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"content": "\u003cp>Preserving the Plant was set to debut this July as the first cannabis fair of its kind in Oakland. Event organizer Edward Brown, an advocate for making the cannabis industry equitable for Black and brown communities harmed by the War on Drugs, worked for two years to ensure his vendor market and festival would have the proper permits, insurance, security and COVID protocols to make it a success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Greg Minor, head of Oakland’s Special Activity Permit Division, had been in communication with Brown throughout the planning process. But Minor didn’t forewarn him that he’d owe the Oakland Police Department money for security fees, Brown says. Three nights before Preserving the Plant was supposed to take place on July 24, Brown recalls getting a surprise email at around 11pm stating that he’d have to pay OPD $6,634 to get his permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was no way we [could have] come up with that money without somebody taking out a loan,” says Brown. He postponed the event to later this fall because of the high OPD fee; COVID concerns also played a role. “It was extremely frustrating. It felt like we were sabotaged. I followed every single rule that the city asked me to, and the state as well, being compliant and turning in things [on time].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Brown has joined dozens of event presenters calling on the city of Oakland to change its special events policy to eliminate some of these high costs and bureaucratic hurdles. In 2020, the city council unanimously approved a resolution to put the city administrator’s office in charge of special event permits and hiring security instead of police. But city staff, who say they were waylaid by the more pressing needs of the pandemic, still haven’t changed the policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics of the current policy are frustrated: In the years prior to the pandemic, Oakland used as much as 84% of its festivals and fairs fund to pay the police department for security instead of directly supporting artists and cultural institutions. This police-led permitting system is cost-prohibitive and inequitable, critics say. They argue it hurts opportunities for artists and small businesses, hampers Oakland’s tourism industry and slows recovery from pandemic restrictions. Now, government leaders, artists and promoters alike are calling for a more transparent, affordable system for throwing festivals, fairs and block parties, all of which are vital for the city’s culture, economy and community relationships.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Preserving the Plant isn’t the only recent event organizers canceled because of high OPD fees. Oakland’s First Fridays art walk had to skip its entire summer season because OPD wanted to charge presenters $24,000 per event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s just disappointing,” says First Friday organizer Shari Godinez, who serves as the executive director of neighborhood merchants association Koreatown Northgate Community Benefit District. “If the city does want to support the arts and culture and revitalizing business in the city, they would support First Friday.” [aside postid='arts_13899431']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First Fridays are a big economic driver for Oakland. The street fair typically draws tens of thousands of attendees and boosts revenues in the area by as much as 250%, Godinez says. After its cancellation generated media attention and public outcry, event organizers were able to secure a comeback date in October. Godinez says she met with Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong, and Armstrong agreed to reduce OPD’s security fees to around $10,000. With the help of City Councilmember At-Large Rebecca Kaplan, Godinez found a corporate sponsor, DoorDash, to cover the cost for October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this isn’t a sustainable strategy for the long term, nor is it an accessible pathway for less-established event organizers with no connections in city government. “We can’t take that expense on every month, it just isn’t feasible,” Godinez says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902366\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1.jpg\" alt=\"Women laugh and smile at a street fair in Oakland.\" width=\"1560\" height=\"1067\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13902366\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1.jpg 1560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-800x547.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-1020x698.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-1536x1051.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1560px) 100vw, 1560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Festival-goers attend First Friday in January 2020. \u003ccite>(Oakland First Fridays/\u003ca href=\"https://www.aliciarphoto.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Alicia Rodriguez\u003c/a>)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A Dysfunctional System Shuts Down Community Events\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Event presenters and city officials have long argued that Oakland’s current system for special events isn’t working. The Oakland Police Department decides how many officers to send to an event and sets its own price for security fees. It’s impossible for a festival organizer to obtain a permit without paying whatever amount OPD determines, sometimes with only a day’s notice. That means the costs to presenters can seem arbitrary and unpredictable, ranging anywhere from hundreds of dollars to the $24,000 initially required of First Fridays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many Oakland street fairs and block parties are free to the public and don’t have major corporate sponsors, so surprise fees can force organizers to cancel their events or make difficult decisions, such as not paying performers or taking on debt. Short of reaching out to city councilmembers to intervene, there’s no formal process for appealing OPD’s decisions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote citation='Shari Godinez, First Fridays organizer' size='large']‘We can’t take that expense on every month, it just isn’t feasible.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Brown, postponing Preserving the Plant meant losing hundreds of dollars on top of dealing with complicated logistics. “We had to pay off the band,” says Brown, adding that he had to find a new headliner because the original act couldn’t reschedule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>OPD has no publicly available policy that explains how security fees are determined, and did not return KQED’s request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In order to not reduce resources needed to respond to critical public safety services (i.e., 911 calls, Ceasefire, violent crimes, etc.), these events are staffed with police officers working overtime,” explains Harry Hamilton of Oakland’s Economic & Workforce Development Department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But critics say therein lies the problem. “We are wasting very expensive police officers on duties that have nothing to do with fighting guns or fighting violent crime,” says Councilmember Kaplan, who proposed a 2020 resolution to transfer special events permits from OPD to city staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the current system, officers are tasked with processing paperwork and directing traffic in addition to doing security. “And we are tripling the costs of community events for no benefit,” Kaplan adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote citation='Edward Brown, cannabis equity advocate and event organizer' size='large']‘There was no way we [could have] come up with that money without somebody taking out a loan.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaplan says police fees almost forced the city to shut down a voting site at the Oakland Coliseum during the November 2020 election. “It came within minutes of not happening because the Oakland Police Department was trying to shake them down for many, many tens of thousands of dollars under the theory that this was a special event,” she says, adding that OPD reduced costs after some “high-level people intervened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For years, civil rights advocates, artists and event promoters have accused the Oakland Police Department of deploying its special events policy in racist ways, ramping up costs for events with Black artists and audiences. In 2017, an \u003cem>East Bay Express\u003c/em> report described a pattern of \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/blacklisted-how-the-oakland-police-department-discriminates-against-rappers-and-music-venues-2-1/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">OPD using security fees to effectively shut down rap concerts\u003c/a>. “OPD knows they’re infringing on these artists’ right to perform,” San Francisco attorney John Hamasaki alleged at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaplan says that pattern has persisted, and that organizers have complained OPD is abusing the system. “There have been complaints that it’s been disproportionately used against Black community events,” she says. “And I think there’s a lot of history that supports that claim. … The system is inherently a setup for failure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Funding Earmarked for Arts Goes to Police\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While Oakland budgets money in each fiscal year to support the arts, most of its festivals and fairs fund ends up going to the police department instead of artists or cultural organizations, city data shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A breakdown of Oakland’s festivals and fairs fund, which the Economic & Workforce Development Department provided to KQED, reveals that 84% of the fund went towards covering OPD fees in fiscal year 2017. That figure was 76.1% for fiscal year 2018 and 72.5% in fiscal year 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, at the latest Cultural Affairs Commission meeting in July, the organizers of the 11 festivals the fund supports described working with shoestring budgets that left them unable to pay performers in some cases. “We can’t fund a payment for them because we’ve just got so many other costs,” Shifra de Benedictis-Kessner, organizer of the 40th Street Block Party in Temescal, said at the meeting. She added that for the past four years $2,000 of her $5,000 event budget has gone to OPD and fire department costs. “It limits our ability to have a diversity of programing and really support our artists in the city of Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland’s hotel tax typically subsidizes some of the city’s festivals and fairs. But that fund was used to cover other budget shortfalls during the pandemic, which is why the organizers of First Fridays and other events are now responsible for paying Oakland police out of pocket. But even if that fund were flush with cash, critics say the money should be going to artists instead of police.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a problem because it’s not the intended use of the fund,” says Kaplan. “We need to be supporting our cultural institutions and our artists and these communities that have been incredibly hard hit and are struggling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902301\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902301\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/town-experience-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/town-experience-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/town-experience-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/town-experience-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/town-experience-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/town-experience.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Event-goers gather in Oakland’s Liberation Park, part of the city’s Black Cultural Zone, for Outdoor Play Day + The Town Experience Community Photo Shoot in February 2021. Charlese Banks, founder of The Town Experience, says events like these are vital for Oakland’s community and tourism industry. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of The Town Experience)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What’s more, leaders in Oakland’s tourism industry worry that it will be more difficult to replenish Oakland’s hotel tax fund without the attractions that bring people to the city in the first place. “The idea is we get people to fly into Oakland, stay in Oakland. But what are the experiences you give them once they’re here?” asks Charlese Banks of The Town Experience, a marketing firm that promotes Oakland as a “vibrant travel destination.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those are very important to their overall stay,” she says. “It’s not just about putting heads in the beds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A New Policy Could Help Future Festivals and Parties\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In 2020, the Oakland city council unanimously approved Kaplan’s plan to put the city administration in charge of permits instead of OPD. As outlined in the resolution, deploying city staffers and hired security guards for event duties would be significantly cheaper than having police work overtime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote citation='Oakland City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan' size='large']‘We are wasting very expensive police officers on duties that have nothing to do with fighting guns or fighting violent crime.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the Special Activity Permit Division hasn’t yet implemented this policy, over a year later. Hamilton says that’s because the city council didn’t originally set aside money for the resolution, so there wasn’t enough staffing to implement changes. Oakland’s new budget for fiscal years 2021–2023 provides funding for one new position, which still hasn’t been filled, to support a revised special events process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“During the last year when gatherings were prohibited by local and state public health orders implemented during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, city staff focused its limited resources on COVID-19 responses,” Hamilton explains via email, “such as the Flex Streets Initiative to help restaurants and retailers operate outdoors in the public rights-of-way, thereby preventing business closures and keeping workers employed, and the Lake Merritt Vending program to support vendors impacted by the pandemic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaplan, on the other hand, doesn’t accept this justification for the delay. “The notion that there wasn’t enough money to do the transfer is frankly insulting,” she says. “First of all, this was the direction to the administrator: to work on it and come back to the council if he needed a new budget allocation. There’s been 20 different opportunities to ask for that at numerous budget hearings. … I think it just reflects a lack of desire to do it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, a task force of interdepartmental city staff is meeting to come up with a new, more streamlined process for special events, and hopes to present it to the city council in October. “One basic concept we’re hoping to implement is a little bit more transparency on the security requirements just so that there’s consistency,” Minor of the Special Activity Permit Division said at the Cultural Affairs Commission meeting in July, where dozens of event organizers spoke out in favor of the change. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s unclear whether the final plan will resemble Kaplan and the city council’s original vision; police security fees may still be a factor going forward. “Since the new permitting process is still being developed, the precise roles of each City department (including OPD) has not yet been determined,” Hamilton writes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Godinez’ part, she doesn’t mind working with OPD. She just doesn’t think First Fridays and other events should have to pay for it. “We’ve never asked them to reduce the [number of] officers,” she says, adding that she has also reached out to the civilian-led Department of Violence Prevention to support October’s event. “We’ve always asked them to do what they think will keep this event safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city task force anticipates presenting its new plan for special events later this fall. But until then, event organizers are left to deal with a confusing, expensive process for the rest of the season. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s just unfair,” says Brown of Preserving the Plant. “I think that the city of Oakland can waive the fees. They could have had me pay them later, you know, bill me next year or, ‘OK, you’re doing this for cannabis equity. Well then let’s just figure out a way to wipe the slate.’ Something clever and impactful, because this what you created the equity program for.”\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\u003cdiv data-tf-widget=\"Ty3UFwaW\" style=\"width:100%;height:400px;color:#FFFFFF;\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cscript src=\"//embed.typeform.com/next/embed.js\">\u003c/script>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "How Expensive Police Fees Shut Down Oakland Community Events | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Preserving the Plant was set to debut this July as the first cannabis fair of its kind in Oakland. Event organizer Edward Brown, an advocate for making the cannabis industry equitable for Black and brown communities harmed by the War on Drugs, worked for two years to ensure his vendor market and festival would have the proper permits, insurance, security and COVID protocols to make it a success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Greg Minor, head of Oakland’s Special Activity Permit Division, had been in communication with Brown throughout the planning process. But Minor didn’t forewarn him that he’d owe the Oakland Police Department money for security fees, Brown says. Three nights before Preserving the Plant was supposed to take place on July 24, Brown recalls getting a surprise email at around 11pm stating that he’d have to pay OPD $6,634 to get his permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was no way we [could have] come up with that money without somebody taking out a loan,” says Brown. He postponed the event to later this fall because of the high OPD fee; COVID concerns also played a role. “It was extremely frustrating. It felt like we were sabotaged. I followed every single rule that the city asked me to, and the state as well, being compliant and turning in things [on time].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Brown has joined dozens of event presenters calling on the city of Oakland to change its special events policy to eliminate some of these high costs and bureaucratic hurdles. In 2020, the city council unanimously approved a resolution to put the city administrator’s office in charge of special event permits and hiring security instead of police. But city staff, who say they were waylaid by the more pressing needs of the pandemic, still haven’t changed the policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics of the current policy are frustrated: In the years prior to the pandemic, Oakland used as much as 84% of its festivals and fairs fund to pay the police department for security instead of directly supporting artists and cultural institutions. This police-led permitting system is cost-prohibitive and inequitable, critics say. They argue it hurts opportunities for artists and small businesses, hampers Oakland’s tourism industry and slows recovery from pandemic restrictions. Now, government leaders, artists and promoters alike are calling for a more transparent, affordable system for throwing festivals, fairs and block parties, all of which are vital for the city’s culture, economy and community relationships.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Preserving the Plant isn’t the only recent event organizers canceled because of high OPD fees. Oakland’s First Fridays art walk had to skip its entire summer season because OPD wanted to charge presenters $24,000 per event.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s just disappointing,” says First Friday organizer Shari Godinez, who serves as the executive director of neighborhood merchants association Koreatown Northgate Community Benefit District. “If the city does want to support the arts and culture and revitalizing business in the city, they would support First Friday.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First Fridays are a big economic driver for Oakland. The street fair typically draws tens of thousands of attendees and boosts revenues in the area by as much as 250%, Godinez says. After its cancellation generated media attention and public outcry, event organizers were able to secure a comeback date in October. Godinez says she met with Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong, and Armstrong agreed to reduce OPD’s security fees to around $10,000. With the help of City Councilmember At-Large Rebecca Kaplan, Godinez found a corporate sponsor, DoorDash, to cover the cost for October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But this isn’t a sustainable strategy for the long term, nor is it an accessible pathway for less-established event organizers with no connections in city government. “We can’t take that expense on every month, it just isn’t feasible,” Godinez says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902366\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1.jpg\" alt=\"Women laugh and smile at a street fair in Oakland.\" width=\"1560\" height=\"1067\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13902366\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1.jpg 1560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-800x547.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-1020x698.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/202001-Oakff-AliciaRodriguez-082-1-1536x1051.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1560px) 100vw, 1560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Festival-goers attend First Friday in January 2020. \u003ccite>(Oakland First Fridays/\u003ca href=\"https://www.aliciarphoto.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Alicia Rodriguez\u003c/a>)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A Dysfunctional System Shuts Down Community Events\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Event presenters and city officials have long argued that Oakland’s current system for special events isn’t working. The Oakland Police Department decides how many officers to send to an event and sets its own price for security fees. It’s impossible for a festival organizer to obtain a permit without paying whatever amount OPD determines, sometimes with only a day’s notice. That means the costs to presenters can seem arbitrary and unpredictable, ranging anywhere from hundreds of dollars to the $24,000 initially required of First Fridays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many Oakland street fairs and block parties are free to the public and don’t have major corporate sponsors, so surprise fees can force organizers to cancel their events or make difficult decisions, such as not paying performers or taking on debt. Short of reaching out to city councilmembers to intervene, there’s no formal process for appealing OPD’s decisions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Brown, postponing Preserving the Plant meant losing hundreds of dollars on top of dealing with complicated logistics. “We had to pay off the band,” says Brown, adding that he had to find a new headliner because the original act couldn’t reschedule.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>OPD has no publicly available policy that explains how security fees are determined, and did not return KQED’s request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In order to not reduce resources needed to respond to critical public safety services (i.e., 911 calls, Ceasefire, violent crimes, etc.), these events are staffed with police officers working overtime,” explains Harry Hamilton of Oakland’s Economic & Workforce Development Department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But critics say therein lies the problem. “We are wasting very expensive police officers on duties that have nothing to do with fighting guns or fighting violent crime,” says Councilmember Kaplan, who proposed a 2020 resolution to transfer special events permits from OPD to city staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the current system, officers are tasked with processing paperwork and directing traffic in addition to doing security. “And we are tripling the costs of community events for no benefit,” Kaplan adds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaplan says police fees almost forced the city to shut down a voting site at the Oakland Coliseum during the November 2020 election. “It came within minutes of not happening because the Oakland Police Department was trying to shake them down for many, many tens of thousands of dollars under the theory that this was a special event,” she says, adding that OPD reduced costs after some “high-level people intervened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For years, civil rights advocates, artists and event promoters have accused the Oakland Police Department of deploying its special events policy in racist ways, ramping up costs for events with Black artists and audiences. In 2017, an \u003cem>East Bay Express\u003c/em> report described a pattern of \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/blacklisted-how-the-oakland-police-department-discriminates-against-rappers-and-music-venues-2-1/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">OPD using security fees to effectively shut down rap concerts\u003c/a>. “OPD knows they’re infringing on these artists’ right to perform,” San Francisco attorney John Hamasaki alleged at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaplan says that pattern has persisted, and that organizers have complained OPD is abusing the system. “There have been complaints that it’s been disproportionately used against Black community events,” she says. “And I think there’s a lot of history that supports that claim. … The system is inherently a setup for failure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Funding Earmarked for Arts Goes to Police\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While Oakland budgets money in each fiscal year to support the arts, most of its festivals and fairs fund ends up going to the police department instead of artists or cultural organizations, city data shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A breakdown of Oakland’s festivals and fairs fund, which the Economic & Workforce Development Department provided to KQED, reveals that 84% of the fund went towards covering OPD fees in fiscal year 2017. That figure was 76.1% for fiscal year 2018 and 72.5% in fiscal year 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, at the latest Cultural Affairs Commission meeting in July, the organizers of the 11 festivals the fund supports described working with shoestring budgets that left them unable to pay performers in some cases. “We can’t fund a payment for them because we’ve just got so many other costs,” Shifra de Benedictis-Kessner, organizer of the 40th Street Block Party in Temescal, said at the meeting. She added that for the past four years $2,000 of her $5,000 event budget has gone to OPD and fire department costs. “It limits our ability to have a diversity of programing and really support our artists in the city of Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland’s hotel tax typically subsidizes some of the city’s festivals and fairs. But that fund was used to cover other budget shortfalls during the pandemic, which is why the organizers of First Fridays and other events are now responsible for paying Oakland police out of pocket. But even if that fund were flush with cash, critics say the money should be going to artists instead of police.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a problem because it’s not the intended use of the fund,” says Kaplan. “We need to be supporting our cultural institutions and our artists and these communities that have been incredibly hard hit and are struggling.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902301\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902301\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/town-experience-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/town-experience-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/town-experience-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/town-experience-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/town-experience-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/town-experience.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Event-goers gather in Oakland’s Liberation Park, part of the city’s Black Cultural Zone, for Outdoor Play Day + The Town Experience Community Photo Shoot in February 2021. Charlese Banks, founder of The Town Experience, says events like these are vital for Oakland’s community and tourism industry. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of The Town Experience)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What’s more, leaders in Oakland’s tourism industry worry that it will be more difficult to replenish Oakland’s hotel tax fund without the attractions that bring people to the city in the first place. “The idea is we get people to fly into Oakland, stay in Oakland. But what are the experiences you give them once they’re here?” asks Charlese Banks of The Town Experience, a marketing firm that promotes Oakland as a “vibrant travel destination.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those are very important to their overall stay,” she says. “It’s not just about putting heads in the beds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A New Policy Could Help Future Festivals and Parties\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In 2020, the Oakland city council unanimously approved Kaplan’s plan to put the city administration in charge of permits instead of OPD. As outlined in the resolution, deploying city staffers and hired security guards for event duties would be significantly cheaper than having police work overtime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the Special Activity Permit Division hasn’t yet implemented this policy, over a year later. Hamilton says that’s because the city council didn’t originally set aside money for the resolution, so there wasn’t enough staffing to implement changes. Oakland’s new budget for fiscal years 2021–2023 provides funding for one new position, which still hasn’t been filled, to support a revised special events process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“During the last year when gatherings were prohibited by local and state public health orders implemented during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, city staff focused its limited resources on COVID-19 responses,” Hamilton explains via email, “such as the Flex Streets Initiative to help restaurants and retailers operate outdoors in the public rights-of-way, thereby preventing business closures and keeping workers employed, and the Lake Merritt Vending program to support vendors impacted by the pandemic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaplan, on the other hand, doesn’t accept this justification for the delay. “The notion that there wasn’t enough money to do the transfer is frankly insulting,” she says. “First of all, this was the direction to the administrator: to work on it and come back to the council if he needed a new budget allocation. There’s been 20 different opportunities to ask for that at numerous budget hearings. … I think it just reflects a lack of desire to do it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, a task force of interdepartmental city staff is meeting to come up with a new, more streamlined process for special events, and hopes to present it to the city council in October. “One basic concept we’re hoping to implement is a little bit more transparency on the security requirements just so that there’s consistency,” Minor of the Special Activity Permit Division said at the Cultural Affairs Commission meeting in July, where dozens of event organizers spoke out in favor of the change. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s unclear whether the final plan will resemble Kaplan and the city council’s original vision; police security fees may still be a factor going forward. “Since the new permitting process is still being developed, the precise roles of each City department (including OPD) has not yet been determined,” Hamilton writes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Godinez’ part, she doesn’t mind working with OPD. She just doesn’t think First Fridays and other events should have to pay for it. “We’ve never asked them to reduce the [number of] officers,” she says, adding that she has also reached out to the civilian-led Department of Violence Prevention to support October’s event. “We’ve always asked them to do what they think will keep this event safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city task force anticipates presenting its new plan for special events later this fall. But until then, event organizers are left to deal with a confusing, expensive process for the rest of the season. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s just unfair,” says Brown of Preserving the Plant. “I think that the city of Oakland can waive the fees. They could have had me pay them later, you know, bill me next year or, ‘OK, you’re doing this for cannabis equity. Well then let’s just figure out a way to wipe the slate.’ Something clever and impactful, because this what you created the equity program for.”\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\u003cdiv data-tf-widget=\"Ty3UFwaW\" style=\"width:100%;height:400px;color:#FFFFFF;\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Normally one of the busiest and most lively days of the year in Oakland’s heavily Mexican and Latin American Fruitvale district, this year’s Día de los Muertos Festival will mark a \u003ci>partial\u003c/i> return to the before-times celebration of this holiday honoring the dead. The jaw-droppingly athletic Aztec dancers, the sleek lowriders and the moving and intricately assembled ofrendas will all be back for this year’s festival, which takes place Oct. 31, says Itzel Diaz-Romo, the Interim Director of Development & Communications for the Unity Council, which is organizing the event. The performances and displays will just be spread out throughout the district to prevent crowds from accumulating at any one place. COVID vaccines and testing will be available on site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest difference, for food lovers, is that there won’t be any street vendors hawking tamales or pupusas this year. Instead, in an effort to support local restaurants, the week leading up to Día de los Muertos has been designated, as it was last year, as Fruitvale Restaurant Week. Details are still being finalized, but it’s likely that all participating restaurants will offer a $20 meal deal that includes a drink.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Día de los Muertos Festival will take place on Oct. 31 throughout the Fruitvale district. Fruitvale Restaurant Week specials will run from Oct. 24–31. Details \u003ca href=\"https://diaoakland.com/?ltclid=77d11583-837a-4d21-90d6-8c9422880804\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Normally one of the busiest and most lively days of the year in Oakland’s heavily Mexican and Latin American Fruitvale district, this year’s Día de los Muertos Festival will mark a \u003ci>partial\u003c/i> return to the before-times celebration of this holiday honoring the dead. The jaw-droppingly athletic Aztec dancers, the sleek lowriders and the moving and intricately assembled ofrendas will all be back for this year’s festival, which takes place Oct. 31, says Itzel Diaz-Romo, the Interim Director of Development & Communications for the Unity Council, which is organizing the event. The performances and displays will just be spread out throughout the district to prevent crowds from accumulating at any one place. COVID vaccines and testing will be available on site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The biggest difference, for food lovers, is that there won’t be any street vendors hawking tamales or pupusas this year. Instead, in an effort to support local restaurants, the week leading up to Día de los Muertos has been designated, as it was last year, as Fruitvale Restaurant Week. Details are still being finalized, but it’s likely that all participating restaurants will offer a $20 meal deal that includes a drink.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Día de los Muertos Festival will take place on Oct. 31 throughout the Fruitvale district. Fruitvale Restaurant Week specials will run from Oct. 24–31. Details \u003ca href=\"https://diaoakland.com/?ltclid=77d11583-837a-4d21-90d6-8c9422880804\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival With Mooncakes and Paper Lanterns",
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"content": "\u003cp>To prepare for Eastlake Little Saigon’s big Mid-Autumn Festival celebration, the nonprofit Good Good Eatz and the Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce are distributing 2,000 colorful paper lanterns to four local schools so that the students can paint and decorate them. On Sept. 18, the lanterns will light up dozens of restaurants around Eastlake, acting as beacons to draw customers toward delicious pho and banh mi at neighborhood standards like Pho Vy, Pho Mekong and Cam Huong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Continuing an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13900641/pokemon-go-little-saigon-oakland-vietnamese-food\">ongoing cross-promotion with Pokémon Go developer Niantic\u003c/a>, many of the restaurants and markets will be designated as Pokéstops, where players of the augmented reality game can accrue power-ups. In further keeping with the Vietnamese emphasis of Mid-Autumn Festival as a children’s holiday—like Halloween for Americans, Good Good Eatz co-founder Trinh Banh explains—kids will be able to go around and collect miniature mooncakes and other goodies from many of the participating merchants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This will be a masked event, and COVID vaccination and testing will be available at Clinton Park.\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>\u003ci>Eastlake Little Saigon’s Mid-Autumn Festival celebration will take place on Sept. 18, noon–5pm at Clinton Park in Oakland. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CTsCJRmJA9C/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Details here.\u003c/a>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>To prepare for Eastlake Little Saigon’s big Mid-Autumn Festival celebration, the nonprofit Good Good Eatz and the Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce are distributing 2,000 colorful paper lanterns to four local schools so that the students can paint and decorate them. On Sept. 18, the lanterns will light up dozens of restaurants around Eastlake, acting as beacons to draw customers toward delicious pho and banh mi at neighborhood standards like Pho Vy, Pho Mekong and Cam Huong.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Continuing an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13900641/pokemon-go-little-saigon-oakland-vietnamese-food\">ongoing cross-promotion with Pokémon Go developer Niantic\u003c/a>, many of the restaurants and markets will be designated as Pokéstops, where players of the augmented reality game can accrue power-ups. In further keeping with the Vietnamese emphasis of Mid-Autumn Festival as a children’s holiday—like Halloween for Americans, Good Good Eatz co-founder Trinh Banh explains—kids will be able to go around and collect miniature mooncakes and other goodies from many of the participating merchants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This will be a masked event, and COVID vaccination and testing will be available at Clinton Park.\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>\u003ci>Eastlake Little Saigon’s Mid-Autumn Festival celebration will take place on Sept. 18, noon–5pm at Clinton Park in Oakland. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CTsCJRmJA9C/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Details here.\u003c/a>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith Is Imagining the Future of Murals",
"headTitle": "Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith Is Imagining the Future of Murals | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC4354205075\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a vacant floor of Oakland’s Tribune Tower, I stood in front of a mural of turfing legend \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/icecold3000/\">Ice Cold 3000\u003c/a>. In a series of freeze frames, he gigged across the wall, becoming more digitized and pixelated with each progressive painting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was really asking myself the question of how to create that kind of transition to move from the physical body into this digital body,” says muralist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/wolfe_.pack/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s not the only thing that went digital in the show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wolfe-Goldsmith teamed up with a handful of artists (Jet Martinez, Vogue TDK, Joshua Mays, Bud Snow, Yoram Savion, and Brandon Ruffin aka Ruff Draft) to create the \u003ca href=\"https://5thstorynft.com/?ltclid=fa804baf-86ae-4349-868e-bae1cb9441ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">5th Story NFT art gallery,\u003c/a> where murals were adapted into augmented reality by\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/blackterminusar/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Black Terminus Labs\u003c/a>. They are also converting the art into three dimensional pieces on the blockchain network that will be sold as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897823/nft-artists-bay-area\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NFTs.\u003c/a> This will allow the creators to have more control over the revenue generated from their work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ1aZ0vBHyL/\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I mean, what we’re really asking is just like how do muralists fit into the NFT space. Because a lot of people using it are already 3D designers or digital artists of some kind. And we specialize in, like, an analog style of art. But how do we bring that to the digital space?” says Wolfe-Goldsmith.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wolf-Goldsmith also serves as the Creative Director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bayareamuralpro/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bay Area Mural Program\u003c/a>. She’s the talented muralist behind some of the largest new pieces of public artwork in Oakland, including the two-story mural of the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13893054/the-black-panther-party-and-the-rev-cheryl-dawson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> women of the Black Panther Party\u003c/a> in West Oakland, and the huge mural of\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/stoneycreation/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Stoney Creation\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13887635/yanni-will-eat-you-up-and-make-you-love-yourself\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yanni Brump\u003c/a> on Telegraph and 17th Avenue. You can also see her “Our Moment” piece, which depicts an African American woman dancing (inspired by the image of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mizzk.o/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kendra “K.O” Oyesanya\u003c/a>) on the side of the Oakland Tribune Tower.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901945\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901945\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-800x1067.jpg\" alt=\"Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith stands in front of the Tribune Tower in Oakland, which features her large colorful mural of an African American woman dancing\" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith stands in front of the Tribune Tower in Oakland, which features her large colorful mural of an African American woman dancing \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But her latest project inside of the building is one she hopes will change the future of murals and hopefully bring more stability into the livelihood of muralists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most people never get to collect our works because they just live on this wall. Maybe you make a limited edition print of it or something, this would almost be like that limited edition print. And I think part of it, too, is the idea of collectibles. [The art] gains value over time. So you are also collecting something that you believe will create wealth for you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week on the podcast we discuss Wolfe-Goldsmith’s background, how she’s made ends meet, her approach to art making and the future of moving murals from walls to the digital realm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.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>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The muralist behind some of Oakland's largest new pieces of public artwork wants to bring murals into the digital world using NFTs.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm?e=KQINC4354205075\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a vacant floor of Oakland’s Tribune Tower, I stood in front of a mural of turfing legend \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/icecold3000/\">Ice Cold 3000\u003c/a>. In a series of freeze frames, he gigged across the wall, becoming more digitized and pixelated with each progressive painting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was really asking myself the question of how to create that kind of transition to move from the physical body into this digital body,” says muralist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/wolfe_.pack/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s not the only thing that went digital in the show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wolfe-Goldsmith teamed up with a handful of artists (Jet Martinez, Vogue TDK, Joshua Mays, Bud Snow, Yoram Savion, and Brandon Ruffin aka Ruff Draft) to create the \u003ca href=\"https://5thstorynft.com/?ltclid=fa804baf-86ae-4349-868e-bae1cb9441ca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">5th Story NFT art gallery,\u003c/a> where murals were adapted into augmented reality by\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/blackterminusar/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Black Terminus Labs\u003c/a>. They are also converting the art into three dimensional pieces on the blockchain network that will be sold as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897823/nft-artists-bay-area\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NFTs.\u003c/a> This will allow the creators to have more control over the revenue generated from their work.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>“I mean, what we’re really asking is just like how do muralists fit into the NFT space. Because a lot of people using it are already 3D designers or digital artists of some kind. And we specialize in, like, an analog style of art. But how do we bring that to the digital space?” says Wolfe-Goldsmith.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wolf-Goldsmith also serves as the Creative Director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bayareamuralpro/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bay Area Mural Program\u003c/a>. She’s the talented muralist behind some of the largest new pieces of public artwork in Oakland, including the two-story mural of the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13893054/the-black-panther-party-and-the-rev-cheryl-dawson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> women of the Black Panther Party\u003c/a> in West Oakland, and the huge mural of\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/stoneycreation/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Stoney Creation\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13887635/yanni-will-eat-you-up-and-make-you-love-yourself\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yanni Brump\u003c/a> on Telegraph and 17th Avenue. You can also see her “Our Moment” piece, which depicts an African American woman dancing (inspired by the image of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/mizzk.o/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kendra “K.O” Oyesanya\u003c/a>) on the side of the Oakland Tribune Tower.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901945\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901945\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-800x1067.jpg\" alt=\"Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith stands in front of the Tribune Tower in Oakland, which features her large colorful mural of an African American woman dancing\" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Image-from-iOS-12-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith stands in front of the Tribune Tower in Oakland, which features her large colorful mural of an African American woman dancing \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But her latest project inside of the building is one she hopes will change the future of murals and hopefully bring more stability into the livelihood of muralists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Most people never get to collect our works because they just live on this wall. Maybe you make a limited edition print of it or something, this would almost be like that limited edition print. And I think part of it, too, is the idea of collectibles. [The art] gains value over time. So you are also collecting something that you believe will create wealth for you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week on the podcast we discuss Wolfe-Goldsmith’s background, how she’s made ends meet, her approach to art making and the future of moving murals from walls to the digital realm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.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>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Michael Morgan, Visionary Oakland Symphony Conductor, Dies at Age 63",
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"content": "\u003cp>Michael Morgan, the longtime music director and conductor of the Oakland Symphony, died on Aug. 20 at age 63, his publicist announced today. He passed away at Kaiser Permanente hospital after being admitted last week for an infection, three months after undergoing a successful kidney transplant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morgan made his mark on the Oakland Symphony with his boundary-pushing programming and passion for education and outreach. Always one to make classical music accessible to new audiences, he invited comedian W. Kamau Bell and activist Dolores Huerta to curate “playlists” for the orchestra to perform, interjecting the canon with songs by John Coltrane and Jimi Hendrix.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As one of the few Black and openly gay conductors in the country, Morgan made inclusive programming standard at the Oakland Symphony—well before other orchestras began to grapple with racism in the wake of last year’s protests. His “Notes From…” concert series celebrated the music of Native American, Korean, Vietnamese and LGBTQ+ composers. And as the host of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsymphony.org/CURRENTS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Currents\u003c/em>\u003c/a> video and podcast series from the San Francisco Symphony, he examined the cross-pollination of classical music with genres as varied as hip-hop and traditional Chinese music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our primary question is ‘who’s not here?’ And we look around the room, and see who is not there,” Morgan told \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2021/03/24/oakland-symphony-classical-music-race-social-justice-michael-morgan/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oaklandside\u003c/a> earlier this year, describing his vision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of Morgan’s last public appearances was as guest conductor of the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall on July 23. He led the orchestra through a performance of works by overlooked French composer Louise Farrenc and the 1920s jazz classic “Charleston” by James P. Johnson. “He’s made [the Oakland Symphony] a vibrant hotbed for innovative programming, combining a judicious helping of the standard repertoire with music from a wide array of less familiar sources—including, in recent seasons particularly, works by female composers who have too often been left out of the historical narrative,” wrote \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> music critic Joshua Kosman in his \u003ca href=\"https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/review-conductor-michael-morgan-jazzes-up-a-guest-appearance-with-s-f-symphony\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">review\u003c/a> of the concert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morgan was born in Washington D.C. and began conducting at age 12. In addition to his duties with the Oakland Symphony, he also held the titles of artistic director of Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra, music director at Bear Valley Music Festival and music director of Gateways Music Festival. He was music director emeritus of the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, and sat on the boards of Oaktown Jazz Workshops and the Purple Silk Music Education Foundation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"\">“This is a terribly sad moment for everyone in the Oakland Symphony family.\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\">We have lost our guiding father,” said executive director Mieko Hatano in a statement.\u003c/span> \u003cspan class=\"\">“Michael’s plans and ambitions were set for several seasons to come.\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\">He made his Orchestra socially authentic, demanded equality, and he made his Orchestra our orchestra.\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\">He fashioned a unique, informed artistic profile that attracted one of the most diverse audiences in the nation.\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\">His music reflected his beliefs:\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\">reverence for the past, attuned to the future, rooted in his adopted home of Oakland.\u003c/span> \u003cspan class=\"\">His spirit will always guide the enduring future of the Oakland Symphony.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Correction: \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cem>This story originally stated that Michael Morgan’s final performance was with the San Francisco Symphony on July 23 when it was actually at the Bear Valley Music Festival on July 29-Aug. 1.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Michael Morgan, the longtime music director and conductor of the Oakland Symphony, died on Aug. 20 at age 63, his publicist announced today. He passed away at Kaiser Permanente hospital after being admitted last week for an infection, three months after undergoing a successful kidney transplant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morgan made his mark on the Oakland Symphony with his boundary-pushing programming and passion for education and outreach. Always one to make classical music accessible to new audiences, he invited comedian W. Kamau Bell and activist Dolores Huerta to curate “playlists” for the orchestra to perform, interjecting the canon with songs by John Coltrane and Jimi Hendrix.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As one of the few Black and openly gay conductors in the country, Morgan made inclusive programming standard at the Oakland Symphony—well before other orchestras began to grapple with racism in the wake of last year’s protests. His “Notes From…” concert series celebrated the music of Native American, Korean, Vietnamese and LGBTQ+ composers. And as the host of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsymphony.org/CURRENTS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Currents\u003c/em>\u003c/a> video and podcast series from the San Francisco Symphony, he examined the cross-pollination of classical music with genres as varied as hip-hop and traditional Chinese music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our primary question is ‘who’s not here?’ And we look around the room, and see who is not there,” Morgan told \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2021/03/24/oakland-symphony-classical-music-race-social-justice-michael-morgan/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oaklandside\u003c/a> earlier this year, describing his vision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of Morgan’s last public appearances was as guest conductor of the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall on July 23. He led the orchestra through a performance of works by overlooked French composer Louise Farrenc and the 1920s jazz classic “Charleston” by James P. Johnson. “He’s made [the Oakland Symphony] a vibrant hotbed for innovative programming, combining a judicious helping of the standard repertoire with music from a wide array of less familiar sources—including, in recent seasons particularly, works by female composers who have too often been left out of the historical narrative,” wrote \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> music critic Joshua Kosman in his \u003ca href=\"https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/review-conductor-michael-morgan-jazzes-up-a-guest-appearance-with-s-f-symphony\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">review\u003c/a> of the concert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morgan was born in Washington D.C. and began conducting at age 12. In addition to his duties with the Oakland Symphony, he also held the titles of artistic director of Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra, music director at Bear Valley Music Festival and music director of Gateways Music Festival. He was music director emeritus of the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, and sat on the boards of Oaktown Jazz Workshops and the Purple Silk Music Education Foundation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"\">“This is a terribly sad moment for everyone in the Oakland Symphony family.\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\">We have lost our guiding father,” said executive director Mieko Hatano in a statement.\u003c/span> \u003cspan class=\"\">“Michael’s plans and ambitions were set for several seasons to come.\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\">He made his Orchestra socially authentic, demanded equality, and he made his Orchestra our orchestra.\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\">He fashioned a unique, informed artistic profile that attracted one of the most diverse audiences in the nation.\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\">His music reflected his beliefs:\u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan class=\"\">reverence for the past, attuned to the future, rooted in his adopted home of Oakland.\u003c/span> \u003cspan class=\"\">His spirit will always guide the enduring future of the Oakland Symphony.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Correction: \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cem>This story originally stated that Michael Morgan’s final performance was with the San Francisco Symphony on July 23 when it was actually at the Bear Valley Music Festival on July 29-Aug. 1.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Steve 'Zumbi' Gaines, Prolific Bay Area MC from Zion I, Dies at Age 49",
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"headTitle": "Steve ‘Zumbi’ Gaines, Prolific Bay Area MC from Zion I, Dies at Age 49 | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story has been updated. Zumbi’s death has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13901531/lawyers-investigate-death-of-steve-zumbi-gaines-zion-i-mc\">investigated as a homicide\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steve Gaines, the MC known as Baba Zumbi from Bay Area hip-hop group Zion I, has died. KQED spoke with Zumbi’s family and confirmed his death on Friday afternoon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The family shared a statement with KQED Friday evening:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>It is with utter disbelief and great sadness that the Gaines family shares the news of the passing of Steve “Zumbi” Gaines on Friday, August 13, 2021. Gaines, 49 and the MC of the critically acclaimed hip-hop group Zion I, passed away at Alta Bates Hospital today in the early morning from unknown causes. The family requests privacy in this very challenging time while they await further details.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13962689']\u003cem>Steve is survived by three sons, his mother and his brother. He was working on a Zion I reunion tour with longtime producer and collaborator, Amp Live, to honor the legacy of their musical endeavors for their fans.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither Zumbi’s family nor his publicist addressed early reports that he died from complications related to COVID, as initially told to KQED by close friends. Zumbi was said to be hesitant about receiving the COVID vaccine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier Friday, the Los Angeles hip-hop collective Project Blowed \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CSig6tTrDyH/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">posted a statement\u003c/a> from DJ True Justice, a touring DJ for Zion I, saying that Zumbi had been recovering from COVID when “he had a severe asthma attack and his heart stopped. He died in the hospital. They were unable to revive him.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13936095']But Berkeley police, who responded to a physical altercation between a patient and hospital staff shortly after 5am on Friday, are now investigating Zumbi’s death. A spokesperson for the Berkeley Police Department \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Police-investigating-death-of-well-known-Bay-Area-16388574.php\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">told the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that the involved patient was eventually pinned down by hospital security. The spokesperson added that, upon arrival, officers began handcuffing the patient when they determined that he needed immediate medical assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Police and hospital staff performed livesaving measures, but the patient was unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene, the spokesperson said. Police dispatch recordings reviewed by KQED identify the patient as Steven Gaines. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901318\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zumbi.WEB_.Vertical-1020x1427.jpg\" alt=\"Baba Zumbi of Zion I in 2012. \" width=\"640\" height=\"895\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13901318\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zumbi.WEB_.Vertical-1020x1427.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zumbi.WEB_.Vertical-800x1120.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zumbi.WEB_.Vertical-160x224.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zumbi.WEB_.Vertical-768x1075.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zumbi.WEB_.Vertical-1098x1536.jpg 1098w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zumbi.WEB_.Vertical.jpg 1372w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Baba Zumbi of Zion I in 2012. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Zumbi began releasing music under the Zion I name in 2000 together with DJ and producer Amp Live. Over the next decade and a half, the group released nine full-length albums, plus several mixtapes and collaborations. Amp Live left Zion I in 2015, but the two had reunited this year for an anniversary tour together, scheduled for October. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zumbi was known for weaving a spiritual approach into hip-hop, reflected in his searching, mystical lyrics, and in the title of Zion I’s debut album \u003cem>Mind Over Matter\u003c/em>, which \u003cem>The Source\u003c/em> nominated for Independent Album of the Year in 2000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='pop_28324']Yet Zumbi also understood the streets, as evidenced by \u003cem>Heroes in the City of Dope\u003c/em>, Zion I’s hoodwise 2006 collaboration with The Grouch. Stridently creative and uncomfortable in any box, Zumbi strove for blending different musical styles, notably on the widely varied 2008 album \u003cem>The Take Over\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zumbi was no stranger to the social issues in his music. In 2016, he became a victim of the Bay Area’s housing crisis when he was evicted from his Oakland home, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/28324/on-zion-is-tech-a-housing-crisis-turns-personal\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">filmed the video for the song “Tech $” inside his house\u003c/a> as his family packed up belongings into moving boxes. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wrote the song out of frustration with trying to find something affordable and being abruptly introduced to skyrocketing rent prices and hordes of people eager to pay,” he told KQED at the time. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901317\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zunbi.Videoshoot.Horiz_-800x500.jpg\" alt=\"Zumbi of Zion I performs at the video shoot for 'Human Being,' in 2012.\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901317\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zunbi.Videoshoot.Horiz_-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zunbi.Videoshoot.Horiz_-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zunbi.Videoshoot.Horiz_-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zunbi.Videoshoot.Horiz_-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zunbi.Videoshoot.Horiz_-1536x960.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zunbi.Videoshoot.Horiz_.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zumbi of Zion I performs at the video shoot for ‘Human Being,’ in 2012. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two years later, while wrestling with the deaths of his father, his grandmother and a close friend, Zumbi \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/the-reawakening-of-zion-is-baba-zumbi-2-1/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">told the \u003cem>East Bay Express\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that he found strength in tai chi and inspiration from his family, including his three kids. In the recording studio, he said, he’d had an epiphany that his deceased loved ones were there in spirit, supporting him. “Now I can never deny the fact that I know that the spirit world is always present,” he said, “and I always have to acknowledge it from here on out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zumbi loved the Bay Area so much that he wrote an ode to the region, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMmZuKUzeXE\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Bay\u003c/a>,” and he performed with, collaborated with, and recorded with countless other Bay Area musicians up until his death. In April, he released “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKzKKxnWX5w\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Try & Try\u003c/a>,” a collaboration with Fantastic Negrito, and over the past summer had played shows with Mac Mall, San Quinn and Equipto.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKzKKxnWX5w\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A prolific live performer who toured regularly, Zumbi had also performed with Shock G from Digital Underground, upon whose death Zumbi \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CN_WWgwLmu1/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">wrote\u003c/a>: “hip-hop is getting rocked left and right… tears stream down my face as I write this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an Instagram post after the death of Biz Markie last month, Zumbi sounded a more somber tone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Feels like an entire generation is leaving us as of late,” he wrote.\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=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" />\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pendarvis Harshaw contributed reporting.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story has been updated. Zumbi’s death has been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13901531/lawyers-investigate-death-of-steve-zumbi-gaines-zion-i-mc\">investigated as a homicide\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steve Gaines, the MC known as Baba Zumbi from Bay Area hip-hop group Zion I, has died. KQED spoke with Zumbi’s family and confirmed his death on Friday afternoon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The family shared a statement with KQED Friday evening:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>It is with utter disbelief and great sadness that the Gaines family shares the news of the passing of Steve “Zumbi” Gaines on Friday, August 13, 2021. Gaines, 49 and the MC of the critically acclaimed hip-hop group Zion I, passed away at Alta Bates Hospital today in the early morning from unknown causes. The family requests privacy in this very challenging time while they await further details.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cem>Steve is survived by three sons, his mother and his brother. He was working on a Zion I reunion tour with longtime producer and collaborator, Amp Live, to honor the legacy of their musical endeavors for their fans.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither Zumbi’s family nor his publicist addressed early reports that he died from complications related to COVID, as initially told to KQED by close friends. Zumbi was said to be hesitant about receiving the COVID vaccine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier Friday, the Los Angeles hip-hop collective Project Blowed \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CSig6tTrDyH/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">posted a statement\u003c/a> from DJ True Justice, a touring DJ for Zion I, saying that Zumbi had been recovering from COVID when “he had a severe asthma attack and his heart stopped. He died in the hospital. They were unable to revive him.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But Berkeley police, who responded to a physical altercation between a patient and hospital staff shortly after 5am on Friday, are now investigating Zumbi’s death. A spokesperson for the Berkeley Police Department \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Police-investigating-death-of-well-known-Bay-Area-16388574.php\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">told the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that the involved patient was eventually pinned down by hospital security. The spokesperson added that, upon arrival, officers began handcuffing the patient when they determined that he needed immediate medical assistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Police and hospital staff performed livesaving measures, but the patient was unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene, the spokesperson said. Police dispatch recordings reviewed by KQED identify the patient as Steven Gaines. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901318\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zumbi.WEB_.Vertical-1020x1427.jpg\" alt=\"Baba Zumbi of Zion I in 2012. \" width=\"640\" height=\"895\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13901318\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zumbi.WEB_.Vertical-1020x1427.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zumbi.WEB_.Vertical-800x1120.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zumbi.WEB_.Vertical-160x224.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zumbi.WEB_.Vertical-768x1075.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zumbi.WEB_.Vertical-1098x1536.jpg 1098w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zumbi.WEB_.Vertical.jpg 1372w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Baba Zumbi of Zion I in 2012. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Zumbi began releasing music under the Zion I name in 2000 together with DJ and producer Amp Live. Over the next decade and a half, the group released nine full-length albums, plus several mixtapes and collaborations. Amp Live left Zion I in 2015, but the two had reunited this year for an anniversary tour together, scheduled for October. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zumbi was known for weaving a spiritual approach into hip-hop, reflected in his searching, mystical lyrics, and in the title of Zion I’s debut album \u003cem>Mind Over Matter\u003c/em>, which \u003cem>The Source\u003c/em> nominated for Independent Album of the Year in 2000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Yet Zumbi also understood the streets, as evidenced by \u003cem>Heroes in the City of Dope\u003c/em>, Zion I’s hoodwise 2006 collaboration with The Grouch. Stridently creative and uncomfortable in any box, Zumbi strove for blending different musical styles, notably on the widely varied 2008 album \u003cem>The Take Over\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zumbi was no stranger to the social issues in his music. In 2016, he became a victim of the Bay Area’s housing crisis when he was evicted from his Oakland home, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/28324/on-zion-is-tech-a-housing-crisis-turns-personal\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">filmed the video for the song “Tech $” inside his house\u003c/a> as his family packed up belongings into moving boxes. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wrote the song out of frustration with trying to find something affordable and being abruptly introduced to skyrocketing rent prices and hordes of people eager to pay,” he told KQED at the time. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901317\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zunbi.Videoshoot.Horiz_-800x500.jpg\" alt=\"Zumbi of Zion I performs at the video shoot for 'Human Being,' in 2012.\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901317\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zunbi.Videoshoot.Horiz_-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zunbi.Videoshoot.Horiz_-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zunbi.Videoshoot.Horiz_-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zunbi.Videoshoot.Horiz_-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zunbi.Videoshoot.Horiz_-1536x960.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Zunbi.Videoshoot.Horiz_.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zumbi of Zion I performs at the video shoot for ‘Human Being,’ in 2012. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two years later, while wrestling with the deaths of his father, his grandmother and a close friend, Zumbi \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/the-reawakening-of-zion-is-baba-zumbi-2-1/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">told the \u003cem>East Bay Express\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that he found strength in tai chi and inspiration from his family, including his three kids. In the recording studio, he said, he’d had an epiphany that his deceased loved ones were there in spirit, supporting him. “Now I can never deny the fact that I know that the spirit world is always present,” he said, “and I always have to acknowledge it from here on out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zumbi loved the Bay Area so much that he wrote an ode to the region, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMmZuKUzeXE\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Bay\u003c/a>,” and he performed with, collaborated with, and recorded with countless other Bay Area musicians up until his death. In April, he released “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKzKKxnWX5w\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Try & Try\u003c/a>,” a collaboration with Fantastic Negrito, and over the past summer had played shows with Mac Mall, San Quinn and Equipto.\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/KKzKKxnWX5w'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/KKzKKxnWX5w'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>A prolific live performer who toured regularly, Zumbi had also performed with Shock G from Digital Underground, upon whose death Zumbi \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CN_WWgwLmu1/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">wrote\u003c/a>: “hip-hop is getting rocked left and right… tears stream down my face as I write this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an Instagram post after the death of Biz Markie last month, Zumbi sounded a more somber tone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Feels like an entire generation is leaving us as of late,” he wrote.\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=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" />\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pendarvis Harshaw contributed reporting.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>On Wednesday night, filmmaker Pete Nicks sat next to me on stage at the Grand Lake Theatre after a screening of his new documentary, \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em>, and got personal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Homeroom\u003c/i> is the third in Nicks’ trilogy of films examining how people interface with public institutions, including acclaimed documentaries \u003cem>The Force\u003c/em>, about the Oakland Police Department, and \u003cem>The Waiting Room\u003c/em>, about the public healthcare system as shown through Highland Hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both of those films come from lived experiences, he told me. But his inspiration for completing \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em>, about Oakland’s public schools system, was especially close to home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nicks’ daughter Karina, an OUSD student who loved art, had worked at the very theater where the screening took place. Set to graduate with the class of 2020, she had long suffered from depression. She passed unexpectedly as the production of \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em> was getting underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901233\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901233\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-800x503.jpg\" alt=\"Filmmaker Pete Nicks holds the microphone as he discusses his film Homeroom.\" width=\"800\" height=\"503\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-800x503.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-1020x641.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-768x483.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-1536x965.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-2048x1287.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-1920x1206.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Filmmaker Pete Nicks discusses his film ‘Homeroom.’ \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Opening the post-screening discussion, Nicks honored his late daughter and pointed out some of Karina’s friends in the audience, letting everyone know that the film is dedicated to her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em> follows the lives of students at the city’s oldest pubic high school, Oakland High. It focuses in on the class of 2020, and students’ split attention between their phones and their teachers. The news of President Trump’s impeachment is background noise as students aim for higher scores on their SATs, and the celebration of a new year—a year the students had awaited their entire academic careers—is overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13901197']Between dealing with the impacts of gentrification and participating in mass protests following the extrajudicial executions of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the students attend pep rallies, football games and parties where they dance, red cups are lifted high. They take selfies, crack jokes and discuss pop culture during lunch. They live “normal” high school lives—save for all of the historically traumatic events of last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with Nicks, onstage with me were some of those students who star in the film: recent OUSD graduates Denilson Garibo, Jessica Ramos, and Dwayne Davis; as well as another former OUSD student, the musician and filmmaker Boots Riley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901234\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901234\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-800x517.jpg\" alt=\"Dwayne Davis holds the microphone as he sits on a panel between Denilson Garibo and Jessica Ramos, discussing the film Homeroom. \" width=\"800\" height=\"517\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-1020x659.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-768x496.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-1536x993.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-2048x1324.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-1920x1241.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dwayne Davis speaks on a panel, between Denilson Garibo and Jessica Ramos, discussing Pete Nicks’ film ‘Homeroom.’ \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>My first question to the young folks on stage was, given how they’ve navigated one of the most memorable years on record, what could they teach other students about healing from the trauma that the educational experience can bring?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one way or another, they all mentioned taking agency, being involved in the decision making process, and taking action \u003cem>right now.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Extrapolating on that idea, Boots suggested that by simply telling your story, you’re offering something that wasn’t there before and inherently shifting the paradigm. Storytelling is a way to take agency and impact a wide audience, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901237\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13901237\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1020x1295.jpg\" alt=\"Boots Riley, wearing a crochet head piece and glasses, leans forward in his chair to discuss the film Homeroom during a panel discussion at Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland.\" width=\"640\" height=\"813\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1020x1295.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-800x1016.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-160x203.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-768x975.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1210x1536.jpg 1210w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1613x2048.jpg 1613w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027.jpg 1890w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boots Riley discusses the film ‘Homeroom’ during a panel discussion at Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The film, executive produced by Ryan Coogler’ Proximity Media and debuting on Hulu on Aug. 13, follows Boots’ \u003cem>Sorry To Bother You\u003c/em>as well as \u003cem>Blindspotting\u003c/em> and other productions recently made in Oakland that have reached national audiences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each of these stories adds to the ongoing saga of this complex town. It never gets old seeing community members, friends, and familiar faces on the big screen, just as it’s always fascinating to watch recent history retold, just months removed, and sitting in a room full of people who lived through it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em>‘s chronicling of June of 2020, when a large group of students and allies \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2020/06/11/de-fund-the-police-protesters-march-to-oakland-mayors-house\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">marched to Mayor Libby Schaaf’s house\u003c/a> to push for defunding the police and removing police from school campuses. As the film retold the events of that evening, including clips of Denilson Garibo leading a chant in front of the mayor’s house, Mayor Schaaf sat watching from a seat in front of me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the scene outside her house filled the theater’s large screen, she kind of threw her arms up, palms toward the sky, in a bit of playful gesture of surrender.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901238\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901238\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Filmmaker Pete Nicks and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, both wear masks as they share a moment in the lobby of Oakland's Grand Lake Theatre.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Filmmaker Pete Nicks and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf both wear masks as they share a moment in the lobby of Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre. \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu. )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As we now know, despite increased spending on alternatives to policing and cuts to a proposed budget increase for police, \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2021/06/25/oakland-2021-2023-budget-defund-police-alternatives-violence-prevention/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Oakland Police Department has not been defunded\u003c/a>. But the police have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13893831/oakland-eliminated-its-school-police-force-so-what-happens-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">removed from the schools\u003c/a>, a decision the school board made in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By focusing on the battle to remove the police from schools—a presence that students say causes them to be mentally triggered—\u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em> gives voice to those pushing toward a healthier environment at public schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in that, the reason Nicks chose to do a trilogy on a hospital, a police force, and a public school becomes very apparent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the conclusion of the panel discussion, Pete Nicks explicitly told the audience that he believes the problems in our society are interconnected, and you can’t fix one without fixing the other. Most importantly, you can’t fix anything without addressing the root causes of the issue—and the best way to do that is through telling the story, in all of its nuances.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On Wednesday night, filmmaker Pete Nicks sat next to me on stage at the Grand Lake Theatre after a screening of his new documentary, \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em>, and got personal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Homeroom\u003c/i> is the third in Nicks’ trilogy of films examining how people interface with public institutions, including acclaimed documentaries \u003cem>The Force\u003c/em>, about the Oakland Police Department, and \u003cem>The Waiting Room\u003c/em>, about the public healthcare system as shown through Highland Hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both of those films come from lived experiences, he told me. But his inspiration for completing \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em>, about Oakland’s public schools system, was especially close to home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nicks’ daughter Karina, an OUSD student who loved art, had worked at the very theater where the screening took place. Set to graduate with the class of 2020, she had long suffered from depression. She passed unexpectedly as the production of \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em> was getting underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901233\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901233\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-800x503.jpg\" alt=\"Filmmaker Pete Nicks holds the microphone as he discusses his film Homeroom.\" width=\"800\" height=\"503\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-800x503.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-1020x641.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-768x483.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-1536x965.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-2048x1287.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-1920x1206.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Filmmaker Pete Nicks discusses his film ‘Homeroom.’ \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Opening the post-screening discussion, Nicks honored his late daughter and pointed out some of Karina’s friends in the audience, letting everyone know that the film is dedicated to her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Between dealing with the impacts of gentrification and participating in mass protests following the extrajudicial executions of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the students attend pep rallies, football games and parties where they dance, red cups are lifted high. They take selfies, crack jokes and discuss pop culture during lunch. They live “normal” high school lives—save for all of the historically traumatic events of last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with Nicks, onstage with me were some of those students who star in the film: recent OUSD graduates Denilson Garibo, Jessica Ramos, and Dwayne Davis; as well as another former OUSD student, the musician and filmmaker Boots Riley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901234\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901234\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-800x517.jpg\" alt=\"Dwayne Davis holds the microphone as he sits on a panel between Denilson Garibo and Jessica Ramos, discussing the film Homeroom. \" width=\"800\" height=\"517\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-1020x659.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-768x496.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-1536x993.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-2048x1324.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-1920x1241.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dwayne Davis speaks on a panel, between Denilson Garibo and Jessica Ramos, discussing Pete Nicks’ film ‘Homeroom.’ \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>My first question to the young folks on stage was, given how they’ve navigated one of the most memorable years on record, what could they teach other students about healing from the trauma that the educational experience can bring?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one way or another, they all mentioned taking agency, being involved in the decision making process, and taking action \u003cem>right now.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Extrapolating on that idea, Boots suggested that by simply telling your story, you’re offering something that wasn’t there before and inherently shifting the paradigm. Storytelling is a way to take agency and impact a wide audience, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901237\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13901237\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1020x1295.jpg\" alt=\"Boots Riley, wearing a crochet head piece and glasses, leans forward in his chair to discuss the film Homeroom during a panel discussion at Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland.\" width=\"640\" height=\"813\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1020x1295.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-800x1016.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-160x203.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-768x975.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1210x1536.jpg 1210w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1613x2048.jpg 1613w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027.jpg 1890w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boots Riley discusses the film ‘Homeroom’ during a panel discussion at Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The film, executive produced by Ryan Coogler’ Proximity Media and debuting on Hulu on Aug. 13, follows Boots’ \u003cem>Sorry To Bother You\u003c/em>as well as \u003cem>Blindspotting\u003c/em> and other productions recently made in Oakland that have reached national audiences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each of these stories adds to the ongoing saga of this complex town. It never gets old seeing community members, friends, and familiar faces on the big screen, just as it’s always fascinating to watch recent history retold, just months removed, and sitting in a room full of people who lived through it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em>‘s chronicling of June of 2020, when a large group of students and allies \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2020/06/11/de-fund-the-police-protesters-march-to-oakland-mayors-house\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">marched to Mayor Libby Schaaf’s house\u003c/a> to push for defunding the police and removing police from school campuses. As the film retold the events of that evening, including clips of Denilson Garibo leading a chant in front of the mayor’s house, Mayor Schaaf sat watching from a seat in front of me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the scene outside her house filled the theater’s large screen, she kind of threw her arms up, palms toward the sky, in a bit of playful gesture of surrender.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901238\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901238\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Filmmaker Pete Nicks and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, both wear masks as they share a moment in the lobby of Oakland's Grand Lake Theatre.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Filmmaker Pete Nicks and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf both wear masks as they share a moment in the lobby of Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre. \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu. )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As we now know, despite increased spending on alternatives to policing and cuts to a proposed budget increase for police, \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2021/06/25/oakland-2021-2023-budget-defund-police-alternatives-violence-prevention/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Oakland Police Department has not been defunded\u003c/a>. But the police have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13893831/oakland-eliminated-its-school-police-force-so-what-happens-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">removed from the schools\u003c/a>, a decision the school board made in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By focusing on the battle to remove the police from schools—a presence that students say causes them to be mentally triggered—\u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em> gives voice to those pushing toward a healthier environment at public schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in that, the reason Nicks chose to do a trilogy on a hospital, a police force, and a public school becomes very apparent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the conclusion of the panel discussion, Pete Nicks explicitly told the audience that he believes the problems in our society are interconnected, and you can’t fix one without fixing the other. Most importantly, you can’t fix anything without addressing the root causes of the issue—and the best way to do that is through telling the story, in all of its nuances.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "A Book to Help Children Understand the Effects of Environmental Racism",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900704\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13900704\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/DeMareonGipson.CRED_.AmirAziz-1020x1529.jpg\" alt=\"Writer DeMareon Gipson wears a tan hat and a blue jean jacket as he poses with his book, Annalise's Cough.\" width=\"640\" height=\"959\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vallejo author DeMareon Gipson helps children understand environmental racism with his new book, ‘Annalise’s Cough.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the children’s book \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://www.forwardpublishinghouse.com/new-products/annalises-cough-physical-copy\">Annalise’s Cough\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, two young girls grow to understand the impacts of environmental racism and its connections to their personal health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the story has touches of fantasy and references to African spirituality, the book speaks to real local issues—like toxic waste in San Francisco’s Hunters Point, harmful chemicals near Mare Island in Vallejo and the pollution of refineries in Richmond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The book, illustrated by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gocosmicninja/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jessica Jones\u003c/a>, is written by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/brother_gipson/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DeMareon Gipson\u003c/a>. This weekend, Gipson appears at a \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandlibrary.org/events/online-program/afternoon-demareon-gipson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">virtual presentation of his work\u003c/a> as a part of the Oakland Public Library’s series highlighting local authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gipson, a multifaceted writer from Vallejo, says the online event will have something for people of all ages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with reading from \u003cem>Annalise’s Cough\u003c/em>, Gipson plans to recite poetry, participate in a question-and-answer session and screen his short film,\u003cem> \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQUDFN_AwF-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Heraldist\u003c/a>,\u003c/em> which he debuted on Juneteenth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like creativity has no bounds,” says Gipson, rejecting the idea of a creative person being confined to one title or “box.” Gipson, who works for the Oakland Unified School District’s African American Male Achievement Department, says, “I can write a children’s book. I can help people with music. I can do whatever. I think that’s the main thing… to showcase of the range of the work that I’m able to create.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The notion of boundless creativity is what Gipson hopes attendees take away from his presentation, no matter their age.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.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>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>DeMareon Gipson presents ‘Annalise’s Cough’ in a free online event on Saturday, Aug. 7, from 2:30pm–4:00pm. \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandlibrary.org/events/online-program/afternoon-demareon-gipson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "'Annalise's Cough,' by DeMareon Gipson and Jessica Jones, gives children the tools to advocate for clean air and healthy neighborhoods. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900704\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13900704\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/DeMareonGipson.CRED_.AmirAziz-1020x1529.jpg\" alt=\"Writer DeMareon Gipson wears a tan hat and a blue jean jacket as he poses with his book, Annalise's Cough.\" width=\"640\" height=\"959\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vallejo author DeMareon Gipson helps children understand environmental racism with his new book, ‘Annalise’s Cough.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the children’s book \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://www.forwardpublishinghouse.com/new-products/annalises-cough-physical-copy\">Annalise’s Cough\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, two young girls grow to understand the impacts of environmental racism and its connections to their personal health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the story has touches of fantasy and references to African spirituality, the book speaks to real local issues—like toxic waste in San Francisco’s Hunters Point, harmful chemicals near Mare Island in Vallejo and the pollution of refineries in Richmond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The book, illustrated by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gocosmicninja/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jessica Jones\u003c/a>, is written by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/brother_gipson/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DeMareon Gipson\u003c/a>. This weekend, Gipson appears at a \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandlibrary.org/events/online-program/afternoon-demareon-gipson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">virtual presentation of his work\u003c/a> as a part of the Oakland Public Library’s series highlighting local authors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gipson, a multifaceted writer from Vallejo, says the online event will have something for people of all ages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with reading from \u003cem>Annalise’s Cough\u003c/em>, Gipson plans to recite poetry, participate in a question-and-answer session and screen his short film,\u003cem> \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQUDFN_AwF-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Heraldist\u003c/a>,\u003c/em> which he debuted on Juneteenth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like creativity has no bounds,” says Gipson, rejecting the idea of a creative person being confined to one title or “box.” Gipson, who works for the Oakland Unified School District’s African American Male Achievement Department, says, “I can write a children’s book. I can help people with music. I can do whatever. I think that’s the main thing… to showcase of the range of the work that I’m able to create.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The notion of boundless creativity is what Gipson hopes attendees take away from his presentation, no matter their age.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.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>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>DeMareon Gipson presents ‘Annalise’s Cough’ in a free online event on Saturday, Aug. 7, from 2:30pm–4:00pm. \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandlibrary.org/events/online-program/afternoon-demareon-gipson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "In the Tenderloin, PianoFight Plans Simultaneous Caution, Expansion",
"headTitle": "In the Tenderloin, PianoFight Plans Simultaneous Caution, Expansion | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>If there’s one thing that the past year and a half has taught arts organizations, it’s that maximum flexibility will be a key component of producing events for months, perhaps years, to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take, for example, PianoFight, the hybrid performing arts space/restaurant/bar located on Taylor Street in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. After months of planning a highly anticipated welcome-back series of performances by favorite resident acts such as the San Francisco Neo-Futurists, Awesome Theatre, Chardonnay, Killing My Lobster, and jazz pianist Max Chanowitz, PianoFight was forced to pull the plug the day before the show opened, after multiple people tested positive for COVID-19 following a private party held in the space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t feel like we have protocols that can protect peoples’ health well enough,” PianoFight co-founder Rob Ready says about the last-minute cancellation. Despite requiring proof of vaccination from all patrons and staff, assigning “pod” seating, and enforcing a limited capacity, PianoFight has discovered—as other venues would be wise to note—that there may not yet be a risk-free option for indoor performance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not a decision any company wants to have to admit. But it’s likely to be a familiar one in the coming months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900297\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900297\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An empty PianoFight bar in SF awaits the return of in-person performances. \u003ccite>(Duncan Wold)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Expanding to Oakland\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Despite the myriad challenges of operating a performing arts venue during a pandemic, PianoFight has not only weathered the financial storms of running one venue—they’ve actually expanded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When shutdowns arrived in March of 2020, Pianofight had already been in negotiations to take over the lease of Oakland venue the Flight Deck. Founded and operated by Ragged Wing in 2014, the Flight Deck has been an artistic home and host for numerous East Bay companies in an area short on black box theaters but large in talent. When Ragged Wing announced in late 2019 an intention to give up the lease, Ready immediately forwarded the announcement to his business partners, and they threw their collective hat into the ring of contenders. It was the beginning of what Ready describes as “a long process”—even before the pandemic made the process even longer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A couple of financial assists made their proposal viable—even though, as a for-profit LLC, PianoFight was “once again signing our personal names to some very heavy documents,” a daunting detail during a protracted shutdown without a clear ending. The first was a successful fundraising campaign at the beginning of the pandemic that garnered over $100,000, money that helped their San Francisco space survive, particularly before they were able to receive federal and city assistance. The second was being able to garner grant funding—through the fiscal sponsorship of Independent Arts & Media—enough to pay for their first year of operating in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By early June in 2020, the lease was theirs. The venue was still shut to public performance, but thanks to substantial support from Ragged Wing, PianoFight was able to immediately open the lobby during the height of the George Floyd demonstrations—part of a nationwide movement of arts venues offering refuge and essentials to protesters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900295\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900295\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Entrance to PianoFight Oakland and staff. \u003ccite>(Rob Ready)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Since that time, PianoFight Oakland, like San Francisco, has been mostly closed. Recently, a few community organizations and companies have staged work there in limited capacities—including the \u003ca href=\"https://fippp.org\">Formerly Incarcerated Peoples Performance Project\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.alloutcomedytheater.com\">All Out Comedy Theater\u003c/a>. And while Ready promises that a grand opening bash is in the works, the first priority is to get PianoFight in San Francisco back up and running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which, ostensibly, was to happen this past weekend. Until it wasn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A Cautious Reopening Plan\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>With the Delta variant spreading, venues around the Bay Area and the country now face similar decisions and contingency plans as they dance towards the tantalizing prospect of fully reopening. Focused for the past 16-plus months on sheer survival, they must now weigh the continuously shifting public health protocols put in place by their respective cities, counties, states, and unions, while also taking into account the comfort levels and safety of their resident artists and audiences. Should masks be required for all audience and staff? Proof of vaccination? Socially-distanced seating options? What does enforcement look like? But also, how would it look and feel to throw open the doors and welcome people back into the communal spaces that they’ve been missing, while still mitigating the risks of indoor gathering?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900296\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900296\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Doesn’t this Space Prom at PianoFight SF look like fun? \u003ccite>(Courtesy of PianoFight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Still, plans have to be made, even if they wind up changing. That’s why PianoFight—along with a cohort of around 30 fellow members of the Independent Venue Alliance and the San Francisco Venue Coalition—are planning a joint festival for the Fall they’re tentatively calling “SF Rising: Get Up to Get Down.” Participating venues will range in size and scope from the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium to Amado’s—a rare collaborative effort borne in part from their work over the course of the pandemic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13892620/san-franciscos-music-and-entertainment-venue-recovery-fund-is-now-official\">organizing on behalf of their shuttered industry\u003c/a> for government funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Ready, personally, what will make the long and unpredictable path towards reopening worthwhile? The moment he gets to go onstage at PianoFight on Taylor Street, he says, and welcome everyone back into the room, in person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m a performer at heart,” Ready confesses. “(So) I really keep imagining that moment… I don’t know what is going to happen after that. But I just know, in that moment, on that first step, it’s gonna feel real real good.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" 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>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Watch for updates on PianoFight’s reopening and “SF Rising: Get Up to Get Down” \u003ca href=\"https://www.pianofight.com\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "As performing arts venues struggle to reopen to the public, PianoFight is both a model and a cautionary tale.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>If there’s one thing that the past year and a half has taught arts organizations, it’s that maximum flexibility will be a key component of producing events for months, perhaps years, to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take, for example, PianoFight, the hybrid performing arts space/restaurant/bar located on Taylor Street in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. After months of planning a highly anticipated welcome-back series of performances by favorite resident acts such as the San Francisco Neo-Futurists, Awesome Theatre, Chardonnay, Killing My Lobster, and jazz pianist Max Chanowitz, PianoFight was forced to pull the plug the day before the show opened, after multiple people tested positive for COVID-19 following a private party held in the space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t feel like we have protocols that can protect peoples’ health well enough,” PianoFight co-founder Rob Ready says about the last-minute cancellation. Despite requiring proof of vaccination from all patrons and staff, assigning “pod” seating, and enforcing a limited capacity, PianoFight has discovered—as other venues would be wise to note—that there may not yet be a risk-free option for indoor performance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not a decision any company wants to have to admit. But it’s likely to be a familiar one in the coming months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900297\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900297\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_AfterHours_PhotoCredit_DuncanWold.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An empty PianoFight bar in SF awaits the return of in-person performances. \u003ccite>(Duncan Wold)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Expanding to Oakland\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Despite the myriad challenges of operating a performing arts venue during a pandemic, PianoFight has not only weathered the financial storms of running one venue—they’ve actually expanded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When shutdowns arrived in March of 2020, Pianofight had already been in negotiations to take over the lease of Oakland venue the Flight Deck. Founded and operated by Ragged Wing in 2014, the Flight Deck has been an artistic home and host for numerous East Bay companies in an area short on black box theaters but large in talent. When Ragged Wing announced in late 2019 an intention to give up the lease, Ready immediately forwarded the announcement to his business partners, and they threw their collective hat into the ring of contenders. It was the beginning of what Ready describes as “a long process”—even before the pandemic made the process even longer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A couple of financial assists made their proposal viable—even though, as a for-profit LLC, PianoFight was “once again signing our personal names to some very heavy documents,” a daunting detail during a protracted shutdown without a clear ending. The first was a successful fundraising campaign at the beginning of the pandemic that garnered over $100,000, money that helped their San Francisco space survive, particularly before they were able to receive federal and city assistance. The second was being able to garner grant funding—through the fiscal sponsorship of Independent Arts & Media—enough to pay for their first year of operating in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By early June in 2020, the lease was theirs. The venue was still shut to public performance, but thanks to substantial support from Ragged Wing, PianoFight was able to immediately open the lobby during the height of the George Floyd demonstrations—part of a nationwide movement of arts venues offering refuge and essentials to protesters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900295\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900295\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightOakland_NewSign_Staff_PhotoCredit_RobReady.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Entrance to PianoFight Oakland and staff. \u003ccite>(Rob Ready)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Since that time, PianoFight Oakland, like San Francisco, has been mostly closed. Recently, a few community organizations and companies have staged work there in limited capacities—including the \u003ca href=\"https://fippp.org\">Formerly Incarcerated Peoples Performance Project\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.alloutcomedytheater.com\">All Out Comedy Theater\u003c/a>. And while Ready promises that a grand opening bash is in the works, the first priority is to get PianoFight in San Francisco back up and running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which, ostensibly, was to happen this past weekend. Until it wasn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A Cautious Reopening Plan\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>With the Delta variant spreading, venues around the Bay Area and the country now face similar decisions and contingency plans as they dance towards the tantalizing prospect of fully reopening. Focused for the past 16-plus months on sheer survival, they must now weigh the continuously shifting public health protocols put in place by their respective cities, counties, states, and unions, while also taking into account the comfort levels and safety of their resident artists and audiences. Should masks be required for all audience and staff? Proof of vaccination? Socially-distanced seating options? What does enforcement look like? But also, how would it look and feel to throw open the doors and welcome people back into the communal spaces that they’ve been missing, while still mitigating the risks of indoor gathering?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900296\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900296\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/PianoFightSF_spaceprom_PhotoCredit_PianoFight.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Doesn’t this Space Prom at PianoFight SF look like fun? \u003ccite>(Courtesy of PianoFight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Still, plans have to be made, even if they wind up changing. That’s why PianoFight—along with a cohort of around 30 fellow members of the Independent Venue Alliance and the San Francisco Venue Coalition—are planning a joint festival for the Fall they’re tentatively calling “SF Rising: Get Up to Get Down.” Participating venues will range in size and scope from the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium to Amado’s—a rare collaborative effort borne in part from their work over the course of the pandemic \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13892620/san-franciscos-music-and-entertainment-venue-recovery-fund-is-now-official\">organizing on behalf of their shuttered industry\u003c/a> for government funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Ready, personally, what will make the long and unpredictable path towards reopening worthwhile? The moment he gets to go onstage at PianoFight on Taylor Street, he says, and welcome everyone back into the room, in person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m a performer at heart,” Ready confesses. “(So) I really keep imagining that moment… I don’t know what is going to happen after that. But I just know, in that moment, on that first step, it’s gonna feel real real good.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" 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>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Watch for updates on PianoFight’s reopening and “SF Rising: Get Up to Get Down” \u003ca href=\"https://www.pianofight.com\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Ayodele Nzinga, Oakland’s First Poet Laureate, Is Here for the People",
"headTitle": "Ayodele Nzinga, Oakland’s First Poet Laureate, Is Here for the People | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[dropcap]P[/dropcap]oets often exaggerate and embellish to make their points. Well, here’s something that may seem hyperbolic but isn’t: Oakland is currently undergoing some of its most significant changes in recent years, by and for the people. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whether it’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11842392/how-moms-4-housing-changed-laws-and-inspired-a-movement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a group of mothers resisting displacement\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> or artists \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897823/nft-artists-bay-area\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">turning the empty fifth floor of the Tribune Tower into an art installation\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, you only need to look around to appreciate the work happening here. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11858928/west-oakland-mural-honors-women-of-black-panther-party\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Muralists\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/rightnowish\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">journalists\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897246/with-j-dillas-help-rapper-seti-x-launches-a-new-music-program-for-sf-youth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">educators\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13885918/grand-nationxl-a-wolf-pack-of-artists\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">rappers\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://thebolditalic.com/bay-area-mural-program-on-full-display-at-oaklands-art-clash-d9ea1b5a46b8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">community organizations\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11854487/by-the-people-youve-protested-voted-donated-cat-brooks-on-whats-next\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">activists\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and everyday Oaklanders are united on the front lines of change, and making visible progress.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, thanks to their collective efforts, we can finally add a Poet Laureate of Oakland to that list. For the first time in the Town’s 169-year history, the city has announced an official literary arts representative—a designated wordsmith who will not only capture Oakland on the page, but share it throughout the world’s literary circuit. The champion selected for this tremendous task? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ayodelenzinga.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ayodele Nzinga\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You might’ve heard of Dr. Nzinga before. She’s a longtime West Oakland resident who founded and directs the Lower Bottom Playaz, a local theater company that centers Black stories, established in 1999. In addition to being a respected community playwright and poet, she’s also an educator and activist who was most recently involved in the city’s massive \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandvoices.us/2021/03/29/oakland-reimagining-public-safety/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Refund movement\u003c/a>, the campaign to reallocate resources from the police budget to community programs.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I hate politics. It’s the art of compromise,” Nzinga tells me. “But some things cannot be compromised, and if there’s any hope for politics, it’s local. I couldn’t just be an artist anymore.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to her creative efforts, she has attended countless meetings and hearings with local officials, delivering messages on behalf of her people. The collective efforts of Nzinga, Cat Brooks, the Anti Police-Terror Project, the Oakland Progressive Alliance and many others helped ensure \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11879404/oakland-just-redirected-18-million-away-from-police-into-violence-prevention-programs\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a victory for the Refund movement\u003c/span>\u003c/a>. In June, Oakland C\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">ity Council voted to redirect $18 million away from the mayor’s proposed police budget into alternative methods for community crime prevention.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As Nzinga’s collaborator, Brooks, wrote in her piece \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandvoices.us/2021/03/29/oakland-reimagining-public-safety/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Oakland can ‘Defund the Police’ and ‘Refund the Community,’”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> “‘all violence is state violence’ [and] it is the state that creates the conditions under which tragic realities play out.” If that’s true, then it must mean that our poets and artists are fostering the conditions in which the possibilities for healing can occur.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And healing is what Nzinga knows best; it’s her chosen form of poetry.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I have lived in every segment of Oakland,” she tells me during our phone conversation. “I appreciate the slightly different flavors, and I am interested in every little nuance.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900172\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900172\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/005_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/005_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/005_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/005_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/005_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/005_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/005_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ayodele Nzinga, Oakland poet, playwright, community activist, and the city’s inaugural poet laureate, poses for a portrait in downtown Oakland on July 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s she gets accustomed to her new role, Nzinga is indulging in her desires to build bridges across Oakland’s mosaic of neighborhoods. What poets has she yet to meet in Little Saigon? What writers in Fruitvale will she meet and kick it with? There is a Hmong community in East Oakland, and she \u003c/span>wants to be among them. She will be everywhere “where people want to see a laureate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nzinga has a peaceful aura. But don’t get it twisted: she’s a warrior who is strongly rooted in herself, in her beliefs, in her people. She has demands for city officials and challenges for her audiences, too. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“If you want this, you also have to listen to the truth,” she says. “The truth can be beautiful. Maybe I won’t get invited back to some of these places after they hear me, and that’s okay.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900169\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900169\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/029_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/029_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/029_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/029_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/029_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/029_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/029_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ayodele Nzinga, Oakland poet, playwright, community activist, and the city’s inaugural poet laureate, poses for a portrait in downtown Oakland on July 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[dropcap]N[/dropcap]zinga holds an MFA in Writing and Consciousness from the New College of California and a Ph.D. in Transformative Education & Change from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. She’s fiercely perceptive and resolute, yet tender-eared, as the most generous of poets must be. An afternoon talking to her simultaneously feels like reconnecting with a favorite family member and attending a profound seminar. She is both a communal elder and a judicious scholar; a loving aunt who slips you $5 on a hot day then, later on, asks you to join her as she leads a group of folks on the frontlines of a protest. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She writes poetry on paper, of course, but it’s her actions that express her highest form of poetic engagement with her surroundings. She breaks lines in our society’s flawed barriers and clarifies ancient truths many of us know to exist but cannot articulate with the same level of candor, intuition and clarity. And she doesn’t merely bury this knowledge inside her books, either.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“If I want to continue to make art in Oakland, I have to do more than make art,” Nzinga says. “Can you have anything you’re not really willing to roll up your sleeves and work for?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900174\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900174\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/009_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/009_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/009_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/009_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/009_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/009_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/009_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ayodele Nzinga speaks with Oakland’s Cultural Affairs Manager Roberto Bedoya in downtown Oakland on July 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Over the years, she has worked her way into local political spaces, not for ego’s sake, but with purpose and intention. In receiving a title like poet laureate, she hopes to galvanize more residents to disrupt systemic iniquity. Or, as she poetically puts it, “to educate [the community] that they are already aware of the intersections of inequalities and point them to soft spots in places we can leverage.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">During our conversation, she speaks of her admiration for Amiri Baraka, the transcendent writer from the Black Arts Movement who became laureate of Newark, New Jersey in 2002. Bakara created a roadmap for how Nzinga envisions her new role, and she speaks of subverting the “top-down model” by favoring a “bottom-up” approach—in both the political and literary sense.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Inviting children to share a microphone in North Oakland. Hosting celebrations at San Antonio Park in East Oakland. Leading a workshop at a home in West Oakland. Going to a country club and requiring “those in upper places” to pay a fee to listen to poets from the flatlands. These are the sorts of things we can expect from this laureate.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“There are no boundaries,” she says, with excitement in her tone. “How many places can we illuminate by literature? How many people can we give permission to tell their stories and provide an audience to listen?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nzinga’s term as the Oakland laureate will last two years. The position comes with a $5,000 stipend and additional funding to organize events through the Oakland Public Library. And though Oakland has appointed a youth poet laureate for the past decade (spotlighting young writers such as Leila Mottley, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandlibrary.org/blogs/library-community/2020-poem-oaklands-youth-poet-laureate-greer-nakadegawa-lee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Greer Nakadegawa-Lee\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, former KQED Arts intern Samuel Getachew and, most recently, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kalw.org/news/2021-06-10/myra-estrada-named-oaklands-youth-poet-laureate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Myra Estrada\u003c/a>) the induction of an adult position is nothing short of monumental. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900173\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900173\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/019_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/019_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/019_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/019_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/019_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/019_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/019_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ayodele Nzinga points to a mural of Bobby Seale that says “Seize the Time” by Madow Futur and AeroSoul in Oakland on July 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[dropcap]N[/dropcap]zinga and Cultural Affairs Commissioners Roberto Bedoya and J.K. Fowler, who have long been involved in helping make this position a reality, have plans to expand the laureate’s reach beyond Oakland’s limits. They have already hinted at collaborations across the Bay Bridge and throughout the East Bay, with other poets and laureates in neighboring cities, an act of intentional solidarity that isn’t as common as you might think.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“How can a poet emblematize community engagement across Oakland, and beyond? Who could best represent the seven districts?” Fowler, the founding executive director of Oakland’s Nomadic Press, says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He, Bedoya and others on the commission have spearheaded the launch of Oakland’s inaugural laureateship as a way to deepen the public’s engagement with the literary arts, and to use the literary arts as a form of civic engagement.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It seemed silly that Oakland, of all cities, didn’t have this position available,” Fowler says. “We wanted to be sure to bring someone in who was honestly and truly engaged across communities. Who is the people’s poet?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nzinga might be the first to fill that role, but Oakland’s tradition of activism and poetry runs deep. With luminaries like Ishmael Reed and Chinaka Hodge, poetry and activism go hand-in-hand in this city and region. (San Francisco has been going hard with \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://sfpl.org/books-and-media/san-francisco-poet-laureate#:~:text=Breed%20announced%20San%20Francisco's%208th%20Poet%20Laureate%20is%20Tongo%20Eisen%2DMartin.\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">official laureates since 1998\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.) But Oakland hasn’t officially recognized poetry’s impact in a formalized, financially-supported and keys-to-all-the-libraries kind of way. Not until this year. And that is progress that can lead to future opportunities for more voices to be heard across more platforms. Seeing that finally happen “is dope,” Nzinga says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Still, she is aware of her position as the first-ever laureate, and doesn’t plan to just read from behind a dusty podium or hoard clout for herself. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900168\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900168\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/025_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/025_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/025_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/025_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/025_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/025_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/025_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ayodele Nzinga stands in front of a photo of herself, a part of the project Story Windows, at PianoFight theater in Oakland on July 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“My job is to keep that door open, not to let it close,” Nzinga declares. “I got my feet and shoulders in the door, and if I’m successful, there won’t be a door when I’m done. We need to collect all the Black and Brown poets throughout Oakland, and the East Bay, and raise hell.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To some, this might seem like a confrontational or aggressive approach. And maybe it is; maybe it has to be, when positions like this have been historically denied to these communities for centuries. But above that, it’s a statement born from undiluted love—a love for her people, a love for her craft, a love for leading the way into what she calls a more “humanist” future. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Being a laureate puts me in conversation with more people,” she says. “The message doesn’t change. There is a steadfastness in what I do. I’m just trying to see liberty and good, strong living for humans, for Black people.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Poetry may get a bad reputation for being overly complex and inaccessible, but for Nzinga, its purpose is simple: to unite us. Join her in conversation as she reads poems and organizes events throughout the next 24 months. To be sure, Nzinga’s legacy won’t be a fleeting stanza, but an epic.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ayodelenzinga.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ayodele Nzinga\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is the author of \u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Horse Eaters\u003c/span>\u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (2017), \u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sorrowland Oracle\u003c/span>\u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (2020), and the forthcoming \u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Incandescent: Poems of Power \u003c/span>\u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">(2021).\u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The poet, playwright and activist is the Town's first official literary representative, and she wants to bring Oakland's Black and Brown poets with her. ",
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"description": "The poet, playwright and activist is the Town's first official literary representative, and she wants to bring Oakland's Black and Brown poets with her. ",
"title": "Ayodele Nzinga, Oakland’s First Poet Laureate, Is Here for the People | KQED",
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"headline": "Ayodele Nzinga, Oakland’s First Poet Laureate, Is Here for the People",
"datePublished": "2021-07-23T09:00:22-07:00",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">P\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>oets often exaggerate and embellish to make their points. Well, here’s something that may seem hyperbolic but isn’t: Oakland is currently undergoing some of its most significant changes in recent years, by and for the people. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whether it’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11842392/how-moms-4-housing-changed-laws-and-inspired-a-movement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a group of mothers resisting displacement\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> or artists \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897823/nft-artists-bay-area\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">turning the empty fifth floor of the Tribune Tower into an art installation\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, you only need to look around to appreciate the work happening here. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11858928/west-oakland-mural-honors-women-of-black-panther-party\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Muralists\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/rightnowish\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">journalists\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897246/with-j-dillas-help-rapper-seti-x-launches-a-new-music-program-for-sf-youth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">educators\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13885918/grand-nationxl-a-wolf-pack-of-artists\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">rappers\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://thebolditalic.com/bay-area-mural-program-on-full-display-at-oaklands-art-clash-d9ea1b5a46b8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">community organizations\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11854487/by-the-people-youve-protested-voted-donated-cat-brooks-on-whats-next\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">activists\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and everyday Oaklanders are united on the front lines of change, and making visible progress.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, thanks to their collective efforts, we can finally add a Poet Laureate of Oakland to that list. For the first time in the Town’s 169-year history, the city has announced an official literary arts representative—a designated wordsmith who will not only capture Oakland on the page, but share it throughout the world’s literary circuit. The champion selected for this tremendous task? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ayodelenzinga.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ayodele Nzinga\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You might’ve heard of Dr. Nzinga before. She’s a longtime West Oakland resident who founded and directs the Lower Bottom Playaz, a local theater company that centers Black stories, established in 1999. In addition to being a respected community playwright and poet, she’s also an educator and activist who was most recently involved in the city’s massive \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandvoices.us/2021/03/29/oakland-reimagining-public-safety/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Refund movement\u003c/a>, the campaign to reallocate resources from the police budget to community programs.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I hate politics. It’s the art of compromise,” Nzinga tells me. “But some things cannot be compromised, and if there’s any hope for politics, it’s local. I couldn’t just be an artist anymore.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to her creative efforts, she has attended countless meetings and hearings with local officials, delivering messages on behalf of her people. The collective efforts of Nzinga, Cat Brooks, the Anti Police-Terror Project, the Oakland Progressive Alliance and many others helped ensure \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11879404/oakland-just-redirected-18-million-away-from-police-into-violence-prevention-programs\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a victory for the Refund movement\u003c/span>\u003c/a>. In June, Oakland C\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">ity Council voted to redirect $18 million away from the mayor’s proposed police budget into alternative methods for community crime prevention.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As Nzinga’s collaborator, Brooks, wrote in her piece \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandvoices.us/2021/03/29/oakland-reimagining-public-safety/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Oakland can ‘Defund the Police’ and ‘Refund the Community,’”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> “‘all violence is state violence’ [and] it is the state that creates the conditions under which tragic realities play out.” If that’s true, then it must mean that our poets and artists are fostering the conditions in which the possibilities for healing can occur.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And healing is what Nzinga knows best; it’s her chosen form of poetry.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I have lived in every segment of Oakland,” she tells me during our phone conversation. “I appreciate the slightly different flavors, and I am interested in every little nuance.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900172\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900172\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/005_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/005_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/005_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/005_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/005_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/005_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/005_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ayodele Nzinga, Oakland poet, playwright, community activist, and the city’s inaugural poet laureate, poses for a portrait in downtown Oakland on July 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">A\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>s she gets accustomed to her new role, Nzinga is indulging in her desires to build bridges across Oakland’s mosaic of neighborhoods. What poets has she yet to meet in Little Saigon? What writers in Fruitvale will she meet and kick it with? There is a Hmong community in East Oakland, and she \u003c/span>wants to be among them. She will be everywhere “where people want to see a laureate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nzinga has a peaceful aura. But don’t get it twisted: she’s a warrior who is strongly rooted in herself, in her beliefs, in her people. She has demands for city officials and challenges for her audiences, too. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“If you want this, you also have to listen to the truth,” she says. “The truth can be beautiful. Maybe I won’t get invited back to some of these places after they hear me, and that’s okay.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900169\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900169\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/029_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/029_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/029_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/029_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/029_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/029_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/029_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ayodele Nzinga, Oakland poet, playwright, community activist, and the city’s inaugural poet laureate, poses for a portrait in downtown Oakland on July 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">N\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>zinga holds an MFA in Writing and Consciousness from the New College of California and a Ph.D. in Transformative Education & Change from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. She’s fiercely perceptive and resolute, yet tender-eared, as the most generous of poets must be. An afternoon talking to her simultaneously feels like reconnecting with a favorite family member and attending a profound seminar. She is both a communal elder and a judicious scholar; a loving aunt who slips you $5 on a hot day then, later on, asks you to join her as she leads a group of folks on the frontlines of a protest. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She writes poetry on paper, of course, but it’s her actions that express her highest form of poetic engagement with her surroundings. She breaks lines in our society’s flawed barriers and clarifies ancient truths many of us know to exist but cannot articulate with the same level of candor, intuition and clarity. And she doesn’t merely bury this knowledge inside her books, either.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“If I want to continue to make art in Oakland, I have to do more than make art,” Nzinga says. “Can you have anything you’re not really willing to roll up your sleeves and work for?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900174\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900174\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/009_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/009_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/009_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/009_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/009_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/009_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/009_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ayodele Nzinga speaks with Oakland’s Cultural Affairs Manager Roberto Bedoya in downtown Oakland on July 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Over the years, she has worked her way into local political spaces, not for ego’s sake, but with purpose and intention. In receiving a title like poet laureate, she hopes to galvanize more residents to disrupt systemic iniquity. Or, as she poetically puts it, “to educate [the community] that they are already aware of the intersections of inequalities and point them to soft spots in places we can leverage.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">During our conversation, she speaks of her admiration for Amiri Baraka, the transcendent writer from the Black Arts Movement who became laureate of Newark, New Jersey in 2002. Bakara created a roadmap for how Nzinga envisions her new role, and she speaks of subverting the “top-down model” by favoring a “bottom-up” approach—in both the political and literary sense.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Inviting children to share a microphone in North Oakland. Hosting celebrations at San Antonio Park in East Oakland. Leading a workshop at a home in West Oakland. Going to a country club and requiring “those in upper places” to pay a fee to listen to poets from the flatlands. These are the sorts of things we can expect from this laureate.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“There are no boundaries,” she says, with excitement in her tone. “How many places can we illuminate by literature? How many people can we give permission to tell their stories and provide an audience to listen?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nzinga’s term as the Oakland laureate will last two years. The position comes with a $5,000 stipend and additional funding to organize events through the Oakland Public Library. And though Oakland has appointed a youth poet laureate for the past decade (spotlighting young writers such as Leila Mottley, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandlibrary.org/blogs/library-community/2020-poem-oaklands-youth-poet-laureate-greer-nakadegawa-lee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Greer Nakadegawa-Lee\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, former KQED Arts intern Samuel Getachew and, most recently, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kalw.org/news/2021-06-10/myra-estrada-named-oaklands-youth-poet-laureate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Myra Estrada\u003c/a>) the induction of an adult position is nothing short of monumental. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900173\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900173\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/019_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/019_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/019_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/019_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/019_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/019_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/019_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ayodele Nzinga points to a mural of Bobby Seale that says “Seize the Time” by Madow Futur and AeroSoul in Oakland on July 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">N\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>zinga and Cultural Affairs Commissioners Roberto Bedoya and J.K. Fowler, who have long been involved in helping make this position a reality, have plans to expand the laureate’s reach beyond Oakland’s limits. They have already hinted at collaborations across the Bay Bridge and throughout the East Bay, with other poets and laureates in neighboring cities, an act of intentional solidarity that isn’t as common as you might think.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“How can a poet emblematize community engagement across Oakland, and beyond? Who could best represent the seven districts?” Fowler, the founding executive director of Oakland’s Nomadic Press, says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He, Bedoya and others on the commission have spearheaded the launch of Oakland’s inaugural laureateship as a way to deepen the public’s engagement with the literary arts, and to use the literary arts as a form of civic engagement.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It seemed silly that Oakland, of all cities, didn’t have this position available,” Fowler says. “We wanted to be sure to bring someone in who was honestly and truly engaged across communities. Who is the people’s poet?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nzinga might be the first to fill that role, but Oakland’s tradition of activism and poetry runs deep. With luminaries like Ishmael Reed and Chinaka Hodge, poetry and activism go hand-in-hand in this city and region. (San Francisco has been going hard with \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://sfpl.org/books-and-media/san-francisco-poet-laureate#:~:text=Breed%20announced%20San%20Francisco's%208th%20Poet%20Laureate%20is%20Tongo%20Eisen%2DMartin.\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">official laureates since 1998\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.) But Oakland hasn’t officially recognized poetry’s impact in a formalized, financially-supported and keys-to-all-the-libraries kind of way. Not until this year. And that is progress that can lead to future opportunities for more voices to be heard across more platforms. Seeing that finally happen “is dope,” Nzinga says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Still, she is aware of her position as the first-ever laureate, and doesn’t plan to just read from behind a dusty podium or hoard clout for herself. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13900168\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13900168\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/025_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/025_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/025_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/025_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/025_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/025_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/025_KQEDArts_Oakland_AyodeleNzinga_07192021.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ayodele Nzinga stands in front of a photo of herself, a part of the project Story Windows, at PianoFight theater in Oakland on July 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“My job is to keep that door open, not to let it close,” Nzinga declares. “I got my feet and shoulders in the door, and if I’m successful, there won’t be a door when I’m done. We need to collect all the Black and Brown poets throughout Oakland, and the East Bay, and raise hell.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To some, this might seem like a confrontational or aggressive approach. And maybe it is; maybe it has to be, when positions like this have been historically denied to these communities for centuries. But above that, it’s a statement born from undiluted love—a love for her people, a love for her craft, a love for leading the way into what she calls a more “humanist” future. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Being a laureate puts me in conversation with more people,” she says. “The message doesn’t change. There is a steadfastness in what I do. I’m just trying to see liberty and good, strong living for humans, for Black people.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Poetry may get a bad reputation for being overly complex and inaccessible, but for Nzinga, its purpose is simple: to unite us. Join her in conversation as she reads poems and organizes events throughout the next 24 months. To be sure, Nzinga’s legacy won’t be a fleeting stanza, but an epic.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ayodelenzinga.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ayodele Nzinga\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is the author of \u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Horse Eaters\u003c/span>\u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (2017), \u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sorrowland Oracle\u003c/span>\u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (2020), and the forthcoming \u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Incandescent: Poems of Power \u003c/span>\u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">(2021).\u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Whose Stories? At City Hall, 'SPACES: Oakland' Hands Over the Mic",
"headTitle": "Whose Stories? At City Hall, ‘SPACES: Oakland’ Hands Over the Mic | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>What makes a city? Is it the space it inhabits, or the people who inhabit its space? Is it the architecture and infrastructure of today, or the histories of the past culminating in the now? When you encounter the stories of a city, whose voices get to be heard?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All these questions are in my mind while attending \u003cem>SPACES: Oakland\u003c/em> on Saturday, July 10, in and outside of Oakland’s City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An imposing Beaux Arts granite “wedding cake” festooned with decorative details—bunches of figs and grapes, a pair of imposing eagles—City Hall becomes decidedly less impressive when I enter its scuffed side doors to see low ceilings, roped-off staircases, and dim corners. But the pre-show energy this weekend is crackling, expectant. This is the first indoors performance I’ve attended since March 2020, and it’s difficult to not feel a certain kind of way about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almost immediately, the single line into the entrance becomes a loosely-determined quartet of groups, each assigned a different color and (eventually) a different guide. My group, with black yarn tied around our wrists, stands below the iridescent shimmer of textile artist \u003ca href=\"http://www.infoflow.com/pat/cityhall.jpg\">Patricia Ravarra’s “Vermillion Bird\u003c/a>” while we wait for the show to begin. Music by Oakland artists drifts in from another part of the building while we wait: snatches of Digital Underground and ’60s soul from resident DJ Dion Decibels. Finally we’re whisked up to the third floor and seated along the top of the grand staircase. The green group sits across from us, with red and white down below. The music suddenly ceases, the silence jarring. And then the drumbeats begin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13899910\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13899910\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_audience_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_audience_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_audience_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_audience_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_audience_photocredit_LaurenStevenson.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarah Crowell leading a group of audience members to their next destination in ‘SPACES: Oakland.’ \u003ccite>(Lauren Stevenson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Because there are four different seating arrangements, I can’t say for sure what occurs in view of each. But from my vantage point the first dancer I see is Sarah Crowell, floating in from the south elevator like a fog-edged cloud, dressed in flowing whites and soft grey. Moving with purpose behind the green group and down the grand staircase to inhabit its center, her arms are raised as if in prayer or in welcome, while her clothing blends in with the marble of the stairs and her movements match each thoughtful drumbeat with precision and \u003cem>élan\u003c/em>. As she dances down towards the audience seated on the main level, another dancer—Macio Payomo, dressed in green—begins to ascend, leaping up the stairs exuberantly to take Crowell’s place in the center. In all, four dancers join the ritual, and before they split off into four directions to be our guides, they meet in the middle of the staircase and dance reflections of each other’s joy as the percussion and vocals—provided by Christelle Durandy and Mena Ramos—swell into every corner of the space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our guide is Rashidi Omari, the current director of Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company (co-founded by Crowell in 1988). Tall, lithe, dressed in black with brick-colored accents, Omari guides us through gestures and hip-hop dance moves to the first of three storytellers we will meet that evening. He is Miguel Binion, a resident of 32nd Street in West Oakland, who sits comfortable in an office chair and folds his clothes right in front of the door to the Mayor’s office. It’s appropriate, he tells us with a smile, that he’s been assigned this spot to sit, because his story is going to be about a friend he calls “the Mayor of Ghost Town.” He has an easy, animated way of conveying his story: both the lighter moments and the culminating grief of it. He owns his story completely, gently. A loving reflection of a friendship. A loving reflection of his small corner in a vast city of stories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13899908\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13899908\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_photocredit_LaurenStevenson.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rashidi Omari in the opening dance number of ‘SPACES: Oakland.’ \u003ccite>(Lauren Stevenson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In performance, as in writing, there is an almost ubiquitous drive to “tell the stories” that need to be told, presumably on behalf of those who might not have the tools (that is to say the access) to reach as broad or varied an audience. But within that dynamic is a tricky navigation. At the heart of lifting up the stories of others, creatives must constantly negotiate what it means to share vs. explain. To champion vs. exploit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaimera Productions—a French and American hybrid founded in 2016—takes a different approach. First by empowering a quartet of fierce local dancers to fully occupy the 100+ year-old architecture of City Hall itself (via choreography by Lauren Cox), from the grand sweep of the marble staircases to the quotidian frames of security gates and hearing room doorways. And secondly by bringing in a cohort of local voices to tell their uniquely personal stories on a rotating schedule, creating a mosaic of what it means to be in and of Oakland, without trying to compress it into a single narrative that strips away the individuality. A project underwritten in part by a years-long artistic conversation between \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandsaintdenis.org\">Oakland and Saint-Denis\u003c/a>, Kaimera Productions will launch \u003cem>SPACES: Saint-Denis\u003c/em> in September, and hope to expand out into other cities by 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13899909\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13899909\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_window_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_window_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_window_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_window_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_window_photocredit_LaurenStevenson.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rashidi Omari performs an interstitial dance behind the windowpane of a room located in Oakland’s City Hall. \u003ccite>(Lauren Stevenson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At its core, \u003cem>SPACES: Oakland \u003c/em>is a journey that each participant—performer and audience member—takes on their own, while still held in community. Because of the variety of featured storytellers, the different configurations of spaces and guides, and the multifarious audience members, no one experience can be said to be definitive. In this way above all, \u003cem>SPACES: Oakland\u003c/em> feels to me like genuine engagement rather than a blandly envisioned diversity experiment. It’s intensely personal, heartbreakingly sincere, and ecstatically joyous all at once.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And at the end of the event, watching the death-defying aerials of BANDALOOP swooping weightless against the imposing exterior walls—led by Rose Huey, as Crowell, Payomo, and Omari dance below—it feels not like an homage to an Oakland of the imagination but a celebration of an Oakland very much of the present. If you’re ready to take the leap back into indoor performance, \u003cem>SPACES: Oakland\u003c/em> can make your heart soar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13899913\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13899913\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_BANDALOOP_photocredit_BinhHuynh-800x855.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"855\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_BANDALOOP_photocredit_BinhHuynh-800x855.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_BANDALOOP_photocredit_BinhHuynh-160x171.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_BANDALOOP_photocredit_BinhHuynh-768x821.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_BANDALOOP_photocredit_BinhHuynh.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarah Crowell (centerstage) and BANDALOOP (aerialists) perform in the finale of ‘SPACES: Oakland,’ with Kaimera Productions. \u003ccite>(Binh Huynh)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘SPACES: Oakland’ runs through July 18. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spaces-oakland-tickets-155638786801\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>What makes a city? Is it the space it inhabits, or the people who inhabit its space? Is it the architecture and infrastructure of today, or the histories of the past culminating in the now? When you encounter the stories of a city, whose voices get to be heard?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All these questions are in my mind while attending \u003cem>SPACES: Oakland\u003c/em> on Saturday, July 10, in and outside of Oakland’s City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An imposing Beaux Arts granite “wedding cake” festooned with decorative details—bunches of figs and grapes, a pair of imposing eagles—City Hall becomes decidedly less impressive when I enter its scuffed side doors to see low ceilings, roped-off staircases, and dim corners. But the pre-show energy this weekend is crackling, expectant. This is the first indoors performance I’ve attended since March 2020, and it’s difficult to not feel a certain kind of way about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almost immediately, the single line into the entrance becomes a loosely-determined quartet of groups, each assigned a different color and (eventually) a different guide. My group, with black yarn tied around our wrists, stands below the iridescent shimmer of textile artist \u003ca href=\"http://www.infoflow.com/pat/cityhall.jpg\">Patricia Ravarra’s “Vermillion Bird\u003c/a>” while we wait for the show to begin. Music by Oakland artists drifts in from another part of the building while we wait: snatches of Digital Underground and ’60s soul from resident DJ Dion Decibels. Finally we’re whisked up to the third floor and seated along the top of the grand staircase. The green group sits across from us, with red and white down below. The music suddenly ceases, the silence jarring. And then the drumbeats begin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13899910\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13899910\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_audience_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_audience_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_audience_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_audience_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_audience_photocredit_LaurenStevenson.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarah Crowell leading a group of audience members to their next destination in ‘SPACES: Oakland.’ \u003ccite>(Lauren Stevenson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Because there are four different seating arrangements, I can’t say for sure what occurs in view of each. But from my vantage point the first dancer I see is Sarah Crowell, floating in from the south elevator like a fog-edged cloud, dressed in flowing whites and soft grey. Moving with purpose behind the green group and down the grand staircase to inhabit its center, her arms are raised as if in prayer or in welcome, while her clothing blends in with the marble of the stairs and her movements match each thoughtful drumbeat with precision and \u003cem>élan\u003c/em>. As she dances down towards the audience seated on the main level, another dancer—Macio Payomo, dressed in green—begins to ascend, leaping up the stairs exuberantly to take Crowell’s place in the center. In all, four dancers join the ritual, and before they split off into four directions to be our guides, they meet in the middle of the staircase and dance reflections of each other’s joy as the percussion and vocals—provided by Christelle Durandy and Mena Ramos—swell into every corner of the space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our guide is Rashidi Omari, the current director of Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company (co-founded by Crowell in 1988). Tall, lithe, dressed in black with brick-colored accents, Omari guides us through gestures and hip-hop dance moves to the first of three storytellers we will meet that evening. He is Miguel Binion, a resident of 32nd Street in West Oakland, who sits comfortable in an office chair and folds his clothes right in front of the door to the Mayor’s office. It’s appropriate, he tells us with a smile, that he’s been assigned this spot to sit, because his story is going to be about a friend he calls “the Mayor of Ghost Town.” He has an easy, animated way of conveying his story: both the lighter moments and the culminating grief of it. He owns his story completely, gently. A loving reflection of a friendship. A loving reflection of his small corner in a vast city of stories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13899908\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13899908\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_photocredit_LaurenStevenson.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rashidi Omari in the opening dance number of ‘SPACES: Oakland.’ \u003ccite>(Lauren Stevenson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In performance, as in writing, there is an almost ubiquitous drive to “tell the stories” that need to be told, presumably on behalf of those who might not have the tools (that is to say the access) to reach as broad or varied an audience. But within that dynamic is a tricky navigation. At the heart of lifting up the stories of others, creatives must constantly negotiate what it means to share vs. explain. To champion vs. exploit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kaimera Productions—a French and American hybrid founded in 2016—takes a different approach. First by empowering a quartet of fierce local dancers to fully occupy the 100+ year-old architecture of City Hall itself (via choreography by Lauren Cox), from the grand sweep of the marble staircases to the quotidian frames of security gates and hearing room doorways. And secondly by bringing in a cohort of local voices to tell their uniquely personal stories on a rotating schedule, creating a mosaic of what it means to be in and of Oakland, without trying to compress it into a single narrative that strips away the individuality. A project underwritten in part by a years-long artistic conversation between \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandsaintdenis.org\">Oakland and Saint-Denis\u003c/a>, Kaimera Productions will launch \u003cem>SPACES: Saint-Denis\u003c/em> in September, and hope to expand out into other cities by 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13899909\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13899909\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_window_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_window_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_window_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_window_photocredit_LaurenStevenson-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_RashidiOmari_window_photocredit_LaurenStevenson.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rashidi Omari performs an interstitial dance behind the windowpane of a room located in Oakland’s City Hall. \u003ccite>(Lauren Stevenson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At its core, \u003cem>SPACES: Oakland \u003c/em>is a journey that each participant—performer and audience member—takes on their own, while still held in community. Because of the variety of featured storytellers, the different configurations of spaces and guides, and the multifarious audience members, no one experience can be said to be definitive. In this way above all, \u003cem>SPACES: Oakland\u003c/em> feels to me like genuine engagement rather than a blandly envisioned diversity experiment. It’s intensely personal, heartbreakingly sincere, and ecstatically joyous all at once.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And at the end of the event, watching the death-defying aerials of BANDALOOP swooping weightless against the imposing exterior walls—led by Rose Huey, as Crowell, Payomo, and Omari dance below—it feels not like an homage to an Oakland of the imagination but a celebration of an Oakland very much of the present. If you’re ready to take the leap back into indoor performance, \u003cem>SPACES: Oakland\u003c/em> can make your heart soar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13899913\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13899913\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_BANDALOOP_photocredit_BinhHuynh-800x855.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"855\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_BANDALOOP_photocredit_BinhHuynh-800x855.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_BANDALOOP_photocredit_BinhHuynh-160x171.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_BANDALOOP_photocredit_BinhHuynh-768x821.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/SPACESOakland_SarahCrowell_BANDALOOP_photocredit_BinhHuynh.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarah Crowell (centerstage) and BANDALOOP (aerialists) perform in the finale of ‘SPACES: Oakland,’ with Kaimera Productions. \u003ccite>(Binh Huynh)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘SPACES: Oakland’ runs through July 18. \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spaces-oakland-tickets-155638786801\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Oakland’s First Fridays Community Festival Is In Jeopardy Due to Police Fees",
"headTitle": "Oakland’s First Fridays Community Festival Is In Jeopardy Due to Police Fees | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Since California’s shelter-in-place orders lifted on June 15, arts events have been popping up all over the Bay Area—a welcome sight for people eager to experience some culture and artists who’ve been out of work for the past year-plus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet one event that’s notably not making a comeback in the foreseeable future is \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandfirstfridays.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oakland First Fridays\u003c/a>. Organizers say it’s because they can’t afford the Oakland Police Department’s security fees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First Fridays have been a hallmark of Oakland arts and culture for years. Before the COVID-19 shutdown, the monthly art walk brought tens of thousands of attendees to Telegraph Avenue between 27th Street and West Grand Avenue, where dozens of artists, food trucks and performers would set up shop for the evening. First Fridays began as a small, renegade art party in 2006 and expanded in scope and popularity over the years, becoming one of Oakland’s biggest attractions. The monthly street fair also created jobs for security and clean-up crews, and provided an economic boost to the neighborhood’s art galleries, bars and other brick-and-mortar businesses. Organizers estimate that it raised revenues in the area by as much as 250%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But First Fridays’ future is now in jeopardy. Shari Godinez, executive director of the Koreatown Northgate Community Benefit District (KONO), the nonprofit group that puts on First Fridays, found this out when the city told her she couldn’t get a special event permit for the anticipated July 2 relaunch unless she agreed to pay the OPD $24,000 to send 45 officers to the area. What’s more, Godinez said OPD wanted KONO to pay for patrols outside the event’s perimeter, in the nightlife-heavy lower Telegraph area. The Oakland Police Department did not return KQED’s numerous requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Previously, Oakland’s hotel tax funded arts festivals and grants, including the cost of OPD’s time at First Fridays. But that money was depleted during the pandemic. Still, the scope of the police department’s requirements surprised Godinez. Previously, OPD never had more than five to seven officers within the perimeter of First Fridays, Godinez recalled. She’s unsure how much that would have cost, as KONO never previously had to cover the expense. But the $24,000 appears to be much higher than the security fees previous festivals in Oakland have paid. For context, public records gathered by the \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/blacklisted-how-the-oakland-police-department-discriminates-against-rappers-and-music-venues-2-1/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>East Bay Express\u003c/em>\u003c/a> show that in 2015, OPD charged $5,000 to Burger Boogaloo, a music festival with 10,000 attendees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Godinez says KONO does not have funding to cover the police department’s fees and called off July’s First Friday. She’s unsure if First Fridays will return in August either. She called the turn of events a missed opportunity for Oakland after over a year of shutdowns. “[The pandemic] is the biggest economic crisis in our country, and the industry impacted the most is arts and entertainment,” Godinez said. “And you’re going to say you can’t come back unless we pay $24,000?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/G3nY3RCQrbg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland City Council recently approved its budget for the 2021–2023 fiscal year, which includes $674 million for the police department, or about 18% of the city’s total expenditures. Yet city officials said that, as far as covering OPD expenses at First Fridays, their hands are tied. “Hotel tax revenues were decimated by the collapse of the tourism industry during the pandemic,” Harry Hamilton, spokesperson for the Economic & Workforce Development Department, wrote in an email to KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hamilton said that after Oakland’s midcycle budget adjustment in June 2020, funding was removed from the city’s fairs and festivals account to help balance other pandemic-induced budget shortfalls. In the 2019–2020 fiscal year, that account contained $221,512. But the city’s latest five-year \u003ca href=\"https://cao-94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/Five-Year-Financial-Forecast-FY22-26_FINAL-030721.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">financial forecast\u003c/a> projects that hotel tax revenues will not reach pre-pandemic levels for several years to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Oakland’s budget for 2021–2023 seeks to add $1.5 million in funding for arts festivals and grants with a focus on underserved areas such as East Oakland, West Oakland, Fruitvale, San Antonio, Chinatown, Little Saigon/Eastlake, Laurel and Brookdale. But it will take months for the city to create a structure to distribute the money, and it’s unclear whether an event in the Uptown neighborhood like First Fridays will qualify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For these additional funds, staff anticipates returning to City Council through a Life Enrichment Committee in October with a detailed, equitable plan on how to expend these new monies,” Hamilton explained. “The current thinking is a variation of the successful Neighborhood Voices grants program with a mechanism for event and festival organizers to be able to apply for grant funds.” [aside postid='arts_13899557']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, other challenges have arisen for Godinez, who said the cost of street closures from the private company KONO contracts with have also gone up. She also has less vendor space to work with because of Telegraph Avenue’s new bike lanes, yet city officials have encouraged her to move the event to an even smaller perimeter and change it to a daytime gathering on Saturday or Sunday, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If that were to happen, the event would no longer be—by definition—First Friday. “It’s a signature event for the city,” she added. “Why do you want to end that?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, Godinez is meeting with other festival producers in Oakland to figure out solutions for the coming months, and is fundraising for the festival on \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/oakland-first-fridays-support-fund\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GoFundMe\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We get into contact every day with people asking us when First Friday is going to come back,” Godinez says. “I don’t know what to tell them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was updated to include figures for Oakland’s total police budget.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Since California’s shelter-in-place orders lifted on June 15, arts events have been popping up all over the Bay Area—a welcome sight for people eager to experience some culture and artists who’ve been out of work for the past year-plus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet one event that’s notably not making a comeback in the foreseeable future is \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandfirstfridays.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oakland First Fridays\u003c/a>. Organizers say it’s because they can’t afford the Oakland Police Department’s security fees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First Fridays have been a hallmark of Oakland arts and culture for years. Before the COVID-19 shutdown, the monthly art walk brought tens of thousands of attendees to Telegraph Avenue between 27th Street and West Grand Avenue, where dozens of artists, food trucks and performers would set up shop for the evening. First Fridays began as a small, renegade art party in 2006 and expanded in scope and popularity over the years, becoming one of Oakland’s biggest attractions. The monthly street fair also created jobs for security and clean-up crews, and provided an economic boost to the neighborhood’s art galleries, bars and other brick-and-mortar businesses. Organizers estimate that it raised revenues in the area by as much as 250%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But First Fridays’ future is now in jeopardy. Shari Godinez, executive director of the Koreatown Northgate Community Benefit District (KONO), the nonprofit group that puts on First Fridays, found this out when the city told her she couldn’t get a special event permit for the anticipated July 2 relaunch unless she agreed to pay the OPD $24,000 to send 45 officers to the area. What’s more, Godinez said OPD wanted KONO to pay for patrols outside the event’s perimeter, in the nightlife-heavy lower Telegraph area. The Oakland Police Department did not return KQED’s numerous requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Previously, Oakland’s hotel tax funded arts festivals and grants, including the cost of OPD’s time at First Fridays. But that money was depleted during the pandemic. Still, the scope of the police department’s requirements surprised Godinez. Previously, OPD never had more than five to seven officers within the perimeter of First Fridays, Godinez recalled. She’s unsure how much that would have cost, as KONO never previously had to cover the expense. But the $24,000 appears to be much higher than the security fees previous festivals in Oakland have paid. For context, public records gathered by the \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/blacklisted-how-the-oakland-police-department-discriminates-against-rappers-and-music-venues-2-1/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>East Bay Express\u003c/em>\u003c/a> show that in 2015, OPD charged $5,000 to Burger Boogaloo, a music festival with 10,000 attendees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Godinez says KONO does not have funding to cover the police department’s fees and called off July’s First Friday. She’s unsure if First Fridays will return in August either. She called the turn of events a missed opportunity for Oakland after over a year of shutdowns. “[The pandemic] is the biggest economic crisis in our country, and the industry impacted the most is arts and entertainment,” Godinez said. “And you’re going to say you can’t come back unless we pay $24,000?”\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/G3nY3RCQrbg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/G3nY3RCQrbg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Oakland City Council recently approved its budget for the 2021–2023 fiscal year, which includes $674 million for the police department, or about 18% of the city’s total expenditures. Yet city officials said that, as far as covering OPD expenses at First Fridays, their hands are tied. “Hotel tax revenues were decimated by the collapse of the tourism industry during the pandemic,” Harry Hamilton, spokesperson for the Economic & Workforce Development Department, wrote in an email to KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hamilton said that after Oakland’s midcycle budget adjustment in June 2020, funding was removed from the city’s fairs and festivals account to help balance other pandemic-induced budget shortfalls. In the 2019–2020 fiscal year, that account contained $221,512. But the city’s latest five-year \u003ca href=\"https://cao-94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/Five-Year-Financial-Forecast-FY22-26_FINAL-030721.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">financial forecast\u003c/a> projects that hotel tax revenues will not reach pre-pandemic levels for several years to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Oakland’s budget for 2021–2023 seeks to add $1.5 million in funding for arts festivals and grants with a focus on underserved areas such as East Oakland, West Oakland, Fruitvale, San Antonio, Chinatown, Little Saigon/Eastlake, Laurel and Brookdale. But it will take months for the city to create a structure to distribute the money, and it’s unclear whether an event in the Uptown neighborhood like First Fridays will qualify.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For these additional funds, staff anticipates returning to City Council through a Life Enrichment Committee in October with a detailed, equitable plan on how to expend these new monies,” Hamilton explained. “The current thinking is a variation of the successful Neighborhood Voices grants program with a mechanism for event and festival organizers to be able to apply for grant funds.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, other challenges have arisen for Godinez, who said the cost of street closures from the private company KONO contracts with have also gone up. She also has less vendor space to work with because of Telegraph Avenue’s new bike lanes, yet city officials have encouraged her to move the event to an even smaller perimeter and change it to a daytime gathering on Saturday or Sunday, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If that were to happen, the event would no longer be—by definition—First Friday. “It’s a signature event for the city,” she added. “Why do you want to end that?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, Godinez is meeting with other festival producers in Oakland to figure out solutions for the coming months, and is fundraising for the festival on \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/oakland-first-fridays-support-fund\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GoFundMe\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We get into contact every day with people asking us when First Friday is going to come back,” Godinez says. “I don’t know what to tell them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"id": "bbc-world-service",
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"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
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"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
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},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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}
},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
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"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
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"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
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"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"order": 1
},
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"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"here-and-now": {
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"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. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"order": 15
},
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"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. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"order": 18
},
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"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",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"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>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"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?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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