus, twice, before Kendrick says, “I’m no gangster, no killer, I’m just your average Joe (know that) / But one thing you should consider, I’m the realest you know.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boom. That’s it. He’s an authentic person who’s telling his story, and growing as he does. He hones this theme through poetically energetic slick storytelling, a mix of Iceberg Slim, Gil Scott-Heron, DMX and Rass Kass, but yeah: Kendrick’s formula really is that simple.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11057865\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11057865\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline.jpg\" alt=\"Kendrick Lamar performs at Outside Lands, Aug. 8, 2015. (Photo: Gabe Meline/KQED)\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-400x267.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Kendrick.Meline-960x640.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kendrick Lamar. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>‘ve followed Kendrick’s work since before 2011, when he \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cIQe2iaQRk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">performed at the New Parish in Oakland\u003c/a>—still the only time I’ve seen him perform. The first song I ever heard from him was “Heaven or Hell,” a track about the drastic dichotomies in life. Again, the same theme of good and evil, and him standing as an honest observer in the midst of it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now on the verge of releasing \u003cem>Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers,\u003c/em> the Gemini MC is bracing us for more stories about the polarizing aspects of life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Looking at his catalog, there’s a lesson on the importance of revising, reworking and retelling our stories of growth. No, I’m not saying you too can be Kendrick Lamar—there’s only one big-eared Pulitzer Prize winning lyricist from Hub City. But we can all work and rework ourselves, and our stories. Word to Average Joe.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "‘Escapism Is a Cop-Out’: Two Years Into a Pandemic, Why Isn’t COVID on TV?",
"headTitle": "‘Escapism Is a Cop-Out’: Two Years Into a Pandemic, Why Isn’t COVID on TV? | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Before being slapped at the Oscars, Chris Rock joked about the unmasked celebrity crowd “just breathing raw dog tonight.” The lead-up to the ceremony was marked by \u003ca href=\"https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/academy-announces-2022-oscars-covid-19-vaccination-policy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">dodgy COVID policies\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So perhaps it should come as no surprise that there was nary a pandemic mention in the nominated works. Two years in, and the film industry is still ignoring the coronavirus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TV is no better. Early on, a few shows made half-hearted attempts to incorporate the once-in-a-generation pandemic into their storylines: \u003cem>The Resident, 9-1-1\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Brooklyn Nine-Nine\u003c/em> all paid COVID lip service before all the masks disappeared. \u003cem>It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia\u003c/em> gave it two episodes, while \u003cem>And Just Like That…\u003c/em>’s infamous first episode alluded to the pandemic in the past tense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912585\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912585\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a crowded party scene with people cheering and raising their arms\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0.jpg 1584w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from ‘And Just Like That…’ with no masks in sight. \u003ccite>(Craig Blankenhorn / HBO Max)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One could blame the long production schedule of film and television. Although lockdowns still produced new music (two Taylor Swift albums, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT20KfhnQow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">social distancing anthem\u003c/a> from E-40 and a pro-vaxx redux of Juvenile’s “Back that Azz Up”), visual media requires more active participants and long-term planning. Sure, there are exceptions, but one doesn’t expect a long production like \u003cem>Bob’s Burgers\u003c/em> to be as up-to-date as an episode of \u003cem>South Park\u003c/em> (made in seven days).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13908472']Still, that excuse only goes so far—all pop culture becomes dated. Hell, an episode’s soundtrack becomes a playlist the next day. I’d argue that ignoring a major contemporary event is hypocritical when trying to stay current. COVID-19’s been around for two years. I think that puts it in the category of HIV/AIDS or 9/11, in that it’s not ending soon and worth discussing for a long time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a San Francisco native, I don’t bring up AIDS lightly. I remember when it either wasn’t mentioned at all or was used like cancer to show a character’s tragic end (\u003cem>Philadelphia, Boys on the Side\u003c/em>). Yet, four decades later, we’ve seen narratives justifying AIDS as punishment for an “immoral” character (Tyler Perry’s 2013 \u003cem>Temptation\u003c/em>). Entertainment we consciously seek out lingers in the consciousness and normalizes the behaviors of its characters. It’s why we say “representation matters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why the absence of COVID-related content is unsettling, given the strides marginalized creators have made in entertainment. For us, \u003ca href=\"https://blackcoalitionagainstcovid.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-Report-State-of-Black-America-and-COVID-19-A-Two-Year-Assessment-3292022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">COVID infection rates are as high\u003c/a> as access to COVID resources is low. We need our voices heard and our struggle portrayed. Instead, those marginalized creators are ignoring that very struggle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912586\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912586\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a group of people cheer at a birthday party\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r.jpg 1584w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A birthday party scene from Season 5 of ‘Insecure.’ \u003ccite>(Raymond Liu/HBO)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pamela Adlon insisted the production of her show \u003cem>better things\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.indiewire.com/2019/04/better-things-pamela-adlon-tv-show-interview-season-3-1202059849/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">be as eco-friendly\u003c/a> as it is safe for women (including banning co-creator Louis CK), but the show hasn’t mentioned COVID in its still-running final season. Issa Rae revels in the acclaim she garnered for \u003cem>Insecure\u003c/em>, but its 2021 final season—shot partly here in the Bay—refused to address either the pandemic or the George Floyd protests. Even \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>, lauded for its portrayal of contemporary teens, shot two feature-length specials and an entire season during lockdown without a single virus mention on camera. (Meanwhile, one cast member’s notable absence may be \u003ca href=\"https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-euphoria-star-algee-smith-is-missing-this-season\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">COVID-related\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How well can these works truly represent the characters they portray if they ignore what their audiences have now struggled with for two years? Like \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>, the CBS sitcom \u003cem>Mom\u003c/em> was lauded for mixing entertainment with its honest portrayals of addiction. And like \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Mom\u003c/em>’s final, lockdown-shot season ignored the pandemic, despite substance abuse emerging as a dangerous COVID-era \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/stress-coping/alcohol-use.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">coping mechanism\u003c/a>. [aside postid='arts_13909218']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Claiming “escapism” is a cop-out of toxic positivity. It assumes someone lacks the mental wherewithal to address serious topics. What’s more, most works ignoring the pandemic contradict what we already know of their characters. Most vampires on \u003cem>What We Do in the Shadows\u003c/em> are multi-century-old Europeans, meaning they’ve been through multiple plagues. Hell, a common trope in vampire fiction—from Bram Stoker and Richard Matheson to San Francisco’s own Anne Rice and Christopher Moore—is for the vamps to hide in plain sight by letting the public believe their victims died of some illness. That makes it perfect for \u003cem>Shadows’\u003c/em> morbid humor, but somehow this plague has passed them by.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912587\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912587\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-800x387.jpg\" alt=\"a woman with blue hair wears a face mask as she passes by protestors\" width=\"800\" height=\"387\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-800x387.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-1020x493.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-160x77.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-768x371.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1.jpg 1260w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zoe Kravitz in a still from ‘KIMI,’ during a scene where her character wears a mask while encountering protesters in Seattle.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I haven’t seen Steven Soderbergh’s \u003cem>KIMI\u003c/em>, which I’m told is one of the few recent films to truly acknowledge the pandemic. But I’ve seen both great seasons of HBO’s \u003cem>Betty\u003c/em>, the latter of which features its teen leads living in a post-George Floyd world of COVID and Karens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wish those weren’t outliers in mainstream pop culture. I haven’t been to the movies in two years, but I hope films and series lean more heavily into COVID-related material. After all, if I wanted to watch shows where everyone ignores the virus, I’d just watch the news.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Entertainment can influence behavior or help us process struggle. What does it mean that so few films and TV shows have acknowledged COVID-19?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Before being slapped at the Oscars, Chris Rock joked about the unmasked celebrity crowd “just breathing raw dog tonight.” The lead-up to the ceremony was marked by \u003ca href=\"https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/academy-announces-2022-oscars-covid-19-vaccination-policy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">dodgy COVID policies\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So perhaps it should come as no surprise that there was nary a pandemic mention in the nominated works. Two years in, and the film industry is still ignoring the coronavirus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TV is no better. Early on, a few shows made half-hearted attempts to incorporate the once-in-a-generation pandemic into their storylines: \u003cem>The Resident, 9-1-1\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Brooklyn Nine-Nine\u003c/em> all paid COVID lip service before all the masks disappeared. \u003cem>It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia\u003c/em> gave it two episodes, while \u003cem>And Just Like That…\u003c/em>’s infamous first episode alluded to the pandemic in the past tense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912585\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912585\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a crowded party scene with people cheering and raising their arms\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/cynthia-nixon-sarah-jessica-parker-kristin-davis_0.jpg 1584w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from ‘And Just Like That…’ with no masks in sight. \u003ccite>(Craig Blankenhorn / HBO Max)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One could blame the long production schedule of film and television. Although lockdowns still produced new music (two Taylor Swift albums, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT20KfhnQow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">social distancing anthem\u003c/a> from E-40 and a pro-vaxx redux of Juvenile’s “Back that Azz Up”), visual media requires more active participants and long-term planning. Sure, there are exceptions, but one doesn’t expect a long production like \u003cem>Bob’s Burgers\u003c/em> to be as up-to-date as an episode of \u003cem>South Park\u003c/em> (made in seven days).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Still, that excuse only goes so far—all pop culture becomes dated. Hell, an episode’s soundtrack becomes a playlist the next day. I’d argue that ignoring a major contemporary event is hypocritical when trying to stay current. COVID-19’s been around for two years. I think that puts it in the category of HIV/AIDS or 9/11, in that it’s not ending soon and worth discussing for a long time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a San Francisco native, I don’t bring up AIDS lightly. I remember when it either wasn’t mentioned at all or was used like cancer to show a character’s tragic end (\u003cem>Philadelphia, Boys on the Side\u003c/em>). Yet, four decades later, we’ve seen narratives justifying AIDS as punishment for an “immoral” character (Tyler Perry’s 2013 \u003cem>Temptation\u003c/em>). Entertainment we consciously seek out lingers in the consciousness and normalizes the behaviors of its characters. It’s why we say “representation matters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why the absence of COVID-related content is unsettling, given the strides marginalized creators have made in entertainment. For us, \u003ca href=\"https://blackcoalitionagainstcovid.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2022-Report-State-of-Black-America-and-COVID-19-A-Two-Year-Assessment-3292022.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">COVID infection rates are as high\u003c/a> as access to COVID resources is low. We need our voices heard and our struggle portrayed. Instead, those marginalized creators are ignoring that very struggle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912586\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912586\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a group of people cheer at a birthday party\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/ins-ep510-06082021-rl-0112-r.jpg 1584w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A birthday party scene from Season 5 of ‘Insecure.’ \u003ccite>(Raymond Liu/HBO)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pamela Adlon insisted the production of her show \u003cem>better things\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.indiewire.com/2019/04/better-things-pamela-adlon-tv-show-interview-season-3-1202059849/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">be as eco-friendly\u003c/a> as it is safe for women (including banning co-creator Louis CK), but the show hasn’t mentioned COVID in its still-running final season. Issa Rae revels in the acclaim she garnered for \u003cem>Insecure\u003c/em>, but its 2021 final season—shot partly here in the Bay—refused to address either the pandemic or the George Floyd protests. Even \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>, lauded for its portrayal of contemporary teens, shot two feature-length specials and an entire season during lockdown without a single virus mention on camera. (Meanwhile, one cast member’s notable absence may be \u003ca href=\"https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-euphoria-star-algee-smith-is-missing-this-season\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">COVID-related\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How well can these works truly represent the characters they portray if they ignore what their audiences have now struggled with for two years? Like \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>, the CBS sitcom \u003cem>Mom\u003c/em> was lauded for mixing entertainment with its honest portrayals of addiction. And like \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Mom\u003c/em>’s final, lockdown-shot season ignored the pandemic, despite substance abuse emerging as a dangerous COVID-era \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/stress-coping/alcohol-use.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">coping mechanism\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Claiming “escapism” is a cop-out of toxic positivity. It assumes someone lacks the mental wherewithal to address serious topics. What’s more, most works ignoring the pandemic contradict what we already know of their characters. Most vampires on \u003cem>What We Do in the Shadows\u003c/em> are multi-century-old Europeans, meaning they’ve been through multiple plagues. Hell, a common trope in vampire fiction—from Bram Stoker and Richard Matheson to San Francisco’s own Anne Rice and Christopher Moore—is for the vamps to hide in plain sight by letting the public believe their victims died of some illness. That makes it perfect for \u003cem>Shadows’\u003c/em> morbid humor, but somehow this plague has passed them by.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912587\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912587\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-800x387.jpg\" alt=\"a woman with blue hair wears a face mask as she passes by protestors\" width=\"800\" height=\"387\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-800x387.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-1020x493.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-160x77.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1-768x371.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/rev-1-KIMI-FF-049r_High_Res_JPEG-1260x609-1.jpg 1260w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zoe Kravitz in a still from ‘KIMI,’ during a scene where her character wears a mask while encountering protesters in Seattle.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I haven’t seen Steven Soderbergh’s \u003cem>KIMI\u003c/em>, which I’m told is one of the few recent films to truly acknowledge the pandemic. But I’ve seen both great seasons of HBO’s \u003cem>Betty\u003c/em>, the latter of which features its teen leads living in a post-George Floyd world of COVID and Karens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wish those weren’t outliers in mainstream pop culture. I haven’t been to the movies in two years, but I hope films and series lean more heavily into COVID-related material. After all, if I wanted to watch shows where everyone ignores the virus, I’d just watch the news.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Why Students Like Me Want to ‘Diversify Our Narrative’",
"headTitle": "Why Students Like Me Want to ‘Diversify Our Narrative’ | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note:\u003c/strong> It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/youthtakeover\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KQED Youth Takeover week\u003c/a>. From April 25-29, we’re featuring stories by high school students from around the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growing up as a brown girl in America, I was often tested by the power of invisibility. The world around me didn’t seem to include me in anything. The long-legged models that popped up on my Instagram feed didn’t have the same chocolate, brown skin. My favorite Disney Channel shows made Indian American actors speak with a thick accent. The whole world seemed to have us figured out, yet their perception was completely wrong. The real me was completely invisible in mainstream media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My love for reading sprouted from a young age. And as I advanced in my reading skills and grade levels, I began to see a trend that many of my white counterparts were oblivious to: our school’s curriculum lacked diversity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13912417\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Maya.Bhatt_.Bio_.Headshot.BW_-160x183.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"183\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Maya.Bhatt_.Bio_.Headshot.BW_-160x183.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Maya.Bhatt_.Bio_.Headshot.BW_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The invisibility I had experienced my whole life was even present in the classroom in my majority-white East Bay suburb. The first time a teacher ever made my class read a book by a person of color was last year in the 9th grade. \u003cem>Just Mercy\u003c/em> by Bryan Stevenson took me through issues of race in our justice system, and especially opened my eyes to young kids being tried as adults in court. These issues had been invisible to me for so long, and if it wasn’t for that teacher I’d still be in the dark. I’ve made an effort to expand my horizons by reading Alice Walker’s \u003cem>The Color Purple\u003c/em> on my own, and I want to see more books like these—for example, Zadie Smith’s \u003cem>White Teeth\u003c/em> and Maya Angelou’s \u003cem>I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings\u003c/em>—included in my school curriculum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now that I’m 15 years old, I’m done feeling silenced and invisible. How come every page I turned to in my history textbook was a white-washed story, covering up the tracks of “heros” like Christopher Columbus? There is so much more to learn about the many diverse communities that have shaped the history of the Bay Area and the United States as a whole, and I feel as though I have missed out on this throughout my school career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wasn’t the only one who was faced with invisibility. Stanford University students Jasmine Nguyen, who is Vietnamese American, and Katelin Zhou, who is Chinese American, were also at a point where they realized that their whole high school career was filled with white-washed media, books and teachings. So, they decided to do something about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912426\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 750px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912426\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-in-sacramento.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-in-sacramento.jpg 750w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-in-sacramento-160x92.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shalvi Kamble, Jasmine Nguyen and Mia Raimondi (left to right) marched in Sacramento in favor of AB 101, the 2021 law that created an ethnic studies requirement for California high school students. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Diversify Our Narrative)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In June of 2020, when the whole world was in lockdown due to COVID-19, they used their voices and started a new organization: \u003ca href=\"https://www.diversifyournarrative.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Diversify Our Narrative\u003c/a> (DON). At first, their main goal was to push for diverse texts in English classrooms, but it later blossomed into something much more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, in 2022, DON has over 900 chapters nationwide, and has also broadened their vision to push for diverse curricula in subjects such as history, STEM and the arts. Their work has reached millions of people from across the world as their Instagram has amassed over 217,000 followers in just two years. More than 6,000 young changemakers have joined them in their fight for antiracist education. Together, these student activists have put together action-based toolkits, organized marches and created petitions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“DON has helped me realize the importance of collective resistance in making change,” Nguyen said. “Especially focusing on local change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912421\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 744px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912421\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-kamble.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"744\" height=\"687\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-kamble.jpg 744w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-kamble-160x148.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 744px) 100vw, 744px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leland High School senior Shalvi Kamble leads the San Jose Unified School District chapter of Diversify Our Narrative. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Shalvi Kamble)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shalvi Kamble, an Indian American senior at Leland High School, discovered DON through Instagram and was immediately intrigued: “When [DON] made the point that we’ve never had books written by people of color in our classrooms, I realized I had never seen myself represented,” Kamble said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DON provided Kamble a “wake-up call” as she realized that she was always looking for books written by someone like her. Now, she leads the San Jose Unified School District chapter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through her chapter Kamble is campaigning for her school district to require each English class to assign one book by a BIPOC author a year. In addition to this mandate, Kamble has also been working with teachers individually to help shift to more diverse book choices in their classrooms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the main goal of diverse curricula, Kamble also wants to make sure her branch addresses different issues like climate change, LGBTQ+ rights, Black Lives Matter and anti-Asian hate throughout the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The thing about issues is, don’t just want to talk about, for example, LGBTQ+ in Pride month. You want to educate and talk about it everyday because these are real issues that affect real people everyday of every year,” Kamble said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sofia Bruno is the district lead, along with Trisha Nguyen, of the San Francisco Unified School District chapter of DON. “I have always been interested in these types of issues,” said Bruno, who is Latina and Vietnamese.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bruno attends Lowell High School, which has been at the center of a debate surrounding equity in recent years because Black and Latinx students are underrepresented on its campus. Bruno’s main goal through her chapter is to raise awareness and advocate for diverse texts in classrooms, like Sandra Cisneros’ \u003cem>The House on Mango Street\u003c/em> and Amy Tan’s \u003cem>The Joy Luck Club\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912425\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912425\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-800x876.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"876\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-800x876.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1020x1117.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-160x175.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-768x841.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1403x1536.jpg 1403w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1870x2048.jpg 1870w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1920x2103.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sofia Bruno, a sophomore at Lowell High School, co-leads the San Francisco Unified School District chapter of Diversify Our Narrative. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Sofia Bruno)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Our nation’s history should be a composite of all cultures and perspectives. Not just white-based,” Bruno said. “As many minority groups have been [and] are still being oppressed, it’s important to acknowledge them, so we can learn from our mistakes and forge a better future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bruno believes that the country must bridge its past and present so that Generation Z can be ready to lead the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diversify Our Narrative has accomplished a lot in its two years. Two young women who had big dreams of advancing a change now have more than 6,000 passionate student activists joining them from all around the country. Many like Kamble and Bruno have used their voices to protest in Sacramento in support of AB 101, which created an \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2021/california-becomes-first-state-to-require-ethnic-studies-in-high-school/662219\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ethnic studies requirement for California high school students\u003c/a>. Governor Gavin Newson signed the bill into law in October 2021, and it will go into effect for the graduating class of 2030.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With all of the success and progress they have made over the course of two years, there is still a lot of change that needs to happen regarding diversity and inclusion in the classroom. With May fast approaching, the organizers are working on information and toolkits for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In April, we’ll mainly be preparing for AAPI month and transitioning our chapters to new leadership as seniors graduate,” said Nguyen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The impact that DON has had on Generation Z has been nothing short of amazing. As for me, a young brown girl, I would have never thought that my voice was powerful enough to spark a change. But projects and organizations like DON have shown me the power that lies within youth, and how much change youth can actually accomplish. This passion of using my voice to ignite a change led me to starting my own platform, \u003ca href=\"https://www.colorforcauses.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Color For Causes\u003c/a>, a place I use to share my visual and written works to inspire other youth and educate them on real-world issues. Just like DON, I hope to make an impact, big and small, on the world and generations to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Maya Bhatt is a 15-year-old writer and activist who attends Monte Vista High School in Danville. She loves to create visual and written works that help inspire a change in her community through her organization, Color For Causes. If she isn’t crafting an article or drawing, she can be found engrossed in a good book while snuggling her dog. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note:\u003c/strong> It’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/youthtakeover\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KQED Youth Takeover week\u003c/a>. From April 25-29, we’re featuring stories by high school students from around the Bay Area.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growing up as a brown girl in America, I was often tested by the power of invisibility. The world around me didn’t seem to include me in anything. The long-legged models that popped up on my Instagram feed didn’t have the same chocolate, brown skin. My favorite Disney Channel shows made Indian American actors speak with a thick accent. The whole world seemed to have us figured out, yet their perception was completely wrong. The real me was completely invisible in mainstream media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My love for reading sprouted from a young age. And as I advanced in my reading skills and grade levels, I began to see a trend that many of my white counterparts were oblivious to: our school’s curriculum lacked diversity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13912417\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Maya.Bhatt_.Bio_.Headshot.BW_-160x183.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"183\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Maya.Bhatt_.Bio_.Headshot.BW_-160x183.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Maya.Bhatt_.Bio_.Headshot.BW_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The invisibility I had experienced my whole life was even present in the classroom in my majority-white East Bay suburb. The first time a teacher ever made my class read a book by a person of color was last year in the 9th grade. \u003cem>Just Mercy\u003c/em> by Bryan Stevenson took me through issues of race in our justice system, and especially opened my eyes to young kids being tried as adults in court. These issues had been invisible to me for so long, and if it wasn’t for that teacher I’d still be in the dark. I’ve made an effort to expand my horizons by reading Alice Walker’s \u003cem>The Color Purple\u003c/em> on my own, and I want to see more books like these—for example, Zadie Smith’s \u003cem>White Teeth\u003c/em> and Maya Angelou’s \u003cem>I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings\u003c/em>—included in my school curriculum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now that I’m 15 years old, I’m done feeling silenced and invisible. How come every page I turned to in my history textbook was a white-washed story, covering up the tracks of “heros” like Christopher Columbus? There is so much more to learn about the many diverse communities that have shaped the history of the Bay Area and the United States as a whole, and I feel as though I have missed out on this throughout my school career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wasn’t the only one who was faced with invisibility. Stanford University students Jasmine Nguyen, who is Vietnamese American, and Katelin Zhou, who is Chinese American, were also at a point where they realized that their whole high school career was filled with white-washed media, books and teachings. So, they decided to do something about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912426\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 750px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912426\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-in-sacramento.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"433\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-in-sacramento.jpg 750w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-in-sacramento-160x92.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shalvi Kamble, Jasmine Nguyen and Mia Raimondi (left to right) marched in Sacramento in favor of AB 101, the 2021 law that created an ethnic studies requirement for California high school students. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Diversify Our Narrative)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In June of 2020, when the whole world was in lockdown due to COVID-19, they used their voices and started a new organization: \u003ca href=\"https://www.diversifyournarrative.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Diversify Our Narrative\u003c/a> (DON). At first, their main goal was to push for diverse texts in English classrooms, but it later blossomed into something much more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, in 2022, DON has over 900 chapters nationwide, and has also broadened their vision to push for diverse curricula in subjects such as history, STEM and the arts. Their work has reached millions of people from across the world as their Instagram has amassed over 217,000 followers in just two years. More than 6,000 young changemakers have joined them in their fight for antiracist education. Together, these student activists have put together action-based toolkits, organized marches and created petitions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“DON has helped me realize the importance of collective resistance in making change,” Nguyen said. “Especially focusing on local change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912421\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 744px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912421\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-kamble.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"744\" height=\"687\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-kamble.jpg 744w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/shalvi-kamble-160x148.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 744px) 100vw, 744px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leland High School senior Shalvi Kamble leads the San Jose Unified School District chapter of Diversify Our Narrative. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Shalvi Kamble)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shalvi Kamble, an Indian American senior at Leland High School, discovered DON through Instagram and was immediately intrigued: “When [DON] made the point that we’ve never had books written by people of color in our classrooms, I realized I had never seen myself represented,” Kamble said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DON provided Kamble a “wake-up call” as she realized that she was always looking for books written by someone like her. Now, she leads the San Jose Unified School District chapter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through her chapter Kamble is campaigning for her school district to require each English class to assign one book by a BIPOC author a year. In addition to this mandate, Kamble has also been working with teachers individually to help shift to more diverse book choices in their classrooms.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the main goal of diverse curricula, Kamble also wants to make sure her branch addresses different issues like climate change, LGBTQ+ rights, Black Lives Matter and anti-Asian hate throughout the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The thing about issues is, don’t just want to talk about, for example, LGBTQ+ in Pride month. You want to educate and talk about it everyday because these are real issues that affect real people everyday of every year,” Kamble said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sofia Bruno is the district lead, along with Trisha Nguyen, of the San Francisco Unified School District chapter of DON. “I have always been interested in these types of issues,” said Bruno, who is Latina and Vietnamese.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bruno attends Lowell High School, which has been at the center of a debate surrounding equity in recent years because Black and Latinx students are underrepresented on its campus. Bruno’s main goal through her chapter is to raise awareness and advocate for diverse texts in classrooms, like Sandra Cisneros’ \u003cem>The House on Mango Street\u003c/em> and Amy Tan’s \u003cem>The Joy Luck Club\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912425\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13912425\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-800x876.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"876\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-800x876.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1020x1117.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-160x175.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-768x841.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1403x1536.jpg 1403w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1870x2048.jpg 1870w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/sofia-bruno-1920x2103.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sofia Bruno, a sophomore at Lowell High School, co-leads the San Francisco Unified School District chapter of Diversify Our Narrative. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Sofia Bruno)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Our nation’s history should be a composite of all cultures and perspectives. Not just white-based,” Bruno said. “As many minority groups have been [and] are still being oppressed, it’s important to acknowledge them, so we can learn from our mistakes and forge a better future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bruno believes that the country must bridge its past and present so that Generation Z can be ready to lead the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diversify Our Narrative has accomplished a lot in its two years. Two young women who had big dreams of advancing a change now have more than 6,000 passionate student activists joining them from all around the country. Many like Kamble and Bruno have used their voices to protest in Sacramento in support of AB 101, which created an \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2021/california-becomes-first-state-to-require-ethnic-studies-in-high-school/662219\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ethnic studies requirement for California high school students\u003c/a>. Governor Gavin Newson signed the bill into law in October 2021, and it will go into effect for the graduating class of 2030.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With all of the success and progress they have made over the course of two years, there is still a lot of change that needs to happen regarding diversity and inclusion in the classroom. With May fast approaching, the organizers are working on information and toolkits for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In April, we’ll mainly be preparing for AAPI month and transitioning our chapters to new leadership as seniors graduate,” said Nguyen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The impact that DON has had on Generation Z has been nothing short of amazing. As for me, a young brown girl, I would have never thought that my voice was powerful enough to spark a change. But projects and organizations like DON have shown me the power that lies within youth, and how much change youth can actually accomplish. This passion of using my voice to ignite a change led me to starting my own platform, \u003ca href=\"https://www.colorforcauses.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Color For Causes\u003c/a>, a place I use to share my visual and written works to inspire other youth and educate them on real-world issues. Just like DON, I hope to make an impact, big and small, on the world and generations to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Maya Bhatt is a 15-year-old writer and activist who attends Monte Vista High School in Danville. She loves to create visual and written works that help inspire a change in her community through her organization, Color For Causes. If she isn’t crafting an article or drawing, she can be found engrossed in a good book while snuggling her dog. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Marketing Win? Stern Grove Lineup Announced via Public Transportation",
"headTitle": "Marketing Win? Stern Grove Lineup Announced via Public Transportation | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, May 3: \u003c/strong>Stern Grove Festival has officially announced its lineup. It’s the same slate of artists that appeared to have been accidentally revealed through a Muni ad in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original post: \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 2022 Stern Grove Festival lineup was announced Friday in a small masterwork of accidental marketing genius: placing an ad on a Muni bus and letting the public do the rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lineup features Tower of Power and Too Short (June 12), Toro y Moi and Hello Yello (June 19), Liz Phair and Madi Diaz (June 26), Cold War Kids and Geographer (July 3), Old Crow Medicine Show and Molly Tuttle (July 10), Cat Power and Spellling (July 17), LeAnn Rimes and Amythyst Kiah (July 24), San Francisco Symphony (July 31), Taj Mahal and Monophonics (Aug. 7) and the Big Picnic with Phil Lesh & Friends and Midnight North (Aug. 14), according to the Muni ad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912348\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 740px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912348\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-22-at-8.11.09-PM.png\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Reddit posting from Friday, April 22, showing an advertisement for Stern Grove's 2022 lineup with Too Short, Cat Power, Liz Phair, Phil Lesh and others.\" width=\"740\" height=\"828\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-22-at-8.11.09-PM.png 740w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-22-at-8.11.09-PM-160x179.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A screenshot of the Reddit posting from Friday, April 22, showing an advertisement for Stern Grove’s 2022 lineup with Too Short, Cat Power, Liz Phair, Phil Lesh and others. \u003ccite>(via Reddit / u/normalizevictory)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The ad in question, \u003ca href=\"https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/muni-ad-leaks-stern-grove-festival-2022-lineup-with-liz-phair-and-cat-power\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">first reported\u003c/a> by the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>, notes that all performances for the festival’s 85th season will still be free. Advance reservations for entry, added in in recent years, will again be required.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED reached out to festival representatives to confirm the lineup in the Muni bus ad. The response neither confirmed nor denied the lineup, and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/sterngrovefest/status/1518007943928500224\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">directed us to this tweet\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Photos of the ad surfaced \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/u9kf1a/muni_leaking_the_stern_grove_lineup/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">on Reddit\u003c/a> and other social media on Friday, giving organizers at the Stern Grove Festival either a) extreme frustration at the leaked lineup, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sterngrove.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">not planned for release until May 3\u003c/a>, or b) a scramble to try and put a positive spin on the situation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/andyfedy/status/1517612025706258435\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Let us help with that positive spin: In an age when festival lineup announcements are tightly controlled and embargoed, this type of covert leaked announcement basically reflects a competent understanding of marketing and communications in the social media age. Namely, how word-of-mouth online carries far more human impact than any branded content, and how clueing the public in on a “secret” is \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CatZhang1/status/1514440150822137862\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">worth far more social clout\u003c/a> than a formal press release spread across all media outlets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example: remarked one Reddit user, echoing others, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/u9kf1a/muni_leaking_the_stern_grove_lineup/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dude, better lineup than Outside Lands\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s more, giving the honors of quietly announcing the lineup to Muni shows a laudable support of city services at a time when public transportation has suffered, and been further devalued, in San Francisco. Ridership on Muni and BART \u003ca href=\"https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2020/news20200317\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fell drastically\u003c/a> during the COVID pandemic, and ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft continue their attempts to take over the city streets by supplanting traditional public transit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words: Didn’t take the bus on Friday? You missed out on the inside scoop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.sterngrove.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stern Grove Festival’s official website, which promises that a lineup announcement is coming on May 3, is here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Originally leaked via bus ad, the lineup features Liz Phair, Toro y Moi, Cat Power, Tower of Power and Too Short and more.",
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"twTitle": "Stern Grove Lineup Announced via MUNI Ad: Phil Lesh, Liz Phair, Cat Power, Too Short, Old Crow Medicine Show, More",
"socialTitle": "Stern Grove Lineup Announced via MUNI Ad: Phil Lesh, Liz Phair, Cat Power, Too Short, Old Crow Medicine Show, More %%page%% %%sep%% KQED",
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"title": "Stern Grove Lineup Announced via MUNI Ad: Phil Lesh, Liz Phair, Cat Power, Too Short, Old Crow Medicine Show, More | KQED",
"ogDescription": "In a stroke of marketing genius, Liz Phair, Cat Power, Too Short, Phil Lesh, Tower of Power and others were announced as performers at the 2022 Stern Grove Festival via a bus advertisement.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Update, May 3: \u003c/strong>Stern Grove Festival has officially announced its lineup. It’s the same slate of artists that appeared to have been accidentally revealed through a Muni ad in April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Original post: \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 2022 Stern Grove Festival lineup was announced Friday in a small masterwork of accidental marketing genius: placing an ad on a Muni bus and letting the public do the rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lineup features Tower of Power and Too Short (June 12), Toro y Moi and Hello Yello (June 19), Liz Phair and Madi Diaz (June 26), Cold War Kids and Geographer (July 3), Old Crow Medicine Show and Molly Tuttle (July 10), Cat Power and Spellling (July 17), LeAnn Rimes and Amythyst Kiah (July 24), San Francisco Symphony (July 31), Taj Mahal and Monophonics (Aug. 7) and the Big Picnic with Phil Lesh & Friends and Midnight North (Aug. 14), according to the Muni ad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13912348\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 740px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13912348\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-22-at-8.11.09-PM.png\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Reddit posting from Friday, April 22, showing an advertisement for Stern Grove's 2022 lineup with Too Short, Cat Power, Liz Phair, Phil Lesh and others.\" width=\"740\" height=\"828\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-22-at-8.11.09-PM.png 740w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/04/Screen-Shot-2022-04-22-at-8.11.09-PM-160x179.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A screenshot of the Reddit posting from Friday, April 22, showing an advertisement for Stern Grove’s 2022 lineup with Too Short, Cat Power, Liz Phair, Phil Lesh and others. \u003ccite>(via Reddit / u/normalizevictory)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The ad in question, \u003ca href=\"https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/muni-ad-leaks-stern-grove-festival-2022-lineup-with-liz-phair-and-cat-power\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">first reported\u003c/a> by the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>, notes that all performances for the festival’s 85th season will still be free. Advance reservations for entry, added in in recent years, will again be required.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED reached out to festival representatives to confirm the lineup in the Muni bus ad. The response neither confirmed nor denied the lineup, and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/sterngrovefest/status/1518007943928500224\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">directed us to this tweet\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Photos of the ad surfaced \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/u9kf1a/muni_leaking_the_stern_grove_lineup/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">on Reddit\u003c/a> and other social media on Friday, giving organizers at the Stern Grove Festival either a) extreme frustration at the leaked lineup, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sterngrove.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">not planned for release until May 3\u003c/a>, or b) a scramble to try and put a positive spin on the situation.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Let us help with that positive spin: In an age when festival lineup announcements are tightly controlled and embargoed, this type of covert leaked announcement basically reflects a competent understanding of marketing and communications in the social media age. Namely, how word-of-mouth online carries far more human impact than any branded content, and how clueing the public in on a “secret” is \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CatZhang1/status/1514440150822137862\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">worth far more social clout\u003c/a> than a formal press release spread across all media outlets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example: remarked one Reddit user, echoing others, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/u9kf1a/muni_leaking_the_stern_grove_lineup/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dude, better lineup than Outside Lands\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s more, giving the honors of quietly announcing the lineup to Muni shows a laudable support of city services at a time when public transportation has suffered, and been further devalued, in San Francisco. Ridership on Muni and BART \u003ca href=\"https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2020/news20200317\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fell drastically\u003c/a> during the COVID pandemic, and ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft continue their attempts to take over the city streets by supplanting traditional public transit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words: Didn’t take the bus on Friday? You missed out on the inside scoop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.sterngrove.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stern Grove Festival’s official website, which promises that a lineup announcement is coming on May 3, is here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Is The $385 Blue Note Festival in Napa Worth It? Yeah, Probably—But Reluctantly.",
"headTitle": "Is The $385 Blue Note Festival in Napa Worth It? Yeah, Probably—But Reluctantly. | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>The first-ever \u003ca href=\"https://bluenotejazzfestival.com/napa/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Jazz Festival in Napa\u003c/a> was announced Thursday, and two things happened: my eyes widened at the incredible lineup, and then my brain fell out at the ticket price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two-day festival on July 30 and 31 hosts so many all-stars that to list just half is like a first draft for a Jazz and Hip-Hop Hall of Fame. It’s got resident artist Robert Glasper, Maxwell, Erykah Badu, Yasiin Bey & Talib Kweli as Black Star, Thundercat, Anderson .Paak, Flying Lotus, the Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA, Christian Scott, Pharaohe Monch, Ledisi, Terrace Martin, BJ the Chicago Kid and plenty more, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxLpHCDhsTQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DJ Jazzy Jeff\u003c/a>, all playing solo or in different configurations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Did I mention Dave Chappelle is hosting?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s the thing: Tickets for this festival are $385 each. In line with nationwide trends in festival ticket pricing, that’s \u003cem>three hundred and eighty-five dollars\u003c/em> for one two-day, general-admission ticket, and that’s before “convenience” fees, which have \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/6/12/18662992/ticket-fees-ticketmaster-stubhub-ftc-regulation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">soared astronomically\u003c/a> in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13831858']For reference, the last time I bought tickets from Ticketmaster, to see Paul McCartney, my charges included a 23% service fee, a 5% facility charge, and a 3% order processing fee. Our $189.50 tickets suddenly became $250 tickets. (Because my daughter saves ticket stubs, I also willfully opted to pay an extra $10 to send them in the mail at a time when first-class postage costs 58¢).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If equal percentages get charged on top of this Napa festival’s face value of $385, you’re looking at possibly paying $504.35 per ticket to the Blue Note Jazz Festival at Charles Krug Winery, to sip Cabernet Sauvignon while watching Black Star do “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuJaStSL0xM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Redefinition\u003c/a>” among the vineyards, in the upscale, chi-chi confines of Napa Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Is this really what we are doing, people?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the answer’s yes—if you’ve been in this festival-pricing dilemma before, either with Outside Lands (\u003ca href=\"https://sfoutsidelands.com/tickets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more expensive\u003c/a> than the Blue Note festival) or Coachella (\u003ca href=\"https://www.coachella.com/passes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">much more expensive\u003c/a> than the Blue Note festival)—then you’re probably used to “festival math.” You’ve already added up the acts you want to see, calculated roughly how much it would cost to catch each playing separately, in a club, theater or arena, added up all \u003cem>those\u003c/em> costs, and realized: hey, even at $385, that’s a lot of bang for my buck to see so many of my favorites in one weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Add the cruel reality that \u003ca href=\"https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/09/27/spotify-declining-royalty-payouts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">artists’ album royalties have evaporated\u003c/a> in order to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nme.com/news/music/artists-criticise-spotify-ceo-daniel-eks-investment-in-ai-defence-tech-3107864\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">make Spotify CEO Daniel Ek a multibillionaire who invests in defense technology\u003c/a>, or the \u003ca href=\"https://theconversation.com/denying-black-musicians-their-royalties-has-a-history-emerging-out-of-slavery-144397\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">historic exploitation of Black musicians in America\u003c/a> which substantial festival guarantees can help repair, or the possibility that you’ve just gotten a huge tax return (just kidding, you probably didn’t—thanks, Paul Ryan!), or just that you haven’t taken your loved one out on a nice weekend getaway for the past two years, you start to say to yourself, “You know what? Why not? Let’s do it up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903425\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13903425\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Erykah Badu performs at Lights On Festival at Concord Pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Not everyone is in that position, though, and certainly not your average rap fan, and certainly not the surge of younger people getting into jazz \u003ca href=\"https://lnwy.co/read/new-golden-age-jazz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">thanks to some of the very acts on this bill\u003c/a>. Unless they were born into privilege or have a trust fund, they definitely wouldn’t throw down for VIP tickets ($850), or VIP parking (an additional $150). Having lived in Sonoma County my whole life, and for decades \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11625922/bottlerock-finds-it-footing-on-louboutin-heels-in-wine-country\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">covered the region’s wine country-branded lifestyle experiences thinly veiled as music festivals\u003c/a>, I can tell you that weekend hotel and Airbnb rates are excessively high for these weekends, and concessions at festivals up here ain’t exactly $6 ballgame hot dogs, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(It’s worthy to note that there \u003cem>is\u003c/em> a free shuttle to this festival, but from an as-yet-determined parking area with an as-yet-determined parking fee, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.valleymusictravel.com/events/coachella/shuttles/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Coachella shuttles are $75–$84\u003c/a>. And technically, public transportation to the festival exists, sort of, in the form of the Napa Valley Wine Train, which changed ownership several years ago after \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/13/napa-wine-train-laughing-while-black\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">kicking 10 Black women off the train mid-excursion\u003c/a> for “laughing while Black.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_11625922']If I sound like a hater, let me remind you: I hereby place my hand on a stack of Blue Note LPs and vow under oath that this festival has an incredible, historic lineup. But I’ll also remind you that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/blue-note-entertainment-group-sony-hall-new-era-8224741/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Entertainment Group\u003c/a> is not associated at all with the famed jazz label \u003ca href=\"https://www.bluenote.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Records\u003c/a>, and books rock, smooth jazz, funk, fusion and folk acts at its seven Blue Note venues and other clubs and theaters around the world, aided in part by \u003ca href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccalerner/2017/06/15/all-that-jazz-inside-over-35-years-at-the-blue-note-jazz-club/?sh=6ab8b31e2c30\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sponsorships with corporate giants Intel, Seagram\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/blue-note-entertainment-group-sony-hall-new-era-8224741/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sony\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And look, I accept there’s no going back to the days of events like the \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Cultural_Festival\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Harlem Cultural Festival\u003c/a>, made famous by the Oscar-wining documentary \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13899714/summer-of-soul-celebrates-a-1969-black-cultural-festival-eclipsed-by-woodstock\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Summer of Soul\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, where daily admission was completely free. (Unless you’re talking about an anomaly like the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, which is \u003ca href=\"https://bohemian.com/banjo-banker-1/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">paid for by a finance-sector billionaire’s estate\u003c/a>). The problems inherent with today’s festival prices are not unique to the Blue Note Jazz Festival. And I firmly believe that music is a source of joy like no other, and musicians who create that joy should be paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with festival ticket prices already out of reach for so many, especially in the communities from which jazz and hip-hop grew, and with bot-enabled instant ticket scalping an epidemic not only \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/11/discord-scalpers-harry-styles-ticket-resale-verified-fan/602647/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rampant\u003c/a> but \u003ca href=\"https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/ticket-scalping-a-market-that-only-exists-because-musicians-under-supply-and-under-price-tickets-to-their-concerts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">encouraged\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2018/09/19/we-went-undercover-as-ticket-scalpers-and-ticketmaster-offered-to-help-us-do-business.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">systemically enabled\u003c/a> in 2022, I have to wonder: should joy really be for sale to the highest bidder?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"https://bluenotejazzfestival.com/napa/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Jazz Festival\u003c/a> runs July 30 and 31 at Charles Krug Winery in Napa. Tickets go on sale April 26; \u003ca href=\"https://bluenotejazzfestival.com/napa-tickets/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The first-ever \u003ca href=\"https://bluenotejazzfestival.com/napa/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Jazz Festival in Napa\u003c/a> was announced Thursday, and two things happened: my eyes widened at the incredible lineup, and then my brain fell out at the ticket price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two-day festival on July 30 and 31 hosts so many all-stars that to list just half is like a first draft for a Jazz and Hip-Hop Hall of Fame. It’s got resident artist Robert Glasper, Maxwell, Erykah Badu, Yasiin Bey & Talib Kweli as Black Star, Thundercat, Anderson .Paak, Flying Lotus, the Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA, Christian Scott, Pharaohe Monch, Ledisi, Terrace Martin, BJ the Chicago Kid and plenty more, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxLpHCDhsTQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DJ Jazzy Jeff\u003c/a>, all playing solo or in different configurations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Did I mention Dave Chappelle is hosting?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s the thing: Tickets for this festival are $385 each. In line with nationwide trends in festival ticket pricing, that’s \u003cem>three hundred and eighty-five dollars\u003c/em> for one two-day, general-admission ticket, and that’s before “convenience” fees, which have \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/6/12/18662992/ticket-fees-ticketmaster-stubhub-ftc-regulation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">soared astronomically\u003c/a> in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>For reference, the last time I bought tickets from Ticketmaster, to see Paul McCartney, my charges included a 23% service fee, a 5% facility charge, and a 3% order processing fee. Our $189.50 tickets suddenly became $250 tickets. (Because my daughter saves ticket stubs, I also willfully opted to pay an extra $10 to send them in the mail at a time when first-class postage costs 58¢).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If equal percentages get charged on top of this Napa festival’s face value of $385, you’re looking at possibly paying $504.35 per ticket to the Blue Note Jazz Festival at Charles Krug Winery, to sip Cabernet Sauvignon while watching Black Star do “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuJaStSL0xM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Redefinition\u003c/a>” among the vineyards, in the upscale, chi-chi confines of Napa Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Is this really what we are doing, people?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the answer’s yes—if you’ve been in this festival-pricing dilemma before, either with Outside Lands (\u003ca href=\"https://sfoutsidelands.com/tickets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more expensive\u003c/a> than the Blue Note festival) or Coachella (\u003ca href=\"https://www.coachella.com/passes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">much more expensive\u003c/a> than the Blue Note festival)—then you’re probably used to “festival math.” You’ve already added up the acts you want to see, calculated roughly how much it would cost to catch each playing separately, in a club, theater or arena, added up all \u003cem>those\u003c/em> costs, and realized: hey, even at $385, that’s a lot of bang for my buck to see so many of my favorites in one weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Add the cruel reality that \u003ca href=\"https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/09/27/spotify-declining-royalty-payouts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">artists’ album royalties have evaporated\u003c/a> in order to \u003ca href=\"https://www.nme.com/news/music/artists-criticise-spotify-ceo-daniel-eks-investment-in-ai-defence-tech-3107864\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">make Spotify CEO Daniel Ek a multibillionaire who invests in defense technology\u003c/a>, or the \u003ca href=\"https://theconversation.com/denying-black-musicians-their-royalties-has-a-history-emerging-out-of-slavery-144397\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">historic exploitation of Black musicians in America\u003c/a> which substantial festival guarantees can help repair, or the possibility that you’ve just gotten a huge tax return (just kidding, you probably didn’t—thanks, Paul Ryan!), or just that you haven’t taken your loved one out on a nice weekend getaway for the past two years, you start to say to yourself, “You know what? Why not? Let’s do it up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903425\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13903425\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5194-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Erykah Badu performs at Lights On Festival at Concord Pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Not everyone is in that position, though, and certainly not your average rap fan, and certainly not the surge of younger people getting into jazz \u003ca href=\"https://lnwy.co/read/new-golden-age-jazz/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">thanks to some of the very acts on this bill\u003c/a>. Unless they were born into privilege or have a trust fund, they definitely wouldn’t throw down for VIP tickets ($850), or VIP parking (an additional $150). Having lived in Sonoma County my whole life, and for decades \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11625922/bottlerock-finds-it-footing-on-louboutin-heels-in-wine-country\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">covered the region’s wine country-branded lifestyle experiences thinly veiled as music festivals\u003c/a>, I can tell you that weekend hotel and Airbnb rates are excessively high for these weekends, and concessions at festivals up here ain’t exactly $6 ballgame hot dogs, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(It’s worthy to note that there \u003cem>is\u003c/em> a free shuttle to this festival, but from an as-yet-determined parking area with an as-yet-determined parking fee, while \u003ca href=\"https://www.valleymusictravel.com/events/coachella/shuttles/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Coachella shuttles are $75–$84\u003c/a>. And technically, public transportation to the festival exists, sort of, in the form of the Napa Valley Wine Train, which changed ownership several years ago after \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/13/napa-wine-train-laughing-while-black\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">kicking 10 Black women off the train mid-excursion\u003c/a> for “laughing while Black.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>If I sound like a hater, let me remind you: I hereby place my hand on a stack of Blue Note LPs and vow under oath that this festival has an incredible, historic lineup. But I’ll also remind you that the \u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/blue-note-entertainment-group-sony-hall-new-era-8224741/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Entertainment Group\u003c/a> is not associated at all with the famed jazz label \u003ca href=\"https://www.bluenote.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Records\u003c/a>, and books rock, smooth jazz, funk, fusion and folk acts at its seven Blue Note venues and other clubs and theaters around the world, aided in part by \u003ca href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccalerner/2017/06/15/all-that-jazz-inside-over-35-years-at-the-blue-note-jazz-club/?sh=6ab8b31e2c30\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sponsorships with corporate giants Intel, Seagram\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/blue-note-entertainment-group-sony-hall-new-era-8224741/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sony\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And look, I accept there’s no going back to the days of events like the \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Cultural_Festival\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Harlem Cultural Festival\u003c/a>, made famous by the Oscar-wining documentary \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13899714/summer-of-soul-celebrates-a-1969-black-cultural-festival-eclipsed-by-woodstock\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Summer of Soul\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, where daily admission was completely free. (Unless you’re talking about an anomaly like the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, which is \u003ca href=\"https://bohemian.com/banjo-banker-1/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">paid for by a finance-sector billionaire’s estate\u003c/a>). The problems inherent with today’s festival prices are not unique to the Blue Note Jazz Festival. And I firmly believe that music is a source of joy like no other, and musicians who create that joy should be paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with festival ticket prices already out of reach for so many, especially in the communities from which jazz and hip-hop grew, and with bot-enabled instant ticket scalping an epidemic not only \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/11/discord-scalpers-harry-styles-ticket-resale-verified-fan/602647/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rampant\u003c/a> but \u003ca href=\"https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/ticket-scalping-a-market-that-only-exists-because-musicians-under-supply-and-under-price-tickets-to-their-concerts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">encouraged\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2018/09/19/we-went-undercover-as-ticket-scalpers-and-ticketmaster-offered-to-help-us-do-business.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">systemically enabled\u003c/a> in 2022, I have to wonder: should joy really be for sale to the highest bidder?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The \u003ca href=\"https://bluenotejazzfestival.com/napa/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blue Note Jazz Festival\u003c/a> runs July 30 and 31 at Charles Krug Winery in Napa. Tickets go on sale April 26; \u003ca href=\"https://bluenotejazzfestival.com/napa-tickets/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Maybe They Should Just Trade Stomper Too",
"headTitle": "Maybe They Should Just Trade Stomper Too | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910779\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910779\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Stomper.MAIN_.jpg\" alt=\"Five different baseball mascots pose around Pen Harshaw\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Stomper.MAIN_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Stomper.MAIN_-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Stomper.MAIN_-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The author poses with Stomper at the 2008 MLB All-Star Game, at the old Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">H\u003c/span>as anyone checked on the A’s mascot, Stomper?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asking because his team, the Oakland Athletics, is at it again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You know their M.O.: trading their star players to top-tier contenders, instead of paying them the big long-term contracts they deserve, \u003cem>and\u003c/em> simultaneously planning an escape route to relocate the entire franchise because their new stadium plan isn’t panning out exactly as they wish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s kind of masterful how this franchise has committed to mediocrity and distanced itself from the claim that it’s “Rooted in Oakland,” again and again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The headlines this week—”\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/shea/article/A-s-ignite-the-mother-of-all-baseball-fire-17001721.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A’s Ignite Mother of All Baseball Fire Sales with Matt Olson, Chris Bassitt Trades\u003c/a>,” to quote the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>—give us long-suffering fans another example of why the team being represented by a white elephant—an unwanted gift—is an all-too-apt, self-fulfilling prophecy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So yeah, someone check on Stomper, and make sure he’s OK.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJCm7ytjA8Q\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s seen this scheme every six or seven years. The team gets some great young prospects and raises their skill levels and name recognition over a few seasons. The team plays well—sometimes even making it to the playoffs—only to fall short and leave fans wondering if it will ever find that one piece it always seems to need to turn into a serious title contender.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But during the offseason, and sometimes even mid-season, instead of buying in, the A’s front office sells out. They get rid of talented players and replace them with more prospects, journeymen, and utility players in order to keep the payroll low. There’s a whole movie about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTTwenD0_9g\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After this offseason, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/03/11/1085979676/major-league-baseballs-lockout-ends-after-both-sides-reach-a-deal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Major League Baseball’s owners locked out their players\u003c/a> over labor disagreements, I see things haven’t changed much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just this week, the team got rid of superstar third baseman Matt Chapman, sending him across the northern border to Toronto. His corner-mate over at first, Matt Olson, was sent south to the Atlanta Braves. One of the team’s top pitchers, Chris Bassitt? Sent to the New York Mets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These names follow behind the likes of all-stars Marcus Semien, Josh Donaldson, and many more who came through The Town bearing gifts, only to be passed to the next team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who could forget when \u003ca href=\"https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2147547-oakland-athletics-yoenis-cespedes-t-shirt-giveaway-becomes-awkward-after-trade\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yoenis Cespedes\u003c/a> was traded just before his T-shirt giveaway game at the Coliseum? [\u003cem>Damn, you’re killing me. This one was heartbreaking.—Ed.\u003c/em>]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yeah, \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/03/14/kurtenbach-dont-give-the-as-your-money-they-dont-know-what-to-do-with-it/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">there’s plenty of reasons not to give the A’s your money\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910783\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 604px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910783\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Stomper.Pen_.2007.jpg\" alt=\"Pen Harshaw with the A's mascot, a giant elephant, poses for the camera\" width=\"604\" height=\"453\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Stomper.Pen_.2007.jpg 604w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Stomper.Pen_.2007-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 604px) 100vw, 604px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The author with Stomper at Children’s Hospital in Oakland, circa 2007. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">E\u003c/span>specially when you consider all they’ve done to move closer to downtown—a move that isn’t looking too promising after \u003ca href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/proposed-oakland-as-stadium-faces-setback-from-state-panel/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this week’s vote\u003c/a> by the Seaport Planning Advisory Committee, who recommended that the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission maintain the Howard Terminal waterfront site for maritime use. It’s not the final straw for the plan, but it means that the future of the A’s in Oakland boils down to yet another hearing, this time on June 2.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview, team president Dave Kaval told ABC 7’s Casey Pratt of a backup plan: The team is \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CaseyPrattABC7/status/1504235503645691910?s=20&t=5oaMn6X3cqZaLDx-QEDs5g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">getting close to picking a site for a stadium in Vegas\u003c/a>, because, you know, this is business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I bet it’d be hot as hell in that elephant suit in Vegas. Really, has anyone checked on Stomper? I’m worried about him. No one has seen more players come and go than my gray pachyderm friend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was there for the crazy joy and playoff heartbreak of the 2012 and 2013 seasons (damn you, Verlander). In 2002, he was in the building for Tejada’s MVP season and the 20-game winning streak. For the evolution of Hudson, Mulder and Zito. And for the emergence of the latest crop of stars the team didn’t hold onto.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/i/status/1111380040124502016\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stomper is just a youngster in baseball history terms, making his first appearance in 1997—a down period when it really needed his help. But he’s part of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oakland-Athletics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Athletics’ history\u003c/a> that starts in Philadelphia in 1901, where the team got the “white elephant” tag soon after its inception.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John McGraw, an early manager of the then-New York Giants baseball team, said the Athletics, who were ironically signing big-name players at the time, wouldn’t make any money and would have a big “white elephant” on their hands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The team flipped the insult, adopting it as a mark of pride, and ran with it as their mascot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13839115']\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">P\u003c/span>layers notoriously have pre- and post-game rituals. They eat specific meals or write messages on their cleats. It’s reported that former A’s star \u003ca href=\"https://bleacherreport.com/articles/375113-top-mlb-superstitions-and-rituals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mark McGuire\u003c/a> wore the same jockstrap from his high school days, up until it was stolen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I really think we should get Stomper on the phone. Because if I were that big smiling elephant, I’d feel some sort of guilt about seeing so many players come and go. I’d feel like \u003cem>I\u003c/em> was the reason the A’s have had so much turnover. Not the insufficient, anarchic business model that leaves fans unfulfilled, no matter how hard we cheer for the team. It’s like the Babe Ruth curse. Baseball superstitions aren’t about logical conclusions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nope, let’s address the elephant in the room—we can look past the \u003ca href=\"https://www.postnewsgroup.com/billionaire-john-fisher-linked-to-privatization-of-schools-and-port-of-oakland/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">many issues\u003c/a> of billionaire team owner John Fisher, but we can’t look past the fact the mascot of the team is obviously bringing the A’s some bad energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Check on Stomper. He might be next on the trading block—because it’d be easier to get rid of him than to throw out an owner and president who obviously don’t care about The Town.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "At this point, writes Pendarvis Harshaw, what have the Oakland A's got to lose—besides even more goodwill?",
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"twDescription": "At this point, writes Pendarvis Harshaw, what have the Oakland A's got to lose—besides even more goodwill?",
"description": "At this point, writes Pendarvis Harshaw, what have the A's got to lose—besides even more goodwill?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910779\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910779\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Stomper.MAIN_.jpg\" alt=\"Five different baseball mascots pose around Pen Harshaw\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Stomper.MAIN_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Stomper.MAIN_-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Stomper.MAIN_-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The author poses with Stomper at the 2008 MLB All-Star Game, at the old Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">H\u003c/span>as anyone checked on the A’s mascot, Stomper?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asking because his team, the Oakland Athletics, is at it again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You know their M.O.: trading their star players to top-tier contenders, instead of paying them the big long-term contracts they deserve, \u003cem>and\u003c/em> simultaneously planning an escape route to relocate the entire franchise because their new stadium plan isn’t panning out exactly as they wish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s kind of masterful how this franchise has committed to mediocrity and distanced itself from the claim that it’s “Rooted in Oakland,” again and again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The headlines this week—”\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/shea/article/A-s-ignite-the-mother-of-all-baseball-fire-17001721.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A’s Ignite Mother of All Baseball Fire Sales with Matt Olson, Chris Bassitt Trades\u003c/a>,” to quote the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>—give us long-suffering fans another example of why the team being represented by a white elephant—an unwanted gift—is an all-too-apt, self-fulfilling prophecy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So yeah, someone check on Stomper, and make sure he’s OK.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/YJCm7ytjA8Q'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/YJCm7ytjA8Q'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>He’s seen this scheme every six or seven years. The team gets some great young prospects and raises their skill levels and name recognition over a few seasons. The team plays well—sometimes even making it to the playoffs—only to fall short and leave fans wondering if it will ever find that one piece it always seems to need to turn into a serious title contender.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But during the offseason, and sometimes even mid-season, instead of buying in, the A’s front office sells out. They get rid of talented players and replace them with more prospects, journeymen, and utility players in order to keep the payroll low. There’s a whole movie about it.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/ZTTwenD0_9g'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/ZTTwenD0_9g'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>After this offseason, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/03/11/1085979676/major-league-baseballs-lockout-ends-after-both-sides-reach-a-deal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Major League Baseball’s owners locked out their players\u003c/a> over labor disagreements, I see things haven’t changed much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just this week, the team got rid of superstar third baseman Matt Chapman, sending him across the northern border to Toronto. His corner-mate over at first, Matt Olson, was sent south to the Atlanta Braves. One of the team’s top pitchers, Chris Bassitt? Sent to the New York Mets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These names follow behind the likes of all-stars Marcus Semien, Josh Donaldson, and many more who came through The Town bearing gifts, only to be passed to the next team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Who could forget when \u003ca href=\"https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2147547-oakland-athletics-yoenis-cespedes-t-shirt-giveaway-becomes-awkward-after-trade\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yoenis Cespedes\u003c/a> was traded just before his T-shirt giveaway game at the Coliseum? [\u003cem>Damn, you’re killing me. This one was heartbreaking.—Ed.\u003c/em>]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yeah, \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/03/14/kurtenbach-dont-give-the-as-your-money-they-dont-know-what-to-do-with-it/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">there’s plenty of reasons not to give the A’s your money\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910783\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 604px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13910783\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Stomper.Pen_.2007.jpg\" alt=\"Pen Harshaw with the A's mascot, a giant elephant, poses for the camera\" width=\"604\" height=\"453\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Stomper.Pen_.2007.jpg 604w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Stomper.Pen_.2007-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 604px) 100vw, 604px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The author with Stomper at Children’s Hospital in Oakland, circa 2007. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">E\u003c/span>specially when you consider all they’ve done to move closer to downtown—a move that isn’t looking too promising after \u003ca href=\"https://www.courthousenews.com/proposed-oakland-as-stadium-faces-setback-from-state-panel/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this week’s vote\u003c/a> by the Seaport Planning Advisory Committee, who recommended that the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission maintain the Howard Terminal waterfront site for maritime use. It’s not the final straw for the plan, but it means that the future of the A’s in Oakland boils down to yet another hearing, this time on June 2.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an interview, team president Dave Kaval told ABC 7’s Casey Pratt of a backup plan: The team is \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CaseyPrattABC7/status/1504235503645691910?s=20&t=5oaMn6X3cqZaLDx-QEDs5g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">getting close to picking a site for a stadium in Vegas\u003c/a>, because, you know, this is business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I bet it’d be hot as hell in that elephant suit in Vegas. Really, has anyone checked on Stomper? I’m worried about him. No one has seen more players come and go than my gray pachyderm friend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was there for the crazy joy and playoff heartbreak of the 2012 and 2013 seasons (damn you, Verlander). In 2002, he was in the building for Tejada’s MVP season and the 20-game winning streak. For the evolution of Hudson, Mulder and Zito. And for the emergence of the latest crop of stars the team didn’t hold onto.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Stomper is just a youngster in baseball history terms, making his first appearance in 1997—a down period when it really needed his help. But he’s part of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oakland-Athletics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Athletics’ history\u003c/a> that starts in Philadelphia in 1901, where the team got the “white elephant” tag soon after its inception.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John McGraw, an early manager of the then-New York Giants baseball team, said the Athletics, who were ironically signing big-name players at the time, wouldn’t make any money and would have a big “white elephant” on their hands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The team flipped the insult, adopting it as a mark of pride, and ran with it as their mascot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">P\u003c/span>layers notoriously have pre- and post-game rituals. They eat specific meals or write messages on their cleats. It’s reported that former A’s star \u003ca href=\"https://bleacherreport.com/articles/375113-top-mlb-superstitions-and-rituals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mark McGuire\u003c/a> wore the same jockstrap from his high school days, up until it was stolen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I really think we should get Stomper on the phone. Because if I were that big smiling elephant, I’d feel some sort of guilt about seeing so many players come and go. I’d feel like \u003cem>I\u003c/em> was the reason the A’s have had so much turnover. Not the insufficient, anarchic business model that leaves fans unfulfilled, no matter how hard we cheer for the team. It’s like the Babe Ruth curse. Baseball superstitions aren’t about logical conclusions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nope, let’s address the elephant in the room—we can look past the \u003ca href=\"https://www.postnewsgroup.com/billionaire-john-fisher-linked-to-privatization-of-schools-and-port-of-oakland/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">many issues\u003c/a> of billionaire team owner John Fisher, but we can’t look past the fact the mascot of the team is obviously bringing the A’s some bad energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Check on Stomper. He might be next on the trading block—because it’d be easier to get rid of him than to throw out an owner and president who obviously don’t care about The Town.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "oakland-community-love",
"title": "Community Love: The Fuel For Fighting the Machine",
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"headTitle": "Community Love: The Fuel For Fighting the Machine | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">E\u003c/span>arlier this week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mx.san_chez/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Maurice André San-Chez\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/craft_ed._x/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Moses Omolade\u003c/a>, an educator and school administrator who in February held a hunger strike \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11904278/teachers-and-families-rally-ahead-of-upcoming-vote-on-oakland-school-closures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">to protest Oakland Unified School District’s proposed school closures\u003c/a> in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods, returned to the location of their protest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">They cleaned the site at Westlake Middle School, held a restorative justice circle and planted two avocado trees. They chose the non-messy fruit that yields healthy fat after the duo asked themselves, “What’s a fruit that we both enjoy that can be really beneficial to the community?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Omolade and San-Chez’s hunger strike lasted \u003ca style=\"color: #41a62a\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CaOMXP9Fcoe/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">20 days\u003c/a>, and left San-Chez hospitalized for a short period and Omolade requiring medical treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We initially went out on a hunger strike, and there was a deep, deep, \u003cem>deep\u003c/em> commitment to death,” Omolade tells me during a phone call. “That shit was, like, really wild, to look at one another in the face—and to look at ourselves individually—and be like: ‘I’m willing to die.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that perspective shifted over time, and for that he’s grateful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He credits his changed perspective to community. The students and elders who visited them during the strike spoke words that resonated. “People were coming by,” Omolade says, “being like, ‘Hold up, what ya’ll are doing here is actually important for the longevity of this fight. So, if you can find it within yourselves, take a step back from a commitment to death—because these folks will allow you to die.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910134\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910134\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-800x600.jpeg\" alt=\"André San-Chez, Moses Omolade and community members pose for a photo after planting avocado trees in front of West Lake Middle school in Oakland.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-1920x1440.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">André San-Chez, Moses Omolade and community members pose for a photo after planting avocado trees in front of West Lake Middle school in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Via Moses Omolade.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Along with San-Chez, Omolade is now recharging and strategizing. The fight is much larger, he says, than the closure of a few schools. It’s about systems of racism, structural oppression, and the privatization of schools and public land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re currently gathering signatures to recall the school board seats of District 1 and District 7, held respectively by Benjamin “Sam” Davis and Clifford Thompson. And on \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CaTM30GJJqY/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Saturday, March 5\u003c/a>, they’ll participate in a protest and march against the proposed East Oakland school closures—gathering at 1390 66th Ave. (the site of Coliseum Prep Academy) at 10am, marching at 11am, and arriving at International Community School with music and performances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So much for rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of now, the school board \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2022/02/09/oakland-school-board-votes-to-close-seven-schools-over-the-next-two-years/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">plans to close fewer schools\u003c/a> than initially suggested, but still closing seven schools. Despite that, I’m intrigued by San-chez and Omolade’s efforts. In effect, they were laying down in front of the machine and willing to die for their cause.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It resonated with me. Finding the fuel to keep fighting is something I had been struggling with for a while.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910127\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910127\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Artist, educator and friend Venus Morris stands by Lake Merritt at sunset while wearing a jacket with the logo of the Black Panther Party, made by MADOW FUTUR. \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist, educator and friend Venus Morris stands by Lake Merritt at sunset while wearing a jacket with the logo of the Black Panther Party, made by MADOW FUTUR. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">A\u003c/span>s February flew by, the Oakland school closures, war abroad, COVID’s sustained impact and a few interpersonal issues had been weighing on me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Somehow, I still took a bunch of photos, from the first day of Black History Month to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13909853/black-joy-parade-2022-oakland-photos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Black Joy Parade\u003c/a> on its final Sunday. Fly shots. Birthday smiles and nature blossoming. Memories etched in the digital archives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s one image from February that sticks with me. I have no photo of it, but it paints a picture of my recent mind state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At about 2pm on Feb. 5, I sat at the light on West Grand Avenue and Northgate Avenue in Oakland. A middle-aged African American man sporting a bomber jacket with “Security” printed across the back and the word “fuck” written above it in Sharpie started to cross the street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The man halted after a few steps into the crosswalk and turned to square up with a white Tesla that, in its attempt to make a right turn, came too close for comfort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I watched as the driver, an older white woman, threw her arms up and urged the man to move across the street. The man stood his ground with words I couldn’t hear, but with a posture I definitely recognized: he was daring the driver to do something. The car swerved far enough around him so as to not hit him, but close enough for the man to pull off a textbook right-legged roundhouse kick to the driver-side door as the car sped past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mental snapshot has been inside my dome ever since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>He almost get run over by a machine 20 times his size, so he kicks it in protest. Only to see the machine turn and keep rollin’, while he’s left with an injured foot.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Add race and class to that simple synopsis, and it’s a metaphorical breakdown of what I see damn near everyday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910128\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910128\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-800x373.jpg\" alt=\"A mural by the Bay Area Mural Program located on 22nd Street, between Broadway and Valley Street in Oakland. \" width=\"800\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-800x373.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-1020x476.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-160x75.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-768x358.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-1536x716.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-2048x955.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-1920x895.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural by the Bay Area Mural Program located on 22nd Street, between Broadway and Valley Street, in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The intersection where the punt, pass and kick-a-Tesla competition went down is just around the corner from one of the larger unsheltered encampments in Oakland. For a solid few blocks, tents are strewn down Dr. Martin Luther King Way; a lot of African American folks over there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How many? Well, we don’t know. But we do know that in 2019 about three out four of the 4,000 unsheltered people in Oakland were Black, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://cao-94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/2019-Oakland-Point-In-Time-Count-2-page-infographic.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Point in Time Count data from that year\u003c/a>. The first survey of unhoused individuals \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/02/23/how-bad-is-it-for-first-time-in-3-years-bay-area-counts-homeless-residents/\">since the pandemic started\u003c/a> just got underway last month, so we’ll see the current numbers soon enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even without the data, the image is enough to make you want to punch one of the new luxury high-rises casting shadows over people living on the street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond the issue of finding basic housing for folks, there’s the problem of increased homicides in a number of major cities across the nation, including Oakland. Last week it was announced that \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/02/23/1082564685/guns-leading-cause-of-premature-deaths\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">firearms\u003c/a> are now the leading cause of premature death in America, and that \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/02/23/1082564685/guns-leading-cause-of-premature-deaths\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">younger Black males are the group most affected by homicide\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910129\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910129\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A mural of the late Shock G (aka Humpty Hump) located at Frank Ogawa Plaza, painted by Kufue. \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural of the late Shock G (a.k.a. Humpty Hump) located at Frank Ogawa Plaza, painted by Kufue. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Add to that a few interpersonal issues of loneliness and detachment that often come during the winter months, plus news of international war and the potential for a third year of a pandemic, and you can see why being an arts writer and covering the latest rapper with a hot mixtape isn’t always inspiring work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I quit my job like three times since Jan. 1. I’m tired of kicking the machine to keep it from running us over. It always swerves and drives away. \u003cem>The work ain’t working.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I quit. Well, mentally. I’m not officially part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/06/24/1007914455/as-the-pandemic-recedes-millions-of-workers-are-saying-i-quit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the great resignation\u003c/a>, but similar circumstances. Call it burnout, fatigue, soul-searching or whatever you want, but man, I struggled just sending emails. Gravity got really heavy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910131\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910131\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-800x537.jpg\" alt=\"Filmmaker, poet and friend Nijla Mu'min poses for a photo in front of a mural that reads Oakland Dreams, by Trust Your Struggle. \" width=\"800\" height=\"537\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-800x537.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-1020x685.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-768x516.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Filmmaker, poet and friend Nijla Mu’min poses for a photo in front of a mural that reads Oakland Dreams, by Trust Your Struggle. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>rying to kickstart my ambition the day of the great electric car-kick-and-connection, I was on assignment: taking over KQED Arts’ Instagram stories to give a glimpse into “a day in the life” of what it’s like for me running around town. I figured some inspiration might find me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I posted images of murals and matched them with music from local artists. A shared a quick meeting with a movie maker named \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CZuxRowBvBh/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nijla Mu’min\u003c/a>, who shared her message about her forthcoming film named after Mosswood. A few shots taken by Lake Merritt at sunset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then it was time for the evening’s main event: a retirement celebration for the former head of East Oakland Youth Development Center, Ms. Regina Jackson. I stood in the back of the room, underdressed and hiding behind my camera, as the decadent Rotunda building in Oakland’s Frank Ogawa Plaza swelled with elected officials and community members praising Ms. Regina’s 27 years of fighting against the machine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910137\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910137\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-800x532.jpeg\" alt=\"Ms. Regina Jackson receives a standing ovation during her retirement party. \" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-800x532.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-1020x678.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-160x106.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-768x511.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ms. Regina Jackson receives a standing ovation during her retirement party. \u003ccite>(Via EOYDC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I’ve seen Ms. Regina’s work in Deep East Oakland and in the Far East. In 2014, I served as chaperone on a trip where she took a group of young African American men to China. I didn’t get a chance to give her a hug and some appreciation at her retirement celebration, but if I had, I couldn’t have thanked her enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I posted a beautiful dance performance by educator and artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/queen_iminah/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Queen Imïnah\u003c/a>, and I headed home. There were a bunch of photos left untaken that day, more than just the assault of the battery-charged car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While en route to Ms. Regina’s celebration, for example, I passed something else that lingered on my mind all month: Westlake Middle School, where Omolade and San-chez held their hunger strike. I saw their tents, and didn’t stop. But I followed their story all month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I finally I talked to Omolade earlier this week, the first thing I did was apologize for not covering their story earlier. At the end of our talk, I told him about the interaction at the intersection—the man kicking the Tesla. Omolade knew about tenacity. I asked him: how do you \u003cem>keep\u003c/em> fighting the system? I figured that someone who was willing to die for what they believe in might have some guidance for a struggling writer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His answer?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910135\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910135\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-800x1004.png\" alt=\"Maurice André San-Chez and Moses Omolade receive medical attention from community members during their hunger strike. \" width=\"800\" height=\"1004\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-800x1004.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-160x201.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-768x964.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM.png 986w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maurice André San-Chez and Moses Omolade receive medical attention from community members during their hunger strike. \u003ccite>(Via Moses Omolade )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Love,” said Omolade. “Love was centered, big time. The community really centered love—and it is currently centered. It’s continuously the fire that we use.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You know what might be wiser than trying to kick against a machine? Investing in organizing, strategizing and community—specifically community love. Note to self.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">E\u003c/span>arlier this week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mx.san_chez/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Maurice André San-Chez\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/craft_ed._x/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Moses Omolade\u003c/a>, an educator and school administrator who in February held a hunger strike \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11904278/teachers-and-families-rally-ahead-of-upcoming-vote-on-oakland-school-closures\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">to protest Oakland Unified School District’s proposed school closures\u003c/a> in predominantly Black and brown neighborhoods, returned to the location of their protest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">They cleaned the site at Westlake Middle School, held a restorative justice circle and planted two avocado trees. They chose the non-messy fruit that yields healthy fat after the duo asked themselves, “What’s a fruit that we both enjoy that can be really beneficial to the community?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Omolade and San-Chez’s hunger strike lasted \u003ca style=\"color: #41a62a\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CaOMXP9Fcoe/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">20 days\u003c/a>, and left San-Chez hospitalized for a short period and Omolade requiring medical treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We initially went out on a hunger strike, and there was a deep, deep, \u003cem>deep\u003c/em> commitment to death,” Omolade tells me during a phone call. “That shit was, like, really wild, to look at one another in the face—and to look at ourselves individually—and be like: ‘I’m willing to die.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that perspective shifted over time, and for that he’s grateful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He credits his changed perspective to community. The students and elders who visited them during the strike spoke words that resonated. “People were coming by,” Omolade says, “being like, ‘Hold up, what ya’ll are doing here is actually important for the longevity of this fight. So, if you can find it within yourselves, take a step back from a commitment to death—because these folks will allow you to die.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910134\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910134\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-800x600.jpeg\" alt=\"André San-Chez, Moses Omolade and community members pose for a photo after planting avocado trees in front of West Lake Middle school in Oakland.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-800x600.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-1020x765.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-768x576.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-2048x1536.jpeg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_3159-1920x1440.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">André San-Chez, Moses Omolade and community members pose for a photo after planting avocado trees in front of West Lake Middle school in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Via Moses Omolade.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Along with San-Chez, Omolade is now recharging and strategizing. The fight is much larger, he says, than the closure of a few schools. It’s about systems of racism, structural oppression, and the privatization of schools and public land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re currently gathering signatures to recall the school board seats of District 1 and District 7, held respectively by Benjamin “Sam” Davis and Clifford Thompson. And on \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CaTM30GJJqY/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Saturday, March 5\u003c/a>, they’ll participate in a protest and march against the proposed East Oakland school closures—gathering at 1390 66th Ave. (the site of Coliseum Prep Academy) at 10am, marching at 11am, and arriving at International Community School with music and performances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So much for rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of now, the school board \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2022/02/09/oakland-school-board-votes-to-close-seven-schools-over-the-next-two-years/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">plans to close fewer schools\u003c/a> than initially suggested, but still closing seven schools. Despite that, I’m intrigued by San-chez and Omolade’s efforts. In effect, they were laying down in front of the machine and willing to die for their cause.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It resonated with me. Finding the fuel to keep fighting is something I had been struggling with for a while.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910127\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910127\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Artist, educator and friend Venus Morris stands by Lake Merritt at sunset while wearing a jacket with the logo of the Black Panther Party, made by MADOW FUTUR. \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7498-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist, educator and friend Venus Morris stands by Lake Merritt at sunset while wearing a jacket with the logo of the Black Panther Party, made by MADOW FUTUR. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">A\u003c/span>s February flew by, the Oakland school closures, war abroad, COVID’s sustained impact and a few interpersonal issues had been weighing on me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Somehow, I still took a bunch of photos, from the first day of Black History Month to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13909853/black-joy-parade-2022-oakland-photos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Black Joy Parade\u003c/a> on its final Sunday. Fly shots. Birthday smiles and nature blossoming. Memories etched in the digital archives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s one image from February that sticks with me. I have no photo of it, but it paints a picture of my recent mind state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At about 2pm on Feb. 5, I sat at the light on West Grand Avenue and Northgate Avenue in Oakland. A middle-aged African American man sporting a bomber jacket with “Security” printed across the back and the word “fuck” written above it in Sharpie started to cross the street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The man halted after a few steps into the crosswalk and turned to square up with a white Tesla that, in its attempt to make a right turn, came too close for comfort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I watched as the driver, an older white woman, threw her arms up and urged the man to move across the street. The man stood his ground with words I couldn’t hear, but with a posture I definitely recognized: he was daring the driver to do something. The car swerved far enough around him so as to not hit him, but close enough for the man to pull off a textbook right-legged roundhouse kick to the driver-side door as the car sped past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mental snapshot has been inside my dome ever since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>He almost get run over by a machine 20 times his size, so he kicks it in protest. Only to see the machine turn and keep rollin’, while he’s left with an injured foot.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Add race and class to that simple synopsis, and it’s a metaphorical breakdown of what I see damn near everyday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910128\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910128\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-800x373.jpg\" alt=\"A mural by the Bay Area Mural Program located on 22nd Street, between Broadway and Valley Street in Oakland. \" width=\"800\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-800x373.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-1020x476.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-160x75.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-768x358.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-1536x716.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-2048x955.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7455-1920x895.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural by the Bay Area Mural Program located on 22nd Street, between Broadway and Valley Street, in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The intersection where the punt, pass and kick-a-Tesla competition went down is just around the corner from one of the larger unsheltered encampments in Oakland. For a solid few blocks, tents are strewn down Dr. Martin Luther King Way; a lot of African American folks over there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How many? Well, we don’t know. But we do know that in 2019 about three out four of the 4,000 unsheltered people in Oakland were Black, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://cao-94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/2019-Oakland-Point-In-Time-Count-2-page-infographic.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Point in Time Count data from that year\u003c/a>. The first survey of unhoused individuals \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/02/23/how-bad-is-it-for-first-time-in-3-years-bay-area-counts-homeless-residents/\">since the pandemic started\u003c/a> just got underway last month, so we’ll see the current numbers soon enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even without the data, the image is enough to make you want to punch one of the new luxury high-rises casting shadows over people living on the street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond the issue of finding basic housing for folks, there’s the problem of increased homicides in a number of major cities across the nation, including Oakland. Last week it was announced that \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/02/23/1082564685/guns-leading-cause-of-premature-deaths\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">firearms\u003c/a> are now the leading cause of premature death in America, and that \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/02/23/1082564685/guns-leading-cause-of-premature-deaths\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">younger Black males are the group most affected by homicide\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910129\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910129\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"A mural of the late Shock G (aka Humpty Hump) located at Frank Ogawa Plaza, painted by Kufue. \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_7510-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural of the late Shock G (a.k.a. Humpty Hump) located at Frank Ogawa Plaza, painted by Kufue. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Add to that a few interpersonal issues of loneliness and detachment that often come during the winter months, plus news of international war and the potential for a third year of a pandemic, and you can see why being an arts writer and covering the latest rapper with a hot mixtape isn’t always inspiring work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I quit my job like three times since Jan. 1. I’m tired of kicking the machine to keep it from running us over. It always swerves and drives away. \u003cem>The work ain’t working.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I quit. Well, mentally. I’m not officially part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/06/24/1007914455/as-the-pandemic-recedes-millions-of-workers-are-saying-i-quit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the great resignation\u003c/a>, but similar circumstances. Call it burnout, fatigue, soul-searching or whatever you want, but man, I struggled just sending emails. Gravity got really heavy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910131\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910131\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-800x537.jpg\" alt=\"Filmmaker, poet and friend Nijla Mu'min poses for a photo in front of a mural that reads Oakland Dreams, by Trust Your Struggle. \" width=\"800\" height=\"537\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-800x537.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-1020x685.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F-768x516.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/49A488F7-44C2-4DA1-A491-A9AD2EB4768F.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Filmmaker, poet and friend Nijla Mu’min poses for a photo in front of a mural that reads Oakland Dreams, by Trust Your Struggle. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>rying to kickstart my ambition the day of the great electric car-kick-and-connection, I was on assignment: taking over KQED Arts’ Instagram stories to give a glimpse into “a day in the life” of what it’s like for me running around town. I figured some inspiration might find me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I posted images of murals and matched them with music from local artists. A shared a quick meeting with a movie maker named \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CZuxRowBvBh/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nijla Mu’min\u003c/a>, who shared her message about her forthcoming film named after Mosswood. A few shots taken by Lake Merritt at sunset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then it was time for the evening’s main event: a retirement celebration for the former head of East Oakland Youth Development Center, Ms. Regina Jackson. I stood in the back of the room, underdressed and hiding behind my camera, as the decadent Rotunda building in Oakland’s Frank Ogawa Plaza swelled with elected officials and community members praising Ms. Regina’s 27 years of fighting against the machine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910137\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910137\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-800x532.jpeg\" alt=\"Ms. Regina Jackson receives a standing ovation during her retirement party. \" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-800x532.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-1020x678.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-160x106.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266-768x511.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/JacksonRetirement_15266.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ms. Regina Jackson receives a standing ovation during her retirement party. \u003ccite>(Via EOYDC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I’ve seen Ms. Regina’s work in Deep East Oakland and in the Far East. In 2014, I served as chaperone on a trip where she took a group of young African American men to China. I didn’t get a chance to give her a hug and some appreciation at her retirement celebration, but if I had, I couldn’t have thanked her enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I posted a beautiful dance performance by educator and artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/queen_iminah/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Queen Imïnah\u003c/a>, and I headed home. There were a bunch of photos left untaken that day, more than just the assault of the battery-charged car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While en route to Ms. Regina’s celebration, for example, I passed something else that lingered on my mind all month: Westlake Middle School, where Omolade and San-chez held their hunger strike. I saw their tents, and didn’t stop. But I followed their story all month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I finally I talked to Omolade earlier this week, the first thing I did was apologize for not covering their story earlier. At the end of our talk, I told him about the interaction at the intersection—the man kicking the Tesla. Omolade knew about tenacity. I asked him: how do you \u003cem>keep\u003c/em> fighting the system? I figured that someone who was willing to die for what they believe in might have some guidance for a struggling writer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His answer?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13910135\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13910135\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-800x1004.png\" alt=\"Maurice André San-Chez and Moses Omolade receive medical attention from community members during their hunger strike. \" width=\"800\" height=\"1004\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-800x1004.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-160x201.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM-768x964.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-04-at-10.01.31-AM.png 986w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maurice André San-Chez and Moses Omolade receive medical attention from community members during their hunger strike. \u003ccite>(Via Moses Omolade )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Love,” said Omolade. “Love was centered, big time. The community really centered love—and it is currently centered. It’s continuously the fire that we use.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You know what might be wiser than trying to kick against a machine? Investing in organizing, strategizing and community—specifically community love. Note to self.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "For Many Former Soviet Immigrants, Russia’s War on Ukraine is Horrific",
"headTitle": "For Many Former Soviet Immigrants, Russia’s War on Ukraine is Horrific | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>[dropcap]L[/dropcap]ike many immigrants from the former Soviet Union, I’ve been glued to my screen in horror since last week, unable to look away from the real-time updates of Russian forces attacking Ukraine. Videos of women, children and elderly people \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/26/fear-darkness-and-newborn-babies-inside-ukraine-underground-shelters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hiding in bomb shelters\u003c/a> and of \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60567162\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">explosions\u003c/a> going off outside of people’s windows have sent our community into distress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine feels particularly vile because it’s so contrary to the kinship many people from both nations feel. I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and as a child I immigrated with my family to the Bay Area in the late ’90s, joining a multi-ethnic wave of post-Soviet immigrants and refugees. In Russian-speaking pockets across the United States, Russians, Ukrainians, Armenians, Georgians, Belarusians, Kazakhs and many other ethnic groups broke bread, raised children and helped each other acclimate to our new country. I grew up with a Ukrainian stepfather from Odesa, and thanks to him, I have U.S. citizenship and an American-born younger sister who is half Russian and half Ukrainian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That experience is not uncommon. When I went to the anti-war protests outside of San Francisco City Hall last Thursday and Sunday, I heard speeches in Ukrainian, Russian and English. Russian-speaking Ukrainians were prominent among the turnout, but I saw protest signs that indicated that Russian, Latvian, Azerbaijani and Taiwanese people were also there in solidarity. As Russia and NATO continued to face off in a geopolitical chess game of superpowers, everyday people showed up to hold each other in mutual grief and support as many awaited updates from family members hiding from bombs in Ukraine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re terrified,” said Bay Area author \u003ca href=\"https://www.masharumer.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Masha Rumer\u003c/a> when I met up with her at the protest on Feb. 24. Born in Russia to a Jewish family with roots in Ukraine, Rumer came to the U.S. as a refugee in the early ’90s. “I know some family members right now in Kyiv cannot leave because the air space is closed, and they cannot get enough fuel to get out of the country and they’re afraid for their safety and the safety of their child,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rumer’s book \u003cem>Parenting With An Accent\u003c/em> builds bridges among immigrants of different cultures, and that’s what she hoped to see at the rally. “Many of us left the former Soviet Union because we don’t agree with the policies, and yet we’re still finding it reverberates all over the world all over again,” she said. “It’s a very complicated relationship. Many of us speak the Russian language, which was forced upon people from across the former Soviet Republics. But at the same time, it’s the language we grew up with, and now we’re finding ourselves in a difficult time where we’re ashamed of what the government is doing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909940\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13909940\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-800x754.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"754\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-800x754.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-1020x962.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-160x151.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-768x724.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-1536x1448.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A protester holds a sign that says “Putin occupant” in San Francisco on Feb. 24. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Anastasiya Mutungi, manager of San Francisco Russian-language bookstore \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13872976/san-franciscos-49-year-old-russian-bookstore-opens-a-progressive-new-chapter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Globus\u003c/a>, expressed similar feelings when I spoke with her on the phone late last week. She immigrated to the U.S. from Belarus in 2009 and said she feels “accountable and responsible” that the government of her home country is supporting the aggression. She changed Globus’ small, Richmond district window display to feature books by Ukrainian authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We all feel emotional here because there’s very little we can do about anything,” she said. “Yesterday we had a couple people who immigrated from Ukraine recently and they cried over the conversation. We can offer comfort and emotional support.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909948\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13909948\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-800x885.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"885\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-800x885.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-1020x1128.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-160x177.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-768x849.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-1389x1536.jpg 1389w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-1852x2048.jpg 1852w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The window display of the Russian-language shop Globus Books in San Francisco features Ukrainian authors. \u003ccite>(Anastasiya Mutungi)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As much as the anti-war effort is bringing immigrants from the former Soviet Union together, it’s also prompting us to reflect on and respect our differences. Odesa-born Berkeleyside journalist Ally Markovich recently told \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11906380/reacting-to-the-news-in-ukraine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KQED’s \u003cem>The Bay\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that when she was growing up in Ohio, she’d tell people she was Russian to save herself the trouble of explaining her Russian-speaking Ukrainian identity. But current events have reminded her of the importance of taking pride in her culture. [aside postid='news_11906380']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think for me it’s particularly painful because I feel in touch with how much effort has gone into developing a national identity in Ukraine, how much work and love was put into defining what Ukrainian people [are], only to have that concept be threatened by Vladimir Putin and Russia,” she said, referring to recent efforts to promote the Ukrainian language, which the Russian Empire and, later, the Soviet Union \u003ca href=\"https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putin-is-the-only-winner-of-ukraines-language-wars/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">treated as secondary to Russian\u003c/a> throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think of being Ukrainian as being closely intertwined with an identity of resistance,” Markovich said. “For a long time, a Ukrainian identity has been a deliberate choice. It’s something that people have said to distinguish themselves from the ruling class.” [aside postid='arts_13909675']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jess Makhlin, a.k.a. Mishka, a San Francisco-born DJ whose parents are immigrants from Russia and Ukraine, is thinking of these themes of identity as she programs her \u003ca href=\"https://www.nts.live/shows/mishka\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NTS Radio show\u003c/a> focused on Russian and Eastern European music. On Monday, she re-aired an episode with \u003ca href=\"https://www.nts.live/shows/mishka/episodes/mishka-27th-may-2019\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ukrainian singer Ivan Dorn\u003c/a> and published a list of places to donate \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/15eTsCgyH8T3OJSka3UFnw5-XgMu40E74d6Sqg4IxRHw/mobilebasic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">humanitarian aid\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think in the time being I’m going to focus my programming on highlighting Ukrainian artists and seeing how things unfold,” she said, adding that she has several friends who escaped from Kyiv to Poland over the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most people I know in Russia in the artist community don’t want this war and want peace,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909941\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13909941\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-800x780.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"780\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-800x780.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-1020x994.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-160x156.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-768x748.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-1536x1497.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protesters hold a sign that reads “Russians against war” in San Francisco on Feb. 24. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ver \u003ca href=\"https://www.euronews.com/2022/03/01/more-than-6-000-arrests-in-russia-during-protests-over-ukraine-war-says-human-rights-group\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">6,400 people in Russia\u003c/a>—where the \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/navalnys-supporters-call-civil-disobedience-against-ukraine-war-2022-02-28/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">main opposition leader is currently imprisoned\u003c/a>, and where people can’t legally protest without permission from authorities—have been arrested for taking to the streets to say “nyet voyne,” or “no to war” since Feb. 24. A friend in Moscow texted me that she ran away while police dragged protesters into an AvtoZak, or prison transport bus. “That’s how it usually is, and that’s the reason more people don’t come out in the streets,” she wrote in Russian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ordinary Russians are risking their freedom to oppose senseless bloodshed, and are now bearing the brunt of economic sanctions that have already done significant damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Putin justified the invasion by claiming that Russian speakers in Ukraine are oppressed, but Russian-speaking Ukrainians are \u003ca href=\"https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putin-is-the-only-winner-of-ukraines-language-wars/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">challenging that narrative\u003c/a>. “My family has never asked to be rescued by Russia,” wrote Russian American San Francisco journalist Sasha Vasilyuk, who has family in Eastern Ukraine, in an \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/26/opinion/ukraine-russia-invasion-family.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">opinion piece for \u003ci>The New York Times\u003c/i>\u003c/a>. “For eight years this conflict has done nothing for my family except tear it apart. This is just the latest ugly chapter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote citation='Masha Rumer, author' size='large']‘Many of us left the former Soviet Union because we don’t agree with the policies, and yet we’re still finding it reverberates all over the world all over again.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Putin also justified the war as an effort to “denazify” Ukraine. While Ukraine’s \u003ca href=\"//www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/who-are-the-azov-regiment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Azov Regiment\u003c/a>, a neo-Nazi militia that has been accepted into Ukraine’s armed forces, should be denounced like any other white supremacist movement, Putin’s reasoning for an invasion is laughable when \u003ca href=\"//hir.harvard.edu/white-nationalism-in-the-united-states-and-russia-transnational-ties-domestic-impact/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">his brand of far-right, Christian authoritarianism\u003c/a> has been heralded by David Duke and Richard Spencer as a beacon of white power. (Not to mention, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a Jewish descendent of Holocaust survivors.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>White people around the world, including former Soviet people, have a responsibility to counteract the horrors of racism and antisemitism. Ukraine certainly has problems with both. African students have reported \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/01/world/europe/ukraine-refugee-discrimination.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">abuses by Ukrainian authorities\u003c/a> at border crossings. (Here’s a list of ways to \u003ca href=\"https://linktr.ee/ksvarnon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">help African and Asian people leaving Ukraine\u003c/a>.) But Russia is also a \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53055857\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">deeply racist and antisemitic country\u003c/a> that needs to clean up its own house instead of invading someone else’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This war isn’t about anyone’s liberation or any other noble cause. It’s about global superpowers vying for greater influence, and it’s everyday working people who will ultimately pay the price.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "First the pandemic kept us apart—now my immigrant community is separated from friends and family by war.",
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"description": "First the pandemic kept us apart—now my immigrant community is separated from friends and family by war.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">L\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>ike many immigrants from the former Soviet Union, I’ve been glued to my screen in horror since last week, unable to look away from the real-time updates of Russian forces attacking Ukraine. Videos of women, children and elderly people \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/26/fear-darkness-and-newborn-babies-inside-ukraine-underground-shelters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hiding in bomb shelters\u003c/a> and of \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60567162\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">explosions\u003c/a> going off outside of people’s windows have sent our community into distress.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine feels particularly vile because it’s so contrary to the kinship many people from both nations feel. I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and as a child I immigrated with my family to the Bay Area in the late ’90s, joining a multi-ethnic wave of post-Soviet immigrants and refugees. In Russian-speaking pockets across the United States, Russians, Ukrainians, Armenians, Georgians, Belarusians, Kazakhs and many other ethnic groups broke bread, raised children and helped each other acclimate to our new country. I grew up with a Ukrainian stepfather from Odesa, and thanks to him, I have U.S. citizenship and an American-born younger sister who is half Russian and half Ukrainian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That experience is not uncommon. When I went to the anti-war protests outside of San Francisco City Hall last Thursday and Sunday, I heard speeches in Ukrainian, Russian and English. Russian-speaking Ukrainians were prominent among the turnout, but I saw protest signs that indicated that Russian, Latvian, Azerbaijani and Taiwanese people were also there in solidarity. As Russia and NATO continued to face off in a geopolitical chess game of superpowers, everyday people showed up to hold each other in mutual grief and support as many awaited updates from family members hiding from bombs in Ukraine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re terrified,” said Bay Area author \u003ca href=\"https://www.masharumer.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Masha Rumer\u003c/a> when I met up with her at the protest on Feb. 24. Born in Russia to a Jewish family with roots in Ukraine, Rumer came to the U.S. as a refugee in the early ’90s. “I know some family members right now in Kyiv cannot leave because the air space is closed, and they cannot get enough fuel to get out of the country and they’re afraid for their safety and the safety of their child,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rumer’s book \u003cem>Parenting With An Accent\u003c/em> builds bridges among immigrants of different cultures, and that’s what she hoped to see at the rally. “Many of us left the former Soviet Union because we don’t agree with the policies, and yet we’re still finding it reverberates all over the world all over again,” she said. “It’s a very complicated relationship. Many of us speak the Russian language, which was forced upon people from across the former Soviet Republics. But at the same time, it’s the language we grew up with, and now we’re finding ourselves in a difficult time where we’re ashamed of what the government is doing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909940\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13909940\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-800x754.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"754\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-800x754.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-1020x962.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-160x151.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-768x724.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304-1536x1448.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4304.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A protester holds a sign that says “Putin occupant” in San Francisco on Feb. 24. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Anastasiya Mutungi, manager of San Francisco Russian-language bookstore \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13872976/san-franciscos-49-year-old-russian-bookstore-opens-a-progressive-new-chapter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Globus\u003c/a>, expressed similar feelings when I spoke with her on the phone late last week. She immigrated to the U.S. from Belarus in 2009 and said she feels “accountable and responsible” that the government of her home country is supporting the aggression. She changed Globus’ small, Richmond district window display to feature books by Ukrainian authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We all feel emotional here because there’s very little we can do about anything,” she said. “Yesterday we had a couple people who immigrated from Ukraine recently and they cried over the conversation. We can offer comfort and emotional support.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909948\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13909948\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-800x885.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"885\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-800x885.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-1020x1128.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-160x177.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-768x849.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-1389x1536.jpg 1389w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344-1852x2048.jpg 1852w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4344.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The window display of the Russian-language shop Globus Books in San Francisco features Ukrainian authors. \u003ccite>(Anastasiya Mutungi)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As much as the anti-war effort is bringing immigrants from the former Soviet Union together, it’s also prompting us to reflect on and respect our differences. Odesa-born Berkeleyside journalist Ally Markovich recently told \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11906380/reacting-to-the-news-in-ukraine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KQED’s \u003cem>The Bay\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that when she was growing up in Ohio, she’d tell people she was Russian to save herself the trouble of explaining her Russian-speaking Ukrainian identity. But current events have reminded her of the importance of taking pride in her culture. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think for me it’s particularly painful because I feel in touch with how much effort has gone into developing a national identity in Ukraine, how much work and love was put into defining what Ukrainian people [are], only to have that concept be threatened by Vladimir Putin and Russia,” she said, referring to recent efforts to promote the Ukrainian language, which the Russian Empire and, later, the Soviet Union \u003ca href=\"https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putin-is-the-only-winner-of-ukraines-language-wars/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">treated as secondary to Russian\u003c/a> throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think of being Ukrainian as being closely intertwined with an identity of resistance,” Markovich said. “For a long time, a Ukrainian identity has been a deliberate choice. It’s something that people have said to distinguish themselves from the ruling class.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jess Makhlin, a.k.a. Mishka, a San Francisco-born DJ whose parents are immigrants from Russia and Ukraine, is thinking of these themes of identity as she programs her \u003ca href=\"https://www.nts.live/shows/mishka\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NTS Radio show\u003c/a> focused on Russian and Eastern European music. On Monday, she re-aired an episode with \u003ca href=\"https://www.nts.live/shows/mishka/episodes/mishka-27th-may-2019\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ukrainian singer Ivan Dorn\u003c/a> and published a list of places to donate \u003ca href=\"https://docs.google.com/document/d/15eTsCgyH8T3OJSka3UFnw5-XgMu40E74d6Sqg4IxRHw/mobilebasic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">humanitarian aid\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think in the time being I’m going to focus my programming on highlighting Ukrainian artists and seeing how things unfold,” she said, adding that she has several friends who escaped from Kyiv to Poland over the weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most people I know in Russia in the artist community don’t want this war and want peace,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13909941\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13909941\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-800x780.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"780\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-800x780.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-1020x994.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-160x156.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-768x748.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1-1536x1497.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/IMG_4305-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protesters hold a sign that reads “Russians against war” in San Francisco on Feb. 24. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">O\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>ver \u003ca href=\"https://www.euronews.com/2022/03/01/more-than-6-000-arrests-in-russia-during-protests-over-ukraine-war-says-human-rights-group\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">6,400 people in Russia\u003c/a>—where the \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/navalnys-supporters-call-civil-disobedience-against-ukraine-war-2022-02-28/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">main opposition leader is currently imprisoned\u003c/a>, and where people can’t legally protest without permission from authorities—have been arrested for taking to the streets to say “nyet voyne,” or “no to war” since Feb. 24. A friend in Moscow texted me that she ran away while police dragged protesters into an AvtoZak, or prison transport bus. “That’s how it usually is, and that’s the reason more people don’t come out in the streets,” she wrote in Russian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ordinary Russians are risking their freedom to oppose senseless bloodshed, and are now bearing the brunt of economic sanctions that have already done significant damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Putin justified the invasion by claiming that Russian speakers in Ukraine are oppressed, but Russian-speaking Ukrainians are \u003ca href=\"https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putin-is-the-only-winner-of-ukraines-language-wars/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">challenging that narrative\u003c/a>. “My family has never asked to be rescued by Russia,” wrote Russian American San Francisco journalist Sasha Vasilyuk, who has family in Eastern Ukraine, in an \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/26/opinion/ukraine-russia-invasion-family.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">opinion piece for \u003ci>The New York Times\u003c/i>\u003c/a>. “For eight years this conflict has done nothing for my family except tear it apart. This is just the latest ugly chapter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘Many of us left the former Soviet Union because we don’t agree with the policies, and yet we’re still finding it reverberates all over the world all over again.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Putin also justified the war as an effort to “denazify” Ukraine. While Ukraine’s \u003ca href=\"//www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/who-are-the-azov-regiment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Azov Regiment\u003c/a>, a neo-Nazi militia that has been accepted into Ukraine’s armed forces, should be denounced like any other white supremacist movement, Putin’s reasoning for an invasion is laughable when \u003ca href=\"//hir.harvard.edu/white-nationalism-in-the-united-states-and-russia-transnational-ties-domestic-impact/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">his brand of far-right, Christian authoritarianism\u003c/a> has been heralded by David Duke and Richard Spencer as a beacon of white power. (Not to mention, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a Jewish descendent of Holocaust survivors.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>White people around the world, including former Soviet people, have a responsibility to counteract the horrors of racism and antisemitism. Ukraine certainly has problems with both. African students have reported \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/01/world/europe/ukraine-refugee-discrimination.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">abuses by Ukrainian authorities\u003c/a> at border crossings. (Here’s a list of ways to \u003ca href=\"https://linktr.ee/ksvarnon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">help African and Asian people leaving Ukraine\u003c/a>.) But Russia is also a \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53055857\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">deeply racist and antisemitic country\u003c/a> that needs to clean up its own house instead of invading someone else’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"marketplace": {
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"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"planet-money": {
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"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"order": 16
},
"link": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
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},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
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},
"snap-judgment": {
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